The Diviners

The Diviners (The Diviners #1)

by Libba Bray

3 stars

578 pages
Published Sept. 18, 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
 
I enjoyed this book, mostly. Sometimes the flapper language was annoying and too persistent and the book was a little too long - plus there is a developing love triangle (ick!), but I overlooked all that in favor of a great, twisted, and delightfully dark plot. There is some - no, quite a lot of gruesome killing scenes, so beware. I skipped most of them. All I needed to know was who got dead.

I haven't read many books set in the flapper and prohibition era, so this was a good introduction to speakeasies, spiritualism and old-time New York. What a crazy time.
I may pick up #2 when it comes out. We'll see.

Everbound

Everbound (Everneath #2)

by Brodi Ashton

2 stars

358 pages
Published Jan. 22, 2013 by Balzer + Bray
 
I so wanted to love this book. I used to live near Park City, Utah, which is where the book is set, so I know the places mentioned in the book. That eased visualization a bit. But in the end that "plus" just wasn't enough for me.

The first book in this series, "Everneath," had such great potential. Teenage angst, which is usually annoying to me, was dealt with in a "See what can happen if you act rashly, not rationally!" Yeah, you get sucked underground and your life force is bled from you. Delightful. I loved it.

But this second book ... I felt like half of it was getting to the place where something actually happens. And it was SO dark. Dark and depressing. It was like I was in the Tunnels getting my life force sucked out. I need to watch a light, funny romantic comedy to counteract all the happiness suckage.

My favorite part was the very end. You gotta give Cole props. Nice one, mister.

I'm not sure if I'll read the next in the series. I kinda don't really care what happens next. We'll see.

The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney

The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney

by Suzanne Harper

3.5 stars

364 pages

Published July 1, 2007 by Harper Teen

 

This was a solid 3+ star book. I enjoyed it!

It's about a girl, who is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, who refuses to embrace her "destiny" as a medium who talks to dead people. But one ghost refuses to be denied.
I liked Sparrow. It's not often that a character is fully fleshed out in a teen fiction book. They are usually flat, flat, flat. Oh! I love Edward! or Oh! I'm so angst-y! or Oh! I have to fight to survive!

Sparrow actually had a range of emotions!

Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)

by Leigh Bardugo

4 stars

432 pages

Published June 4, 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.

After reading the first in this trilogy, Shadow and Bone, I couldn't wait to read this one.

I actually tried to read another book before reading this one (a light Meg Cabot book) - but I got too antsy. I had to know what was going to happen next in the lives of Alina and Mal! When that happens, I know that what I'm reading is good - the words are reaching out and grabbing me by the wrist and forcing me to sit down and read.

And luckily, No. 2 in the Grisha trilogy delivers. It's such a relief when you read a sequel and it's just as good (if not better) than the first.

We continue to see growth in all the characters. We follow the struggles to free Alina's world from evil. And just to make things more interesting - the love story hits some snags.

Little to no swearing and no sex.

Can't wait til the last book comes out. It's already on my To Read list.

Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

by Kendare Blake

2 stars

316 pages
Tor Teen First Edition

Published September 2011 by Tom Doherty

 
I can't recommend this book based on a couple of things.

First the language is horrible. Really, really bad. I felt like I was with a bunch of Marines, not a couple of teenagers. The F-bomb is liberally slathered throughout the book - and for NO REASON! I found myself skipping whole passages in order to cut down on the number of curse words I had to read.

Second, there is quite a lot of guts and gore. People dying right and left. Police didn't do much, which was not believable, especially with WHO the victims were. They asked maybe 3 or 4 questions and decided that was fine. The gore was all very slasher movie-esque.

The ending was OK, but I'm not sure I understood exactly what happened. There was an epilogue, but it only gave information about what happens in the near future. I wanted to know what happens much later on.

I will not be reading any other books by this writer if the cursing continues to taint the stories.

Beautiful Chaos

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3)

by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

2.5 stars

516 pages

Published Oct. 18, 2011 by Little, Brown and Company

I don't know why I continue to slog through this series. The books are too long, where nothing happens, and I don't really care about the (way too many to count) characters.

And to add to my dismay, this book ends with the cheesiest cliff-hanger ending ever. It's as if the authors knew that the rest of their book was boring and bland, so they decided to try and force the readers into actually caring about what happens next. I'm all for subtle manipulation, but this ventures into the realm of anvil-over-the head maneuvering.

The pacing of the story is dawdling and uneven. There are many chapters where nothing of importance is said or done. I'm a huge proponent of a good editor. I've said it before - USE one who is unafraid of the delete key! And if that shrinks the length of your book - fabulous. Trim the fat! 500+ page books are only as good as the writing. Condense and omit. It will make a better, more entertaining book.

I do appreciate the general lack of swearing and sex, though. That is a positive.

But we'll see if I get to the last book. It's not looking good.

Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2)

by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

3 stars

503 pages

Published Oct. 12, 2010 by Little, Brown and Company

The second book in the "Beautiful Creatures" series was ... well, gothic, dark, depressing, sad and at time really confusing. But it was also pretty thick on plot and character development - yay! I thought it was well done, mostly. There were problems with a few things: 1) Pacing was molasses at times, especially at the beginning. I almost quit the book 40 pages in, I was so bored. There's only so much self-loathing I can take from a character. 2) The book was so flippin' looooong. I mean, 500 pages?? The book definitely could have used an editor who ain't shy with her "delete" key.
That being said, it wasn't unreadable. It WAS entertaining and clever; it just wasn't a stay-up-all-night page-turner.
Some new baddies are introduced in this book - ones with strange superpowers and abilities that defy "the order of things." And that helped move things along.
I wonder if I'll read Number 3. I've actually got it already. Let's see if it grabs me.

One Hundred Candles

One Hundred Candles (Past Midnight #2)

by Mara Purnhagen

3 stars

240 pages
Published Feb. 15, 2011 by Harlequin

In all honesty, I probably should give this 2.5 stars, but since I liked the first one pretty well, I'll bump it up.

This book was not quite like the first one. It was much, much more dark. The "entity" bugging the main character was not a sad 16 year old.

The book was creepy, which if that's what you are after, it will fit the bill. I'll actually probably read the next in the series if I can find it.