Across the Universe

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)

by Beth Revis

4 stars

398 pages

Published Jan. 11, 2011 by Razorbill

I liked this book despite the "Soylent Green" overtones. I really liked the plot and the pacing. Writing was pretty good, too, and the characters were well-rounded, except for the villains, but those are usually flat anyway, so no biggie.

I will be reading the next in the series. Can't wait to see what happens!

Etiquette & Espionage

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1)

by Gail Carriger

3 stars

307 pages
Published Feb. 5, 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

 
After reading Gail Carriger's adult Parasol Protectorate books, I thought I'd give her YA ones a try. This one didn't disappoint, although there was a bit less adventure contained within its pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, characters, and the plot. Mostly the writing. Exquisite vocabulary usage.

Completely YA appropriate - no swearing, sex or other ickiness. I may be checking out the next in the series.

Code

Code (Virals #3)

by Kathy Reichs, Brendan Reichs

3.5 stars

408 pages

Published March 7, 2013 by Young Arrow

I am an avid "Bones" fan - I love that TV show! And if you are, too, this book is hand-picked for you. Especially if you like YA, adventure and murder mysteries. I wouldn't be surprised if this book made its way to the small screen - it's right in line with the premise and execution of the TV show.

The reason I docked it 1.5 stars, though, is that I was hoping for more use and development of the Virals' powers. That was touched on, yes, but the Gamemaster story overshadowed that aspect. I especially wanted some insight into the other 3 members of the pack and their individual development of their powers. Readers are still unsure exactly what they can do - just general information is provided.

Despite that, I am infinitely grateful for this series. I am guaranteed an entertaining and thrilling story without all the swearing and sex and gore of adult fiction. The mother/son team of Kathy and Brendan Reichs is definitely talented and engaging. They know how to write great YA fiction.

Keep 'em coming, please! I'll be waiting.

The Bride Wore Size 12

The Bride Wore Size 12 (Heather Wells Mysteries #5)

by Meg Cabot

3 stars 

392 pages

Published Sept. 24, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks 

 

Another light, fluffy, formulaic murder mystery by Meg Cabot. Not the best book Cabot has written, but entertaining enough. Heather Wells is an endearing character, with cleverness and wittiness in spades.
There is some swearing and some glossed-over sex. I probably wouldn't let my mom read it.

P.S. Just FYI, we just had an magnitude 5.2 earthquake over here in Italy - and we sure felt it! It was my first earthquake - but we all are OK and nothing collapsed. Yay!

Bitterblue

Bitterblue (Graceling Realm #3)

by Kristin Cashore

3 stars

563 pages

Published May 1, 2012 by Dial

The title of the book is perfect, because after I read the thing I was left feeling Bitter and Blue. Bitter, because I'm going to have to wait for the NEXT book to come out; and Blue, because this book is pretty dark, twisty and depressing. It's all about the effects that one person can have on so many other people. One person's choices can hurt many, many people - even after that person is gone.

I couldn't get this book out of my head for a few days - it really is that dark. I usually don't finish these types of books because I hate feeling depressed. The reason I stuck with it was because of the main character, Queen Bitterblue. She was a strong, good, decent person trying to rectify the wrongs of her evil father. She was trying to give hope to those who were deeply affected by her father's atrocities. So that glimmer of hope gave me the wherewithal to keep slogging through to the end.

Another great theme of this book is the importance of friendship. Bitterblue relies heavily on her friends and their loyalty. Surrounding yourself with good, decent people who are trying to do what's right will help you be and do better.

The reason for the three stars is that the story was convoluted and hard to follow. And some of the characters were pretty flat. I especially disliked how Bitterblue's love interest had such a reverse of feelings - it was love, hate, love. Bam, bam, bam. Very disorienting. AND the book was soo flippin' long! Edit, please!

Anyway, not bad, but not great. I'll read the next in line, but I may not go further if that one is anything like this one. I don't need any depression in my life.

The Friday Society

The Friday Society

by Adrienne Kress

4 stars

440 pages

Published Dec. 6, 2012 by Dial 

 

 

I wavered between giving this 3 or 4 stars. I really liked how these girls - assistants to "great" men - branch out, join up and kick butt. They each used their unique abilities to fight the bad guys and save the world (well, London anyway). I also love steampunk, and there was a bit of that included inside.

I did wish the characters were a little better developed and that not so much emphasis was placed on their looks.

I did enjoy the twist at the end. The bad guy wasn't who I thought it was at all.

I appreciated the fast pace and adventures presented. But the writing was a bit weak. I almost gave up on the book in the first chapter because the voice was annoying. It got better, thankfully.

Mild swearing, no sex. So I can recommend.

Born of Illusion

Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1)

by Teri Brown

4 stars

373 pages

Published June 11, 2013 by Balzer & Bray

Thankfully, this can be read as is - I can almost consider it a stand-alone book. The writing was good enough that I was compelled to read the novel in two sittings.

I liked that the heroine was struggling between what she knew to be right and what she knew she needed to do to survive.

It was a bit predictable at the end. The bad guy was exactly who I thought it was going to be.

There is some mild swearing and some forays into the occult.

I am looking forward to read the next in the series.

The Camelot Caper

The Camelot Caper

by Elizabeth Peters

2 stars

352 pages

Published Jan. 9, 2001 by Avon (first published 1969)

 

I got through this. It was OK. If you can forget the fact that half the storyline details are dropped and just focus on the general plot, you will enjoy it.

Alas, it's next to impossible for me to ignore glaring gaps. The love story aspect is not developed correctly at all. Details are glossed over - then BAM! they're engaged. What just happened??

Character development was seriously flawed and jagged.

And the ending SUCKED - confusing and lackluster.

I think the reason I actually got through this was the writing. It wasn't bad. In places, it was quite witty and clever. It's like ... you have high quality ingredients for a cake recipe - but you put them together totally wrong and the cake flops. This is what this book was - a flopped cake with great ingredients.

So much potential. Such bad execution.

Floors

Floors (Floors #1)

by Patrick Carman

3 stars

261 pages

Published Sept. 1, 2011 by Scholastic Press

I read this book with my 8-year-old son as a bedtime story over the course of a few weeks. He absolutely loved this book!

He loved how the main character - Leo - went on a sort of scavenger hunt and discovered secret floors in the hotel where he lives.

My son also liked the minor robot character - Blop. He thought he was hilarious.

As an adult reading this, I can see flaws in the story and writing - mostly the blatant mirroring to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - but this does not translate into a bad book for children. Children have the ability to just enjoy a book and not analyze like adults do.

More than the book itself, I enjoyed the chance I had to read with my son. I will be checking out Number 2 in the series, because he's asked for it already. Yay!

Towering

Towering

by Alex Flinn

2 stars

293 pages 

Published May 14, 2013 by HarperTeen

I am pretty bummed I had to give this book so few stars. It had such potential - part love story, part paranormal mystery - but the execution was lacking.

"Towering" is touted as a modern re-write of the Rapunzel tale, but the only tie-in the book contains is that one of the protagonists has long hair, which she cuts to make a rope so she can escape her tower prison/safe-house. The rest is an anti-drug PA (which I'm all for: Drugs=Bad!), but it just didn't jive with the spirit of the original Rapunzel tale. That, paired with poor character development, uneven pacing, and too many unanswered questions at the abrupt and unsatisfying ending made this book an unfortunate and forgettable work.

I did dig the book cover, though.

Dark Eden

Dark Eden (Dark Eden #1)

by Patrick Carman

3 stars

336 pages

Published Nov. 1, 2011, by Katherine Tegen Books

Sick of love triangles? Tired of angels? Got a hankerin' for some YA that's dark, creepy and slightly twisted?

Step into Patrick Carman's Hitchcock-ian world of teens with incurable fears and phobias.

Nice, even pacing (which is moderate, just like a psychological thriller should be) and a cool premise help this on it's way to a solid three stars. The suspense was carried throughout the whole book - something was "off," but you can't quite figure out what. That was well done.

But super flat characters was the reason it didn't get any more. A psychological thriller needs more internal dialogue to explain why the person thinks the way he/she does. It also helps to catch a glimpse into what is going on in the other "crazy" characters' minds.

The unexpected twist at the end was appreciated. I definitely didn't predict quite that ending. I also enjoyed the "explain all" chapters after the main story concluded. You can be satisfied with just this one book - there is no cliffhanger.

But I'll probably pick up the next in the series to see where it goes.

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)

by Gail Carriger

4.5 stars

I am always happy to deviate from my usual YA books for this adult fiction series.

Why?

The writing is like nothing I've ever read before. Fantastic and colorful vocabulary is used to describe the most normal things. My favorite quote in the book is from Ivy: "Has something untoward happened? Everyone is gesticulating!" That line made me laugh out loud! All the characters are fabulously written. It is difficult to choose my favorite. I love them all!

The repartee between Lady and Lord Maccon is clever, witty and just plain fun to read. You can tell that the two characters are truly in love.

But don't think that these books belong in the Romance category. Oh, no. They are firmly in ... well, a few genres. Paranormal and Mystery, obviously. But there is some Steampunk and Mary Poppins, too. It's such a wonderful and imaginative combination of genres; it just works.

There is little to no swearing, a touch of sex and some of the characters swing the other way.

Can't wait to read No. 3!

So Close to You (So Close to You #1)

So Close to You (So Close to You #1)

by Rachel Carter

4 stars

 
I quite liked this book! It actually kept me up one night wondering what time I would go back to if I could use a time machine. I loved the glimpse into life on the home front during WWII - usually books focus on the fighting or life in Germany. This was different.
I wasn't blown away by the love interest. I'm hoping that the next book in the series will give Wes a little more personality.
There was a little bit of language, but no f-bombs - yay!

The Amaranth Enchantment

The Amaranth Enchantment

by Julie Berry

2 stars

 
A decent, entertaining read, but not as fabulous as I had hoped. There just wasn't enough back story to reel me in and actually care about the main character, Lucinda. And Beryl's "I come from another world" angle was shallow as well. Oh, and I could not stand Peter. I hated his whole character. So, of course, I despised the ending in relation to Peter.
And I'm a bit tired of the Love At First Sight thing that is so prevalent in YA fiction today. There's got to be another, more creative way for these characters to fall in love.

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1)

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1)

by Gail Carriger 

4 stars

 
I'm not sure what genre to put this in ... paranormal for sure, but it also is a mystery, with steampunk and romance overtures and a dash of Mary Poppins. Definitely a fresh take. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
There are a few over-written sexy scenes, but if you can skim, the rest of the book is really quite good. I'm a sucker for a good, strong female protagonist.
Will be reading the next in the series!