I heard that Charlaine Harris was getting death threats from angry fans over how this book ended. As far as I'm concerned, that's completely insane.
TI heard that Charlaine Harris was getting death threats from angry fans over how this book ended. As far as I'm concerned, that's completely insane.
This series was never all that good, even at it's best, but it has always been entertaining in the same way Days of our Lives is. Although, I have to admit the only time I ever really watched that show is way back in 1995 when Marlena was possessed by the devil, but I digress.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I admire Charlaine Harris for being true to the characters within this series. This book, this series, ended in the only rational way possible, and if so many fans didn't see the writing on the wall (several books back), I feel sorry for them. If Dead Ever After had ended any other way, Charlaine Harris would have had to go against canon, would have had to undermine everything about just about every character within this series, especially Sookie. I think Sookie got the ending that not only made sense but also the ending she deserved. Also, (view spoiler)[way to go Sookie for walking into the sunset on her own and being more than okay with that. That's what I call a strong female character. A man isn't the answer to all life's problems. A man isn't the only way for a woman to have a HEA. And honestly? I find the ending Charlaine Harris gave us refreshing. I'm insanely tired of books ending like this: "and then after a passionate night of mind-blowing sex, we fell in love, got married, had a litter of kids and lived happily ever after!!! THE END." (hide spoiler)]
So yeah, I totally respect Charlaine Harris right now.
P.S. (view spoiler)[Even though I knew it was coming, and even though it was so anti-climatic, I full-on started crying during the Eric/Sookie divorce scene. Even though I always knew their relationship had an expiration date, I still loved them together. But it was time, their relationship ran it's course and it had to end. Still...so sad! (hide spoiler)]...more
Love this book but not as much as I love Daughter of Smoke and Bone. That said it is very well crafted and some of the more 2-dimensional characters fLove this book but not as much as I love Daughter of Smoke and Bone. That said it is very well crafted and some of the more 2-dimensional characters from the previous book were developed within the pages of Days of Blood and Starlight. Not sure if I care any more for the romance than I did before I read this book, but I can assure others that they will--romance really isn't my thing, especially when it comes to this series; there's so much more going on here than a romance that I just don't really care what happens with it. The secondary love story between two of the supporting characters is actually quite adorable and way more enjoyable because there is no angst involved.
I love Laini Taylor, how she writes. If I could, I'd disappear within the pages of her books every single day. I highly recommend Days of Blood and Starlight, the second book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. 4.5 stars. ...more
Not long ago I went back and looked over the first book in this series in an attempt to understand what made me want to pick up World After. After an Not long ago I went back and looked over the first book in this series in an attempt to understand what made me want to pick up World After. After an almost entire re-read of Angelfall I am flabbergasted. I mean, sure, Angelfall is okay-ish. And when I originally picked it up it was a self-published kindle book that only cost 99 cents. Now it's in paper and audiobook form and there's all this buzz and more books are being published and Susan Ee is laughing all the way to the bank.
Don't get me wrong, I think Susan Ee is a genius. She wrote and self-published an ebook that didn't suck nearly as bad as the vast majority of self-published ebooks and struck gold. Good for her. I wish I could do that. Really. But still, that doesn't mean she's a talented writer or that her work necessarily deserves to be published. This book, World After, is irrefutable proof.
To be completely honest, I couldn't read more than one-quarter of this book and I ended up returning it. I never return books, but I made an exception.
Penryn was always sort of pining for the angel Raffe so I expected the pining and/or fascination to continue in this book. What I did not expect is for Penryn to be reduced to a boring girl who does little else but wax poetic about Raffe's beautiful face and body during the first quarter of the book. After the first chapter I struggled with not letting my eyes roll out of my head. I felt as though I was reading Twilight. Again.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
Look, Stephenie Meyer wrote Twilight and got away with it. That happened. I've made peace with that time in human history because we were younger then. We didn't know any better.
But now? Now we know better. We're smarter. We don't want our protagonists to be simpering morons who do little more than think about the perfection of a certain young man's body and/or face. We want our post-apocalyptic MCs to kick ass and lead a revolution, and if they happen to find love along the way that's okay. But first and foremost? Ass-kicking. That's what we want and that's what I thought I was signing up for when I purchased World After.
What I got was loveloveloveloveloveloveOBSESSIONlovelovelove laced with a (possible?) love triangle and a side order of monster (zombie?) children and maybe evil angels.
Susan! What happened? The truly enjoyable elements you gave us in Angelfall were missing in World After. It feels as though you gave up. It feels as though you sold out.
I am disappoint.
P.S. I wasn't going to say it, but, Dee-Dum? Totally a rip-off of Fred and George Weasley. A crappy, pathetic rip off. ...more
Okay, I'm completely in the minority with this one. Pretty much everyone and their family loves this book. I, unfortunately, do not. And at this time Okay, I'm completely in the minority with this one. Pretty much everyone and their family loves this book. I, unfortunately, do not. And at this time I'm not capable of writing a fair and thorough review about Hallowed because just thinking about it still makes me ill, as if I'm recovering from food poisoning after eating at my absolute favorite restaurant. The whole thing just makes me so sad and disgusted. That said, I do feel, for the most part, Cynthia Hand ended this book the way it needed to end. Anything else, given the circumstances, would have been completely wrong.
And I need to give Hand credit for writing something that made me, the reader, feel like I was going through the worst break up ever. Like my soul was ripped to shreds in the slowest, most torturous way possible--look, I felt like I had a car resting on my chest when (view spoiler)[Clara drives away from her last date with Tucker, wanting to turn back but not doing it because that would have been wrong. By the way, how great is Tucker? He loved her so much he let her go. In his situation that was so much more difficult than fighting for her. (hide spoiler)]. I had difficulty breathing and I wanted to cry but couldn't. I mean, (view spoiler)[ 'Tucker & Clara' is only YA PNR pairing I've ever believed in. Cynthia Hand wrote their relationship so well in Unearthly I would have been fine if they eventually got married. They just seemed so right for one another, so solid, so genuinely in love. So...yeah...I'm ridiculously angry over how things ended between them, but I'm also glad because, all things considered, it had to happen.
Having said all that, I hope Christian dies like a stupidly long, drawn out, merciless, torturous death. I really mean that, and it's okay because he's a fictional character. A fictional character whose entire existence ruined the only good thing YA PNR had going for it. (hide spoiler)]
Someday I will write an in-depth review of Hallowed in which I will go into Cynthia Hand's brand of angel lore and what not. But today is not that day. Today I'm still feeling a whole lot of Hatred with an extra serving of Bitter on the side. 2.7 stars*.
* Star-rating subject to change at reviewer's whim.
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The 'day after' reaction to this book: I'm going to have to think about this one for a while. Hallowed is well written, that's undeniable, but it makes me really uncomfortable in the sense that had it really been playing out in front of my eyes I'd have to stop watching. I had to put this down several times. At one point I started skimming (something I never do) just to get the whole nightmare over with.
Hallowed is such a depressing follow up to Unearthly. ...more
When I saw that one of my favorite goodreaders, Tatiana, gave this book four stars I thought she'd gone insane. I mean, it's a YA book featuring angelWhen I saw that one of my favorite goodreaders, Tatiana, gave this book four stars I thought she'd gone insane. I mean, it's a YA book featuring angels for crying out loud! Surely it can't be good let alone worthy of four whole stars from Tatiana, so clearly she lost her mind. But I purchased the audiobook anyway because it was January 13th and I was anxiously awaiting the release of Shadowfever which was still five days away at the time. Plus it didn't hurt that this audiobook was reasonably priced.
Initially I was a little irritated with Unearthly. It starts out with a dream/vision that the main character has--is it just me or do too many of these books start out the exact same way? But I kept with it because I paid for it, dangit! Fortunately it didn't take too long for my initial irritation to wear off--I'd say no longer then the first few chapters.
For the next several chapters I didn't have much of an opinion. Not that the book was bad, because it wasn't. The writing was fine, good even, but I refused to make an official judgment call. Too many times I've fallen in love with a book only, in the end, to hate it more than poison. I wasn't going to get burned. Nope. Not me. Not again.
Now all is said and done I'm going to go ahead and say Tatiana isn't crazy. This book is good. In fact I'm going to go ahead and give this book four stars because I really like it. Though, in my heart, it will always be a five-star read because it's one of few YA paranormal romances that doesn't make me want to go on a stabbing spree. Also? Unearthly is the only published YA novel featuring angels that doesn't make me want to hunt down the author so I can punch him/her in the face repeatedly.
I know the last few sentences make me seem violent beyond all reason, but believe me I have plenty of reason. Just read every other YA paranormal romance featuring angels and you'll agree. And anyway, when I say 'stabbing spree' I really mean 'write a scathing review and/or weep for all the trees destroyed in order to publish such atrocities'. And when I say: 'hunt down the author so I can punch him/her in the face'? ...well, I actually mean that*.
Moving on...
Seeing as most publishers have been saturating the market with badly written, ill-plotted out, basically retarded series about some supernatural something falling in love--twuuuuu wuvvvvv--with a vapid human I'd begun to believe there was no such thing as a good, or even great, YA paranormal romance. Especially when angels are involved. But Cynthia Hand changed my mind with her debut novel, Unearthly.
It's funny, but Unearthly doesn't contain some magical new concept or some amazing innovative plot twist that will make your head explode. It's just good. That's it. Turns out Cynthia Hand's "secret" is actually no secret at all. She employs the method of showing her audience, not telling. That's right, Cynthia Hand doesn't assume her audience is mentally-challenged. Also? Her main character, Clara Gardener, doesn't have the mental capacity of a boy-crazed, unmedicated ADHD 'tween hopped up on pixie stix. She's normal. And by normal I mean Clara's just a regular, well-adjusted, non-angry, non-emo, non-cutting teen. Although, yeah, she has angel blood pumping through her veins, but she's incredibly easy to relate to nonetheless.
What I love: Clara doesn't do what every other protagonist in this genre does: inform you she's super intelligent "'cuz she likes calculus-n-stuff", only to prove otherwise as she dithers about like a blind slack-jawed yokel the duration of the novel. She's better than that. Also? She has a healthy yet realistic relationship with her mother. They actually talk to each other and are, for the most part, honest with one another. It's quite refreshing actually.
Clara isn't the the world's only, most speshul angel-blood evuh. She's actually one of many, though at first she doesn't know of any others beside her mother and her younger brother. She also isn't super good at everything she does. Clara doesn't have every boy falling for her, at least no more then your average teenage girl. And like all teenagers she manages to make a fool of herself every once in a while. Like I said: refreshing.
What I really love (skip this if you plan on reading this book as it is sort of spoiler-y, albeit hardly): (view spoiler)[the romance. It's a real (more importantly healthy) teenage romance wherein the characters actually talk to one another, get to know one another before falling in love, or even liking each other for that matter.
The guy in this book? Is normal. He acts like a normal teenage guy. He's not unintentionally feminine or too-good-to-be-true. But he's not over-the-top alpha male either. He's just that one guy you went to school with. You know, the guy everyone liked not because he was the hottest or richest, in fact he probably wasn't, but because he was funny, charismatic and just overall likable despite his flaws (though, yeah, it didn't hurt that he was good looking). Yeah. That guy.
And when Clara gets together with him, well, they aren't obnoxious. No gazing into one another's eyes talking about how unworthy they feel. No waxing-poetic about perfect Adonis-like bodies and angel-like faces. Their relationship contains actual substance. (hide spoiler)]
What I don't necessarily care for: This book contains a love triangle. Sort of. I mean it's hardly even present. And the protagonist isn't playing both guys for all they're worth. And there isn't any cheating going on, not even in Clara's heart. BUT it's still a love triangle of sorts and I'm afraid it might end badly for all involved because of various reasons I won't go into here.
That said, even if over the course of this series the triangle does play out the way I don't want it to, I think I'll be okay. Clara has free will and I am confident she will take the time to think things through rationally. She can choose between one or the other regardless of the consequences (good and/or bad). In fact she pretty much makes her decision in this book.
So yeah, I recommend Unearthly.
*Disclaimer: I would never actually hunt down and assault any author. No matter how much they deserve it (Smeyer, James Frey, LAUREN KATE, Becca Fitzpatrick... I could go on). There are times in which I am sorely tempted to but I wouldn't. I'm passionate about literature but NOT insane. ...more
Have you ever read a book that's so irritating you can't help but think, 'It would be great if most of the characters died right now, especially the mHave you ever read a book that's so irritating you can't help but think, 'It would be great if most of the characters died right now, especially the main character because she sucks'? Possibly even go so far as consider writing and posting your own ending to said book on fanfiction.net? An ending in which Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows up and kills everyone in a hilarious yet incredibly violent fashion?
If your answer is YES then you've probably been reading this series. XD
Seriously though, Tempted killed my addiction to the House of Night series. And I know I should be grateful--in a way I am--but, more than anything I can't help but be incredibly disappointed. The first HON book had some potential but instead of getting better as the series continued, it just got worse. So. Much. Worse.
Zoey Redbird went from being a normal teenage girl, who just so happened to be a vampire, to a complete slut-faced ho bag vampire with extrasuperspecial powers by the sixth book. To be completely honest, the full transformation to Supernatural "Slut-Face" Sue occurred a few books back.
Zoey is so much worse then Aphrodite was at the beginning of the series. And I think we can all agree Aphrodite was kind of slutty way back then, what with her forcing her company on an obviously uninterested, slightly disgusted Eric all the time. Now that I think about it, that's way more sad then it is slutty. I digress. My point is now Aphrodite is committed to a nice guy who loves & respects her, and Zoey is lusting after/sexing/heavily-petting/groping/making out with just about every guy that comes her way.
For whatever reason Zoey's behavior is not considered slutty because she's a priestess, or whatever. Apparently if you wield the power of Nyx you can get away with anything, even being the Whore of Babylon. How nice.
Erik/Stark/Kalona/everyotherwaytotallyhotguyevuh? Hate them. So much. Because seriously, Zoey is the Whore of all Babylon, has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, yet they're all hot and bothered over her. Morons. All of them. Obviously Kalona is just some disgusting, evil...God? Demon? Whatever! who wants to get Zoey in the sack and then kill her--I'm sorry but where's the downside to that plan? Just kidding! (not really) And I really don't understand Erik's attraction to her, especially since she cheated on him with THEIR ADULT TEACHER the same day Erik became a full-fledged vampire (It was, what? An hour after the fact???). And Stark? Ugh! Don't even get me started on the Stark/Zoey 'ship. That whole complicated/nonsensical mess just makes me want to bash my head against a brick wall. Repeatedly.
Moving on...
The gay couple in this series is completely ridiculous. Look, I don't have an issue with homosexuality in YA fiction, but I do have a problem with the way it's portrayed in this series. Damien and Jack are like a parody of a stereotype, if that makes sense. Their relationship is so--dare I say--gay, for lack of a better description. It's just a bunch of rainbows, puppies, kittens, lollipops, fluffy clouds, sunshine, glitter-farting unicorns, and of course fabulousness! in Damien-and-Jack Townshipville.
The Twins? Sooooooo stuuuuuuuuuupid. These are two of my least favorite characters and were I to write a Buffy the Vampire Slayer/HON crossover, these two would go first (at the exact same time). It wouldn't be pretty, either.
Stevie Rae? I don't even know what to think about where her story is going. I mean, seems like the girl's gonna be gettin' it on with some sort of demented raven-man thing, which is incredibly disgusting. That whole weird relationship aside? Stevie Rae just isn't the same. In fact, she hasn't been since she died and came back. Stevie Rae just flat-out gives me the creeps so I don't like her either.
Then there's Heath. Poor, stupid, very mortal Heath. One of the few characters I still kind of liked in this horrible horrible, oh, so very horrible series. And yes, I know I'm probably the only person who actually liked Heath (you slags were wanting him to die and you know it!) but I don't care. The fact is, he's the only person that really knew Zoey and he still loved her, despite all her faults. He loved her so much he decided it was time to grow up and quit drinking/partying. And put his life on the line for her. He's the only person that kept Zoey grounded (besides her grandmother, of course). I actually liked the interactions between Zoey and Heath. Their conversations were cute, and sweet, and fun. I actually kind of liked Zoey when she was with Heath--I could relate to her.
And what did the Casts' do? They killed him. KILLED! At the end of the last chapter! And because he's mortal he's actually dead dead. As in, never coming back dead (unlike Stevie Rae and Stark whou should have stayed dead, IMHO). And I've got the feeling the Casts only killed him because their story got away from them and they didn't know what else to do.
The Casts are going to drag this series out for SIX MORE BOOKS, people! And considering the fact that they've already lost control of their story, It's pretty safe to say that this series won't end well. (Don't say I didn't warn you.)
And it needs to be said, I am dumber for having read the first six books in the House of Night series.
**spoiler alert** I'm stressing over the star rating I've given this book. As of right now I'm not entirely sure I won't change it. That being said, I**spoiler alert** I'm stressing over the star rating I've given this book. As of right now I'm not entirely sure I won't change it. That being said, I really do like this book.
I picked up Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Darkside thinking I was diving into a parody of Twilight. It didn't take long to discover how wrong I was. While both books have vampires in them that's where the similarity ends.
Jessica Packwood, 4-H club member/mathlete-extraordinaire, is the adopted daughter of two of the more notorious vegans/environmentalists in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Jessica is pretty in an unconventional way, though she's too short, too curvy, and has a head full of wild, hard-to-tame curls.
Needless to say she's never been the most popular girl at school.
Over summer Jessica managed to catch the eye of Jake Zinn, one of the best looking guys in her graduating class. Things finally seem to be looking up for Jessica; she's going to enjoy her senior year.
That is until Lucius Vladescu--a handsome, but incredibly egotistical Romanian exchange student--shows up. And he has some news for Jessica.
Turns out Jessica--or rather, Antanasia Dragomir--is betrothed to Lucius, and has been since they were babies. Her birth parents entered the pact with Lucius' parents in hopes that Lucius and Antanasia's marriage would unify their clans, bring peace to their people.
Lucius is a prince. Jessica/Antanasia is a princess.
According to Lucius--and, strangely enough, her adoptive parents--Jessica is a vampire. So is Lucius. Of course Jessica rejects the notion--there is no such thing as vampires--rejects the pact, the betrothal. Her parents, Lucius--they're crazy!
Jessica tries to send Lucius on his merry way. But Lucius isn't going to give up that easily--he can't--and this is when things get truly interesting.
(Okay, I realize I'm not good at summarizing. And since I typed all that out I'm not going to delete it. But, just so you know I've only roughly summarized the first seven chapters--there's sixty more where that came from).
This book is pretty good. While the ending seems a little rushed, I don't totally mind. The story isn't particularly deep but it is clear the author meant to incorporate a message for teenage girls about self-esteem, self-confidence--overall, I'd she did an okay job with that.
The love story? Vampires aside, I'd say it's pretty realistic--they don't hit it off at first; we don't have to deal with any of that anti-climatic 'love at first sight' garbage. While Jessica finds Lucius physically attractive, and secretly admits to herself that she's intrigued by Lucius' darkside, she is repelled by his personality--Lucius thinks he's better then sliced bread. And anyway Jessica's more interested in the very nice--very normal--Jake Zinn from down the street.
Beth Fantaskey, the author does a great job gradually building their relationship in a way that makes sense. There is flirtation and teasing (and I need to add that Ms. Fantaskey is quite good at writing these exchanges in an exciting way; had me holding my breath in anticipation, no lie). And while sexuality is very present in this book, there is absolutely no sex.
The reason I gave this book 4 stars is because I really enjoyed the story. I liked Jessica and Lucius (he sort of grows on you, like mold) and I liked their interactions even more. Lucius' letters home to Romania are quite amusing to say the least. And I'm satisfied with how it ended, even though now as I type this I can't help but think of a few loose ends that were not tied up. It makes me think there might be a sequel (not that there needs to be, or really, should be) or at the very least the author left one or two things open so she might write more stories contained in this universe, but with new characters.
Dang, this is one really long review. Sorry. ...more
First off, I'd have given this book zero stars were it possible, but since it isn't I gave it one star. This book is full of fail, end of story. ThereFirst off, I'd have given this book zero stars were it possible, but since it isn't I gave it one star. This book is full of fail, end of story. There is no other way to describe this book, really.
That's a lie. There is another way to describe how bad this book is. Take everything that sucked about the Twilight series and multiply that by any number (except zero. Or one. Or any negative number. Aw, crap, you know what I mean). Because really, this book is a bad version of Twilight except with fallen angels instead of vampires. Oh, and, compared to this book, Twilight is a friggin' literary masterpiece. That's how bad this book is.
You think Bella is irritating? Meet Luce Price, the most irritating protagonist ever. She's stupid (yet still somehow incredibly smart, according to her grades), a creepy stalker, and has zero sense of self-worth or shame.
When Daniel, this story's "hero", flips Luce the bird and then proceeds to treat her like garbage--on several occasions--what does Luce do? She instantly becomes obsessed with Daniel and breaks into the school records room to find out more about him. Not once does she think she might be crossing a line by going through someones private records. Obviously, talking to him--like a normal person would--to find out more about him, is out of the question, amirite? Oh, and when a guy treats a girl like garbage that is actually code for TRULUV4EVA.
Look, I could go on and on about how idiotic this book is, but I won't since I have better things to do, like, write hate mail to the publisher of this book. Seriously, I'd be hard pressed to find a book that is worse then this flaming pile of garbage, and had I a time machine I'd use it to go back in time in order to stop myself from ever reading this book.
To sum up my review: Worst. Book. I've. Ever. Read. EVER. (yes, the second 'ever' was entirely necessary) An incredible waste of time and money, and ink, and trees...I could go on (and on and on...). This book makes babies cry.
Edit: As of February 26, 2010 over nine hundred goodreads users think this book is amazing*. Amazing?! Really??? I mean, don't get me wrong, I fully understand really liking a book that has little to no literary value (see my guilty pleasures shelf for proof). But amazing? Come on people! Five stars really should be reserved for the classics--great literary works, or something that really moves you emotionally; makes you think on a deeper level then usual; makes you want to be a better person.
It is beyond me that anyone truly loves this book. Seriously.
I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why, if I hated this book so much, I read the entire thing. Originally, after only reading the first few chapters of this book I hurled it across the room in a fit of anger (and no, I'm not a rageaholic. This book--the fact that it was published and I was duped into wasting money on it--just enraged me that much). But I had to finish it. I just had to. Because I was dumb enough to believe it got better--but it didn't. It just got worse and worse as the book continued. The absolute worst part is this book is 452 pages long, and the first 400 pages contain no plot whatsoever.
Though I already mentioned how much I dislike the protagonist I feel I should add: Luce is an insipid creature (read: TSTL). All she does is think of the most mundane crap--stuff that isn't in the least bit important or interesting--it almost makes you want to take a drill to your own head. At one point she even wonders what size shoe Daniel wears--mind you this is during the same period if time he's sending out strong 'I hate Luce' vibes like nobody's business.
And yeah, for a girl who may or may not have accidentally on purpose killed the last boy she liked, it's truly creepy how easily she gets over it and readily moves on to the next victims boys. Is she that messed up and desensitized? Seems to me Luce is a sociopath and should be in prison, not reform school.
Speaking of said reform school: It's laughable how the security is practically non-existent. Did the author do any research on reform schools? I mean, come on! These teens--not counting Penn--are at this reform school because they are more then a little dangerous to themselves and/or others. They are there to be reformed, not kindasorta babysat.
I really could go on about the massive plot holes contained in this novel--of which there are several--but I won't. I'm just going to say one last thing: I'm shocked that something this bad could be published and then--I kid you not--be optioned for a film. Really Disney? You really want to take this horribly written excuse of a novel and make it into a movie? Are you that hard up for script ideas? Really??? Fine, go ahead. Perpetuate the death of all good literature. Celebrate mediocrity. Rape the young minds of our society. I mean, everyone else is doing it, why not join in. As long as you make a buck who cares, amirite???
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*Quick review of goodreads rating system: five stars='amazing', four stars='really liked it', three stars='liked it', two stars='it was okay', one star='didn't like it'
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UPDATE (06/27/11): Over 300 people like this review. Yay. I WIN THE INTERNET! Or at least I win a medal in the Crazy Rant About A Horrible Book category. I'd like to thank everyone who made this possible: Goodreads friends, followers of my reviews and everyone else who read and voted for my review--I couldn't have done this without any of you. Also, special thanks go out to Al Gore, the creators of Goodreads, Delacorte Press, whoever green-lighted this book, all the trees that selflessly laid down their lives so this book could be put into print and, of course, Lauren Kate. Peace Out.
UPDATE 01/14/11: Loses more stars because I finally found a YA paranormal romance about angels that is, quite frankly, a bazillion times better then aUPDATE 01/14/11: Loses more stars because I finally found a YA paranormal romance about angels that is, quite frankly, a bazillion times better then any other YA angel book out on the market. It's called Unearthly. You should read Unearthly. (You're welcome.)
Apparently Fallen Angels are the new Vampires, which is alright by me. I'm tired of vampires, especially the really lame sparkly ones that do little more then stalk, act like jerks and/or brood. I've noticed that there are more and more books on the market about fallen angels, and I've read a few (Fallen by Lauren Kate, Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith and I'm going to go ahead and count The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare even though it's technically about nephilim). This book and The Mortal instruments series actually make the whole angel thing somewhat interesting.
I might have given this book more stars--based on the the mild entertainment factor--if the love interest hadn't been named Patch (Patch? Patch??? Seriously? COME ON!). I hate that no one, throughout the duration of the book asks,"Is Patch really your name? REALLY???". Annoying name aside, I'd say this book is OK. Yeah, it's total paranormal garbage--my guilty pleasure--but I found it somewhat entertaining nonetheless. ...more
This book has a good prologue, it's intriguing, which is why I purchased this book. After the prologue however... let's just say I rolled my eyes a loThis book has a good prologue, it's intriguing, which is why I purchased this book. After the prologue however... let's just say I rolled my eyes a lot (I'll get into the reasons why later). When I was approximately one-fourth of the way through Beautiful Creatures I gave up on trying to read it, even contemplated taking it back to the store.
I never got around to returning it, and about a month or two later I picked it up again out of sheer boredom. And having just finished Fallen by Lauren Kate--which was abysmal, by the way--I could certainly get through Beautiful Creatures. You know what? I was right.
After reading past the initial cheesiness/ridiculousness I didn't mind the story so much. I would have given this book more stars were it not for all the eye-rolling moments, most of which are at the beginning.
What I didn't like: starting in the first chapter unusual things are happening to Ethan, our main character who has never had contact with anything paranormal/supernatural--unless you count his housekeeper, who dabbles in card reading and the like. So, I'm sorry, it's insanely unrealistic for Ethan to just shrug off the fact that he's been waking up slathered in mud on several occasions.
And Lena, the new/hot/misunderstood at school? Has a birthmark on her cheekbone in the shape of a half-moon. A HALF-MOON!!! Now if that doesn't scream tired cliche I don't know what does. Why do all these supernatural/paranormal characters have to have unusual, yet incredibly tasteful, markings on their bodies? (I've had it with characters who are superspecialawesomeunique as indicated by their superspecialawesomeunique birthmark, eye color, or whatever) And of course, Lena dresses in bohemian (read:superspecialawesomeunique) clothing, further proving how different (read:special) she is.
The most awesome element? (not) Lena and Ethan can speak to each other through some special mind-melding link and the reason why is never explained. Let's get things straight: it's not the mind-meld that bothers me--actually that's not so bad--it's the fact that Ethan can suddenly hear the new girl in his head and he's not weirded out about. He's kind of like, "We can talk to eachother telepathically? Huh. That's not weird at all. And this is really convenient--you know, in case there's some emergency and our cellphones aren't working. Anyway, you're hot. And even though we've never met before I'm pretty sure you're the girl who's been starring in my recurring, mud-soaked dreams--you know, normal stuff. So....wanna go out sometime?".
I'm sorry, no one is that good with weirdness, especially some kid who's never had contact with the paranormal.
The I-don't-know-you-but-I'm-mysteriously-drawn-to-you-and-I'm-pretty-sure-I'm-in-love-with-you element in this book. Dear Authors Everywhere: STOP DOING THIS! It's tired. It's stupid. It takes the excitement out of your story. What's wrong with having characters fall in love like normal people? What's wrong with an initial attraction developing into friendship developing into something more? Sure, you can pretend that's what happened in this novel but it's not. It was clear from the beginning they're together even though they didn't say as much.
There are other things about this novel that bothered me, but since this is the first novel by these authors I'm willing to forgive most of it.
What I liked: the fresh ideas contained in this story--you have no idea how grateful I am that this story isn't another Twilight knock-off. I'm not going to go into these new/fresh ideas here since that would give too much away. Let's just say Lena is powerful and her powers kind of cool.
Ethan's friend Link is awesome. He's pretty much my favorite character in this book. I also quite like Ridley, Lena's cousin. I like her because she's quite flawed but not irrevocably--she has the potential to grow and be a better person. Plus, she's entertaining. Another character I really liked is Amma, Ethan's mouthy housekeeper/stand-in mom.
This book isn't what I was expecting but that's a good thing. The story gets more interesting and unique the further you get into it. By the way, Beautiful Creatures is incredibly long. However the story wraps-up nicely: all my questions were answered, no major loose ends, and a sequel is indicated.
Even though I only gave this book two stars, I may just read the next book in the Beautiful Creatures series. We'll have to see.
Who is publishing these horribly written YA novels? Who? (every publisher, ever) And more importantly, why? (for tons of cash)
First off, I didn't finWho is publishing these horribly written YA novels? Who? (every publisher, ever) And more importantly, why? (for tons of cash)
First off, I didn't finish this book. I couldn't finish this book. I couldn't get 1/4 of the way through, even though I have the audiobook. Actually not only is this book boring as hell but the audiobook was poorly cast (more on that later). This is another book I picked up because of the pretty cover. *kicking self, a lot*
I have to admit the premise sounded interesting--not long before this book crossed my path I'd finished reading Blood and Chocolate, which is, overall, somewhat enjoyable even if it is a little weird--so I just had to read it. But guess what? Not an interesting story. Not even kind of.
The coupling in this book? Bizarre. Boring--I mean, really boring.
Sam doesn't think like a guy. Not even a little. Sam thinks like a woman. A really boring older woman. No guy throws on a puffy coat and thinks "I look like a blimp in this thing." No heterosexual guy. No way. Not ever. I can't help but wonder if Sam ever gets around to asking Grace if his pants make his butt look fat. But I digress.
Grace is Boring. Not only that but she's also insipid, and irritating. Did I mention mind-numbingly boring? So just to review: Grace: She's Bella Swan's evil, but oh-so-very-boring twin.
And the character named Isabella (I think that's her name), that, like, pisses herself? WTF??? WHY? Seriously, WHY? It's because of the pissing scene that I stopped paying attention to the audio book. Sure, every once in a while I caught snippets of the story. But none of it was interesting. So eventually I turned it off and cursed Audible for having a no return policy--sure, it totally makes sense. But still.
Tangent: Look, I wasted one of my audible credits on this piece of trash. I can't resell it, or even trade it for something better. I'm pissed.
Speaking of the audio book: like I said earlier it was horribly cast. The female narrator sounds like a fourteen-year-old girl. And the male narrator sounds like my old elementary school gym coach. The one that sorta looked like a child molester--you know what I'm talking about, everyone had a coach like that. Everyone.
Needless to say, the audio book gave me heebies from the get go. I couldn't help but picture some ninth grade girl--because, like I said, she sounds quite young--flirting with her disgusting teacher (who has a mustache and wears tiny gym shorts). I'm still traumatized.
So yeah, I advise you don't read this book. And definitely don't buy the audio book. If you do, don't say I didn't warn you.
I was told it is a modern ghost story. But really, it is so much more then just a ghost story. Yes, the main character, Helen, is dead. And yes, I wilI was told it is a modern ghost story. But really, it is so much more then just a ghost story. Yes, the main character, Helen, is dead. And yes, I will admit Helen haunts people, or rather, attaches herself to certain people. But the people she "haunts" are, for the most part, unaware of her presence. She doesn't go around scaring people. So I want to make it clear, this isn't a spooky ghost story. When all is said and done, this story is about love, self-discovery and forgiveness.
Laura Whitcomb does a fantastic job drawing the reader in right from the beginning. It doesn't take much to like Helen, she's kind, sweet and has a love of literature. However, it is clear that she is stuck on earth and cannot move on for some reason. Helen doesn't even know why because she is only able to remember a few small details of her life here on earth. And, as far as she knows, no one can see her until, one day a young man stares at her and not through her.
This is when things get truly interesting...
Anyway, I highly recommend this book, it's a quite good. Also, even though I'm not a huge fan of romantic story lines, I really like the one in this book. ...more
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