{Audiobook} Mini Reviews: Bittersweet, If I Should Die & The Nightmare Affair

Because I tend to get over-zealous with my audiobook listening and neglect to write thoughtful reviews for every single one I've completed, here are a few mini reviews to catch you up on what I've been listening to lately:

Title: Bittersweet
Author: Sarah Ockler
Narrator: Ariadne Meyers
Series: n/a
Publisher: Listening Library
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...

I've had this book on my shelf since I got a finished copy at ALA Midwinter 2012.  I'd heard great things, but I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.  Then I read/listened to Ockler's newest book, and I knew I had to make time for Bittersweet.  And magically, it arrived on audio shortly thereafter.

I'm rating this book the same as I did The Book of Broken Hearts, but in all honestly, I think I liked this book better.  The narrator was great, and she sounded just as I'd expect a Hudson-like character to sound:  independent but also a little whiney.  And for some reason, I always find myself really digging stories centering around a figure skating career.  My sister was always the one who watched those competitions, but somewhere along the way, I must have developed a taste for the sport myself.  Though, it probably does help that there are hot young hockey player studs in this book, as well.  =)

My only real complaint with this story, as with may contemporaries, is the use of miscommunication to further the plot or draw out the story.  So many misunderstandings and hurt feelings could have been avoided if the characters would have just talked to each other.  Aside from that, I really enjoyed this audiobook, and I'll definitely make it a point to read Sarah Ockler's other books.

Rating: 

Title: If I Should Die
Author: Amy Plum
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Series: Revenants, book #3
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

When it comes to this series, I just have to admit that my reading tastes have changed a lot over the last couple of years.  I loved Die for Me when I read an ARC all those months ago.  It was one of the first ARCs I'd ever received, so maybe that had something to do with my excitement, too.

The idea behind this series is intriguing, even now.  It's just the follow-through, I think, that just didn't do it for me.  That, and a big ole fake-out when it came to the romance.  Gah, and that cliffhanger at the end of Until I Die just about made me lose my shiz.  Because you just knew how things were going to play out, and pretend killing off a main character just doesn't fly with me.

Oh, this was the first book in this series that I listened to, though, and I have to say, I did enjoy the narration.  I liked Julia Whelan's narration of Flat-Out Love, but I truly enjoyed this narration because of all the French pronunciations that I just know I butchered the first two go-rounds with this series.  Whelan's French was just lovely.  It almost made up for the general blah-ness of the actual story.

Rating:  

Title: The Nightmare Affair
Author: Mindee Arnett
Narrator: Cassandra Morris
Series: The Arkwell Academy, book #1
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Publication Date: July 9, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

I think my biggest problem with this novel was that it read at a much younger level than I was expecting.  I loved Rachel Vincent's take on mara or Nightmares in her Soul Screamers series, and I guess I was hoping this would be similar, but on a much grander scale since the Nightmare was the main character in this story. But, alas, it was not to be.

Unfortunate that the story didn't quite live up to the awesome cover. Because I do LOVE that cover.  Very reminiscent of the cover of Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.  Unlike with SRB's book, though, it was relatively easy to figure out where this story was headed, who the culprit was, and how it all came to be.

The narration was also performed by the same (young) narrator as Tiger Lily.  I think that probably also gave the story more of a MG feel than intended.  Even so, I'm still intrigued enough by the Nightmares and the school for magickind that I'll pick up subsequent installments.  But I'm much more excited for Mindee Arnett's Avalon.  How awesome does that book sound?

Rating:   1/2

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Labels: amy plum, audiobooks, bittersweet, contemporary, gothic mystery, harper-collins, mindee arnett, paranormal, revenants series, reviews, sarah ockler, simon schuster, the arkwell academy, tor teen, zombies

Review: Until I Die by Amy Plum

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title:  Until I Die
Author:  Amy Plum
Series:  2nd book in the Revenants series
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Publication Date:  May 8, 2012
Source:  ARC

Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

So...I have tons of scribbles for this book. If you know my reading style at all, you know that this is never a good sign.  When I’m consumed by a book, or vice versa, I tend to forget to stop and record my thoughts.  When a book is not living up to my expectations?  THAT’S when I find myself with pages of notes.  Granted, I can’t include a lot of my notes in my review because some of my thoughts were particularly spoilery, but you get the point.

I loved Die for Me when I read it last year.  I liked the story, the characters, the setting…I even appreciated the bad guy.  However, I’m starting to notice a trend.  A big majority of the books I read this time last year – read: the first books in trilogies that are slated to release sequels this year – really wowed me.  Maybe I was just getting back into my reading groove and was happy to read anything at that point.  This was around the time I started my blog and everything was new and shiny and full of awesome.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you compared my taste in reading materials from a year ago to the present, the results might be a bit skewed.  Basically, I’m just warning you that I’m not going to review Until I Die as favorably as I did Die for Me, and I want you to know that I’m not picking on the book or the author.  Also, it may not be any fault of the author or the book.  It really could just be me that changed.

That said, I feel that Until I Die fell into the “middle book slump”.  It was 350+ pages of fluff, nothing of any consequence really happening throughout the entirety of the novel.  Sure, Kate is searching for a way for her and Vincent to have a somewhat normal life together, and he’s conducting experiments with the same end result in mind.  However, the majority of the book was spent on Revenant history and unsubstantiated claims of a Champion and other Revenant-related lore that was neither unexpected nor unsurprising.  After the first quarter of the book, I already knew where the storyline was headed, and although I love to be proven correct, the result left me quite dissatisfied.

My biggest complaint, though, was how contrived this novel felt.  I have no less than five written examples of obstacles being overcome rather conveniently, despite the odds being stacked against the characters, and those are only the ones I felt compelled to document.  Life, love and everything in between isn’t easy for your average human, so why would I find it believable that a human dating a not-so-gross zombie would have an easier go of it?

I did appreciate the fact that Vincent feels the need to point out to Kate that she has pretty much ostracized herself from all of her former friends and that she still does need those connections to the normal world.  I can’t really fault Vincent for anything there; I do so hate a protagonist who dumps all of her former relationships for one with a guy who’s already warned her away from him for various reasons.  On the other hand, Vincent doesn’t push Kate away because of the wrongness of their relationship, as so many wrong-for-her love interests are wont to do, so kudos on that front, as well.

I didn’t hate Until I Die, and I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series.  I just wish Until I Die hadn’t been such a middle novel.  I was so excited about this book, and it just fell short of my expectations.  I’ve been trying to curb those as of late, but when you’ve already read the first novel and adored it, what do you do?

Rating:  1/2

Book-A-Likes:  Hereafter by Tara Hudson, Spellbound series by Cara Lynn Shultz



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Labels: amy plum, book trailers, book-a-likes, ghosts, harper-collins, revenants series, reviews

Teaser Tuesday #4

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


This week's teaser comes from the following book:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title:  Until I Die
Author:  Amy Plum
Series:  2nd book in the Revenants series
Publisher:  Harper Teen
Publication Date:  May 8, 2012
Source:  ARC provided by publisher

Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

My teaser:

"The curtains came up, but we didn't move.  We spent the rest of the performance kissing and laughing and peeking out at the ballet and then kissing some more." -- p. 121 of ARC

Eeek!  Well, at least we know things are still going well enough that they're making out in public places, right?!?  Okay, back to reading!

Share your teaser in the comments!

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Labels: amy plum, beautiful covers, ghosts, harper-collins, revenants series, src 2012, teaser tuesday

In My Mailbox #27

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.




For Review:

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols, ARC courtesy of the author
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready, thanks to Simon Schuster for the ARC
Socialpunk by Monica Leonelle, egalley courtesy of the author
Gilt by Katherine Longshore, via Netgalley
Until I Die by Amy Plum, ARC courtesy of HarperCollins
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin -- YES, another copy thanks to HarperCollins :)
The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad, also thanks to HarperCollins
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, via ARC tour, courtesy of the Southern Book Bloggers

Purchased:

Prey, Shift & Alpha (books 4-6 in the Shifters series) by Rachel Vincent, audiobooks

Did you get any goodies in your mailbox this week???  Share them in the comments!  :D

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Labels: audiobooks, harper-collins, hmh, in my mailbox (imm), masque of the red death, revenants series, shade series, simon schuster, southern book bloggers

Review: Die for Me (Revenants #1) by Amy Plum

Title:  Die For Me
Author:  Amy Plum
Series:  Revenants Trilogy
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Publication Date:  May 10, 2011
Links:  Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: 

From Goodreads:

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

In this incandescent debut, newcomer Amy Plum has created a powerful paranormal mythology with immortal revenants. The Paris setting comes enchantingly alive as a relentless struggle between good and evil takes place in its streets. Rich with romance, atmosphere, and thrills, Die for Me will leave readers breathlessly awaiting its sequel.

Review:


This novel really took me by surprise. I'd been wanting to read it since I first heard about it, but I never imagined I'd enjoy it so much. It was such a unique take on ghosts and the walking dead, called revenants in the book. And what a beautiful cover!

The pacing of the story was rather leisurely in the beginning as the reader learns about Kate's life and what it's become since the deaths of her parents and her move to France with her grandparents, and even after she meets Vincent and he explains revenants to her. But the pacing does pick up once the story evolves into something more than just Kate and Vincent, and the reader discovers that there's a danger lurking very near, one that directly involves Vincent and Kate.

I liked that this wasn't insta-love for Kate. Yes, she was taken with Vincent's modelesque beauty instantly, but even once she developed feelings for him, she questioned if she was ready, if she could handle a relationship with him once she knew the truth. I like to believe that love will always prevail in the end, so it doesn't usually bother me when a relationship progresses rather quickly. This story is no different. It actually speaks volumes to me that Kate could accept and even love Vincent, despite how, ah, different he is from other would-be suitors. I try to keep an open mind in life, and I look favorably at the characters in books that can do so, as well.

This novel is a romantic ghost story, but there's plenty of action to be had. It's beautifully told from Kate's POV and the setting is the most romantic city in the world. I couldn't ask for more in a debut novel!

*I won an ARC of this novel from Pitch Dark Books/Harper Teen in their Dark Days of Supernatural promotion.*
 
Next up for review: 

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Labels: amy plum, harper-collins, revenants series, reviews