Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Author: Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns #1
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: September 20, 2011
Pages: 423
Read it in: 3 days

Summary: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

LC's Take:

So yes, I definitely fell in love with this book! I thought that The Girl of Fire and Thorns included pretty much everything that I look for in a YA fantasy novel-- action, adventure, romance, awesome characters and imaginative world-building.

Elisa is a 16-year old princess from the kingdom of Oravalle, and she has no idea what her purpose is in life. Granted, she has been chosen by God to be the carrier of the Godstone, which only happens to one person every hundred years, but she doesn't consider herself to be very special. The gem is actually in her navel, and it signifies that she is destined for greatness, and must complete some heroic act at some point in her life-- even though she doesn't yet know what it will be. Only once she marries the king of another territory, who happens to be a total stranger, and sets off on a journey to fulfill a prophesy does Elisa finally come into her own and develop into a strong, confident character.

Elisa was an awesome heroine, for two main reasons: first, she was completely unlike any other YA heroine I have ever read about and second, because she makes such drastic changes throughout the story. I think one thing that made Elisa so unique was that she was very real-- she was overweight, clumsy, lazy, not particularly brave or intelligent, and in fact throughout the first 200 pages or so I didn't much like her at all. I thought she was pretty darned annoying actually. But by the end, she had become so much stronger and her character had grown so much, that I definitely respected her. In the end, it seemed so much more realistic to have her start out as a somewhat annoying and immature character, and then have her learn and grow based on her journey and experiences. This made her interesting-- and I will take interesting over pretty and perfect any day...

Another thing I loved about this book, and what I thought made it really stand out, was all the sensory detail that was included in the story-- the scents, the tastes, the sounds-- these are things that I sometimes find to be lacking in YA books, but in this case it gave the story so much more richness and depth. The scenery, the clothing, the scents, and especially all the yummy descriptions of food! I definitely appreciated all of these details that made the story come alive and seem real. Added to this was a detailed religion and social structure that was central to how Elisa and her society lived, which created a complete culture throughout the book. I have to say, it was awesome and I was super impressed!

For me, this book was much more appealing and enjoyable than Graceling by Kristin Cashore, which I had to bring up because it's really the only other YA fantasy book I have read since I started my blog. I was not a huge fan of Graceling, but I do think that if you enjoyed that book you will really love this one as well. I thought that the world building in this book was much more complete, and the main character was easier to like and relate to than Katsa-- Elisa became powerful and independent without coming across as standoffish or cold. For any fantasy fan out there, or for anyone who is looking for a book filled with adventure and action I would definitely recommend The Girl of Fire and Thorns-- It is a breath-taking, beautiful story that will definitely keep you reading!

~Cover Talk~

I really love the cover for this book, and I am so glad that they changed it drastically from the original ARC cover-- not that the original wasn't beautiful (because it was! See right image), but the Elisa on it looked absolutely nothing like the Elisa as described in the book, so I am happy to see the changes that were made to stay true to the actual story. I love how you can see Elisa's face in the facet of the gem-- and yes, the stone does have a key part in the book! Altogether, a very beautiful cover for an awesome story!

LC's Rating:

Thrilling, exciting, action-packed-- I could not put The Girl of Fire and Thorns down! I'm pretty sure you will love Elisa and the journey she makes to become a strong heroine, and the richly detailed world-building will have you completely wrapped up in the story from start to finish. I would definitely recommend this book to all my fantasy fans out there, because it was amazing!

Book Review: Vanish

Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Firelight #2
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Pages: 294
Read it in: 2 days
Source: The library

Summary: To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

LC's Take:

CAUTION: RANTING AHEAD. (Not the whole thing, but I had a lot to get off my chest with this one lol)

First I need to say just how much I love the covers for these books-- I really liked Firelight's, but I think I like Vanish's even more-- and when you put the two side-by-side, it's just like, **wow.** Love them! So now we know what Jacinda and Tamra look like, I wonder who we will be seeing on the third cover?!

Alright, so now onto the actual story.

The number one reason that I enjoyed Vanish so much more than Firelight was because I accepted some basic truths about the series before I started reading:

Truth #1.) It is a teenage love story-- therefore yes, there will be angst, love triangles, whining-and-pining, hormones galore, and lots o' drama.

Truth #2.) It will be cheesy as all get out-- embrace it and enjoy.

Truth #3.) It will not be a high-fantasy adventure with lots of battles a la Lord of the Rings. Deal with it.

Now with Firelight, I had assumed that this series was going to be something totally different than what it actually was, which led to a lot of ranting from yours truly. But I wanted to give the series another chance. So as I started reading Vanish, I told myself: "OK, I'm just going to enjoy this story for what it is instead of trying to turn it into something its not. Embrace the teen angst and love triangles and Mary Sue-esque main character!"

And you know what? Once I did just that, I started to appreciate the series a lot more. Now that is not to say I won't be indulging in some mild ranting here-- like with Lauren Kate's Fallen series, I liked reading Firelight and Vanish, not so much for their literary merit, but more because they're purely entertaining. Maybe that's unfair of me, but I'll try to fill you in as best I can on what I did and didn't like about this latest draki drama-fest.

*****

So Vanish begins with Jacinda, Tamra, and their mother being taken back to the draki pride after the whole face-off with the hunters at the end of the first book. Jacinda-- the pride's only fire-breathing draki-- is in deep trouble for not only revealing herself to hunters, but also for falling in love with Will, one of the hunters who kill draki for their skins. Once taken back to the pride, Jacinda is treated like an outcast and her mother becomes depressed for making the mistake of leaving in the first place. And then Tamra, Jacinda's twin sister, is revealed to be-- oops! I'm not saying, that would spoil the BIG surprise in the beginning!! You'll just have to read it for yourself ;)

~Likes~

First of all, I think that most of the characters seemed much more multi-dimensional in this book than the first one, and we really get to see their strengths and weaknesses and more interaction between them. Cassian became much more vulnerable and likable while Will became a whole lot more of a controlling and manipulative jerk-wad. I really can't decide which I like or dislike more to be perfectly honest, but I don't understand at all why Jacinda is so convinced that Will is "it," when there is nothing there between them but physical attraction-- Cassian cares about her just as much, if not more than Will does! Sorry, I just don't get Jacinda's head-over-heels fascination with Will. He's kind of a creep-- and the only major connection they shared in the entire book was a make-out session that I'll talk more about in just a minute...

Second, the relationships in Vanish became a lot more interesting-- Tamra is still in love with Cassian, but Cassian only has eyes for Jacinda, and Jacinda only wants to be with Will-- she thinks! Love triangles abound, and I found that if I just accepted the whole love triangle plot line instead of getting annoyed with it, I actually started to enjoy seeing the dynamics play out between all the characters. I was also really happy that this story took place in the draki pride and not so much in the human world, like the first book did (This was my biggest beef with Firelight). 

Finally, this book transitioned extremely well from the first one-- I never felt lost or confused about what had happened in Firelight and thought that the plot ran very smoothly and was easy to follow from one book to the next.

However...

Oh yes, that is a big however.

I have some things I need to discuss about this book-- some large, glaring things that just beg to be addressed.

~Dislikes~

I know I said I accepted Jacinda, the Mary Sue draki, but still, I'm going to rag on her a little. C'mon now, I swear it's all in good fun.

Why, you may ask?

Because I have no clue why everyone is so in love with her.

Cassian's obsessed with her, Will's obsessed with her, Corbin's creepy-stalker obsessed with her--  and do we know why? Nope! Not really. She's a fire-breather, but other than that there isn't anything terribly special about good ol' Jacinda. She's whiny and angsty and pretty darned selfish. She likes to fly, which doesn't seem too out of the ordinary, considering the fact that she has wings. The only other thing she does in her spare time is sit around and watch TV and occasionally cook dinner. Oh, and fantasize about Will. No other hobbies, special talents, desire to help others... I wish we could see something interesting or fierce or noble about her, but really all we have are endless angsty descriptions about how she wants to live her own life and be free and independent, while in the meantime she makes incredibly stupid decisions that get her and everyone else in deep trouble.

Oh yes-- and she whines and pines about Will. A LOT.

Also, the draki pride really, really annoyed me. As a group, they made zero sense. I mean, first they're dead set on clipping off Jacinda's wings with a pair of garden shears because she's put everyone in danger so many times, and next thing you know they're leaving muffins on her doorstep when she does what they want by bonding with Cassian. Kind of ridiculous in my opinion.

ALSO, despite my great attempts to start loving this series, I have to mention my numero uno MAJOR dislike-- which goes for any book-- and it's called the "To Much Information Love Scene."

Yes, I know that Sophie Jordan writes adult romance novels-- complete with your run-of-the-mill covers featuring shirtless guys with rippling muscles (oh yes, they ripple) and doe-eyed gals who look like they're about to pass out...

I just wish she left all the hot-and-heavy action OUT of her teen books, because I'm seriously not interested in reading detailed accounts about people getting it on. If I wanted to do that, I'd go pick up some 99-cent Harlequin Romance in the check-out line at the grocery store, you know?? Lines like "his warm palm a rasp on my cheek as he swallows up my moan" and "the mere texture and taste of his mouth completely devastating me" just make me want to vomit. **Blech!** Please, spare me the details, this is waaayyyy more than I want to know!

Oh, and it only gets better...

"My body cradles his, instinctively welcoming him. I breathe a greedy sound, not even thinking we might be moving too far, too fast. There's only need. Hunger. I'm tired of being denied." ~p.202

Really??? Seriously?!? Please just gag me with a freaking spoon. Dearest fellow readers, if you're like me and can't stand the TMI love scenes, I recommend just skipping chapter 20 altogether... I mean really, Jacinda actually starts growling while they're making out. And then Will starts growling right back.

Yup, growling.

Not speaking-- growling.

And breathing greedy sounds.

I'm not making this up, so please humor me here and tell me this is freaking weird. Growling??? Is this supposed to be sexy or romantic or something? Because it just makes me think Jacinda and Will need to go to the doctor's, maybe get on some meds. Not hot. Just ridiculous to read about. Sorry, maybe it's just me-- but I don't want to hear about moaning, growling, swollen lips, tender spots-- just yuck.

In fact, you know what? I'm taking a whole star off just for the TMI make-out sessions. Yup, sorry, it's my review, and that's how I roll.

That's what you get for grossing me out Jacinda.

(I think for the heck of it I'm going to try breathing some greedy sounds a little later today and see what happens-- my guess is I'll scare the living bejeezus out of some random people... sounds like fun.)

And another thing-- repeat yourself much?? There have got to be like half a dozen recycled lines in these books, all of them slightly re-worded but basically stating the same darned thing over and over (and over) again.

I can think of a few right off the top of my head!

"I could feel my inner draki."
"I tensed and had to release my inner draki."
"About 300 more interchangeable lines about MY INNER DRAKI."
"I could sense Will nearby."
"I missed Will. He loved me for me."
"I missed Cassian. He loved me for me."
"Don't leave, he GROWLED."

Shall I go on? No, OK, I'll spare you. 

And last but not least, I thought the ending was frustratingly anti-climactic. The last half of the book was building up to some big, action-packed event (which I won't give away) and then in the last few pages we learn that, oh sorry! You'll have to wait to see what happens in the next book because CLEARLY two books can't contain THIS much awesome.

So we'll end this one with Will and Jacinda sitting around a campfire eating Twinkies.

No, I'm not making this up. Will and Cassian roll on the ground for like 15 minutes and a less-than-menacing black bear makes a brief appearance for about 2 paragraphs-- and that's pretty much the extent of the action in this book.

*****

Alright, so now that I've gotten all that out of my system (and have tried numerous times to erase the memory of Jacinda and Will growling at each other), I will conclude with this-- When you approach a book or series with preconceived notions about what it "should" be, and then it turns out to be something totally different, I think it's important to re-think what the book is trying to accomplish. Otherwise, you'll probably end up annoyed and disliking it because you tried to force it into a genre that it's not even in. But if you can appreciate the book simply for what it is and not for what you think it should be, it becomes a lot easier to just enjoy it. (Did I mention I did actually like reading this book? Yeah, I know, I like ranting too...)

So I embraced the cheesiness. I embraced the angst-iness. I embraced the Mary Sue-ishness. Yes, I still ranted a lot, but making-out aside, Vanish was still a huge improvement over Firelight, with greater character development and a refreshing change of scenery. I admit that this series is growing on me and  I am looking forward to the last book in the trilogy!

LC's Rating:

3 stars for fun readability and entertainment! Vanish was definitely an entertaining sequel to Firelight--just beware the TMI love scenes!!!

ARC Book Review: Incarnate

Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Pages: 384
Read it in: 3 days
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Summary: NEWSOUL... Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL... Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART... Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

LC's Take:

Honestly, I am still reeling over how gorgeous the cover of this book is! When I got it in the mail, it pretty much took my breath away when I saw it...

Incarnate was one of those books that had both things I liked and disliked about it. However, the greatest thing about it by far was it's daring creativity, and the author's ability to write something unlike anything else in the YA genre. All in all, it was a very interesting, creative story, and I thought that the writing was done very well-- there were parts that I definitely savored. Sometimes, it just seems like there are so many YA books out there, and they can all run together, so when you find a plot premise like the one in Incarnate, it really stands out from the rest!

What I noticed while reading this book, is that it is really difficult to put in one specific box-- it's partly YA utopian, partly fantasy, partly romance... I'm not quite sure what label to put on it. But you know, that's a good thing. I sort of liked that this book had me guessing the entire way through, and like I said, that it was so different from anything else I have read so far in the YA genre.

~Basic Premise~

Incarnate starts off on the edges of a world called "Range." Range has exactly one million souls, and all of them have been reincarnated over and over again for the past 5,000 years or so. Until Ana is born-- she is a "Newsoul," one who has never lived before. At the start of the story, Ana is 18 years old, and she lives a secluded life in the forest with Li, her unloving mother. The people of Range fear Ana, because not only is she a "Newsoul," she also replaced one of the million souls, named Ciana, when she was born-- and Ciana never returned. What if more newsouls are born, while older souls disappear forever??

In the first chapter, Ana leaves her horrible mother and the only home she's ever known to go to the city of Heart. Throughout the book, Ana is basically on a quest to figure out who she really is, where she came from and why, and what will happen to her after she dies-- questions we probably all wonder about ourselves to some extent. When she nearly drowns in a lake at the beginning, she is saved by a boy named Sam, who subsequently saves her again from a Sylph attack-- Sam takes care of Ana until she's well enough to make the rest of the trip to Heart and face head-on a society that doesn't understand her.

~Thoughts~

Ana was a bit of a complicated main character, and I found at times that it was difficult to like her. However, I completely understood why she acted and thought the way she did, after spending her entire life under the tyranny of a mother who brainwashed her into thinking she was a "Nosoul"-- something that couldn't think or feel, and wasn't even worthy of life. Ana was a mix of being strong and independent but also vulnerable, hurt and distrusting. You could see in her thoughts, words, and actions just how cynical, and quick to judge others she was-- especially when it came to Sam.

Thank goodness Ana found Sam! He was such a sweet and caring person. He cares about Ana when everyone else treats her like an outcast. He saves her life in the beginning, and then takes care of her, even though she tries to push him away. The reason I loved Sam is because he accepts Ana for who she is, and their relationship isn't the typical YA version of love-- AKA "we-have-no-clue-why-we're-inexplicably-obsessed-with-each-other-after-four-pages" love. He doesn't question why she exists or what she's doing in Range, he simply loves her unconditionally, and this really made me fall for him!

The world building of Range and the city of Heart was brilliant for the simple fact that it was so different. It was like part fantasy world, part dystopian world-- there were sylphs, dragons, centaurs, and trolls but then there were also laser pistols, futuristic technology and a society built over thousands of years from souls who have been around for millennia-- isn't that such an awesome idea? At first, it took a little getting used to, I wasn't exactly sure how to picture Range and Heart, but in the end, I thought it was so cool that Jodi stepped outside the box to create something so totally unique!

So now, I have to get into the things about Incarnate that I was not completely a fan of. As you know, I keep my reviews as honest as possible, so it's only fair that I give my opinion about what didn't work for me...

First of all, while reincarnation is an interesting idea for a fictional book, it leaves a lot of possibilities for plot holes-- sort of like time travel. It's an interesting idea, but it also leads to a lot of questions that aren't easy to explain away. I have to hand it to Jodi Meadows in taking on such an ambitious plot and making it work without leaving her readers super confused. But I did still have questions throughout the story.

Such as-- and this was probably the most confusing for me-- every soul can be reincarnated into either a man or a woman, and they never know from one lifetime to the next which gender they will be. Um, OK... so, Ana loves Sam in THIS lifetime-- what if he's a woman in his next lifetime?? Is he even really a "he"?? Is Ana really a "she"? This whole concept was completely lost on me, it was just too weird. I think the idea was that "true love" transcends gender, and two souls will love each other in every lifetime, whether they're male or female. That's a great New Age-y kind of ideal, but I don't think it would translate in the real world. This issue was kind-of, sort-of addressed, but we never really got an answer to how it would work with Ana and Sam.

Also, I did not like the idea of soul mates killing themselves or each other so that they could wind up together at the same age in the next lifetime-- this just didn't sit right with me, and I definitely don't think it's romantic. I was disappointed that suicide and killing off your lover so that you can be born again at the same time in the next life was passed off as being "romantic." For me, this was just a turn-off.

I've already talked a little about the main character Ana, but I need to elaborate a little on her, because as I said, she wasn't always the easiest person to like. Even though I did like her for the most part, I thought that at times she got to be overbearing-- her pessimism, cynicism, and bitterness didn't always mix well, especially since she could also be arrogant and downright mean to Sam. Some of this made sense since she had such a horrible upbringing with Li, but at some points I just got tired of her poor attitude. I am hoping that as the series goes on, we see Ana's character develop more, as she overcomes all the hurt of her past.

Finally, I'm not going to say too much about the ending, except that, I'm not sure what it was setting us up for as far as the rest of the series goes-- I pretty much have no idea what's going to happen next, even though there are still so many questions that need to be answered. The last few chapters just had so much going on, and the action along with the explanations left me slightly confused. I feel like it's important to set up some expectations for your readers, so they have some idea of what is going to happen in the next book-- but there wasn't much to go on in the last few pages.

Overall I did like this book, and I think that the majority of YA readers will enjoy it as well. It really was a unique and creative story with awesome world-building and some great characters. Despite some flaws, I give Jodi Meadows a lot of credit for being creative and ambitious in writing a story so unlike any others in the YA genre. Definitely be on the look-out for Incarnate when it's released in January!

LC's Rating:

Part fantasy, part utopian fiction, Incarnate was a unique and creative book that stands out from the rest. Despite some flaws, this book definitely takes risks-- and for that, I liked it!

Book Review: The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: February 1, 2010
Pages: 363
Read it in: 4 days
Source: The library

Summary: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

LC's Take

This book was amazing! Like, I can't even... wow. Just, wow. I totally LOVED it!

You know those books that you start reading, and before you know it, you are just completely and irretrievably being sucked into another world that is so wildly imaginative and intoxicating that you don't want to ever put it down or have it end?

Yeah, that pretty much describes The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.

Now, I have read a couple faery books in the past, neither of them doing all that much for me. Tithe by Holly Black was definitely an awesome book, but it was really dark and somehow lacked something for me. Wicked Lovely was utterly lost on me and made me want to stick needles in my eyes. But this book? Totally different story. Let's talk about why:

First of all, THANK YOU Julie, for writing an intelligent story about faeries that DOES NOT ASSUME that every one of your readers is some expert on faeries and faerie lore. This was my biggest beef with books like Wicked Lovely, because I had NO IDEA what the heck was going on! But The Iron King does an incredibly good job of explaining what's happening and why it's happening, without going overboard with the descriptions. This made it easy and enjoyable to read.

Second, the world-building in this story was fan-freaking-tastic. The fairyland of the Nevernever was vibrant, beautiful, dark and dangerous-- if you read this book, you will be completely sucked into the world of the fey and not want to ever come back! Really, really well done. I loved it. 

The plot started out kind of slow, but once it got going, it was impossible to stop reading. We begin in the human world with Meghan Chase, just a typical teenager who gets picked on a lot in school. Meghan starts seeing strange things at home and at school-- and then her little brother Ethan pretty much turns into a demon-possessed little monster, until she finds out that he has been kidnapped by faeries and replaced by a changeling!

Meghan was an awesome main character and it was never boring reading from her point of view. She was brave, determined, and never suffered from YA-Heroine-Whining-Syndrome. Thank God! She was easy to relate to, and at the same time you can see how she will develop into a strong leader in the next books.

When Meghan finds out from her friend Robbie-- AKA Robin Goodfellow, AKA Puck from A Midsummer's Night Dream-- that Ethan is now a prisoner in the Nevernever, Meghan is bound and determined to go find him and bring him back home. Along the way, she meets many new characters, each more imaginative and unique than the next. Grimalkin, the Cait Sithe? Freaking LOVED him! Grim is a cat-- well, a faery cat-- and he's just as cool as the Cheshire Cat from Alice and Wonderland. Seriously, all of the secondary characters in this book-- right down to the Pack-rats in Machina's territory, were incredible. They were all so real and alive, and had a sort of kooky flair to them that reminded me of a Tim Burton movie.

So anyways, as Meghan searches for her brother in the Nevernever, she soon learns that she is actually the half-daughter of the King of the Summer (Seelie) Court-- thus, she is immune to the effects of iron on faeries, yet she contains a very strong power within her that she must learn to control and use against the new threat to the Nevernever-- Machina, the Iron King and his realm that has been created by the ever-growing human world of science, technology and disbelief in all things magical...

Now let's talk about Ash. You may know from reading my reviews that I am a very hard sell when it comes to love interests in books-- I almost never like them! But Ash-- I don't know what it was about him-- I totally fell for him. Yes, he was the hard-to-get type, and very standoffish, but I really loved him. I think I almost cried towards the end, during that part in the cave... I am hoping that he and Meghan develop a closer relationship in the next books!

The ideas behind the plot of The Iron King were just so original and creative, while also reminding me of some of my favorite stories and movies. The world of the Nevernever was completely entrancing, and the characters were imaginative, vibrant and wonderfully memorable. It was clear that Julie Kagawa put a lot of thought into her story and how she would tell it, right down to the last detail. The emotion, the action, the chemistry, the descriptions, the dialog-- honestly, I don't have anything negative to say about this book and I cannot wait to read the next three in the Iron Fey Series. Julie Kagawa, you have brought back my faith in faery books!

LC's Rating:

This book is a must-read! It was like a mix between Alice in Wonderland, Labyrinth (minus David Bowie), and a bunch of other fairy tale stories from when you were a kid. Totally AWESOME. You need to read this book if you haven't yet-- I am getting started on the rest of this series pronto!

Book Review: Firelight

Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Pages: 323
Read it in: 2 days

Summary: Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

LC's Take: 

Alrighty, so I just finished this book. Overall, you know, it wasn't bad. The premise of the story is different, which I definitely liked-- I mean, a book about a girl who descends from dragons? That's cool. But... I don't know, try as I did, there were just things about this book that left me slightly frustrated. It's not that I didn't like it-- more that I think it had the potential to be a lot better.

As the story started out, I was super excited-- Jacinda and her friend Azure sneak off to transform into glittery, iridescent dragons and fly over lakes and mountains, and I was like, sweet! This is going to be an awesome, high-fantasy adventure, all Lord-of-the-Rings or Brisingr-like with dragons and magic and battles... yeeeah, not so much. About 5 pages later, Jacinda and her sister Tamra are in a beat-up old car with their mom, escaping from the dragon "Pride" for some small town in Nevada.

Goodbye, magical world. Hello, stereotypical high school and teen angst-ridden love story.

The biggest problem I had with Firelight was the choice of setting. Like I said, the story starts out in this forest with an enchanted village where the draki live, and it's all nature-y and magical, and I'm all ready for this crazy whirlwind dragon adventure. But then, the story takes this huge, random swing over to some modern-day school near Las Vegas-- and now all of a sudden we're in Been-There-Done-That territory.

What???

I don't get it.  Why take such an amazingly unique plot and turn it into the same ol' same ol'?? What happened to the dragon/draki mythology?

I wouldn't have minded the juxtaposition of the two worlds-- draki and everyday-- but we barely got to see anything about the draki. I am seriously hoping that the next book takes place in the draki world, because honestly, I am not a fan of the overdone, cliche high school drama-fest.

Sorry, I'm just not.

So let's talk about Jacinda's love interest, Will. Once again, he's not horrible. The opening scene where he sees Jacinda in the cave and whispers, "Beautiful" pretty much made me fall in love with him, too. Yes, he's got the whole "I'm-bad-stay-away-from-me" vibe going on, all handsome and irresistibly mysterious, and of course Jacinda can not stay away. Since Will is from one of the hunter families who kill draki for their skins, it was a good conflict to have Jacinda--a draki-- fall in love with him. Overall, I liked Will. (Umm... except the part where he went into Crazy-Stalker-Mode and looked up Jacinda's school records-- to see where she lived-- and then SHOWED UP there-- in the middle of the night-- totally uninvited. Yeah. I know.)

Jacinda herself was an easy enough character to like-- I just didn't think it made any sense to portray her as a typical, average teenager. I mean, she comes from an ancient line of freaking DRAGONS, right?! I just think she should have had something more mystical and ethereal about her-- more depth and connection to her dragon heritage. She just seemed too... normal. And she gets kind of whiny at times. I don't want to read about a whiny dragon-- I want to read about a fiercely awesome, fire-breathing, scare-the-pants-off-you, courageous, warrior-princess dragon!

Sigh... I know, I demand way too much from my books.

Basically, I just wish that Jacinda stood out from any other teenage character I've read about, because she's a dragon for crying out loud (wow, have I made that point clear yet?)-- not to mention, she's the only fire-breather dragon to exist in over 400 years! Because of this, I wanted to see her be a little more kick-butt and assertive, and a little less (ugh, here it comes) Mary Sue. But also, I do realize that Jacinda had A LOT to deal with in this book, and she's been pulled around by the Pride pretty much her whole life, so it may take her some time to come into her own. Well, I am looking forward to seeing her become a strong female character in the later books! :)

Also, totally did not buy the romance. Sorry, but no. So Jacinda can "sense" Will. Big whoopdee-doo, and I mean crap, we're only told this like five billion times that she lights up like a Christmas tree and starts hyperventilating whenever Will is within a five mile radius. Wonderful. Is this supposed to make me believe they're in love? Because um... it doesn't. Oh-- and how about the fact that Will and his family HUNT AND KILL Jacinda's species and rip them to pieces for their skins?? Hmmmm... I don't know about you, but I would say that's a wee bit of a turn-off, no? 

Finally, the writing style was not my favorite. It wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination, and it was able to tell the story between Jacinda and Will. I just don't like when writing. is. choppy. And fragmented. And breaks up sentences. Into phrases. Like, every. Other. Line. (Know what I mean?) It's OK if it's to create a feeling or a mood during a scene, but it's just so dang difficult to follow throughout an entire book!

I will be reading Vanish when it comes out. Because really, I feel like this story has a unique premise and that a lot can still be done with it to make it stand out. I'm really hoping that we find out more about the draki- about Azure, Cassian, Nidia, Severan-- honestly, those are the characters I wanted to be reading about, forget about the dumb cheerleaders! How do the draki live? What do they do with the gems? Are there dragon battles between the different prides? Can Will become a draki? Will Jacinda's mom rediscover her inner draki and kick some butt? What exactly are the Enkros? I am dying to know!

So all in all, this story has captured my interest, despite not quite meeting my expectations so far. I still have hopes that the next book in this series will answer some of my questions and deliver some of that fantasy and magic I'm looking for. And I know I sounded a bit harsh for a 3-star review, but I think it's mostly because I was expecting something totally different from this book, NOT because it was a bad book-- because it wasn't! I would say-- as I do with all my other books-- give this one a chance and read it for yourself, because opinions can differ so much. Firelight may surprise you in a good way!

LC's Rating:

This story has a lot of potential, but I felt like there was something missing in the delivery. I was just expecting it to be something else entirely, and I am hoping that the next book in this series has a more fantasy-adventure spin to it with lots of draki mythology, instead of taking the well-worn path of teen angst and high school drama.

Book Review: Lost Voices

Author: Sarah Porter
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: July 4, 2011
Pages: 304
Read it in: 3 days

Summary: What happens to the girls nobody hears when they cry for help? Luce is one of those girls. After her father vanishes in a storm at sea, she is stuck in a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village with her alcoholic uncle. When her uncle crosses an unspeakable line, Luce reaches the depths of despair. Abandoned on the cliffs near her home, she expects to die when she tumbles to the icy, churning waves below. Instead, she undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid.

A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in-- all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. The mermaids are beautiful, free, and ageless, and Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: they feel an uncontrollable desire to lure ships into the rocks.

Luce's own remarkable singing talent captures the attention of the tribe's queen, the fierce and elegant Catarina, and Luce soon finds herself pressured to join in committing mass murder. Luce's struggle to retain her inner humanity puts her at odds with her friends; even worse, Catarina seems to regard Luce as a potential rival. But the appearance of a devious new mermaid brings a real threat to Catarina's leadership and endangers the very existence of the tribe. Can Luce fins the challenge to challenge the newcomer, even at the risk of becoming rejected and alone once again?

Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original take about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.

LC's Take: 

OK, so.... This was one of those books that I had a difficult time reviewing, because there were things I both liked and disliked about it. Lost Voices was definitely a creative and captivating story with beautiful underwater worlds, but at the same time I became so incredibly annoyed and frustrated with the characters that it was slightly painful at times to get through.

I did like Luce, the main character. She was really sweet and someone who you could immediately sympathize with from the very beginning. I was so happy when she became a mermaid and was finally able to escape from her hellish life that consisted of being friendless and humiliated at school, and then abused and terrified at home with her alcoholic uncle. I really felt for this shy, scared, vulnerable girl, and felt almost triumphant when she transformed into a strong, new, beautiful being...

But then there were the other mermaids. I didn't like them at all. First there was Catarina, the queen of the mermaid tribe. At first I liked her because there was an air of mystery surrounding her-- she was complex, contradicting and definitely creepy all at the same time. But as the story progressed, I just started to get annoyed with her. First, she was the biggest hypocrite, and second, she was a complete failure as a leader-- all because of her blinding pride and vanity. I can understand that that was all part of her character and how her past life as a human had damaged her so badly, but how was she queen for so long when she was so easy to manipulate? Why did she just let the other mermaids go and do whatever they wanted, endangering their very existence? Just because of her petty jealousy of Luce?

And then there were the 14 mermaids that Luce saved. When they were still human, I liked them and felt sorry for them. But after they turned into mermaids, they became so incredibly dumb, vindictive and selfish that it was a wonder the tribe lasted for as long as it did. Everyone was just so gullible, blinded, stubborn and back-stabbing that at times it was hard to keep reading without wanting to knock some sense into them!  I seriously couldn't even believe how dense everyone was-- yes, it forwarded the plot and created conflict, but it also made me want to bang my head against the wall in total frustration. At times I even got annoyed with Luce for not having more backbone to stand up for herself and tell everyone off before things got completely out of control. During the scene where Luce saves all of them, I just wanted her to shout at Jenna and Dana, "Stop being so slow! You're mermaids!! Now get your arses back to safety before you become tasty whale snacks!" Jenna managed to become even more exasperatingly dumb, and then turned extremely mean and condescending to Luce after Luce had saved her life. Could not stand Jenna.

And speaking of characters I couldn't stand, let's talk about Anais for a moment. Seriously, I just wanted to fin-slap this girl into next week, she was that horrible and annoying. She wouldn't stop bragging about her designer jeans or her birthday parties or her Manolo freaking Blahniks-- which she humorously wore on her head because she didn't have feet anymore once she turned into a mermaid! Then she pretty much single-handedly turned every TSTL (To Stupid To Live) mermaid against Luce with lies and empty arguments and got away with murder-- literally. Seriously, if it was this easy for one bratty mermaid to poison the whole tribe, why hadn't it happened long before? And why did Luce think she was the one who had ruined everything when it was obviously not her fault?? Argh!! Somebody help me out here!

I get that these mermaids were the products of human cruelty-- that they became mermaids at the very darkest moment of their lives, after being abandoned, abused or otherwise forgotten. Therefore, the way they think and behave is a reflection of all the painful memories and emotions stored inside them. I guess I just wish that their characters were portrayed with a little more optimism, instead of coming across as so dismal and hopeless. Honestly, I wanted to like Catarina, and I wanted to find something redeeming in Anias-- but in the end, they were both disappointingly one-sided.

The ending was also extremely abrupt-- it was one of those endings where you're on the second to last page and wondering how on earth the whole thing is going to wrap up in a couple paragraphs. I had thought that this was a stand-alone book-- but lo-and-behold-- Lost Voices is the first in a trilogy! The next book is Waking Storms, and it is set to be released in July 2012. The third book will be called The Twice Lost, and is still in the process of being written. I will be looking out for both of these, in the hopes that the characters will mature somewhat-- which I know is asking a lot considering that Luce is only 14, but I do hope she learns to become more confident, assertive, and strong-minded.

*** One last thing: I do think that the cover for this book is beautiful, but I wish, wish, wish that the mermaid shown wasn't so stereotypical with her long, wavy, blond hair and pale skin-- this is not Luce! In the book, Luce has a dark, short pixie-cut and olive-toned skin-- even as a mermaid. I thought that this was so refreshingly original, to have her be different! Why didn't the cover portray this individuality?? I really wish it did!

All in all, I would recommend this book because the story was original and the characters were memorable, even if they did get on my nerves. There was, in the end, a reason behind their actions and the plot made sense. Also, Sarah Porter is truly an amazing storyteller, able to put you right in the middle of the action and paint watery worlds with lyrical descriptions. Even though there was no cheerful, optimistic ending with strings neatly tied, this book does set you up for the rest of Luce's story, and leaves you wondering what will happen next!

LC's Rating:

I liked this book for the most part, and Luce the main character was easy to love and sympathize with. However, the other characters were so aggravating that it was difficult to really care about what happened to them after awhile. The ending definitely left me wondering what's going to happen in the next book, and I will be on the look-out for the continuation of Luce's story...

Book Review: Entwined

Author: Heather Dixon
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Pages: 480
Read it in: 4 days

Summary: Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her... beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing... it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation. Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

LC's Take: 

I LOVED this book! Where to begin? This was just an incredibly delightful read, from beginning to end. The narration, the dialogue, and the characters made this so enjoyable, and I found that I was giggling to myself over the quirkiness and whimsical charm of the story throughout.

Azalea ("Lea" for short-- how cool to read a book with my name in it!) is the oldest of eleven sisters who live in an old castle with their father, the King of Eathesbury. Even though Azalea and her sisters are princesses, the kingdom is poor and their castle is run-down. As the future queen, it is up to Azalea to find a suitable husband. Her father brings in many potential suitors, but Azalea only has eyes for the young Mr. Bradford, an awkward but adorable apprentice from town. (Ah! Mr. Bradford was TOO cute :)

Unfortunately, Azalea has bigger problems to worry about than just finding a husband. The princesses' mother recently died and now the entire house is in a year of mourning for the late queen. All of the things that once gave the princesses life and happiness are taken away- colorful dresses, walks in the garden-- and most importantly-- dancing. Without dancing the girls are perfectly forlorn and miserable.

But Azalea discovers a secret-- long ago, the castle had been magic, and traces of it still linger in the walls. Azalea learns of a secret passageway that takes her and her sisters to a magical silver forest with a pavilion, perfect for dancing. There, they meet Mr. Keeper, who watches over the forest-- and them. But all is not what it seems, and Keeper soon shows his true colors. Now it is up to Azalea to save her mother's soul, her sisters' lives, and the entire kingdom, ending once and for all the dark magic kept alive for so long...

Entwined had all the elements of a great fairy tale-- magic, suspense, romance, humor, and characters that jump right off the page. I loved Azalea as the heroine, and her eleven little sisters-- all named alphabetically after flowers-- were so cute! Even though there were eleven of them, Dixon manages to give them all unique and individual characters. I loved her sense of humor throughout the story as well-- all the quirky little things, the English-style dialogue with phrases like "I say!" and "corking good" and "Tut tut!" just made the book so much fun to read. Oh, and the magical tea set was hilarious. This is perfectly juxtaposed with the incredibly creepy villain, Mr. Keeper-- there were moments in the book where I actually got goosebumps from the sheer creepiness of this character! (Note: if you've ever seen the movie Coraline, the tones were similar to that-- cute with a mix of very dark creepiness.)

The only little complaint I have is that the ending was slightly anti-climactic-- I would have liked if there was a little more action there, but other than that, all the strings were neatly tied up and the story ended with a really sweet, happily-ever-after. This truly was a great book, thoroughly fun and entertaining, that provided a perfect mix of magic, suspense and lighthearted fun!

LC's Rating:

A cute, unique story that provides a refreshing twist on the classic fairy tale, Entwined was a delight to read! If you've been putting this one off, give it a shot-- I am sure you will find it as charming and fun as I did :)

Book Review: Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 352
Read it in: 3 days

The Hook: I see things you can't see. I find things that hunt you. I am your protector. But even I can't protect you now.

Summary: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophesies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophesy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. 

So much for normal.

LC's Take: 

Oh wow, I really liked this book! I am one of those readers who has to read everything word-for-word in my head in order to follow the story (definitely not a speed reader!) so it takes me longer to get through a book, but even I whipped through Paranormalcy in about 3 days (and that was on top of work, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc.). Not too shabby! Paranormalcy kept me interested the whole way through-- the writing style was smart, witty and made me laugh to myself on almost every page.

The main character is Evie, a normal teenage girl despite her ability to see paranormals, and the story is told through her point of view. I swear it was scary how much Evie and I think alike! She is intelligent and ditzy at the same time, which I can totally relate to-- she has a head on her shoulders but she struggles with all the insecurities and embarrassments that go along with being a 16-year old. And for Evie it's even tougher because, you know, her job is to "bag-and-tag" paranormals like vampires, werewolves and hags with a pink taser and bring them back to headquarters for containment. I loved Evie and I'm really glad Kiersten told the story though her eyes-- her sense of humor and ability to make fun of herself were a welcome change from the angsty, emo-types that seem so prevalent in a lot of YA.

The supporting characters added to the lighthearted feel of the book-- Lend is the shape-shifting hottie Evie has a crush on and who really cares about her. Reth is Evie's ex-boyfriend who is also a faerie and takes on the possessive, won't-take-no-for-an-answer stalker-type role. Lish is Evie's best friend (and a mermaid) who works for IPCA and continually gets censored for swearing though the computer that translates her "Mermish" language (hard to explain but it's pretty darn funny).

My opinion? Definitely check this book out! The plot was clever and fast-paced with lots of action. Evie's sense of humor balances the darker parts of the story, and besides she is an awesome kick-butt kind of heroine. There were only two issues I had with this book: one was the secondary characters. They weren't quite as fleshed-out as I would've liked, and Evie's relationships with them were kind of wishy-washy, so it was hard to feel emotional when something happened to them. The other is that I found the cover/back description to be kind of misleading-- if you think this is some dark, Gothic read with lots of serious writing, it's not-- quite the opposite, it's goofy/campy-- in a good way. Other than that, I thought this was a fun and entertaining read. I really haven't seen a bad review for this book yet and am happy to add on with another happy-reader review!

LC's Rating:

A fast-paced, fun read that combines all of your fave paranormal creatures into one clever and creative story-- you won't regret reading this one!!

Book Review: Graceling

Author: Kristin Cashore
Release Date: September 7, 2009
Pages: 480
Read it in: 5 days

The Hook: With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

Summary: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

LC's Take:  

NOTE: There may be one or two spoilers here!

OK, so, first let me start off by saying that yes, overall, I did like this book, and it definitely satisfied my love of fantasy-adventure type stories (oh yeah, I am an LOTR nut). However, if you are basing it on "The Hook" above, which is also on the back cover of the book, prepare to be a little under-whelmed.

We all know that one of the key elements to an amazing fantasy novel is the ability of the author to create another world. The world created by Cashore, while slightly unimaginative and under-developed, was still believable and it does serve to form the backdrop to Graceling's fast-moving plot and engaging characters. However, I was left with a lot of questions about Katsa's world, since a lot of it seemed pretty vague and fuzzy. (What is the culture like? Is there a religion? What are the differences between the kingdoms? They all kind of seemed the same to me... What time period is this? It seems vaguely medieval, but then there are modern elements too...) Altogether, I thought that the structure of the world created by Cashore was kind of weak, so it is good that there is an intriguing plot and memorable characters to make up for this.

At first, this book was a little difficult to get into-- here I was, being introduced to a whole other world that includes SEVEN kingdoms-- that's a lot of names and places to remember! I actually kept a piece of paper with all the major kingdoms and characters written down so that I could keep tract of everything. And this leads me to another issue I had with Cashore's world-creation: she made up waayyy to many kingdoms, for a plot that only takes place in three of them-- it seemed pointless to have so many other places and names to remember when they didn't even have any significance to the plot. Luckily, once I got into the story the four "extra" kingdoms sort of disappear into the background, so it became a little easier to keep tract.

For the most part, I enjoyed the characters in Graceling. The main character is Katsa, a girl who is both strong to the point of being almost invincible, but also highly vulnerable and insecure with who she is. It's clear that Cashore wanted to have Katsa be a female protagonist who was fiercely independent while still having certain weaknesses that she has to confront throughout the story. In the beginning, I thought Katsa could be annoyingly immature at times, but it becomes clear as you read on that this is part of the story, and how she becomes just as strong in character as she is in physical power. By the end of the book, you can see that Katsa has matured to some extent- she isn't as selfish or stubborn. Her character is multi-dimensional and dynamic so that she ends up a different person from the one she starts at-- I always like to see this kind of character development in a story.

Po, the other main character, who becomes Katsa's good friend (and lover) is definitely a likable character, but I didn't completely understand his attraction to- or ability to so quickly tolerate- Katsa at first. Also, I think their relationship was a bit confusing, and the ending didn't bring me much further clarity-- do they wind up together? Do they just go their separate ways because Katsa is so free-spirited and independent? I was a little frustrated because I felt like their relationship never became something definite, and neither Katsa nor Po change enough by the end to have that relationship become something strong by the last few pages.

And call me old-fashioned, but I really wasn't a fan of Katsa being so against marriage. In the end, Katsa and Po are free to do whatever they want and one can leave the other if they want-- this kind of open relationship didn't really make true and lasting romance seem believable. I figured that after everything that they went through together, they would have reconsidered the idea of being together for good, but nope, I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing them live "happily ever after," darn it. Honestly, this level of "independence" verging on selfishness bothered me a lot as I was reading (And the aggressive strength of Katsa compared to the almost pathetic, laid-back weakness of Po came across as a bit "feminazi-ish"). Coincidentally, after I finished the book, I read one review on Amazon that actually put into words what I had been thinking all along- which is that the author seems to have a really delusional idea about feminism, relationships with men, and what it means to be a "strong and independent" female. I am a 26-year old woman, and in no way did I relate to Katsa's inability to form a committed relationship with Po.

While it is true that Cashore knows how to tell a story and engage her readers, the writing style got to be a little bland at certain points (SO MANY pages of trekking through the woods!) Don't get me wrong, I was definitely able to get caught up in the intrigue and mystery surrounding the kidnapping of Po's grandfather and the trail leading to the villain, but  there were parts that dragged. And while there was an element of surprise that caught me off guard towards the end, I found the ending to be pretty anti-climactic-- the demise of the villain happens in like 2 paragraphs-- it's so quick, you almost miss it.

Cashore does her best to wrap up all the loose ends by the last few pages, but I am not sure I really liked how certain things turned out (Especially how Katsa and Po's relationship is sort of just left up in the air). After nearly 500 pages, I kind of hoped to feel a bit more satisfied with how things turned out. 

LC's Rating:

If I was going to sum-up this book in one impression, I would say that it wasn't exactly mind-blowing but it was definitely entertaining. Graceling was a really good fantasy-adventure-- it wasn't a Tolkein or a C.S. Lewis, but I could recommend it to someone who likes this genre.

Book Review: Fallen

Author: Lauren Kate
Release Date: December 8, 2009
Pages: 464
Read it in: 4 days

The Hook: “What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?”

Summary: There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori. Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move. Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her. Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

LC's Take: 

OK, I know there are mixed reviews out there about this book. It seems like it has some fans and then there are those that simply CANNOT STAND it. I, personally, liked this book. I didn't LOVE it, but I enjoyed reading it. I wasn't bored, and I thought the closer to the end I got, the more intrigued and wrapped up in the story I became. Now, I have only just started reading YA fiction so to be honest, I have very little to base an opinion on as far as paranormal romance/forbidden love go, especially in terms of this theme being over-done and cliché.  Maybe this gives me a fresh viewpoint on the whole genre??

That being said, I have read Twilight and I really thought Fallen was overall a better book than Twilight (Twilight fans please don't hate me). However, I think it’s also probably another case of a book being popular more for the marketing it’s had than based on actually being an awesome, unforgettable story. It’s not that Fallen was a bad read—it just wasn’t all that memorable, either.  Here's some things I did like about it:

•  The story unfolds in mid-19^th century England and from the beginning draws you in—there is something intriguing and mysterious that keeps you reading
• Luce's character is portrayed well- she is an actual living, breathing, thinking human being—vulnerable, innocent…  she has some depth to her and her thoughts and reactions very often echo those of the reader (ex: “Why is everyone at this school so weird?” p.52). I could relate to a lot of the things she goes through at the reform school and her reactions generally make sense.
• The scenes of Luce being thrown into the hellish world of Sword & Cross reform school reminded me slightly of Mr. Brocklehurst’s school in Jane Eyre-- and Kate does a really good job at painting vivid pictures that are dark, brooding- and at times pretty sexual/erotic-- the perfect mix for a Gothic story of doomed lovers. But there is nothing cheap or trashy with the way Kate describes the interactions between Luce and Cam/Daniel- they are heavy and deep, pained and other-worldly, all at the same time. 
• The book cover is freaking gorgeous.

Alright, so here's what turned me off about Fallen:

• The dialogue was at times very forced- and forced dialogue always winds up sounding incredibly cheesy…(phrases like “nice digs,” “capiche,” “He has the hots for you,” “absolute lame-o’s”-- Who talks like that???)
• Daniel was a bit too Edward-esque-- too perfect and a super a-hole. But Kate does a pretty good job at giving a reason for why he's such a jerk to Luce towards the end of the story-- and it makes sense. (Well, it did to me anyways). He redeems himself.
• Luce’s parents are clueless, apathetic, unloving and fake—not to mention bordering on sadistic in their absolute negligence of their daughter. I kinda wish they had spontaneously combusted to be honest…

LC's Rating:

Some things annoyed me about Fallen, but overall I thought it was a good story with lots of dark, Gothic elements that kept me reading.