snark (reading) lady

4.5 starsDaughter of Smoke and Bone may enjoy the benefit of being one of the last things I'll read this year, perhaps standing out so much to me by virtue of comparison. But, also, it is a unique, beautifully written story with characters I felt for page after page. I liked our heroine, Karou from page one. I didn't know that it was possibly in YA anymore, but as the start of our story we see Karou... STANDING UP FOR HERSELF. AGAINST A BOY. Her ex-boyfriend is self centered and treats her badly, and though it hurts her heart, she resists him and separates herself and thus instantly wins me over. From that point we are introduced to the life of our blue-haired protagonist. She's an art student in Prague who was raised by four monster-like creatures. She travels in and out of this world and the one that houses those chimaera she knows very little about. Things change as black hand prints start appearing on the doorways to Brimstone's shop. Things change when Karou lays eyes on the angel Akiva. Things change when Karou is cut off from the only family she's ever known, and must fight a way back to them and back to the truth of who -or what- she is. Again, Karou is a brilliant character. She stands out as tough, but not cartoonishly so. She has weaknesses, she hurts, she is defeated, but she is smart, she thinks things through, she plans and she corrects herself so that she will not be defeated again. The world-building in this book is exceptional. Not only does the author introduce us to the fantasy elements of this book but the "real world" elements are set in Prague, Marrakesh and Paris. Things are slowly revealed, and each new piece of the plot also becomes a new piece of the world, slowly revealing a rich tapestry of history and creatures. While the first half of the novel is more action focused, the second half reaches a certain revelation and all action stops. Halts. All that follows is a pretty outpouring, a fill in the blanks as we see the back story that brought us to this point. The elements that could've been cliched were far from it. Angels, demons, war, good, bad - nothing was absolute in this book. There wasn't a good side, or a bad one. There wasn't an absolute truth. War created monsters of both sides, and yet, most notably in our protagonists, there was good, or hope of good, on both sides. Some of the "big reveals" were easy to figure out, specifically about who Karou was and how the book ended. It felt on the predictable side, but still, Laini Taylor is a gifted author, and she wove her story in rich details and lyrical writing. I liked Akiva, and though it would be easy to forget in a story as nice as this one, the romance found here is a case of insta-love. Boy sees girl, girl gets under boys skin, girl and boy are meant to be together. Not my favorite thing in the world, but relatively well done. Their romance feeds a larger story and a larger purpose, and that was nice. If any of you are a little late to the game, as I was, and are fans of urban fantasy, do yourself the favor of losing yourself in the world of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It was truly worth it.

Confession: I have a bit of a soft spot for boys who are a little (or a lot) rough around the edges. And obviously, I'm talking strictly when it comes to books... I can think back as far as reading [b:The Outsiders|231804|The Outsiders|S.E. Hinton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314327508s/231804.jpg|1426690] in school and as recently as [b:The Knife of Never Letting Go|2118745|The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking, #1)|Patrick Ness|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1277071696s/2118745.jpg|2124180], which I read this year. In The Twelve-Fingered Boy I was introduced to Shreve and Jack, two boys serving out sentences in juvie, but our heroes nonetheless. The book was gritty and woven together with a depressing sort of realism. "We're born into pain," Shreve tells us a few times throughout the book, "and we leave in pain, and we cause it along the way too, it seems. It's a damned hard lesson." Shreve Cannon has a pretty good set-up in juvie. He has a routine. He knows his place and has a lay of the land. Things change when he meets his new roommate Jack who has, no surprise here, twelve fingers. What the two boys learn, though, is that what makes Jack special goes a little beyond just his fingers. Overall, the story is really bolstered by Mr. Jacobs writing-style. He consistently maintains Shreve's voice: conversational, sarcastic, world weary and still boyish. All the deep life observations come in short sentences, limited descriptions and rely on imagery you'd expect from a 15 year old. It was nicely done and in all, very easy to read. Thinking about the plot now gives me the distinct impression of this story being a snapshot. It very specifically targets a time frame and tells us what happened during those weeks. The past and future are referenced but the plot is mostly independent from them. Things happen, like a game of Wiffle Ball, and it really does very little to advance the narrative. It's there because it happened, and we're faithfully following these boys on their journey. Also, this book reads so quickly. I was reading a digital ARC version and the formatting was a little off, so I'm not sure how many pages are in this book, but it seems short. Those two things together created the one down side to this book. I'm not sure how to explain it exactly, but it perhaps didn't take itself seriously enough. There were some very dark plot developments but they were handled so quickly and at an arms length. It felt a little cartoonish at points and not as grave as it should be. This is especially true of our main villain, Mr. Quincrux. He probably has a mustache he twirls every night. On the other hand, the book read so quickly that it there left very little time to be anything other than entertained. Thinking of my reader friends, I can imagine a few of them grading this a little bit below what I've given it, but I can't imagine any of them regretting picking this up.

In a nutshell: Teenaged mutant ninja... necromancer.Main Character: I'll get to Molly but first, a preface: I've read books with main characters of all ages. Lyra Belacqua is 12 when we meet her. Harry Potter, 11. Katniss Everdeen is 16. Lucy Pevensie, 8. Young characters don't need to matter in a good book. I suppose the point that I'm trying to make is that I don't make this next statement lightly:This book felt young. Molly Bartolucci felt young and what's worse, she felt stupid. Molly is a necromancer. In addition to that, it seems to me that the author Google searched, "sixteen year olds" and then incorporated every stereotype she found into this character. She's a ditz and her reactions to some big deal things that happen work against the story. I can't take it seriously if your character can't take it seriously.Molly also talks like a ditzy sixteen year old. It could've been a cute character quirk but the problems was that she not only talked this way, she narrated this way. Again, it cheapened the story. When a lady pulls out a gun and says she's going to shoot you and your response is, "HOOKAY?" I'm not taking that gun seriously.Besides that we don't learn a ton about Molly that is worth pointing out. She rises to the challenge but it's all halfhearted. She doesn't feel like the Champion she's supposed to be.Love Interest? Rick appears at the very beginning and we don't get very much time to learn anything about him, except he smiles crooked. Then he dies. That doesn't stick though, and he quickly transitions from love interest to plot point. There is an additional love interest in the making, and it's one of those ones that happens just because. We don't know much about Rath or why he would like Molly, besides the initial physical attraction.Negligent Parents? 1/2. Molly's mother abandoned the family when she was young. The book heavily hints at their being some big! reason! why! but since this of course has a sequel, we're not privy to that information. As it stands, Molly's mom is negligent. Her father, however, seems perfectly competent. Even when he isn't in the main action, we are told he calls to check up on her. CRAZY.There is a big reveal that challenges Molly's relationship with her father and I guess it's no surprise that I side with the father. Molly's reaction is legit, but also she's a brat about it so she can STFU.Ho Suspension? I'm leaning towards no. Molly makes a big mistake when she returns Rick's soul back to his body because she didn't want to see her boyfriend die. Even when it is clear that she has to let him go, she can't and there are consequences. This to me, however, is less thinking with your vajay, and probably the knee-jerk reaction of anyone witnessing a death who could do something to stop it.I mean, yes she should probably be thinking less about boys with all the zombies and souls and spirits and training and being chosen by a god stuff, but it's Molly. I expect it from this vapid, little thing.A+: The plot framework. I loved the idea in theory and get sad when I think about what it could've been in the hands of a more deft writer and with a better protagonist. Necromancers, zombies, a necromancer school, Anubis and a spirit world? Cool. This book about that stuff? Not so cool.There were also quotes from fictional books at the beginning of each chapter pertaining to necromancy. Those were cute and reminded me a little of The Book of Shhhh quotes found in Delirium.Fail: Molly. Fucking Molly.The End: This book was reasonably resolved and there was an epilogue that introduced the plot of the sequel. I mean, I guess if this book had to have sequels, they divided it effectively.And so: I'm not gonna cry because I read it but I'm also not going to write home about it. I have lots of YA-reading friends but I would've even recommend this to them.For Traumateers who love: to not take my word for it and need to discover bad things on their own. Or pretty book covers. I usually don't cross post Book Reports. I write a sperate review for GR but I don't have enough to say about this book. To see the original post and check out the final grade click here.

This is a hard one to rate and probably falls into that dreaded, "somewhere between a three and a four" space. First, credit where credit is due, I thought Kristin Cashore had a nice and clean writing style. I never struggled to understand her, I was never lacking a mental picture. Her world was imaginative and intriguing. The Graces were the cherry on top. Even the grievances I had at the beginning of her style being a bit to repetitive worked themselves out. My example of this complaint was the way Cashore kept telling us about Katsa falling asleep. Katsa did this, this and this, she thought this, "and then she commanded herself to sleep." Over and over, until Cashore threw something in the plot that made this make sense, and I forgave her. The pacing was great. Somewhere towards the end, I started being rude, and ignoring people who were talking to me, because I had a book to finish. The mark of a good book, if you ask me. The world, the writing, the pacing and the majority of the plot was all good. Perhaps great. I liked Katsa, mostly. I loved what Katsa represented: a strong willed, physically strong female lead. No, she wasn't the perfect role model, (I'm a girl! I cant handle my emoootions) but I loved that she could stand up for herself, protect herself and survive. I liked her, but because she was so strong and so good, it created problems for the story. Most of the tension in the story was dragged out with filler. Not Katsa facing the bad guy, but the months she spent in the woods trying to get to the bad guy. Not Katsa standing up to her uncle, but the time leading up to her decision to stand up to him. The actual climatic moments happened a little too fast and were solved a little too quickly. Katsa was Superman. I especially think it just made little sense to have her under the thumb of her uncle. Why? How does that make sense? I liked Po and, for the most part, I liked their relationship. Or, I should say, I got what Cashore did here. I wasn't sold on the final product. The world Cashore created isn't one we know and yet she gave us few clues about what marriage meant in this world. All we know is that Katsa is strongly against it, because for some reason she felt it would strip her of her freedoms. It was just a little too much for me. "The lady doth protest too much," sort of deal, and it was a flimsy protestation at that. Congrats to Cashore for acknowledging that there is something between friendship and marriage, but then negative points to her for what she ends up making it: sex and some appearances of commitment, but ZOMG LOL not really, because commitment makes Katsa itchy. Katsa does learn to love, I believe, but it's hard to remember that when she's still shouting things about her freedoms and "ew no, I won't marry you."Although I liked Bitterblue and the whole story of Monsea, King Leck felt a little disconnected from the story. At one point, the end was exactly what I wanted to happen. And then it kept going. Seriously, the ending kept going and going and going, and it broke my heart a little more with each additional page. Naturally I had to mention: What ridiculous names. Overall, an entertaining read whose imaginative world and strong characters help push it past its warbles and faults.

This was hard. I think I should mention a couple of things: I'm reading HDM for the first time as an adult. I really, very much enjoyed The Golden Compass. I come from a religious background, which makes me sympathetic to the faults of organized religion, but I also still firmly believe in God. I started reading the books not because of the "controversy" per se, but more because I have a few dear, dear friends who call this their favorite. I was only vaguely aware of certain anti-religious elements of the story. For me, The Subtle Knife was not as good. The fact that I made it through the end is mostly a testament to my love for Lyra and Pan, and my (small)(but growing)(new) love for Will. I was interested in these characters and kept reading for a chance to know what might happen to them. Pullman, however, made it difficult for me. It wasn't even so much about the religious metaphors per se, but more about the fact that they stopped being metaphors somewhere along the line and became hammers. Anvils. I was in the middle of a sermon before I knew what happened. In book 2, we lose the intrigue of Lyra's world. We lose a lot of possibilities. Yes answers are good, in some cases, but here as we learn for certain what Dust is and what Asriel's mission is and what Lyra's part in it all is, you get tied down and suffocated by Pullman's big ideas which you! must! believe! Even though I was reading about her, I missed Lyra. I missed my brave girl on grand adventures, who cried yes, but was as courageous as any armoured bear. She became something lesser in this book, and I was sorry to see it. I really, really, really missed Pan. He was so absent here, and the beautiful and intricate relationship between Lyra and Pan was mostly gone, perhaps for a reason I'll discover in book 3, but it's absence was felt here. I missed being able to take my own interpretations and apply them to the book. Pullman abandons his clever and well thought out position of communicating his stance on the church through his fantasy world and the Magesterium. He abandons that and the head pounding begins:"That is what the Church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling. So if a war comes, and the Church is on one side of it, we must be on the other, no matter what strange allies we find ourselves bound to."It was just all a bit too heavy handed for me and it weighed the story down, a story that already missed the high mark set in The Golden Compass.I'll keep reading. Mostly for Lyra.

Me and this book? It's complicated. In Dark Spaces, Gillian Flynn creates an intriguing murder mystery, propped up with gruesome circumstances and deeply flawed characters. And if I had to boil all that down into one word for this book: dirty. At once pulling you into the intrigue of the killings and pushing you away with unlikable characters, Dark Spaces was sometimes difficult to read. I had to at times put it down and walk away, wrap my head around whatever new piece of information I'd learned. I fell in love with the way Flynn told the story, from the points of view of Libby Day in the present and Patty and Ben Day in the past. The style added layers to the story, giving us smart pieces and just enough information to create a smooth pace throughout the book. Picking up on the little differences between Libby's point of view and her mother's, or finding the explanation for one thing in another person's narrative was thrilling and exciting. It helped balance out the gruesome moments, because it made the story more than just "yuck." Thankfully, Dark Spaces felt resolved at the end. I don't think I could've handled less than what Flynn did. I like her stories because no one is good in them. Not one person. And it is never clean cut. On the quest to find out who really killed her family, I think Libby learns that everyone is guilty. So many different things went wrong, so many lies told and so many people had a hand in the killing of the days. Even when you get to the moment where you discover who actually killed the family, you know that no one was good in this story. They all did it. I liked Libby in spite of myself and in spite of her flaws. She was self aware, which helps the reader come more to terms with her flaws. She grows a little in the process of the story which also helped the reader embrace her, even though she's flawed, to say the least. This is definitely not for everyone. If you have a taste for the macabre, if you don't mind not liking the characters in a book, I think you would appreciate Dark Spaces.

It's hard for me to consider The Golden Compass a children's book. I suppose the things we read as children, we understand as children. In that sense, I am sorry I didn't read this sooner, as it must be cool to grow up with this book and to have your understanding of it ever expanding. Things I Loved- Lyra. I didn't always love Lyra, especially at the beginning. Her being 11 and very rough around the edges made it hard for me to relate to anything, to like her or to grasp onto anything about her. Ironically enough, it ended up being her imperfections that endeared me to her the most. I liked that she was brave, but she sometimes cried and felt hopeless. I liked that she was trying to do right, but that she often relied on her keen ability to lie. I liked that she was fooled, even though in the end she finally saw very clearly what was in front of her. - The daemons. Hands down the best characteristic of this fantasy world. Wonderfully imagined and crafted, I truly fell in love with the idea of the external soul, of this companion and second half. The most emotional moments for me came at the hands of the daemons, really. When Lyra found Tony, I truly, truly felt heartbroken and had to step away from the book. Pantalaimon was as wonderful a character as any other and the bond between the two characters we felt rather than merely spoken of. - The world. In addition to the daemons, I found the the world as a whole, fantasy with a sprinkling of steampunk, was layered and juicy and delicious. From the gyptians to the zepplins. Dust to anabraic lights. I loved the setting. - Iorek. Pullman did an amazing job of writing these sentient animals and I swear my heart was squeezed every time Lyra called him "dear." The evolution of their relationship was lovely as well. Things That Lacked- The beginning was a little slow. I did not feel fully engaged until Lyra was with the gyptians and it was around that point that I began to like her too. - Lord Asriel and Roger. Lord Asriel seemed a little too maniacal and Roger was too one dimensional. - I was thrown by the alethiometer. It's hard to write such a powerful instrument because I was constantly wondering why she didn't just use it. USE IT GIRL. But, whatever. Overall, I very much enjoyed it, which I know will please a few of my friends who claim it a favorite.

3.5 starsI know. Another half star. But I've found myself in this position again: a 4 star caliber book that rubbed me, personally, in a 3 star way. First and foremost David Levithan has a beautiful style. Yes, it is often angst-y but it is clean, simple, lyrical and pretty. Levithan has been known to make me fall in love with falling in love. I wanted love to conquer all. But love can't conquer anything. It can't do anything on its own. It relies on us to do the conquering on its behalf.I loved the premise of this book, and moreso, what the premise let Levithan explore. I was immediately hooked by the thought of this constantly changing existence. Of this person who has accepted their way of life, 24 hours at a time. I'll admit that I was a little thrown by the speed that the story takes off. I've seen the insta-love term thrown around in other reviews and to me, this book erred on the side of "guilty as charged." I didn't take offense to A falling for Rhiannon in one day. I can understand that because one day is all he had. One day is different for him than it is for us. I was more thrown by it happening so immediately at the beginning of the novel. We had no sense of A's life before we were being told that Rhiannon had changed it all. It was abrupt. And it was hard to accept that after so many days not falling in love, Rhiannon, with a look and a few words, had managed to change that. But, I accepted it and I moved on with the story. Again, there were many very petty parts, where Levithan uses his plot to explore themes of love and attraction. At some points, I felt it wandered off into being a little bit preachy. It stopped letting the reader use the words as a jumping point for further thought and started to form conclusions for us. I liked both A and Rhiannon and I liked that they fell for each other through stories and shared memories. I liked that what started off a little instalove-y, built up further through some space and time. I did not like the ending. I felt that it essentially left us with half a story. A's life was disrupted by this girl and at the end of the book I couldn't help feeling that it was for no reason. What was the point in telling this story, other than a few pretty lines about love? I'm not sure that I've figured that out yet, which knocked the story down a couple of notches for me. If you've enjoyed Levithan's previous work, I'm sure you will enjoy this. If you enjoy introspective prose, with limited plot twists, but rather propelled by the observations tied to small, every day things, you'll probably enjoy Every DayAll said and done, nice, though I wish it would've been more.

This was my first steampunk novel, so I can't really say about it's effectiveness in that regard, but Something Strange and Deadly was fun. Peppered with mystery, adventure, romance and even zombies, Dennard has created a fast moving, entertaining read. It's hard to pick out things that were "bad" about this story, much like it's hard to say what was "excellent." It was all just light and good. Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt is our protagonist, and a very likable one at that. She's curious and brave when she needs to be. She grows as a person and learns to stand up for herself. She cares for her family and neighbors. It really is admirable. The love interest was done well. Daniel is somewhat of your typical douchebag with a heart of gold, but his shady past and cool inventions keep him from being too much of a trope. They two characters grew on me, and they grew together through the book. None of that silly all-consuming-love-at-first-sight. That always gets points from me. The plot twists and turns were just a little predictable, but still, fun. I loved the setting and felt that Dennard kept it purposefully simply. Yes it is historic and yes it is steampunk, but it's also accessible, almost superficial, though I don't mean that harshly. It was easy to delve into and makes this book a quick, one sitting sort of read. All in all, it was just what I needed to pull me out of a reading funk. It might also be suited to a rainy day, wrapped in a blanket with some coffee.

I received this as an ARC through Netgalley which is the only reason I forced myself to read this to the bitter, bitter end. These opinions are my own and are based on the book I read every word of. That said:This was bad. The premise in and of itself wasn't terrible. I've seen reviews arguing the fact that a group of kids retaliating against bullies is, essentially, a group of bullies. Yes. And that's the point. Our main character Charlotte subjects herself to this bullying because of her deeper need to belong to something. She has to (slowly. painfully.) come to this conclusion herself. That's a legitimate plot. Unfortunately, it was done artlessly.The premise of the book is thrown at the reader immediately. Charlotte has received an invitation to meet people she doesn't know, in the middle of the night for unknown reasons. Yeah, not buying that. I don't care how lonely you are.There, Charlie meets two other girls who received similar invitations. They are greeted by a young, handsome man named Kade who proves that he's essentially been stalking their entire lives. He greets one girl in this manner:Zoe Carpenter. Let’s see, mom divorced Zoe’s stepfather last year. Well, technically, he was number three. She lives in a home of revolving men, but the only one her mom really loves is Jack… Daniel’s."Not only is that terribly clunky, it's annoying and mean. Who would say that upon meeting someone, or really, who would stand for that? So far, what exactly am I supposed to like about this book?As the story goes on, and the League of Strays is born, my issues become more clear:- All of the characters are unsympathetic. The author tries very hard to get us to relate to them. Oh, one girl got a bad grade and one girl has an alcoholic mother and our main character is bullied. All terrible things, but I cannot feel bad for them when they are bullying in turn. I don't think the author took into account that by making her main character bullies, she's losing the audience's ability to feel for them. I want all of the to be caught. I wanted all of them to be punished. Honestly, I wanted all of them to be punched in the face. But most of all, I wanted to stop reading.- There were no redeeming qualities in the characters. You don't have to like all the characters you read. I know that. Charlotte's main flaw was her inability to stand up for herself. However, she had nothing to balance this. I suppose one could say her small, small glimmer of a conscious was present, but that was simply negated by her inability to stand up for herself. She had nothing else going for her. She was a liar, she treated her very sweet and loving parents like crap, she was easily lead, etc, etc, etc. Sure, she may learn a lesson in the final 2-3 chapters, but what's supposed to get me through the first 30+?Just an example:"Sidney Bishop told Nicole Haines that Mark Lawrence had beat up his girlfriend, who was recovering at Glenwood Community Hospital with a broken hand. I prayed it was true, because that would mean our plan for Dave had nothing to do with this latest development."OUR MAIN CHARACTER JUST WISHED DOMESTIC TYPE VIOLENCE ON SOMEONE. I don't want to read about this girl, hence I didn't want to read this book.- Kade Harlin. Terrible character. I'm not sure if the author was trying for misdirection when it came to him, but she failed. It's clear from page one, when he insults each and everyone of these strangers, that he's a horrible person with, again, no redeeming qualities. He's a villain masquerading as a love interest and he's very present in the novel. There are no breaks from him making the story unenjoyable to read. The charisma and charm we're told about again and again actually come across as creepiness.- The writing was basic at best, incredibly clunky at worst. Charlotte didn't not read like a high school senior. She read like a middle schooler.- The "prank" against Richie's bully, where they set him up to look gay, truly made me sick to my stomach. I don't care what lesson you think you're characters eventually learn, think about what you are insinuating when you choose to "punish" someone by making them seem gay. Really? And if you ask me, it wasn't clear enough in the end how WRONG homophobia is. The message at the end was, "escape it. Find somewhere where there is less of it." I think it was sloppily handled and weighed down an already struggling book.Believe it or not, towards the very end when Charlotte FINALLY started having a back bone and standing up for herself, the book improved exponentially. Too bad it was too little too late. Perhaps it was only a perceived improvement because I was happy to have finally made it to the end.I did my best to give League of Strays a more than fair chance. I gave it to the last page. Unfortunately, the characters were not worth reading about and the plot was angering.I would not recommend this book to anyone I know.

If I were the type of person who gave out half stars *cough* this book would be a 3.5 star book. Why? I didn't enjoy it on a four star level BUT it is most certainly not three star caliber. Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is beautifully written. The two interwoven stories of Amelia Anne and Becca come together so nicely to paint a portrait of what it means to leave certain things behind. Kat Rosenfield uses these two ladies to expertly comment on heartbreak, second chances, new beginnings, small towns, loss and love. There were so many times when I was simply swept away in her prose. It's a book propelled not by plot or characters, but simply by introspection. Therein also lies the fault of Amelia Anne. For as beautiful as some parts of the story where, there just wasn't enough meat to the plot throughout the middle of the story. Many of the observations from Becca, about feeling stuck in town, about being unable to picture her future, about what murder has brought them as a community, were repeated a couple of times. The repetition helped to highlight the thinner portions of the story. I didn't especially like Becca or Amelia. Becca was a little too weak and bland for my tastes, in this story of how she loses herself for a summer. Amelia was insensitive and came across as a tad selfish and spoiled. The only character I truly had any sympathy for was James. James continually made me re-think my opinion of him, and all the times I felt strongest throughout the book were directly tied to him. Essentially, that's all I can say: a plot stretched too long and too thin, populated by characters who aren't easy to love, bolstered by very pretty writing.Check it out if you like deep thoughts and ambling personal realizations with just a dash of mystery.

A character hands another character in the book you are reading a scroll. If you are the type of person who wants to know what sound the scroll made as it was unfurled, Stormdancer is a book for you.If you are not, perhaps you are the type of reader who can stick it out through 10-13 chapters if it means there will be a payoff. If that is the case, then, yes. Stormdancer is for you.Truth is, Stormdancer is good and somewhat unlike most of your typical YA Fantasy fare. The last 25% of the book was especially well done and included a revelation that literally had me clapping. Clapping. Alone. In my room. Plus: spills, thrills, tension, intrigue... well, you get the point.It is not without its faults, however. I would be doing a disservice to Mr. Kristoff if I didn’t mention that these faults are a matter of style and preference rather than anything glaringly wrong with essentials.It was slow going for me through the first 13 chapters of Stormdancer. There are two specific reasons why, and while these two things do settle as the story goes on, they are present throughout and are why this book is not five stars for me:1.) An overabundance of descriptions. Kristoff is a gifted writer, and he crafts settings well. I didn’t have a problem with the way his descriptions were written but just that there were so many. It became too meaty and weighed down the momentum of the story. This was especially troublesome at the beginning, where there was no momentum. It all kept trying to take off, but how could it through a sea of too many words?Kristoff settles well into the middle of the story, but there were still points where I felt things were dragging. It took me until after I finished to realize that the plot wasn’t dragging, it was again being slowed by too many superfluous details.There were times, plenty of them, where this worked for Kristoff. One example is the description of the “blue-black” smoke of the lotus. I loved this small repetition, I loved the visual and I love the thread it created throughout the story.For every one of those, however, you had things like an almost duplicate description of Shateigashira being given just pages apart. I stopped when I read about his childlike face again, to go back and see if I hadn’t just read this portion. When you are bringing your reader out of the story that way, regardless of how artful the description, you are crippling your narrative.2.) Too much world all at once. Now, I can say that I love the world Kristoff built. It’s beautiful and ugly, savage and advanced, intriguing and intricate.During the first chapters, however, it was too much information being thrown at the reader. I love when authors let the world build itself for the reader. You’ll find no awkward info dumps from Kristoff, which I appreciate. But really, it was too much at once.I am not familiar with feudal Japan, I knew none of the terms and I clearly didn’t know any of the characters so early in the story. It was confusing. I couldn’t care what was happening plot wise because I was trying to remember the four clans, or what’s a Kitsune again? Or wait, what’s chi? Is it a lotus? Wait, wait, WHAT kind of weapon? And so on.You cannot settle into a story when all you really want to do is Google every other word.Unfortunately, this will mean that some readers will abandon Stormdancer before it comes into its own.The characters in Stormdancer are done reasonably well seeing as how this is a plot driven story. There is a growth and definition, thankfully, but I came away feeling like I knew much of our heroine’s actions but little of her personality. And that’s okay. This story wasn’t the place for a deep character study.Yukiko is a good heroine. I loved her strength and perseverance, I loved her skill, her talent and her ability to speak her mind. Of course her weakness comes in the form of a boy. Trust me, I groaned as loudly as anyone. Hiro the samurai was my least favorite character, the least developed and I did not like the set-up of the love interest from the get-go. I know, I know, Yukiko is 16, but is she REALLY dreaming about a guy she met ONCE while being CHASED BY DEMONS?I hate the way this point undermined Yukiko's strength. She had a fine weakness in her naive world view, I just didn't think the whole "OMG BOY!" point was needed as well. Given how everything develops, I feel justified in disliking this plot point the way I do.Kin, on the other hand, was a wonderful, slightly complicated character. I loved that his “conditioning” didn’t magically disappear. He grew up a certain way all his life and you see that in him even when he wants for more.The rest of the supporting characters all brought something valuable to the table, in my opinion. The hardest part of the end was equally knowing what happened to some of them and not knowing what happened to some of them.This is only the tip of it all. I didn’t touch on the thunder tiger or the politics or the gender roles or the back story, which are important additions in Stormdancer .Essentially, Stormdancer is an onion. Peel away at the outer layers sort of deal, even if it is kind of smelly at first. I know- brilliant metaphor, but my point is that this proved to be worth the patience it required at first. At least for me.I will be reading the second one.PRO TIP: There is a glossary at the end. When I saw it I let out a, “AW MAN. FOR REAL? NOW I SEE THIS?”

This book. Well, let's see...Basically. I was so all over the place while reading this book, making it hard to boil it down to neat, general observances. Let me quickly take you through the story, with some light spoilers.Dark Companion tells the story of Jane Williams who survived a traumatic experience in her childhood, only to lose all those memories and then be placed into foster care. When we pick up her story, she's been offered a full scholarship to Birch Grove, a fancy fancy school for girls. Things seem to be a little too good to be true, and Jane starts slowly discovering and piecing together why.- The prologue was beautiful. It was dark and set the way for this mystery shrouded story. I really enjoyed the surreal setting it created and had high hopes for this book after reading it. - The first few chapters consisted of me shouting two things: MOST CLICHE "HOOD" EVAR. and THIS IS A WHOLE LOT LIKE JANE EYRE. I was annoyed by the first and very confused by the second. Orphan girl named Jane? Check. Leaving her foster home and going to school? Check. Yelling at her care taker before she leaves and saying all she wanted was kindness? Check. It was so blatant that I had to Google if Jane Eyre is mentioned/credited at all in the story summaries. It isn't, directly, but a few reviews I found say things like "anyone who loves Jane Eyre will love Dark Companion!" Hahahaha. Hmmm. As the story goes on, it gets less and less like JE, but there are a few in your face moments scattered through out, like when Jack crashes into Jane and hurts himself. HE ASKS HER TO FETCH HIS BIKE GUYS. There is even a version of the "do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little" speech! I'm not against this in and of itself, but I would've liked to have known about it beforehand so it didn't sneak up behind me and slap me in the face. - The vampire bit also slapped me in the face. Seriously, I should either pay more attention or that back of the book blurb sucked. (Haha. Sucked.)- The supporting characters and the dialogue were hit or miss. Examples:"His name must come from the Latin lucianus, meaning light, and that's what he was, golden and bright. -- Bad. We get it. You're smart and studying Latin. In that case tell me, how do you say, "ewww, clunky!" in Latin?"I know what my mom's groceries are like. Full of antioxidants, roughage, and upright moral character." -- Good! Funny and witty. This is something I can imagine a smart teen saying. "Hey Jane. I'm Orneta, but you can call me Ornery, 'cause I'm kinda cranky." -- Uuuugh, really? -_-"You're such a friendship slut and I find that deeply disturbing. Jane, I hope you aren't as wildly promiscuous with your friendship." Better. Etc. - Excuse my language, but mother fuck another unhealthy guy/girl relationship in a YA novel. Jane meets the two sons of the headmistress, Jack and Lucky. Jack is a little sure of himself, and he likes to joke around with Jane. He didn't offend me, even when Jane thought he was being cruel, because as the reader you understand more than Jane and you can see the truth behind Jack's actions. Lucky and Jane's relationship, though? Irritated my liver. He's an outright flippant jerk. It's a secret, abusive relationship and I hated every second of it because it really didn't need to be in this story in that way. He's using her, but I could deal with that part. Jane reasons that she's being used, but she's also being paid which is important to her. BUT THEN SHE STARTS GETTING GOOGLY EYED.I cannot buy that and I hate that Jane's character is cheapened for the middle portion of the book as we have to suffer through her falling for a guy who treats her like crap. Which leads me to- Jane's characterization was a little off. There were times where I believed in her as a street smart, raised in foster care, seen things kind of girl. These times were a little few and far between. I wish we would've seen a little bit more of that life style influencing Jane. Like, for instance, how some one who's been abused that way and fought a way out of it, probably wouldn't fall for the jerk boy, ahemahemahem. - By the end I was very interested in finding out WTF was going on. Again, the explanations had it's interesting moments and it's "no, stop it." moments. The point here is that at least I was interested. I found the build-up a little slow and all said and down, the resolutions a little too easy and anti-climatic. - Is this a series? Because it sets up that way. We get a nice tied up ending to this book, but there are some other open ended things, and amongst them is the mysterious disappearance of a villain. It's a nice set-up for a series, so if it is, well done. If it isn't, um, whoops. Overall, confusing. Jane could've been an amazing, tough protagonist, but instead she's somehow naive and allows herself to be used and abused. The tone of the story is great, perfectly dark and Gothic, but the plot twists are convoluted and borderline on trite. The supporting characters can be great, including MV, but there are others that are simply caricatures, like the headmistress and Lucky. I'm stuck between, "I wouldn't recommend this to anyone" and "if there's another part, I'd probably read it."Do with this information as you please. :)

Most of the books I read, I read because I've followed some trail of hype. Popular on Goodreads or all my friends have read it or best selling, etc, etc. It's so nice, then, to just pick up a book because it sounded good and to discover what feels like a hidden gem. Feno Chemical spills an experimental pesticide near a small town in Iowa. Those that survive the contamination are quarantined, guarded by the US Army and a private security force. They work, eat, sleep and are under constant medical supervision. Ellie Caulley's history in containment, all seven years of it, is complicated. She's lost a lover and gained one. She's angry but combats that by constantly smoking something. She's apathetic yet she still seems to have fight in her. And now, Flowertown as the quarantine area is dubbed, seems to be falling apart at the seams. I really, really liked Ellie. Not in an "I can relate to her, I want to hang out with her on Saturdays" way. I just loved that she was a complicated hero, but that at the end of the day, she kicked ass. I loved that I was rooting for a character who almost never showered, who swore like a sailor and tended to miss what was in front of her. Regardless of what gave her the bite that followed her bark, Ellie is a fighter and there is nothing that I like better in a character. The premise of this novel was fairly unique and well executed. I often found myself asking the "what if" questions. I found myself playing the, "just imagine" game. What if there was a chemical spill of this magnitude? What if a small population could infect the country or the world? Just imagine being stuck in this microcosm. Just imagine how you would react as you realized that life was slowly bleeding out its meaning. Would I be a 2? A 5? A 7? Docile and accepting? Normal? Angry? Any story that can stir up this sort of extended reaction is doing something right. I did not see the big twist coming until just the right moment. I pieced it all together just a tick before Ellie gets the reveal, which is nicely done by the author. I got the satisfaction of the OH MY GOD, I FIGURED IT OUT. Plus, when the reveal came, it didn't feel like it came from left field. I saw all the pieces fall together. The supporting cast is all wonderful as well, from Ellie's farm girl roommate to her intimidating boss. The newspaper selling ex-professor. The market owning old woman who never sleeps. The more I think about it, the more I realize how quirky and interesting they all were. I have no complaints about the writing, but no big observations there either. I found some of the dialogue to be better than good and liked the rough and tumble feel of everyone in the town. I found myself wondering at the end if this is meant to be a stand alone novel. I think it should be, or rather it could be, but in that case I was a little dissatisfied with the end. Either it was an amazing cliffhanger or I'm going to go wonder what happened to the villain and a few other balls left in the air while I eat ice cream now. Specifically: - Why would Bing talk to Ellie about conspiracy theory stuff?- Who was responsible for putting the new guard near the red area in the records room?- Why was Rachel's clearance to leave denied?- What was really happening to Rachel if she was clean?- What were the files Ellie stole, really? Just records of the dead?It's kind of funny how the small things are sticking out to me when at the end we don't know where the evil doctor is. Which reminds me,- Who is the third doctor?You get the picture. Wish I had more answers. This was a nice break from my typical book and I certainly don't regret reading it. One of the better things I've read in 2012.

The quintessential summer read, My Life Next Door nicely presents a cast of characters it's hard not to fall for. Samantha Reed has spent her life perched on her roof, watching her next door neighbors, The Garretts. They are a bustling, loud, chaotic and loving family and they are essentially everything Sam's family is not. Apart from being a brief synopsis of the story, that also sums up how I felt while reading this book. I felt like I was perched up on a roof somewhere, just watching the Garretts, falling in love with their family. And there is a lot to like there. Huntley Fitzpatrick's strength in her debut novel was in creating the Garretts. Each of them are unique and believable and little George Garrett really store my heart.I really liked our protagonist, 17-year old Sam. I've read complaints in reviews that say she doesn't have a backbone, which I find to be mostly true. She doesn't, but I think that's the point of the story. It's her character flaw. It's one I can relate to because a lot of time I'm anything but brave. I liked it because 1.) it made sense for Sam. She grew up in a very controlled environment, thanks to her mother. Time was controlled and monitored, all activities were controlled and monitored and they are a well to do family. That the product of all this would be a little just a bit cowardly? Makes sense. and 2.) Sam has lots of positive attributes to balance this out. She's smart and responsible and she appreciates other people. She tries her best in every situation she found herself in. Even with the high drama turning point in the story, and all the teenaged romance, I loved that this book was light on the teenaged angst. Jase and Sam felt like real 17-year-olds, not some overly dramatic book version of 17-year-olds.All the other characters were also well-received by me. I loved Tim, the lovable screw-up who I didn't forsee ending up as so pivotal to the lives of Sam and the Garretts. I also understood Nan, Sam's one-time best friend. I understood Sam's mom, even when I wanted to punch her in her face. Her motivations were all logical to me and I love that even in characters I'm not meant to love. If Fitzpatrick's strength is in her characters, I think she faltered just a bit in plot. When we meet Sam, she's been observing her next door neighbors for most of her 17 years. On this particular night, though, she's approached by Jase Garrett. It felt a little forced and unnatural. Why ignore the girl next door for 17 years and then decide to walk over? I suppose I just wish there were a more solid inciting incident. The middle portion of the story nicely showed the development of Sam's relationship with Jace and the Garretts. The big conflict was quite the coincidence. Just a really big coincidence and it's hard to accept that at face value. Okay, maybe just for me since I spend so much time calling these things into question for my blog. I went with it though because I liked the situation it put Sam in. It's easy to say that you would've acted differently than Sam. That you would've done the "right" thing, but ultimately, she's put between her boyfriend and his innocent family and her mother. No matter what we thought of her mother as readers, it's her mother. It takes Sam a while to arrive at the decision she feels is right, and that is also a very believable character trait. Then the end comes and I felt a little unsatisfied. I'm not sure what's with the trend of vague, half endings. You don't have to tie everything nice and neatly in a bow and present it to the reader, but the end of this book left one too many balls in the air. I wish I knew a little bit more about how the Garretts recovered.A smooth read and a strong debut from Fitzpatrick.

3.5 starsIf YA Fantasy is your thing, you've probably already read this. And if you haven't yet, I'm quite confident that you will like Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone. Look no further that the growing mass of 4 and 5 star reviews for confirmation. As for me, I feel like my expectations were probably too high. I found this book through the popular list on GR and read many glowing reviews even before turning the first page. I'm gonna love this, I thought. Everyone says so!I'll admit that while reading, I was swept into and away by the story. I refused to stop until I read the entire thing. Last night, when I closed the book, I thought, "I'll give that 4 stars." This morning, with the rush of the climax and resolution fading, I feel a little sober. This book is not without its faults. Shadow and Bone tells the story of Alina Starkov. I think it's important to point out that the magic of SaB comes in the form of setting, details and characters-- NOT the plot. The plot is YA Fantasy generic. Plain, orphan girl in love with her childhood friend who doesn't notice her, plucked from obscurity and brought to a another place for a classic make-over and some falling in like (or lust...) with a Mr. Large and In Charge. Stripped down that way, I'm sure that can remind you of any countless number of other books. The first that popped in my head was the recent (and terrible) The Selection. Like I said, SaB's strength then comes in other details. First, the setting. The magical and dark world of Ravka has a strong pull. I really enjoyed every bit of it, from the Shadow Fold to the Grisha and their bright clothing and magical powers. The mystery and intrigue of it all are such that it bolsters the story, and almost covers many of the other weak points. Almost. I have a big issue with YA fantasy: so many times, a dark, big world is set as the stage, only to have a superficial story play out on top of it. You have an entire strip of shadow in your world with flesh eating monsters. People are praying for and to you. So much else is going on. It's amazing to me how much time was devoted to thoughts on being pretty and belonging and having a friend and the cute boy kissing me. Really? I mean, none of these things are bad in and of themselves. They are normal teen concerns. Alina Starkov is NOT a normal teen. This is NOT a normal situation. This is NOT a normal setting. Flesh. Eating. Monsters. Tacking on to that, I had a problem with the way beauty was handled in this book. All the magical people are beautiful. The palace is beautiful. The queen is beautiful. Genya is beautiful. There is a whole, "let's look in the mirror and enjoy how beautiful we are" scene. Yeah, yeah. Fuck you all. Sorry for my language, but not really. I'm not sure why Bardugo is obsessed with beauty, or why that comes across in her story, but I would've preferred if our potentially kick-ass heroine with the unique magical power were not so concerned with the bags under her eyes. There are few elements in the story that could have been grating, but that Bardugo managed to integrate well. Firstly is Alina's confidence, or lack there of. Alina doesn't believe in herself for the first part of the book. She's thin, weak and sickly. She doesn't believe that there could be anything special about her. It could read in an annoying way but two things help and work here: 1.) Alina still has some fight in her. She's quick, witty, and smart. In the face of danger, she will still run even if she doesn't believe she can get away. 2.) There is an explanation. There is a reason outside of self-esteem issues for why her body is sick and I really liked it. It was a key moment for me while reading. Another one of these elements is what can be considered a love triangle. It's a love triangle-lite, I promise. It never comes off as a "which boy should I pick?!" situation, thank God. These two men, Mal and the Darkling, almost exist on different planes. I liked both Mal and the Darkling, though it felt like we got to spend a little more time falling for the Darkling. He's easy to root for as a handsome and powerful man. A big turning point comes courtesy of the dynamic between Alina and the Darkling and I'm okay with admitting that while it could've been obvious, Barduga pulled me deep enough into her story that I didn't see it coming. A bit of the relationship between Darling and Alina was ruined for me later by what the author says about it in retrospect. I would've loved it if Alina would've admitted that she was falling for him. Why not? He paid attention to her, looked after her, was funny, is handsome, and he's in a place of power, where everyone can look up and admire him. Instead, we get "I hated him and yet my heart betrayed me and felt his magical pull," bullshit. I might've groaned, "oh baby Jesus. Not a magical pull...!" It makes Alina seem weak in a way she never did, even as she struggled through her training. It was a little too, "us girls can never control our silly emotions" or worse, "my mind is saying no, but my body is saying yes." Give me a break. A lot of the positive reviews include a lot of touting of Bardugo's writing style. I don't get that. It wasn't bad, by any means, but I also didn't see anything special there. I did appreciate that she let a lot of the world develop for us. Yes, we didn't know everything that was going on at first, but I like when an author trusts my intelligence enough to let me slowly piece things together; to learn the world and its elements. I hate info dumps. The dialogue was all nicely done and I felt like I could picture a lot of what was described, but again, I'm not sure that I would say the writing was extraordinary. I enjoyed the climax and resolution except for the very last conflict. The big moment comes courtesy of a realization and I just hate that. More often than not it feels like a cheap way out, and to me, it felt that way here. Oh a big scary, life or death moment? I SUDDENLY REALIZE SOMETHING. And bam, here we come resolution. Meh. As for the ending, I felt okay with it. Too many times in trilogies too little is resolved at the end of the first book. I felt like we had a conclusion to THIS book, but still enough cliffhangers to lead us into the next. In the end, I feel like this was a strong debut and a good opening to the Grisha Trilogy. I'd recommend it to my YA enthusiast friends. The ones I know like a good fantasy trilogy. I don't entirely get all the fangirl squee'ing, but, different strokes, y'know?