Category Archives: Reviews

April 9, 2013 · 3:00 am

LICHGATES by S. M. Boyce – Blog Tour + Review + Giveaway

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I’m very happy to be participating in the Lichgates blog tour! Keep reading for my review of the book and a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway!
Lichgates

Lichgates by S. M. Boyce

Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things–Ourea.

Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict–a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.

For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.

Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

My Review:

four stars

In a word: fascinating world-building, strong characters, a bevy of magical creatures, and a rather circuitous quest.

Lichgates is brimming with creative energy. Often when I read fantasy stories I’ll come across an interesting world-building idea and think “cool” or “that’s original.” But as I was reading this book, I often wrote notes in my Kindle that said “WOW!” or “What an awesome idea!” Boyce infuses her novel with exclamation point-worthy ideas from start to finish, and I was sucked into her magical world of Ourea. Although the author uses many familiar fantasy tropes—a quest, a magical portal that leads to another world, cute and cuddly animal sidekicks, and plenty of evil bad guys—I found Lichgates to be a charming story full of engaging characters that goes beyond surface material and thoughtfully explores the human condition as well.

Kara Magari is taking a walk in the woods one day when she stumbles upon an arched wooden structure with the word “Lichgate” carved at the top. She decides to explore and steps through it, only to find herself in a strange world. When she opens a door embedded in a rock face, she is pulled into an odd library-like room filled with old and dusty books. Kara’s fate is sealed when she manages to open a locked book called the Grimoire, an ancient journal penned by a man known only as the Vagabond. Much to her chagrin, Kara has become the new Vagabond and now holds the secrets and powers of the Grimoire.

Soon after, she meets Braeden Drakonin, a boy her age who has been trying to find the Grimoire for himself. But Braeden is not human. He lives in one of the kingdoms of Ourea and has been hiding out for the past twelve years, trying to avoid his father, an evil and powerful man named Carden whose people, the yakona, are known for torturing their enemies. Braeden longs to change his fate and wants his father to believe he is dead. But his luck—as well as Kara’s—doesn’t last long, and the two are thrown into the middle of a land whose kingdoms are warring against each other.

Kara and Braeden are sent on a quest to try to unite the kingdoms in a peace treaty, and most of the story follows them as they struggle to follow the instructions of the Grimoire and stay alive, as many people in Ourea seem to want them dead.

This is a fairly complex tale, and while I loved the creativity of the world-building, it sometimes seemed a bit too much. Not only are there five or six different kingdoms to keep track of, but the creatures who live in each kingdom each have their own set of rules and magical powers, not to mention difficult-to-pronounce names. Boyce fills her land with a large variety of mythical creatures both familiar (dragons, griffins and mermaids) and unfamiliar (earaks, flaers, and isen), and gives her characters the ability to wield all kinds of magical weapons (swords with poisonous edges and arrows made from air, to name a few). I almost wanted my own Grimoire to guide me through the complicated parts of the story (and in fact, the author has already created a website for the book, complete with an encyclopedia: check out http://www.thegrimoirebooks.com for lots of extras!)

I loved the Grimoire itself, an ancient book that hides the soul of the last Vagabond, a wise and friendly man who occasionally pops out the book to dispense advice and warnings. And the lichgates of the title, portals between the kingdoms, were a great device that not only showed the division between each of the lands, but helped keep enemies away.

Although the quest Boyce sends Kara and Braeden on was sometimes confusing (I honestly forgot where they were at times, since they travel to so many different locations), there’s never a dull moment. A map included somewhere in the book would have been a nice addition for readers to visualize their journey.

The best part of the story for me was the characters. I loved the feistiness of Kara, a girl who can never go home and must face some painful memories in order to move into her new role as the Vagabond. Braeden was one of my favorites, and I thought Boyce did a great job giving him both strengths and weaknesses, which ultimately makes him more human (even though he’s not). He hates his father and wants to destroy him, but he’s forced to look at that desire from an ethical standpoint.  Boyce asks the question, is it morally right to destroy an entire race of people, even if they are bloodthirsty killers? The fact that Braeden has trouble answering this question made him even more likable. Kara and Boyce are adorable together, and even though the author doesn’t emphasize the romance, their growing attraction to each other is slow and satisfying. Several minor characters also stood out; a young girl named Twin who seems lost without her dead sister; and a creature that Kara hatches from an egg named Flick, who imprints on her and becomes her fierce protector.

Aside from a few awkward sentences that could have used a heavier editing hand, Lichgates is a solidly written story that will plunge the reader into a fascinating, but dangerous, world. This is only the beginning of The Grimoire Saga, and I look forward to continuing the adventure.

Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Lichgates is FREE
Download your copy now!

Praise for Lichgates

Wow, the world building on this one was breathtaking. The world of Ourea is just full of so many things. Surprises are around every corner.

~Alexia P.

From the first few pages into this story, it was obvious that Boyce has a way with words.

~Author Becca Campbell

Author S.M. Boyce

International Amazon Bestseller. Fantasy Author. Twitter addict. Book Blogger. Geek. Sarcastic. Gooey. Odd. Author of the action-packed Grimoire Saga.

S.M. Boyce is a novelist who loves ghosts, magic, and spooky things. She prefers loose-leaf tea, reads far too many books, and is always cold. She’s married to her soul mate and couldn’t be happier. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries.

Boyce likes to update her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.

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April 7, 2013 · 1:08 pm

WHAT MAKES YOU DIE by Tom Piccirilli – Review

What Makes You Die2

What Makes You Die by Tom Piccirilli

Genre: Adult Fiction (sorry, I can’t come up with a specific genre for this one!)

Publisher: Apex Book Company

Release date: March 26 2013

Source: e-ARC from publisher

Pages: 162

four and a half

In a word: laugh-out loud funny, pitch perfect writing, a many-layered mystery, filled with quirky characters you’ll love.

I looked up into the sky and tried to call down the rain. It was a day when I should have been walking in the rain, with the wind rising around me, the dark funnel clouds opening above me, a mean storm waiting to break. So below, as above.

But there wasn’t any rain. The world denied me my tempest. The alcohol gave me a sour stomach. Gideon curled and uncurled upon a sharp flat rock inside me. The scent of citrus and garlic came on heavy. The smell of freshly made tomato sauce made my belly growl. Gideon hissed in response.

Tom Piccirilli’s hallucinogenic tale is a real gem: I can honestly say I did not know what to expect when I started reading What Makes You Die, but I knew after the first ten pages or so that I was reading a very special story. Piccirilli’s seasoned writing is so good and his pacing so perfect that I know I will be going back and reading his earlier books when I have some free time. This is a quick read, not only because of the page count, but because of several mysteries that are woven into the plot, mysteries that will keep the reader turning pages as fast as possible.

Tommy Pic is a Hollywood screenwriter in a slump: he hasn’t sold a screenplay in years and his life has become a succession of binge drinking and manic-depressive blackouts that send him to the psychiatric ward, or “the bin” as he calls it. When he wakes up from his latest episode, strapped to a bed and surrounded by his family, he wants nothing more than to get the hell out of there and try to get things back on track. But a call from his agent, Monty Stobbs, makes him wonder if he’s going crazy. Monty is over the moon about the first act of a screenplay that Tommy emailed him called What Makes You Die and thinks this might be the one to put them both back on the map. But what’s a depressed and confused writer to do when he can’t even remember writing the damn thing?

And so begins Tommy’s odd journey as he struggles to figure out not only the truth behind the mysterious screenplay, but a lost memory of a tragic event from his childhood. As he battles to stay sober he must deal with his dysfunctional family, a woman who claims to be a witch, and worst of all, the ghost of a Komodo dragon named Gideon who lives in his stomach.

Tommy tells his story in first person, and his distinctive voice is one of the best things about this book.  His quirks are many; he hears the voice of Gideon in his head and even tried to cut him out once with a steak knife (which earned him a stint in the mental ward). He also believes he sees the ghosts of dead friends and family: his father, his brother Bobby, and the elusive Kathy, a childhood friend who disappeared without a trace when they were ten. He sometimes lapses into talking in screenplay format, with hysterically funny results. He’s a guy that you alternately love, hate and feel sorry for, often all at the same time.

When Tommy meets a girl named Eva that can possibly see into his soul (she tells him she can see Gideon), he lets himself believe that she may be able to solve his problems, and then he falls in love with her:

It was midnight. I was smitten. Maybe my heart was being cooked and eaten. Maybe that’s what love was.

All the characters in What Makes You Die are critical to the story and I can’t imagine this book without any of them. Even the smaller roles, like a high school girl named Celeste who invites Tommy to her “cinema appreciation group” to speak about his movies, or the beautiful Trudy who ties up Monty at an out-of-control Hollywood party, are important, as Tommy claws his way out of his miserable life. And the dead won’t leave him alone. Tommy drives his “dead brother Bobby’s car” (as he refers to it) and keeps seeing women on the street who look like Kathy, grown up and alive after all. Most tragic of all is Tommy’s mother, a woman who has sacrificed her entire life by caring for Tommy’s mentally disabled sister Debbie, cleaning up after his brother Bobby’s drunken mishaps, and stoically bailing Tommy himself out of trouble time and again.

But although the mystery of Tommy’s new screenplay was enough to keep this story afloat on its own, my favorite part of the book was the back-story about Kathy’s disappearance. Tommy has suppressed his memory of the event, and it isn’t until he has several conversations with Eva and his mother that he can finally remember what really happened to her. The reveal is shattering, and adds depth to an already layered story.

The suspense builds as Tommy tries to drink himself into a stupor, believing that “the other me” is the person who is writing the screenplay. Whether or not he will be able to tap into this other persona and finish writing it, well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out. The character of Tommy, who is sometimes crass, sometimes sad and confused, but a good person despite all the mistakes he’s made, is one I won’t soon forget. And neither will you.

Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy. You can purchase What Makes You Die here and visit the author’s website here.

Quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof, and may differ in the finished version of the book.

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April 6, 2013 · 5:06 am

Blog Tour – STRANGELETS by Michelle Gagnon – Review + Giveaway!

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I’m so glad to be participating in the blog tour for Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon.  You can read my review below, which includes my favorite quote from the book, and keep reading for your chance to enter to win a signed copy of Strangelets!

strangelets2

Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Thriller

Release date: April 9 2013

Publisher: Soho Teen

Source: e-ARC from Publisher

Pages: 288

17-year-old Sophie lies on her deathbed in California, awaiting the inevitable loss of her battle with cancer…
17-year-old Declan stares down two armed thugs in a back alley in Galway, Ireland…
17-year-old Anat attempts to traverse a booby-trapped tunnel between Israel and Egypt…

All three strangers should have died at the exact same moment, thousands of miles apart. Instead, they awaken together in an abandoned hospital—only to discover that they’re not alone. Three other teens from different places on the globe are trapped with them. Somebody or something seems to be pulling the strings. With their individual clocks ticking, they must band together if they’re to have any hope of surviving.

Soon they discover that they’ve been trapped in a future that isn’t of their making: a deadly, desolate world at once entirely familiar and utterly strange. Each teen harbors a secret, but only one holds the key that could get them home. As the truth comes to light through the eyes of Sophie, Declan, and Anat, the reader is taken on a dark and unforgettable journey into the hearts of teens who must decide what to do with a second chance at life.

My Review:

four stars

In a word: nail-biting tension with interesting characters and lots of action

Favorite quote:

“Where are we?” Sophie asked.

“This is not Israel,” Anat said in a low voice. “Or Japan.”

It wasn’t Galway, either. Declan had pictured the doors opening onto the ambulance bay of a busy hospital: the UCHG, or Bon Secours, maybe. Instead, he found himself facing a large parking lot bordered by tress. Secions of the pavement had buckled, and cars tilted crazily on them, like polar bears clinging to sinking ice floes. Even the air smelled foreign. Declan swallowed the lump in his throat. He tried to sound reassuring as he said, “Well, at least we’re not trapped in that dungeon anymore.”

The set-up for Strangelets is intriguing indeed: three teens from different countries, each facing imminent death, wake up in a strange hospital-like facility not knowing how they got there. This premise is a great starting point and it could have gone in any number of directions (and yes, I certainly came up with my own scenarios as I was reading!). Much of the fun in reading this book was trying guess what was going on, and it didn’t bother me that I had to wait until nearly the end before things were explained.

The story unfolds from three points of view: those of Anat, Sophie and Declan. Because the characters were not always together, this style of storytelling worked very well. Not only can the reader see what’s happening at different times and in different places, but we also get three distinct characters who react to the danger of their situation in different ways. Sophie is dying from cancer when she gets sucked into a mysterious void and winds up in an abandoned hospital. I loved that she has a different perspective from Declan and Anat, because she suddenly finds herself not only still alive, but feeling healthier than she has in months. Declan is a cute but cocky Irish boy whose dangerous life as a burglar makes him a perfect character to put in this odd situation, where unseen danger seems to be around every corner and survival has suddenly become a way of life. Anat is a brash Israeli soldier who was attemping to escape to Egypt in order to rendezvous with her fiancé, and immediately makes herself the leader of the group. Gagnon sets the characters against each other, sort of  like an episode of Survivor, where alliances are forged and enemies are made.

The story revolves around a central mystery: the place the teens find themselves in is a crumbling version of Long Island devoid of any people (except for themselves and three other teens who arrived at the same time, but have smaller roles to play in the story) but inhabited by half-lizard, half-bear creatures that seem to want to kill them. The tension builds steadily as the characters try to sort out what has happened and why they are still alive, when everyone else seems to have vanished. When they finally break out of the locked hospital, the author increases the tension by having them split up. A German boy named Nico wants to search for his father, a scientist who worked at the facility they woke up in, while Anat firmly refuses to go with him and leaves with the strangely quiet and emotionless Japanese girl named Yosh in a different direction. Both groups run into trouble with the lizard creatures, called thrinaxes, barely escaping in some cases. The teens feel certain they will find an adult to help them out, and so they look in abandoned houses and stores, long after the reader realizes that help is probably never coming.

Near the end of the story we finally get some answers and learn what’s happening, but by that time I was worried about how Gagnon was going to wrap up her story with a satisfactory ending in only a handful of pages. And the ending did come too quickly for me. Some scientific explanations were given that felt a little too convenient, and the science part of the story could have been better integrated with some more research on the author’s part. One puzzling scene only pages from the end had me wondering if there might be a sequel on the way, and I honestly would love to read another book in this world, if only to have my questions answered!

Despite some holes in the plot, and the fact that the story felt way too short (another fifty pages would have fleshed it out nicely), Strangelets was a blast to read. I loved the idea, and for anyone who enjoys end-of-the-world stories with time travel and man-eating beasts from another dimension, this book is an exciting and nail-biting read.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

About the Author:

Michelle GagnonMichelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer. Her bestselling adult thrillers THE TUNNELS, BONEYARD, THE GATEKEEPER, and KIDNAP & RANSOM have been published in North America, France, Denmark, Spain, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Australia. BONEYARD was a finalist for a 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.

www.michellegagnon.com | twitter.com/Michelle_Gagnon

And now for your chance to win a copy of Strangelets! Simply click the Rafflecopter button to enter:

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April 1, 2013 · 3:02 pm

BLACK FEATHERS by Joseph D’Lacey – Review + Giveaway!

Black FeathersBlack Feathers (The Black Dawn Volume One) by Joseph D’Lacey

Genre: Adult Fantasy/Horror

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release date: March 26 2013

Source: ARC from publisher

Pages: 427

four stars

In a word:  a dangerous and violent quest, a world on the brink of collapse, and a boy and girl who might be able to save it.

I have to admit I almost stopped reading this book a quarter of the way through, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Black Feathers isn’t the easiest book to read, but like many other books that I’ve initially struggled with in the beginning, by the end I was so wrapped up in the characters’ stories that I’m now salivating to read Volume Two.  The publisher calls this “fantasy,” which it most definitely is, but I have to call it “horror” as well. I’ve been reading horror for years and it’s getting hard to scare me these days, but there were scenes in Black Feathers that truly made me shudder. D’Lacey is one of those authors who can slowly draw out a story until the reader is practically screaming from the tension. Fair warning: most of the mysteries are not solved by the end of this book, and the author raises more questions than he answers. But if you’d like to see a master of storytelling in action, you need to read Black Feathers.

The story mostly alternates between two characters: Megan is a young girl who is chosen to become the next “Keeper,” an individual whose job is to observe and record the story of a certain boy whose existence is critical to the survival of humanity. Gordon is that boy, but he lives in a different time than Megan, so she must enter “the weave” in order to cross space and time to watch Gordon’s story unfold. Most of the book takes place when Gordon turns fourteen and is forced to flee his family and home after a group called The Ward take his mother, father and two sisters away. He manages to hide, but not without having several run-ins with two horribly nasty members of the Ward named Pike and Skelton. After receiving secret letters from his parents, delivered to him by a mole who is part of a resistance group called The Green Men, Gordon decides to follow their advice and look for the mythical Crowman, a creature who may or may not be evil and could hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

As Gordon sets out on his journey, Megan has her own quest to complete. At about the same age as Gordon, she sees the frightening Crowman in the forest near her home, and is later told that he has marked her as the next Keeper. With her parents’ permission, a mysterious old man known only as Mr. Keeper takes Megan to his home and begins to train her in the duties of being a Keeper. Megan’s part of the story is full of magic, mystery, pain and danger, as she must sacrifice her childhood in order to fulfill her calling. As the story evolves, Megan and Gordon seem to be coming closer and closer together, and it appears as though the two will eventually meet. But D’Lacey has plans for these two, and they might not be what you expect.

I was completely swept up in Gordon’s story and enjoyed it more than I did Megan’s. I think the reason I liked his story better was that his world felt more grounded and believable and was easier to relate to. As he is running away from the Ward and trying to stay hidden, he comes upon various groups of people. My favorite were a father and daughter named John and Brooke who are also on the run and hiding in the forest. Gordon only spends a short time in their camp, but he forges a tight bond with both of them, and I wanted their storyline to go on longer than it did. Gordon’s journey is fraught with violence and danger, and he escapes one perilous encounter after another, leaving a trail of misery behind him.

Megan’s story, on the other hand, is told in cryptic language and has a dream-like quality throughout. It was often hard to tell what was real and what was a dream, as Megan sometimes leaves her body to travel “the black feather path,” as Mr. Keeper calls her journey. She learns many things from Mr. Keeper, but the most important, and the true theme of D’Lacey’s story, is that she must learn to live in harmony with the land. He seems to want us to come away from this book understanding that if humankind can’t learn to live in peace with nature, our very civilization will crumble. It’s a theme that’s been done before, but never quite in this way. Both Megan and Gordon must fight to survive in the wild during their journeys, and the author even throws in an earthquake to make his point: watch yourselves, humans, or mother nature can take everything away from you.

The entire book is written in D’Lacey’s gorgeous and fluid prose. Combine that with graphic violence, the mysterious Crowman who is still not explained by the end of the book, and the unanswered question of the relationship between Gordon and Megan, and you have a story that is irresistibly addicting. For patient readers who appreciate the difficult craft of good writing and storytelling, Black Feathers is a must read.

Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy. You can purchase Black Feathers here and visit the author’s website here.

And thanks to Angry Robot, I have an ARC of Black Feathers to give away! U.S. only this time (postage has gone up!). To enter, simply fill out the form below with your name and email address. One random winner will be drawn on April 12th and notified via email. Good luck!

This giveaway is now over, thank you to everyone who entered! My winner of an ARC of Black Feathers is Ron Pratt! Congrats:)

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March 25, 2013 · 6:14 pm

IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters – Review

In The Shadow of BlackbirdsIn the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Amulet Books

Release date: April 2 2013

Source: ARC from author

Pages: 400

five stars In a word:  Heart-wrenching, terrifying, sensually descriptive and filled with authentic time-period details.

“Don’t be afraid of him,” I said. “He doesn’t seem to want to do any harm. He’s just scared. I think between the war and the flu, no one’s going to escape getting haunted. We live in a world so horrifying, it frightens even the dead.”

Cat Winters’ amazingly accomplished debut has everything I look for in a book: a smart and resilient female protagonist, historical details that completely immerse the reader in the story, and several layers of mysteries with carefully timed and drawn-out explanations (one might say agonizingly drawn-out!). You can tell you’re in the early part of the twentieth century because nothing moves very fast: people travel by train from state to state, letters take months to arrive by mail, and injured soldiers lie in wait for doctors and nurses to care for them. This slow build-up of tension not only describes the state of the nation in 1918, the time period that In the Shadow of Blackbirds is set in, but it makes the spooky moments in the story even more terrifying. You may have to wait until the end to have all your questions answered, but I guarantee you’ll relish every word along the way.

Mary Shelley Black’s life is about to get complicated. Her father has just been arrested for treason, and her idyllic life in Portland, Oregon is about to end. With no adults to care for her (her mother is already dead), Mary Shelley sets off by train to San Diego, California to stay with her Aunt Eva, wearing her sturdy Boy Scout boots and the ever-present gauze mask over her face to keep the Spanish influenza at bay. It’s October of 1918 and Americans are suffering: from the war; the fast-spreading Spanish flu; and an economy that is getting worse by the minute. Mary Shelley’s only ray of hope is connecting with the Embers family in San Diego who may have news about Stephen, Mary Shelley’s beau that has gone off to fight in the war.

When she arrives in San Diego, her aunt takes her to the Embers house to sit for a “spirit photograph” and to pick up a package that Stephen has left for her. Stephen’s brother Julius, who has become a renowned spiritualist photographer by catching “spirits” hovering over his subjects after the photos are developed, is anxious to have Mary Shelley pose for him, although she believes him to be a fake. But when the finished photo shows the ghostly image of Stephen next to her, Mary Shelley’s worst fears are realized: Stephen has died in the war.

Before she can grasp what’s happened, the ghost of Stephen appears in her bedroom, and Mary Shelley’s beliefs are put to the test. Stephen’s ghost is scared, and it’s up to her to figure out the mystery behind his death. What do blackbirds have to do with it? What is the meaning behind the cryptic phrase that Stephen wrote on the lightning photograph he left for her? And will Mary Shelley survive the flu epidemic long enough to find her answers? These questions and more are finally answered, but the author puts her characters through the wringer first.

Cat has a wonderful talent for description, and she picked a period in history that allowed her to use that talent to its fullest. I could almost smell all the things she describes: the sweat of unwashed bodies, the stench of the dead flu victims, and especially the stinging smell of garlic and onions, which are everywhere in the story (Aunt Eva puts onions and garlic in everything she cooks). I will tell you right now, I suffered terrible onion trauma while reading this book! (I hate onions!) In one memorable scene, Mary Shelley is struck by lightning, and afterwards she is able to taste other people’s emotions. Even the smell of blood invades the story, when the author vividly describes injured soldiers lying in trenches and waiting on cots for medical attention.

The story is full of wonderful props that add authenticity to the time period. For example, Mary Shelley’s most beloved possession is a pair of goggles that she carries everywhere (her father told her she could see the future through them), and at her aunt’s house she discovers her uncle’s old nautical compass that turns out to be important to the plot. I grew to hate the ever-present gauze masks that everyone wears to avoid breathing the poisonous, germ-laden air, but I loved the descriptions of photography in 1918 (the use of glass plates and flash powder was so interesting!) and how crazed people were over seeing their dead loved ones in a spirit photograph.

All the characters are well done, including Aunt Eva, saddened by her husband’s death but determined to take care of Mary Shelley, and the despicable Julius, who is only concerned about himself and will go to great lengths to get what he wants. I even loved ghostly Stephen, although he terrified me (you’ll see what I mean when you read the book!) and the romance between him and Mary Shelley was sweetly done.

But my favorite part of this book (and it’s very hard to pick a favorite, because I loved everything about it!) was Mary Shelley. She’s a curious, plucky and intelligent girl and one of the best characters I’ve run across lately. She lives up to her namesake (yes, that Mary Shelley) with her interest in science and medicine, and she rarely follows orders. She’s determined to find out what really happened to Stephen, even if that means getting hurt in the process. She’s a character who has lost so much—her mother, her father, the man she loves—and has so much more to lose with the threat of disease hanging over her head. But she bravely puts all that aside in order to find the truth.

For me, the truest test of a wonderful book is this: can the author make me cry? Cat Winters did just that. In the Shadow of Blackbirds was an emotional journey back to a miserable time in history, but the author manages to inject joy into the story by the end. The last part of the book will blow you away, and when all the mysteries are finally solved, including what really happened to Stephen, you will probably be in tears, too. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy. And check back tomorrow to read my interview with Cat!

DAC buttonSARCThis review counts towards the Hobbitsies 2013 Debut Author Challenge and Icey Books Standalone Reading Challenge.

Find In the Shadow of Blackbirds on Amazon * Goodreads * Barnes & Noble

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March 23, 2013 · 2:27 pm

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR by Mindee Arnett – Review

The Nightmare AffairThe Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release date: March 5 2013

Source: e-ARC from publisher

Pages: 367

four stars

In a word: an inventive, magical mystery with awesome characters and lots of twists.

Selene: “Just because someone has the power to do something doesn’t mean they will. Sometimes people choose to be good even when they don’t have to.”

This isn’t the first time I’ve read a story about a school for magical folk (not by a longshot!), but despite its similarities to a certain beloved book, I found The Nightmare Affair to be a fun and exciting read from beginning to end.  Mindee Arnett  has a real gift for well-timed comedy and her pacing kept the pages turning for me.  Best of all, I really loved these characters, who seem remarkably human even though most of them are not.

Sixteen-year-old Dusty is a Nightmare, a girl who must “feed” off of other people’s dreams in order to survive. Because of her magical nature, she attends Arkwell Academy, a school for magickind, as magical humans and creatures are called. A force called The Will directs her to feed off certain people, and one night she is drawn to the bedroom of Eli Booker, a very cute boy who Dusty knows from her old high school (before her magic kicked in). But this time something strange happens: Eli is dreaming about a girl lying dead in a cemetery, and Dusty recognizes her. When Eli notices Dusty in the dream and makes contact with her, Dusty realizes that something weird is going on. Even worse, she later finds out that the girl in the dream, Rosemary Vanholt, has actually turned up dead, exactly the way Eli dreamed it. Rosemary was a “Keeper,” someone whose life force had been used to hide a powerful spell.

After a visit to an oracle to find out why Dusty and Eli shared this particular dream, Dusty is told that she is a “dream-seer” and has the ability to see the future through dreams, and that Eli is now her exclusive dream partner. Forced together to try to help solve the mystery of Rosemary’s murder, Dusty and Eli must delve into the dangerous underbelly of their magical world to catch the person responsible for Rosemary’s murder.

Dusty was by far my favorite part of The Nightmare Affair. She is a very human character, despite her magical abilities. She worries about what to say to Paul, the cute boy who seems to like her, and stresses over her conflicted feelings for Eli. Arnett doesn’t leave out the typical drama that is a part of teenage life, like jealousies between girls and insecurities about what to say and how to act around the opposite sex. Dusty is wonderfully flawed and believable. Her spells never seem to go the way they are supposed to (shades of Ron Weasley?) and she is constantly breaking school rules and sneaking around at night, getting into one scrape or another. She also has a rebellious mother, and like any normal teen, wants to grow up to be her complete opposite. Another favorite character of mine was Selene, Dusty’s siren friend who indignantly covers up her beauty by dressing as a tomboy and forgoing makeup in “protest against the objectification of sirens.”

Dusty has two boys to keep her busy. She’s attracted to computer geek Paul, but she’s also drawn to Eli, her dream companion. Arnett keeps the romance light and also keeps the reader guessing as to which boy (if any) Dusty will end up with.  But which characters are good and which are evil is a question you’ll be asking throughout most of the book. The author doesn’t give much away until the end, and she uses misdirection more than once before the mysteries of the murders are revealed.

I thought the world that Arnett created was really well done. Even though some similarities to Harry Potter bothered me (“mules” are the equivalent of “muggles”), some of her magical touches were unique. My favorite was the concept of “animation,” where inanimate objects become “animated” after spending too much time in the presence of magic. For example, Dusty’s computer starts to talk back to her, and even desk chairs move by themselves.

The only thing that slows down the story is the occasional information dump, as Dusty tries to catch the reader up to speed on the magical rules of Arnett’s world. Yes, it’s information we need, but there are subtler ways to go about it. This is one of those times when “show don’t tell” would have worked better for me.

The Nightmare Affair may feel familiar at times, but in the end it’s a story that will resonate with many readers. Tweens and teens in particular are sure to relate to the characters’ non-magical issues and may see themselves in the vulnerable but feisty Dusty.

Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy. You can purchase The Nightmare Affair here and visit the author’s website here.

DAC buttonThis book is part of the Hobbitsies Debut Author Challenge.

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March 19, 2013 · 11:42 am

CRASHERS by Lindy S. Hudis – Review

CrashersCrashers by Lindy S. Hudis

Genre: Adult Thriller

Publisher: Bettie Youngs Books

Release date: April 27 2012

Source: ARC from author

Pages: 253

four stars

In a word: over-the-top, cringe-inducing, shocking and thrilling

When Lindy asked me to read and review Crashers, I was a little hesitant at first, because it’s not the type of story I usually enjoy reading. Accident fraud? It sounds boring, right? I was prepared to settle down with a very dry book about insurance companies, but what I got was something completely different. Crashers deals with the subject from the perspective of the perpetrators and the victims, and thrusts the reader into the ugly underbelly of the accident fraud business. This book turned out to be more of a horror story than a realistic tale of the corrupt people who make their money by cheating innocent people, and I was pleasantly surprised by this fact. But make no mistake: Crashers is not for the faint-of-heart. While I found myself greedily turning the pages as fast as possible, I did so with dread. Because the characters you will meet here are not necessarily the kind of people you want to be friends with.

Shari and Nathan are a young up-and-coming couple who live in trendy Studio City. Shari is a struggling student and works as a waitress while trying to save enough money to fund her student film project. Nathan is a successful stock broker who is about to be promoted at work (or so he thinks). Their future seems rosy, especially after Nathan proposes to Shari one night. But that happiness is short-lived when Nathan is suddenly fired from his job, accused of misappropriating funds from one of his clients. Knowing he’s been set up by a sleazy coworker, he has no choice but to resign from his job.

Shortly after, Shari also loses her job, but unfortunately for the couple, the worst is yet to come. Driving home after being fired, Shari gets in a fender-bender on the freeway, and she is unwittingly plunged into a horrible nightmare. Shari, you see, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and has become an innocent player in a high-stakes game of accident fraud. Broke, desperate and terrified, Shari and Nathan are forced to choose between losing everything, or becoming players themselves in the big business of staging car accidents.

The author very smartly switches back and forth among all the different characters in the story, which not only builds the suspense, but paints a terrifying picture of just how complex this scheme seems to be. There’s the attractive and enigmatic Bryce who recruits Shari and Nathan, but has his own boss to deal with, a man who is trying to push him to do unthinkable things; Louise, a young detective who is hot on the trail of the accident fraud ring; Charlie, an innocent man who gets sucked into the game out of desperation; and John Nastic, the lawyer who facilitates the bogus lawsuits. This story is filled with larger-than-life characters that would do well on the big screen, and the cinematic quality of the story is probably due to Hudis’ film background.

What really worked in this book, and what I loved, was the pacing and tension of the story. Reading Crashers is like watching a bad car accident: you’re afraid to look, but you just can’t help it. Hudis keeps the reader turning pages by ending her chapters in such a way that you’re compelled to keep going. Most of the time I thought the dialog was well done and believable, but there were times when it veered off and became clichéd and stiff (but in the author’s defense, even the clichéd dialog seemed to fit with the exaggerated story). According to Hudis, driving in L.A. is one of the most dangerous things you can do. The story focuses on continuous bumper-to-bumper traffic, angry road rage-fueled drivers, and frequent car accidents, not to mention a city filled with people losing their jobs from the bad economy and desperate folks from all walks of life who will seemingly do anything to get by, even lie, cheat and kill.  Crashers has a doom-and-gloom mentality that bothered me at first, but I did get caught up in the drama and was able to put that negativity aside for the sake of the story.

And you really do have to suspend your disbelief. It was hard to believe that two upstanding citizens like Shari and Nathan would become so desperate that they would agree to participate in criminal activity. Shari in particular was a tough character for me. I honestly hated her, as she went from a sweet and innocent girl who has a positive attitude about the future, to a completely out-of-character criminal who takes up smoking, cheats on her fiancé, and in a short period of time, becomes addicted to staging car accidents.

I live in Los Angeles and I’ve driven on the L.A. freeways for years. I know what Hudis is talking about when she describes the frustrating conditions of trying to commute in this city. I know accident fraud is real and is probably happening as I write this, but I hope it’s not as prevalent as the author makes it out to be.  And although I might not share the angry attitude of her characters, she’s taken a facet of city life and blown it up into a rollicking story that works despite the “ick” factor.  You may never want to drive again after reading Crashers, but I can guarantee you won’t be able to stop reading until the final, horrifying page.

Many thanks to the author for supplying a review copy. You can purchase Crashers here and visit Lindy’s website here.

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March 14, 2013 · 5:17 pm

ASHER’S DILEMMA by Coleen Kwan – Review

Asher's DilemmaAsher’s Dilemma by Coleen Kwan

Genre: Adult Steampunk Romance

Publisher: Carina Press

Release date: January 7 2013

Source: e-ARC from publisher via NetGalley

Pages: 91

four stars

In a word:  inventive, romantic, with an unusual love triangle and time-travel-steampunkish fun.

Although this is the second book in a series, and I went into it without having read the first book, I enjoyed myself immensely and did not feel as though I missed anything at all. So you do not need to read Asher’s Invention first, but keep in mind that it’s out there and available. Set in Victorian England and full of steampunk gadgets that will make any fan of the genre giddy, Asher’s Dilemma is a very short novel about time travel and all the scientific paradoxes that go along with it. This book has one of the most unusual love triangles that I’ve ever encountered, and even if you aren’t a fan of them, this one will interest you, if only to give you something to think about.

One day, inventor Asher Quigley collapses in his workshop, and when he wakes up, he begins to catch glimpses of a woman out of the corner of his eye and in mirrors, but when he turns around, she’s gone. He doesn’t understand what’s happening, but he suspects it might have something to do with his Chronometrical Conveyance, the time machine he’s been building and that is almost finished and ready to be tested. One day he accidentally sets the machine in motion and is transported eight months back in time. When he arrives he realizes that the mysterious woman he’s been seeing is Minerva Lambkin, his love interest from the past who has somehow been wiped out of existence in the future he has just come from. But here in this reality, she is alive and well. Asher sets out to find Minerva, but before he can he spies a man stalking angrily away from her house: himself as he was eight months ago. And so begins Asher’s dilemma; he must try to co-exist with a different version of himself, convince Minerva that he still loves her, and try to find a way to save her from disappearing forever.

There are some interesting twists and turns in the story and I don’t want to give them away. What I do want to talk about is the wonderfully subtle steampunk world that Kwan has created. Not only do we have the Chronometrical Conveyance, which I envision to be similar to the time machine in the movie based on the H. G. Wells story, but Kwan fills the book with viper ray guns, a contraption called a stalking compass that is handy for finding people, and a very modern woman who designs and builds artificial limbs. I thought the author did a great job of balancing all the elements of her story, and she keeps the steampunk parts more in the background, and lets the characters and the romance take center stage.

Minerva is a wonderfully plucky female character, a woman who wants her independence, even in the structured Victorian times. When she finally comes to grips that there are indeed two Ashers to deal with, and she loves them both in different ways, Minerva will need all her pluck to figure out what to do about it.

Besides the two Ashers and Minerva, two other characters play a part in the possible demise of Minerva: a mysterious woman named Mrs. Nemo (who is revealed to be someone else entirely) and a German mathematician named Klaus Schick, a man who may hold the key to the time machine itself. The characters must make difficult choices in order to set things right, and not everyone will get a happy ending. Looming in the background of the story is the question of whether or not the Asher from the future will ever get back home. It’s a dilemma, indeed, and one that you will have a blast puzzling over. For a quick and fun read, Asher’s Dilemma is highly recommended.

Don’t miss the first book in the series, Asher’s Invention. Many thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

You can purchase Asher’s Dilemma here and visit the author’s website here.

Asher's Invention

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March 10, 2013 · 4:05 pm

BRUISED by Sarah Skilton – Review

I’m thrilled to review this amazing debut! And I’m even more thrilled that I’ll be attending Sarah’s book launch party this Saturday March 16. I will be purchasing a signed copy of Bruised to give away, so stay tuned! You can still enter to win a signed copy of Bruised here.

Bruised2Bruised by Sarah Skilton

Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction

Publisher: Amulet Books

Release date: March 5 2013

Source: ARC won in contest

Pages: 288

five starsIn a word: emotional, deeply layered relationships, strong but flawed characters, and satisfyingly redemptive

“You’re bruised,” he says. “It means you’re alive. The body can’t bruise once the heart stops beating.”

Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time and resonates in just the right way. Bruised was that book for me. It could be that I needed a break from all the paranormal stories I’ve been reading, and I have to admit it was a nice change of pace to read a contemporary novel. But no matter what your usual reading fare is, Bruised is sure to trigger some type of emotion, because it’s so well written and perfectly paced. I absolutely loved the character of Imogen; I found her to be one of the most real and natural teenage protagonists I’ve come across in quite some time. Her story is unique, but I’m betting many readers will empathize with her situation nonetheless.

Imogen is a sixteen-year-old with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. The past six years of her life have been dedicated to immersing herself in martial arts and adhering to the rules set forth by Grandmaster Huan, her teacher. But one night as she and a friend are about to leave a diner, a man with a gun tries to rob the place. Instead of using her martial arts skills to stop the holdup, Imogen hides under a table. From her spot on the ground, she sees a boy across the way, also hiding. The next thing she knows, she’s at the police station, covered in blood. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t remember the events of the shooting. But even worse, she blames herself for the gunman’s death, for not being able to use her fighting skills when it really mattered.

One day at school she is called in to see the school counselor, and she meets the mysterious boy from the diner, a boy named Ricky who sets her heart fluttering. Ricky and Imogen attend counseling sessions together to overcome the stress of the shooting, getting to know each other better in the process. The rest of the story involves Imogen’s slow emergence from self-blame to accepting the things in life she can’t control.

This book isn’t really about the plot. I pretty much gave you a wrap up of the story in the last two paragraphs. So why did I love it so much? I loved it because this is a story about relationships and how they can hurt us, help us, and define us. Even before the shooting, Imogen is having problems with many of the people in her life. Her girlfriends are dropping her because they are interested in dating her older brother, Hunter. Her brother is stealing her friends by sleeping with them. And her father is in a wheelchair after being diagnosed with diabetes. Everything is changing, and Imogen is having trouble dealing. Everything except Tae Kwon Do, the one thing in her life that feels steady and comforting. But after the shooting, she realizes that even her well-honed fighting skills have failed her, and she doesn’t know how to come back from the shock of the experience.

There’s a line in the book about building up your muscles, and that the only way to make them stronger is to tear them down first. Skilton uses this as a metaphor as Imogen comes to grips with the tragedy and what her life means now that she’s questioning everything she believes in. Her emotional turmoil is written in such a believable way, and her interactions with Ricky, her family and her friends seem honest and true to life. Poor Imogen is going through a lot, and it’s no wonder she nearly has a mental breakdown. In addition to the drama surrounding the shooting, she’s also dealing with normal teenage stuff: her first kiss, trying to keep her grades up at school, and how to handle it when a friend moves away. I loved Ricky’s character, too, and his interactions with Imogen are especially well done. Yes, there is a bit of romance, but it’s not the focus of the story. Imogen and Ricky are attracted to each other, but they also have some obstacles to get past before their happy ending. More than once, Ricky and Imogen trade actual blows, which may turn some readers off. But I thought these scenes were important in not only propelling the story forward, but giving us a glimpse into Imogen’s inner turmoil.

The author uses color as a theme throughout the book, and I loved the way she accomplished this. She starts out by describing the different belt colors of Tae Kwon Do and their importance in Imogen’s life. Then she has Imogen compare herself to her brother:

We have similar features, but they came out wrong on me, like secondhand clothes. If his short, curly hair is a buttery-golden sunflower, my straight, thick tresses are the color of dandelions—nourished with acid rain. If his eyes are the clear aquamarine of a thirst-quenching mirage, mine are a dry, hazel-colored chalk and the boring sidewalk beneath it.

This gorgeous writing continues up to the end, when she cleverly brings color back to wrap things up.

So what did happen that night at the diner? Imogen does eventually recover her memories, but it takes time and the help of friends and family, including some wise advice from Grandmaster Huan. The details of the shooting are not nearly as important as Imogen’s journey toward healing and self-discovery. Her story will stay with you long after you’ve read the final page, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be dying to read Sarah Skilton’s next book.

Many thanks to the author for the signed ARC I won! You can find Bruised here: Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

If you’re interested in winning a copy of Bruised, don’t forget to check back next week!

DAC buttonSARCThis book is part of the Hobbitsies 2013 Debut Author Challenge and Icey Books 2013 Standalone Reading Challenge.

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March 8, 2013 · 7:17 am

THE DEVIL’S TRIANGLE by Toni De Palma – Review

The Devil's TriangleThe Devil’s Triangle by Toni De Palma

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press

Release date: February 2013

Source: e-ARC from publisher

Pages: 216

four stars

In a word:  laugh-out-loud funny, romantic, character-driven and exciting.

I had such fun reading The Devil’s Triangle, an entertaining story about second chances and the lengths one might go to for love. I was a bit worried when I started reading, since the story begins after our main character, Cooper Wanderman, has died and is facing St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.  I really wasn’t looking forward to reading a book crowded with morality lessons, and I hoped it wasn’t going to get too heavy-handed and preachy. But my fears were laid to rest, happily. Although De Palma clearly has a message to impart, I was too thoroughly caught up in the story and the engaging relationships and characters to worry about the author’s agenda.

The story begins in Purgatory, as newly deceased Cooper faces a beautiful girl named Lucy (who just happens to be Lucifer’s sister) who is about to decide the future of his afterlife. Lucy seems to have a heart, however, and she agrees to give Cooper one more chance at a shot in Heaven. All he has to do is go back to Earth for one month and help a girl named Grace. Easier said than done, however, because when Cooper wakes up in his new life, he doesn’t recognize anyone, even though everyone knows him. Cooper does his best to fit in to his new role as a high school football star and get to know his new family, including an older brother named Ryan and a mother and father who make him feel loved and welcome, a far cry from his old life as a foster kid. Cooper soon finds Grace, the girl he’s meant to help, but he doesn’t have any idea what kind of help she needs.

When Cooper realizes that a bully named Blake is dating Grace against her will, he thinks he may have found his mission: to help Grace get out of an abusive relationship. But why does Grace seem so familiar to Cooper? And why do memories of an unfamiliar life keep intruding into his memories from his other life? It may seem confusing, but De Palma takes all these story elements and weaves them together, and the outcome may surprise you.

Although Cooper’s adventures on Earth and the meddling Lucy and Lucifer up above mingle throughout the story, it was the action on the ground that really kept me reading. I found it much more interesting to observe as Cooper slowly figures out what his purpose is and how he is able to change his destiny, as well as the destinies of his friends and family. But when he occasionally speaks out loud to Lucy, who is presumably watching him from “above,” I was jarred out of the story. Even though Lucy appears to be part of the “triangle” of the book title, and her purpose in the story is to play “puppeteer” with Cooper’s destiny, I thought she was one of the weaker characters and could have been developed more. All of the earthly characters are well drawn and I loved spending time with them, but the sections that take place in Purgatory made me uncomfortable, and just like Cooper, I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.

De Palma’s dialog is pretty funny, and I thought Cooper and his friends sounded like typical high school students, and there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. A few metaphors did make me cringe, however, and I wasn’t sure if it was the author’s voice coming through, or Cooper’s sense of humor. Lines like “My tongue sat in my mouth as still as a lizard sunning itself” and “My dreams flew at me like a gaggle of geese desperately flying out-of-the-way of a plane’s propeller” made me laugh, but to me they felt out-of-place. When a line is so bizarre that it takes you out of the story while you try to visualize the metaphor, in my opinion it’s a line that needs to be cut.

And yes, there is some romance in the story, because Cooper’s driving force to help Grace is based on love. The author does a great job adding romance in just the right amount so that she doesn’t scare off male readers, while also showing the seedier side of high school relationships, like the one between Blake and Grace, which is about power and control rather than love. De Palma will keep you reading until the satisfying resolution at the end, and this short story may seem all too brief when you’re finished.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for supplying a review copy.

Find Toni De Palma and The Devil’s Triangle:  Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Facebook * Twitter * The Devil’s Triangle FB Page

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