Title: All Our Yesterdays
Author: Cristin Terrill
Series: All Our Yesterdays, book #1 of 2
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Source: ATW ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon |
Barnes & Noble
"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.
Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.
Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.
All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.
Time travel novels are usually the bane of my existence. I love the idea of time travel itself, but most novels tend to drop the ball when it comes to executing the concept. The explanation for how it works, why it works, etc., becomes too convoluted and confusing, and little to no actual time travel actually happens. At least, that's usually my experience. There have been a few exceptions, but
All Our Yesterdays surpassed them all.
I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it on Saturday. And I read the entirety of the novel in one sitting. I had the house to myself and I took the opportunity to
devour this book, and it was definitely time well-spent. Also, it's a duology. Yeah, those are kind of becoming a thing, and I'm not complaining. It removes the whole issue of "middle book syndrome" and means you get the whole story in just two books. Now, if only they could release the books a little closer together. *sigh*
This story was very character-driven, and if you know my preferences at all, you know that's a biggie. Characters can make or break a story, but this is especially true where time travel books are concerned because they tend to focus a lot of time and energy on the time travel aspect itself, and the characters are never portrayed to their fullest, which results in me never getting attached to them. And if I never develop a connection to the characters, if I don't care one iota what happens to them, you've lost me. Luckily for this story, I cared an awful lot what happened to the characters, maybe too much...I went to sleep thinking about them and I woke up thinking about them, and days later, I'm
still thinking about them.
I love how the relationship between the cellmates Em and Finn is portrayed and how it evolved, the fact that they didn't like each other all that much in the beginning, but they later became friends and close confidantes because of their situation. On the other hand, we have Marina and James, who've been best friends and neighbors for years. These characters are all tied together, for better or worse, and somehow, the responsibility of saving the world from destruction, from chaos and war, has ended up in their hands. I really can't say too much about it for fear of giving everything away -- even though it's not like you won't figure it all out on your own pretty early on -- but suffice it to say, these characters felt so real, their relationships so plausible, and my empathy for them only increased as more and more of their story was divulged.
The book may have essentially been character-driven for me, but the plot was also very fast-paced and intense, with the present-day action spanning only three or four days. There were lots of flashbacks to provide a background for Em and Finn, whose timeline is four years in the future from when we meet Marina and James, but that same technique wasn't really necessary to explain the circumstances for the latter pair. The story alternates between Em and Marina's perspectives, with one set of characters knowing full well the ramifications of time travel and the other set woefully ignorant. The author really understood where she was taking this story from the beginning, the way she manipulates the events and characters...and even the reader a little bit.
The time travel concept in this novel isn't totally unprecedented. There is a machine, aptly named
Cassandra after the mythological soothsayer, and there are alternate timelines and paradoxical events. But some aspects of it are unusual, at least to me. For example, the idea that time is not linear, that it might be sentient and decide which events remain fixed and which events can be altered...those are not concepts I've seen in time travel before, at least not in YA versions. And because of this, it actually made a lot more sense to me than how I've seen it explained before, maybe because it wasn't made out to be this ultra complex idea but rather a vague one.
The concept and explanation, the character development, even the romantic elements...this is what I was looking for in all of those other time travel novels. Sacrifice is a major underlying theme in this book, and it made for an intensely emotional read, not to mention an absolutely engaging one.
All Our Yesterdays is an impressive debut, and I wholeheartedly pronounce that Cristin Terrill is an author to watch and this novel is a definite must-read!
Rating: 
About the author:
Cristin Terrill is a young adult author and aspiring grown-up. She grew up semi-nomadic and graduated from Vassar College with a degree in drama. After getting her masters in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, she lived in London, Austin, Boston, and Washington, DC while working as a theatrical stage manager. Now she writes and leads creative writing workshops for DC-area kids and teens. All Our Yesterdays is her first novel.
Find Cristin:
Website |
Twitter |
Facebook |
Goodreads |
Tumblr
Monday, September 2, 2013
{Blog Tour} Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke: Guest Post
Welcome to the Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea blog tour! What better way to ring in the end of summer than this truly creepy (but also steamy!) debut from April Genevieve Tucholke? Follow along on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as April offers insights into her characters, her writing, and bringing gothic horror back again. But first, a little about the novel:
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between, book #1
Publisher: Dial
Publication Date: August 15, 2013
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
A gothic thriller romance with shades of Stephen King and F. Scott Fitzgerald, set against a creepy summertime backdrop--a must-read for fans of Beautiful Creatures, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, and Anna Dressed in Blood.
And then there’s Neely and River. I have a dangerously high tolerance for mischief and amorality when it’s presented to me in a charming package. Neely is cheerful and amiable, but he has a temper. And River…River believes in justice, and vengeance. He does questionable things. He takes the law into his own hands. He has no regrets. He wants life to be interesting. Hell, I want to be River half the time.
Ah, I love this! And I completely agree with the high tolerance for amorality when boys like River are involved. He sort of makes it okay to be bad. =) I loved this novel to pieces, and I hope you'll check out my review to see why.
April Genevieve Tucholke digs classic movies, redheaded villains, big kitchens, and discussing murder at the dinner table. She lives in Oregon at the edge of a forest. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is her first novel.
Find April:
Website | Goodreads | Twitter
Friday, August 30, 2013
Review: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
Author: Sherry Thomas
Series: The Elemental Trilogy, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Source: ARC received from publisher, from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.
Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.
But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.
I'm a fantasy fanatic. I'm always looking for the next fantastic world I can escape to, one full of magic and mischief and mayhem. And there was plenty in equal measures in The Burning Sky. It took me a bit to become fully engaged in this story, but once the pacing picked up, there was plenty to keep me interested. This book was kind of the anti-Harry Potter: a girl is taken from her magical world and brought to ours, where magic doesn't exist, to attend school while hiding from the Bane and his cohorts. I'm not attempting to make a true comparison, just laying it out there so you get the gist of the story. (And I'm not telling you anything that's not shown in the book trailer.)
A lot of my friends who shy away from fantasy tend to do so because the world and it's rules can become quite confusing. I don't think The Burning Sky is supposed to be a confusing book, but there were times that I found myself questioning the laws of the magic of The Realm or the Seer's predictions regarding Titus and Iolanthe. I often overlook things in fantasy novels, assuring myself that it'll all make sense later. But with this novel, I needed instant gratification, and so when I was confused about which Crucible was being used and which rules related to it because of the location and who it had previously belonged to, I inevitably started flipping back and forth in the book. I needed everything in this novel to make sense in the here and now, not chapters later when everything had worked itself out already. And upon further inspection, it did make sense...it was just easy to get ahead of myself while reading and lose track of some of the details. Some of the paradoxes involving predicting the future still don't make sense, but I think that's just one of those things that I might never fully comprehend.
Iolanthe and Titus' first meeting is the result of a prediction. I wasn't immediately enamored with either character, their initial mistrust of each other and overall demeanor leaving much to be desired, but as the story wore on, and more of each character's story was divulged, I found myself rooting for them, separately and as partners. The romance didn't wow me, but it was sweet. My favorite aspect, though, was probably one of the super villain's underlings. The Inquisitor was ferocious in her search for the powerful mage who had wielded lightning. Her ability to seek out the truth in one's mind knows no bounds, and the Inquisitor makes for a truly terrifying enemy. Her existence and her power make me even more curious about the Bane and his rumored malevolence.
I think The Burning Sky only touched on some characters that could definitely use further examination as the series continues. And I'd like a little more background and explanation as to how the magic works and exists in both worlds. As you can see, I definitely want more, and I'll absolutely be picking up the next installment. I'm hoping that, where this book seemed to focus more on world-building, the next will focus more on characterization. I'm excited to get to know these characters better!
Rating:
Find Sherry:
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Teaser Tuesday #71: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
• 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!
Author: Sherry Thomas
Series: The Elemental Trilogy, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.
Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.
But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.
Oh, that Inquisitor! Just can't be rid of her! o_O I was excited by the summary above, but it wasn't until I saw the book trailer that I allowed my expectations for this book to build. I mean, magic is great and all, but when you add in a girl pretending to be a boy and set the story in historic London, you have guaranteed me a good time.
What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!
Monday, July 29, 2013
Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between, book #1
Publisher: Dial
Publication Date: August 15, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher for review
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was one of my mostly highly anticipated titles this year. I screamed like the fangirl that I am when an ARC arrived on my doorstep. I know that practically all of the reviewers I trust have devoured this book, and yet I made myself wait till now to read it. I wanted to forget everything I'd read about the novel so that I could go into it with a clear head. And it absolutely lived up to my expectations.
Far and above everything else, I think my favorite aspect of this novel was the moral questions it asked of the reader. River is deliciously devilish, and it would serve Violet well not to believe a word he utters, but his actions are not always those of malice. Give a boy a god-like power and expect him to become addicted to what he can do and trust that he will take it too far. Except, is it morally and ethically wrong if his actions are those of retribution on souls who've committed great misdeeds? If it wasn't his place to judge the wrong-doers, why was he given this power?
Violet knows better than to give her heart to this boy. Even before she knew what River was capable of, she was wary of him. And yet...there's something about him that draws her in. Vi resists her feelings for River, especially once she seriously has to consider how evil he might be, but her will is no match for River's magnetism. That is, until the truth of that magnetism is revealed, and then we're all left wondering whether any of it was real.
Throughout this novel, I continued to question why I was okay with River as the love interest. He is not inherently evil, but his actions do speak loud and clear. Knowing what he has done, what he will probably continue to do, how is it that I still ship this romance between him and Violet? I think it speaks to the beautiful prose that I can almost accept River and his sense of justice, no matter how misbegotten it is.
The setting of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea gives this novel a very gothic feel, with the White's extravagant house -- named the Citizen Kane by their deceased grandmother -- on a cliff, the crashing sea below it, and a graveyard full of children fending off the devil. Very macabre indeed. The White children are isolated from the rest of the town, left on their own at the Citizen over the summer while their parents travel abroad. Yet, Violet is even further ostracized, partly by choice. She doesn't fit in, and her brother makes every attempt to ensure she knows it.
Despite initially despising Luke for how he treated Violet, he did grow on me. And it was nice to see River give him his comeuppance a time or two. All of the characters in this novel seemed a bit morally ambiguous in the beginning, but each endeared themselves to me in one way or another...eventually. (Well, except that one guy.) Even Frankie, dead as she was, was an ever-present facet in Violet's life, and I found myself wishing for more than just her old letters and clothing to get to know her by.
I wanted to love this book so badly, and I'm relieved and ecstatic that the story was everything I'd hoped it would be. The eccentric dialogue and the easy banter pulled me into this little circle of strangeness from the very first page, and I'm excited to see where the author takes the story in the next installment, especially after seeing the title: Between the Spark and the Burn. I'm officially creeped out by what this title implies, but I'm also very, very intrigued. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a stellar debut, one sure to conjure up its fair share of nightmares.
Rating:
April Genevieve Tucholke is a full-time writer who digs classic movies, redheaded villains, big kitchens, and discussing murder at the dinner table. She and her husband—a librarian, former rare-book dealer, and journalist—live in Oregon. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is her first novel.
Find April:
Website | Goodreads | Twitter
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Author: Cristin Terrill
Series: All Our Yesterdays, book #1 of 2
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Source: ATW ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.
Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.
All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.
Time travel novels are usually the bane of my existence. I love the idea of time travel itself, but most novels tend to drop the ball when it comes to executing the concept. The explanation for how it works, why it works, etc., becomes too convoluted and confusing, and little to no actual time travel actually happens. At least, that's usually my experience. There have been a few exceptions, but All Our Yesterdays surpassed them all.
I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it on Saturday. And I read the entirety of the novel in one sitting. I had the house to myself and I took the opportunity to devour this book, and it was definitely time well-spent. Also, it's a duology. Yeah, those are kind of becoming a thing, and I'm not complaining. It removes the whole issue of "middle book syndrome" and means you get the whole story in just two books. Now, if only they could release the books a little closer together. *sigh*
This story was very character-driven, and if you know my preferences at all, you know that's a biggie. Characters can make or break a story, but this is especially true where time travel books are concerned because they tend to focus a lot of time and energy on the time travel aspect itself, and the characters are never portrayed to their fullest, which results in me never getting attached to them. And if I never develop a connection to the characters, if I don't care one iota what happens to them, you've lost me. Luckily for this story, I cared an awful lot what happened to the characters, maybe too much...I went to sleep thinking about them and I woke up thinking about them, and days later, I'm still thinking about them.
I love how the relationship between the cellmates Em and Finn is portrayed and how it evolved, the fact that they didn't like each other all that much in the beginning, but they later became friends and close confidantes because of their situation. On the other hand, we have Marina and James, who've been best friends and neighbors for years. These characters are all tied together, for better or worse, and somehow, the responsibility of saving the world from destruction, from chaos and war, has ended up in their hands. I really can't say too much about it for fear of giving everything away -- even though it's not like you won't figure it all out on your own pretty early on -- but suffice it to say, these characters felt so real, their relationships so plausible, and my empathy for them only increased as more and more of their story was divulged.
The book may have essentially been character-driven for me, but the plot was also very fast-paced and intense, with the present-day action spanning only three or four days. There were lots of flashbacks to provide a background for Em and Finn, whose timeline is four years in the future from when we meet Marina and James, but that same technique wasn't really necessary to explain the circumstances for the latter pair. The story alternates between Em and Marina's perspectives, with one set of characters knowing full well the ramifications of time travel and the other set woefully ignorant. The author really understood where she was taking this story from the beginning, the way she manipulates the events and characters...and even the reader a little bit.
The time travel concept in this novel isn't totally unprecedented. There is a machine, aptly named Cassandra after the mythological soothsayer, and there are alternate timelines and paradoxical events. But some aspects of it are unusual, at least to me. For example, the idea that time is not linear, that it might be sentient and decide which events remain fixed and which events can be altered...those are not concepts I've seen in time travel before, at least not in YA versions. And because of this, it actually made a lot more sense to me than how I've seen it explained before, maybe because it wasn't made out to be this ultra complex idea but rather a vague one.
The concept and explanation, the character development, even the romantic elements...this is what I was looking for in all of those other time travel novels. Sacrifice is a major underlying theme in this book, and it made for an intensely emotional read, not to mention an absolutely engaging one. All Our Yesterdays is an impressive debut, and I wholeheartedly pronounce that Cristin Terrill is an author to watch and this novel is a definite must-read!
Rating:
Find Cristin:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Teaser Tuesday #67: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke
• 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!
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between, book #1
Publisher: Dial
Publication Date: August 15, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher for review
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.
Um, awkward. :) You guys, I actually stopped reading my other reads because I can't get enough of this creeptastic book. All the hype? Worth it!
What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so we can visit!
Friday, April 5, 2013
{Blog Tour} The Collector by Victoria Scott: Review + Giveaway
Welcome to my stop on the ‘2013 Belongs to Dante’ blog event hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule! And be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of this post!
I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of The Collector early, and I've been chomping at the bit to unleash the awesome on you guys. Stay tuned because when I purchased my own final copy of this book, I got a couple of extras...AND I'm attending the signing on Saturday for the book's launch. You know what that means, right? Your very own chance to win a signed copy of Dante, er, I mean, The Collector. =)
Author: Victoria Scott
Series: Dante Walker, book #1
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Source: from publisher for blog tour
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.
Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.
Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.
This book (and others like it) is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Maybe it's the challenge of reforming a bad boy. Maybe it's just that cocky, "I am God's (or the Devil's, in this case!) gift to women" attitude. Whatever it is, I find the allure of it unavoidable.
Dante Walker is the epitome of arrogant. He can be charming one moment and crass the next, but he only does something because he wants to do it. Well, unless Boss Man tells him to. Dante's job is collecting souls and he is damn good at his job. Until he's assigned to collect Charlie's soul, that is.
Charlie is a bit of an enigma to Dante. He can't figure her out. She seems happy, despite being unpopular and not pretty in the least, and he finds her to be a bit of a conundrum. The more time he spends with her, the more puzzled he becomes...or maybe infatuated is a better word for his feelings toward Charlie. Because it becomes pretty clear that he's developing an attraction to her. And that he actually finds himself wanting her company, as opposed to being forced into it.
Charlie is a bright light in a dark world, and she's bringing about a change in Dante that he can't explain or control. And the more he changes, the closer he gets to losing his heart to this girl whose soul he's come to collect. Which leaves Dante with quite the dilemma. I loved watching Dante squirm and struggle with this decision. Redemption is never easy, but it's worth the cost. And it makes my heart happy to see a bad boy go good, especially when his sole purpose was quite the opposite. The character growth here is off the charts.
I must admit that the slang Dante used was grating at first and took some time to get accustomed to, but after awhile, it either wasn't that noticeable, or he actually started speaking like a normal person because I found that it no longer bothered me. It didn't seem to bother anyone else in the book either, like it was normal to speak in such a manner. I'm sure the use of this language was just to play up his overconfidence, and to that extent, it worked. But I don't know anyone who speaks this way...not anymore, anyway.
Yes, this book was kind of cheesy. (But who doesn't like cheese?!?) Yes, this book is terribly predictable. (Did I mention I love a bad boy who redeems himself?) But even so, this book was a ton of fun. It's a great in-between book, a little something to make you smile. And laugh. You'll definitely laugh. Pretty much anyone with a sense of humor can enjoy this book on some level.
Rating:
I'm a YA writer represented by Laurie McLean. Author of THE COLLECTOR (Entangled Teen, April 2013) and THE BRIMSTONE BLEED (Scholastic, 2014). I have a master's degree in marketing, and live in Dallas with my husband. When not writing, I can be found munching cotton candy and snuggling obese cats.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Goo
And coming soon from Victoria Scott, the sequel to The Collector:
Author: Victoria Scott
Series: Dante Walker, book #2
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Dante has a shiny new cuff wrapped around his ankle, and he doesn't like that mess one bit. His new accessory comes straight from Big Guy himself and marks the former demon as a liberator. Despite his gritty past and bad boy ways, Dante Walker has been granted a second chance.
When Dante is given his first mission as a liberator to save the soul of seventeen-year-old Aspen, he knows he’s got this. But Aspen reminds him of the rebellious life he used to live and is making it difficult to resist sinful temptations. Though Dante is committed to living clean for his girlfriend Charlie, this dude’s been a playboy for far too long…and old demons die hard.
With Charlie becoming the girl she was never able to be pre-makeover and Aspen showing him how delicious it feels to embrace his inner beast, Dante will have to go somewhere he never thought he’d return to in order to accomplish the impossible: save the girl he’s been assigned to, and keep the girl he loves.
Open internationally!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Have you met Dante yet or do you plan to? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Review: That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard
Author: J.J. Howard
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Point
Publication Date: April 1, 2013
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.
When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.
But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.
With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.
If the beautiful and unique cover weren't enough to pique my interest in this novel, that clever title surely was. Truth be told, in all my thirty years, I've never actually been to the circus. Even as a kid, I just never really had the desire to do so. It seems that Lexi, our main character, feels the same way. Except now she's got no other choice. She has to find her mom, and since her estranged mother was last known to be performing with a traveling circus, that's where Lexi is headed.
Lexi had been through quite the ordeal prior to her excursion via Greyhound bus to Florida. Everything that happened during the week or so leading up to her departure from New York is actually the reason for her trip, the reason she needs to find her mother. But as the reader, you don't know what all she's endured, at least not from the start. Lexi's story alternates between the past and the present, with each chapter heading informing you as to what time period she is in her life. Some of the story flashes back months prior to the "incident" to give the reader a better background on her relationships and her state of mind at the time. Other chapters reflect on how she's surviving after fleeing to the circus. Focusing on the story from the past and present angles really brought the novel full-circle and provided a more in-depth view into Lexi's world as opposed to just having her dredge up a couple memories.
Once Lexi arrives at the circus, she realizes her mother is no longer there and that she is well and truly alone. To survive on her own, Lexi performs a number of odd jobs for the ringmaster of the circus, who has reluctantly taken the poor kid under his wing. My first glimpse of Louie had me worried, with his gruffness and lack of sympathy, but like everyone else in the circus family, he grew on me. Everyone eventually warmed up to Lexi and she even made some new friends, friendships that seemed unattainable when she first showed up. For awhile there, it even seemed like she'd forgotten about her search completely.
And then someone from her past shows up to wreck everything. Lexi has got some seriously confusing and complicated relationships going on. She kisses no less than three boys in this book, which nearly results in her losing one of the new friends she's made at the circus and could cost Lexi the ex-best friend she thought she'd lost for good. Watching Lexi navigate all of her friendships and relationships took some compassion but it also ended up being a lot of fun once she moved passed the heartache.
What started out as a rather discouraging story ended up being really cute and hopeful. I reveled in the importance placed on music throughout the book, as it is a constant source of comfort for me, as well. This novel contains lessons about love and loss and everything in between, but it isn't preachy or emotionally-fraught by any means. It's just about a girl, triumphing over a rough patch in her life and trying to get back to normal. And the circus is just one brief stop along the path.
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starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
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