Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: February 10th, 2015
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

I was a little nervous about picking this one up, because it only earned 3 stars from Jen. You can read her review here. Red Queen is compared to Graceling and The Selection. I read Graceling a long time ago and I liked it. I can't really vouch for it's comparison to The Selection though, because I've only just started that one. 

I try not to read to much into the... "This book is such and such book meets such and such book". Because half the time.. it's all bull shit. And it's nothing like either. Red Queen reminded me of a lot of different books, but it worked for me. It was a nice blend. 

I'll be honest in saying that one of the things that made reading this so enjoyable was the fact I buddy read it with Jess. Reading with a friend is so freaking fun, especially when you read a book like this that has so many twists and turns. There were many WTF texts flying between our phones. 

Red Queen wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but I did go in somewhat blind and that added to the experience. I read the blurb months and months ago back when I added it to my 'to read' list, but I did not read it before we started. 

I loved the whole Silver/Red blood thing. It kind of reminded me of the Red Rising world, with the color classes.. but less complicated. I wish I had silver blood. How cool would that be. And not to be gross, but I kept wondering if these silver bitches had silver periods!! They would almost have to, right? I really want to know! And if a red and a silver were to procreate, would their blood then look pinkish? Like a metallic pink? 

Anyway, I thought Red Queen was super fun and interesting. It leaves you hanging a bit.. but what series book doesn't? I'm really looking forward to reading the next one. 

About the author:

After growing up in small town Massachusetts, Victoria attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She graduated with a BFA in Screenwriting, which is exactly the degree being sought after in a recession.

She tries her best to combine her love of history, explosions, and butt-kicking heroines in her writing. Her hobbies include the impossible task of predicting what happens next in A Song of Ice and Fire, road trips, and burning through Netflix.

Find Victoria:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr

Read More

Labels: buddy reads, fantasy, fun, harper-collins, red queen, reviews, silver period, victoria aveyard

{DNF} Review: From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

Title: From What I Remember
Author: Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas
Series: n/a
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: May 15, 2012
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

KYLIE: Mexico? What a nightmare! I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY! Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger??

MAX: It started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics and it ended in Ensenada. It was hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded here, with less than twenty-four hours before graduation.

WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring their passports across the border but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started.

LILY: This cannot be happening. It's like some cruel joke. Or a bad dream. I close my eyes and when I reopen them, they're still there. Max and Kylie Flores, freak of the century. In bed together. If Kylie thinks I'm giving him up without a fight, she's dead wrong.

Oh. My. Gawd. This book was bad. So bad that I couldn't even finish it, making it my first official DNF of the year. I can tolerate a lot when it comes to books, but this book pushed my limits. I was actually buddy reading this with my younger sister. It seemed perfect for us, like it was meant to be or something. We'd been at Half Price Books and they had a paperback copy for $2 and I had a finished copy already, and the book was on my Summer TBR pile -- had been on my shelf for ages -- so we thought we'd read it together, hoping it was as funny and charming as it sounded.

Nope. It was just full of stereotypes and insane situations and it was just plain awful. We kept trying to like it, to connect with the story, but it was just impossible. When I asked Mendy how she'd review the book she said, "Um, well, it was gay, and so were the characters." Now, I know that's not PC, but at least three characters in the book actually were gay, so it's a fair assessment, I think.

Considering the insanity that bled forth from the pages of this novel, I find is highly suspect that the story itself was so unbelievably predictable. Everything my sister and I anticipated happening came to pass. We stopped at the halfway point in this book, and even then we continued to entertain thoughts of what might occur in the latter half of the book, and much to our chagrin, we were pretty spot-on. I won't list examples here in case you still have plans to read this nonsense, but suffice it to say, if you envision it happening in this story, it probably will. Is the book able to read the reader's mind? Or is it just that badly written? As awesome as the first possibility is, I'm not inclined to believe that's the case here.

Initially, I had wanted to check out this novel because the main character sounded a lot like me in high school:  intelligent, introverted, hot-tempered, and a little bit weird. And Kylie is those things, but in the worst way. I hated her voice, how she treated people, how she continued to make terrible decisions. Ugh, and the movie quotes. That aspect can be fun when done right, but it was just so annoying in this book, whether the quotes were being spoken sporadically throughout the text or were the precursor to each chapter. They just felt forced and not at all entertaining. The same goes for all of the pop culture references. I mean, there was a mention of browsing in a Circuit City before they went under. That company's been gone from Texas for over a decade at least, and even the store that took over the old building it was in has since gone under and a new business has moved in. I think this mention was to make the story feel relevant and real, but none of these pop culture references worked for me. I realize that contemporary novels have a harder time standing the test of time, not dating themselves, but the mentions of brands and stores was just in overabundance in this one.

The novel as a whole -- or at least what we read of it -- was just off-putting and there are just so many other books to spend time with. I think too much time was spent getting the reader and the characters to the point that they're supposed to be at in the synopsis, and I just couldn't be bothered to care how it all came to fruition any longer. Especially once Mendy perused the last few chapters and told me that we would have been pissed had we kept reading to the end, only to discover that everything went down just as we'd guessed.

GIF it to me straight:

About the authors:

Karma Bites is a first novel by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas. Kramer is a comedy writer, whose television credits include "Lizzie McGuire" and "Less Than Perfect." She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Find Stacy:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

                       ----------

Karma Bites is a first novel by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas. Valerie Thomas is a screenwriter and producer, and has overseen such films as "Adaptation" and "Philadelphia." She lives in New Jersey.

Find Valerie:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Read More

Labels: buddy reads, contemporary, disappointments, disney hyperion, dnf, mendy, reviews, stacy kramer, summer, valerie thomas

Review: Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Dark Metropolis
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Series: Dark Metropolis, book #1
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Cabaret meets Cassandra Clare-a haunting magical thriller set in a riveting 1930s-esque world.

Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules.

Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own.

Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.

Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.

I was hoping that the story behind that gorgeous cover would be equally enchanting, full of the revelry I've come to associate with the Roaring 20s. What I got instead was a story of necromancy, debauchery, and revolution. Not that I'm complaining...the story as a whole is quite intriguing.

Dark Metropolis was a much darker read than I had been expecting. That might come as a shock to you considering the word "dark" is right there in the title, but as I said, I was hoping for more decadence, less dead things. I was also hoping for a bit more world-building. I had read in a couple of places that the setting was based on Berlin in the 1920s, that period between the World Wars, and the war-torn vibe was there on the pages especially toward the end of the book, but it never felt like we were in Germany. Maybe I just don't know very much about Germany during that period -- or even now -- but I needed more from the setting. It also would have been nice to understand the Valkenrath brothers and their plan to utilize Freddy to help the country survive the aftermath of  the war.

It felt as if this book began as Thea's story but quickly morphed into Freddy and Nan's story, with Thea included as just a bit player until nearly the end. And it's probably for this reason that I never felt very connected to any one character. I don't mind a switch in perspective in the narrative, especially when it makes sense to do so -- as in this story -- but before the transition, I'd like to connect to the last person whose head I was just in. The closest I came to this was with Thea in the first 50 pages or so, before it felt like she was ripped away from me in favor of Freddy's story. I suppose this sort of parallels how the families of the undead in this story probably felt, but I'm not inclined to appreciate that possibility right now.

The three main characters were great in their own right, though. Each was honorable, strong, and rose to the challenge set before them. Thea is the demure girl just trying to make her way as a plucky Telephone Club waitress while also taking care of her mother, who is ill due to a magic spell binding her to her missing husband. On the outside, Nan is Thea's closest friend and fellow Telephone Club waitress. On the inside, she is empty and unfeeling...until she solves the mystery of her special gift. And rounding out this trio, we have silver-haired Freddy, who has more control over life and death than he ever thought possible. Together, these three seek to put an end to the injustices being forced upon their friends and family.

I respect the author's inclusion of two very different romances in this story but also the fact that she didn't allow them to saturate the plot. They were very subtle, and I quite liked that. Also, yay for diversity! Even if that's another aspect that I would like to see expanded further. Not sure how many books will follow this first one, but I'm sure we'll see more of these two couples in the sequel -- and see if their love can withstand.

The thing that disappointed me most about this story, though, was probably how neat and tidy the ending was. I never wish for a cliffhanger, but I at least want to be intrigued enough to return for a sequel, and I'm not sure I'm at that point after finishing Dark Metropolis. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, atmospheric and equal parts gory and enchanting, but there was just something missing.

GIF it to me straight:

It started off well enough, but the book lost its stride somewhere along the way.

About the author:

Jaclyn Dolamore was homeschooled in a hippie sort of way and spent her childhood reading as many books as her skinny nerd-body could lug from the library and playing elaborate pretend games with her sister Kate. She skipped college and spent eight years drudging through retail jobs, developing her thrifty cooking skills and pursuing a lifelong writing dream. She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, David Bowie, drawing, and organic food. She lives with her partner and plot-sounding-board, Dade, and two black tabbies who have ruined her carpeting.

Find Jaclyn:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Goodreads

Read More

Labels: alternate history, beautiful covers, buddy reads, dark metropolis, disney hyperion, jaclyn dolamore, lgbt, magic, reviews, zombies

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Title: She Is Not Invisible
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Series: n/a
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: April 22, 2014
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Laureth Peak's father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers--a skill at which she's remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.

Whew. Now that I've got my first Marcus Sedgwick under my belt, I feel like I can breathe a little. Except, from what I'm told, this isn't quite the dark fare he's known for. Actually the running joke in this story is that the MC's author-dad's earlier works were well-received as "funny" books, but his last few novels, which took a darker turn, were not nearly as well-liked. Coincidence? I think not.

That's an overall theme in this book, coincidence versus chance. Or as little Benjamin is fond of calling it, co-inky-dink. And after reading all of the possible coincidences or instances of chance in this story, I'm inclined to research it on my own a bit. That stuff is fascinating, especially when you consider the famous scientists and such who supposedly drove themselves mad over it. I honestly had no idea, but when you stop and think of it, even for a moment, it's enough to make you a little loopy, ya know? I can't even begin to wrap my head around it, let alone fathom the science and mathematics behind such a phenomenon.

And yet, I still want to. I know this is a work of fiction, but I saw the change it brought about in Laureth. And I know it was the act of striking out on her own to save her father, not the serendipity of everything that actually forged this change in her character, in her faith in herself, but it helped. Not that I thought her character was lacking...quite the opposite. Laureth is a blind sixteen-year-old girl who has essentially kidnapped her younger brother on her mission to find their father, and even though her actions are impulsive, she never seems immature or irresponsible...except maybe with her mother's credit card. Still, for a girl who needs her kid brother's help to navigate the world at large, she does a pretty great job at fooling most people into believing there's nothing wrong with her. And there isn't. I appreciated that Laureth genuinely seemed not to miss her sight, that the thing she dreaded most in life was being invisible.

I felt like Benjamin was a balm to the rashness of Laureth's character. He and Stan were adorable, and I thought that the voice given to the intellectual seven-year-old -- whose only friend seemed to be a stuffed raven named Stannous -- was spot-on. Ben was very clever and alert, but I believe that comes from his upbringing and from assisting his sister, but there were also moments when he seemed like your average seven-year-old boy, ready for a nap and a cuddle. I loved the relationship between Laureth and Ben, most especially when Laureth was "cross" and had to remind herself that Ben was just a little boy rather than taking out her frustration on him.

But back to the missing father and all the happenstance of the situation. This was the driving force in the story. There was no romance. There was no best friend to help solve the mystery. There was only Laureth and Ben and Stan and a few interesting acquaintances along the way. And the number 354. Can't forget that. That number was definitely a factor, if not a coincidence, that guided these kids' trek across the city in search of their possibly insane but definitely missing father.

I liked it. There were creepy bits and weird bits and bits where I just wanted to hug the characters and then there were those bits that just made me want to sit and ponder the matters of the universe till the end of my days. Needless to say, I'll definitely be picking up more of the author's work in the near future. And considering the crazy, whacked out ending I was anticipating -- which was a tad anti-climactic and far less involved than I was maybe hoping for -- I'm sure I'll find no issue with his darker, gothic stories. I'm looking forward to them, in fact. I found She Is Not Invisible to be quite clever and rather introspective, and though it wasn't at all what I was expecting from this story or the author, I enjoyed it immensely.

GIF it to me straight:

 I'm inclined to agree. Though the author has made me very keen to learn more on the matter.

About the Author:

Marcus Sedgwick was born in Kent, England. Marcus is a British author and illustrator as well as a musician. He is the author of several books, including Witch Hill and The Book of Dead Days, both of which were nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The most recent of these nominations rekindled a fascination with Poe that has borne fruit here in (in The Restless Dead, 2007) the form of "The Heart of Another" - inspired by Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." Of his story, Sedgwick says, "This was one of those stories that I thought might be a novel originally but actually was much better suited to the tight form of the short story. I had the initial idea some years ago but was just waiting for the right ingredient to come along. Poe's story, as well as his own fascination with technique, provided that final piece of the puzzle."

He used to play for two bands namely playing the drums for Garrett and as the guitarist in an ABBA tribute group. He has published novels such as Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Book Award 2002).

Find Marcus:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram | Goodreads

Read More

Labels: beautiful covers, buddy reads, contemporary, macmillan, marcus sedgwick, psychological thriller, reviews, she is not invisible

Two Heads Are Better Than One: A Discussion on Buddy Reads

April and I are both big supporters of reading with a buddy, and we know a lot of other people like to read with a friend or group, as well. But I think each person takes away something different from a buddy read, and so we thought it was high time we discussed buddy reading and sought some feedback from you guys, too. So, April posed some questions and we both reflected on what reading with a buddy means to each of us.

What makes a good buddy reader?

April:  For me, a buddy reader has to be someone I’m comfortable with, someone who has similar likes and reading habits as me. Life happens, and sometimes it sets me back. A good buddy reader has to be someone who understands that. I’ve tried buddy reading with a couple bloggers and it didn’t work out. This one read too fast, that one read too slow. So compatibility is a must for me.

Jen:  Same here...I have to be compatible with the person I'm buddy reading with. I wouldn't just read with any ole Joe Schmo from Goodreads or Twitter. Besides having the same taste in reading material, we also have to have other common interests and reading habits, and it's nice if we've been friends for awhile, too. It helps to have a buddy who understands that I work full-time and have an almost six-year-old daughter so that they know I can't always be at their beck and call for a buddy read. A buddy read should be fun, not something that causes unnecessary pressure on me. For me, a good buddy reader sticks to the planned reading schedule, but doesn't necessarily expect you to read at the same time or even at the same pace. I look forward to reading and discussing the night's chapters with my buddy, but I don't want to feel pressured to speed-read and then get spoilery texts or messages from them before I've even finished. That is a buddy reader no-no.

How does buddy reading differ from reading on your own? What are the benefits?

April:  I love reading on my own because I don’t have to stop at any certain point, but then I don’t have anyone to talk to about it! The benefit of buddy reading for me, is being able to discuss while reading. It’s so nice to have that lifeline, that other person who is reading the same thing at the same time and probably thinking the same things too. I love when Jess and I simultaneously send each other “WTF just happened” texts. Also, you might miss something that your buddy reader didn’t and that is super helpful.

Jen:  With buddy reading, I think I actually pay even more attention to what I'm reading because I feel like I'm going to be quizzed on it afterward, lol. I do love reading on my own schedule because I don't rush as much to find out what happens so I can discuss it with my buddy. But at the same time, not reading with somebody means I don't have anyone to discuss it with immediately after, and like I said, I probably wasn't pay close attention to the details like I would if I knew someone was waiting to discuss them with me. Buddy reads really help me see things in the story that I might have glossed over otherwise, and it also helps to talk through things in the story because each reader interprets things in their own way. I've read things at times and took it a totally different way than my buddy reader, and then I realize that I was letting my personal experiences shade certain aspects of the story because the buddy reader with different life experiences didn't see it that way at all. Buddy reading helps give you some perspective.

How do you find the time to buddy read while keeping up with review books?

April:  Well, I’ve been buddy reading with my friend Jess for a long time now and we have finally gotten into a groove that works perfectly for us. I love reading review books, but I hate not reading my books. Ya know? I see so many bloggers get burned out just reading books for review, and I don’t want to ever feel that way. So I read multiple books at a time. I almost always have two going. I have one review book on deck, and one buddy read. We take turns choosing what we want to read. This is where similar likes come in handy because Jess and I like the same books. We start out on a Monday reading 25 % a day. Or if it’s a physical book we will break it up into chapters. By the end of the week we usually finish. The rest of the day I read my review books. This allows me to read purchases as well as arcs. So far, it’s worked out great.

Jen:  I always have multiple books going, too. I usually try to have an audiobook, a review book, and a shelf book going. Sometimes I read review books with a buddy who got a copy, too, and then when we're done reading, we link to each other in our reviews of the book. Other times, the shelf book is the one I'm buddy reading. It really just depends on who I'm reading with and what we're excited about reading at the time. But keeping three books on deck really helps me. The buddy read is only a set amount of chapters each night, and then I spend the rest of my reading time for the night on the other book I have on deck. Commuting, chores, and work time are how I get through my audiobooks. It might sound like a lot at any given time, and maybe too much to keep track of sometimes, but it works really well for me and keeps me on track with what I hope to get read each month.

Jess and her princess

Who is your go to buddy reader(s) and why?

April:  Jess from Hackaroo Reviews. We met a few years ago on twitter. She’s amazing, and she one of my best friends. Sometimes distance doesn’t matter. We’ve never met in real life, but we talk everyday via voxer, text, and sometimes phone. For me she is the ideal buddy reader. She’s a working mom, she has an almost one year old and a new little one on the way. She gets me as a person, as well as a reader.

Our buddy reading relationship is pretty relaxed. We are both busy people. If one of us gets caught up in real life shit, and can’t keep up, either we wait for the other, or move on. When we are both caught up we start the next. No hard feelings.

Jen:  I have a couple of friends I buddy read with these days. Emily from Book Jems is my fangirl soulmate. We don't have down and dirty discussions after we finish the night's chapters or the entire book...we just fangirl to each other in tweets. And Goodreads status updates. And sometimes email, depending on how awesome the book was. But when I want to really evaluate a novel and get to the nitty gritty of it, I read and discuss with Kristen over at My Friends Are Fiction™. She even started a group on Goodreads where we could exclusively discuss our buddy reads without spoiling things for anyone else who might follow us. I think through our buddy reads, we've become even better friends, which is a sure sign that we were meant to be reading buddies, right? =) We read at the same pace, we both have little ones around the same age, and we understand that real life comes first. It's a win/win.

Which is kinda the same situation me and April are in, so I'm wondering why we don't ever buddy read together. Hmm. I mean, we did just kind of read Open Road Summer together -- meaning at the same time -- but we didn't discuss it while reading, except in a couple of Goodreads status updates and comments. But we are planning to do our first joint review over this title, so that's kinda the same thing, right? :D


Do you participate in buddy reads or book clubs or anything similar? Do you have anyone you exclusively buddy read with? What makes buddy reading work for you?

Read More

Labels: buddy reads, discussion