Book Review: The Raven Boys

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: Raven Cycle #1
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Pages: 409
Read it in: 3 days
Source: ARC from the publisher

Summary: It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

LC's Take:

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve, Blue. Either you're his true love...or you killed him." 

With a darkly prophetic tag line like that, I knew pretty much right away that I had to read The Raven Boys. I've never read a book by Maggie Stiefvater before, but I can definitively say that I was not disappointed! With its diverse cast of characters and supernatural mystery and adventure, The Raven Boys was a really awesome and unique story that stood out from a lot of other YA...

Blue Sargent lives in a family of clairvoyants-- her mother is a psychic, along with the other women who live at her house. Blue doesn't have the gift of clairvoyancy, but she does have the ability to give energy to people and places, making supernatural occurrences much more likely when she is around. When Blue meets Gansey, one of the "the raven boys" from the elite Aglionby Academy, she is pulled into the supernatural rather unexpectedly, as they search for the legendary lost Glendower, an ancient Welsh king who is said to be hidden along a powerful ley line in Blue's town of Henrietta-- and can be re-awakened by whoever finds him.

So the thing that I loved most about this book was how much depth and complexity Maggie gives to her characters-- they aren't just there to add filler to the story; they have histories, they have inner conflict, and they have imperfections that make them seem real. It was this kind of in-depth character analysis that made me feel invested in the story, because the people I was reading about were easy to picture and relate to. Gansey, born to a life of privilege, worries that he'll never do anything meaningful in his life and is passionately driven in his quest to find Glendower. Ronan, who appears so dark and cold-hearted at first, turns out to have a very kind heart and strong sense of justice. Adam, who has a very troubled home life, struggles with overcoming his miserable life circumstances. Told from multiple points of view, Maggie lets the reader into the minds of her characters and you feel as though you really know them...

Except-- and here was the *one* thing that bugged me about this book-- I never felt like I got to know Blue Sargent as a character. This really surprised me, because I felt so connected with all the other characters in the book, even the minor ones-- but Blue, who is the main character, seemed very vague to me. Besides the fact that she has a special energy about her that can increase the force of supernatural occurrences (and the fact that she has an absolutely horrible sense of fashion and dresses like an 80-year old cat lady), I never felt like I was able to get a grasp on her personality. She was just... there. It was as though I could see things happening around Blue but she herself was very underdeveloped as a character, and I found this to be really strange, considering how vividly all the other characters were portrayed.

Besides Blue being a somewhat underdeveloped main character, I thought that everything else in The Raven Boys was very well done, so don't let that throw you off. The story and the pacing of the plot were done just right, and kept me anxiously turning the pages. Throughout the book, you can tell that there is something very strange going on, but you aren't given enough information to be able to fit all the pieces together right away. I loved this kind of suspense and build up, where as I read I learned a little bit more about all the characters and how they were connected and what was going on. And the supernatural in this book was made even better by Maggie's haunting and beautiful writing style-- everything flowed and made this book very easy to read.

So overall, I think that The Raven Boys stood out as a unique take on the supernatural genre, and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for something different. The end left me wondering what will happen next, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where this series goes!

 ~Cover Talk~ 

I am insanely in love with this cover-- I know it is really simple, but I think that is what makes it stand out from other YA book covers. And I only have the ARC edition, but they still splurged on the cover art-- The painted image of the raven is gorgeous, and both the title and Maggie's name are in raised lettering. The entire thing is on a shimmery paper, and what I really love most about the cover art for this book is that it doesn't appeal to only one group of readers-- it doesn't scream "YA!!" and it isn't directed only at girls by featuring a model in a fancy dress. I think that this is the kind of book cover that is eye-catching without trying too hard-- it's simple and beautiful, and a little dark and creepy at the same time. What's not to like? ;)

LC's Rating:

A unique and intelligent take on the supernatural, The Raven Boys was a story full of mystery and adventure. Vivid descriptions, deep character portrayals, and a well-paced plot kept me glued to the pages-- definitely a TBR add! 

 

ARC Book Review: Glimmer

Author: Phoebe Kitanidis
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Pages: 352
Read it in: 2 days

Summary: When Marshall and Elyse wake up in each other’s arms with zero memory of how they got there or who they are, it’s the start of a long journey through their separate pasts and shared future.

Terrified by their amnesia, the two make a pact to work together to find the answers that could jog their missing memories. As they piece together clues, they discover they’re in the idyllic mountain resort town of Summer Falls, where everyone seems mysteriously happy, but as Marshall and Elyse quickly learn, darkness lurks beneath the town’s perfect facade. Not only is the town haunted by sinister ghosts, but none of its living inhabitants retain bad memories of anything—not the death of Marshall’s mom, not the hidden shame in Elyse’s family, not even the day-to-day anguish of high school.

Lonely in this world of happy zombies, Marsh and Elyse fall into an intense relationship...but the secrets they uncover could be the death of this growing love—and the death of everyone, and everything, they love in Summer Falls.

Video Review:

So as you may know, I have started doing video reviews for some of the books I read. Here is my review for Glimmer-- also see my full review below!

 

LC's Take:

So, what would you do if you woke up naked in a strange bed, in a strange room, with a strange guy you've never seen before? And you have zero recollection of how you got there or even who you are? Elyse Alton wakes up in this strange predicament-- and things are only about to get stranger.

Glimmer was a very... interesting story, let me put it that way. For the most part I did enjoy reading it, but at the same time, I felt like it was trying to do too much, and I would've liked it a lot more if the plot hadn't gotten so nuts towards the end. So first, here is what I did like about this book:

The town of Summer Falls that Elyse and Marshall find themselves in was flipping creepy-- and the residents are even creepier. As Elyse and Marshall try to find answers to who they are and what their pasts were like, the townspeople of Summer Falls seem oddly ignorant to anything strange or unnatural going on-- and they also have a weird habit of fainting dead away whenever something negative happens to them. And when they wake up, they can't remember anything. I thought that the eerie atmosphere of the book was done perfectly, it seriously gave me the chills!

I also really loved how the mystery and suspense in this story built gradually-- not too much was given away all at once, and it kept me guessing pretty much the entire way through the book. However, as the story unraveled, I felt like it left me more confused than anything else.

Which leads into the main issue I had with Glimmer, which is that I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on for the last half of the book. Now of course, this could just be me. Maybe I just confuse really easy, but I just felt like the plot got sort of "whacky" if you know what I mean, and I found myself stopping to figure out whole chunks of the plot multiple times. And DON'T read any more of this paragraph if you don't want any spoilers, but the whole explanation with the founder Preston putting this occultist magic spell on the town using the waterfall as his power source, and then Marshall having to do all this strange voodoo magic to erase Elyse's memory and save the town, and then the ghosts and the native american spirits-- I was just like, HUH?! I just don't like when plots become super odd and complicated.

But then there was also the fact that when I started reading this book, I was expecting it to be a dystopian, because it takes place in this seemingly perfect town with all this strange, scary stuff going on to these brain-washed people-- and it even says on Goodreads that Glimmer is a dystopian-- well let me tell you, it's not.  Not that that's a bad thing, I just went into it expecting one thing and ended up with something completely different. There's the ghosts and magic, and all of sudden, it's not dystopian, it's actually a supernatural/paranormal-- I don't know, I just got pretty confused with the gist of the whole plot. And the fact that it was sometimes really hard to distinguish between Elyse and Marshall's alternating points of view didn't make things any easier.

I did like the dynamics that played out between Elyse and Marshall, I thought it was awesome how their pasts slowly unravel and we discover piece by piece what their connection is. I can't say I really bought into their romance however, since it was really more physical, lusty attraction than anything else, but whatever, it was still pretty hott so I'm not complaining ;)

Overall Glimmer was a like and not a love. I liked it for the built-up mystery and suspense of the plot and the awesomely creepy atmosphere created in Summer Falls-- it's rare to find an author who can literally create a "mood" or atmosphere so perfectly as Phoebe did in this book, I swear you will get chills from reading it! Unfortunately, I started losing interest in the story about three-quarters of the way through, because there was just too much going on-- ghosts, magic, elemental spirits, memory-erasing, brain-washing-- I felt like the story was trying to do too much, and it just ended up being really overwhelming and confusing for me. I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a very unique and creative story that takes risks and is different from anything else you've ever read!

~Cover Talk~

While I do like this cover, and think that it is very pretty, it's not my favorite or anything. First of all, something about the color combination isn't all that attractive to me-- the aqua fading into mauve and the lime-green title, I don't know, it's just not the best color combo ever. And second, while yes the doe-eyed model is super-pretty and all-- isn't Elyse supposed to have brown hair, not platinum-blond? So I'm not entirely sure who is supposed to be depicted on the cover!

LC's Rating:

The mystery and suspense in Glimmer kept me guessing and turning the pages, and parts of the story were irresistibly creepy, which will have you on the edge of your seat! My only issue was that the plot became really confusing towards the end.

Book Review: Born At Midnight

Author: C.C. Hunter
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Series: Shadow Falls #1
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Pages: 398
Read it in: 3 days

Summary: One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

LC's Take:

So I know this probably goes without saying, but I just adore fun books with fun, snarky main characters who make me laugh. I love reading from the voice of a down-to-earth, yet slightly goofy chick who has confidence and isn't afraid to make fun of herself a little. I also love when that same snarky, fun character has a serious side as well, with real emotions and issues that are tough to deal with. And so the main reason I loved Born At Midnight was because Kylie, the main character, was all of the above.

Seriously guys, read this book just because of Kylie, that's all I'm saying! She was an awesome character who was easy to relate to-- you just can't help but love her. The poor girl has to go through so many things throughout this book, including her parent's divorce, dealing with her friend Sara's pregnancy scare, a broken heart from her ex-boyfriend Trey, and then to top it all off, dealing with a major identity crisis! After getting landed at Shadow Falls Camp, Kylie has to try and not only figure out who she is, but what she is, since it becomes clear that she's not totally human, but no one can really explain for sure what makes Kylie so different... To make matters worse, she has a creepy ghost she's nicknamed "Soldier Dude" following her around wherever she goes, and even in the supernatural world, it's not a common thing to be able to see dead people.

Another thing I totally loved about this book was that it took place at a summer camp-- and not just any summer camp, but one especially for supernaturals. This was such a fun twist on the typical "boarding school" kind of story, and I thought it made the book both unique and memorable.

And then we have the boy love interests: Trey is the guy who ditched Kylie awhile back, but she can't seem to get over him. Derek is the super-sexy half-fey guy she meets at Shadow Falls Camp, and he was definitely swoon-worthy! And then there's Lucas, a werewolf who's more on the dark and dangerous side, but who Kylie can't help but be equally attracted to. So yes, there was plenty of romance and love triangles and quadrangles going on in this book, but it was still fun to read about! 

The deliciously suspenseful cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter definitely made Born at Midnight impossible to put down-- it was like getting to the end of a TV show that you're just dying to see the next episode of because it ended by leaving you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails to get to the next plot twist. That really made this book fun to read!

The only thing that threw me off a little bit was the gigantic mish-mash of supernatural and paranormal genres-- I didn't mind there being faeries, witches, vampires, unicorns and werewolves all together in the same story,  but then there was also talk about Kylie being "descended from the Gods," and at that point I was just like, whoa whoa-- what?! There are gods in this book too?? Adding in mythology when there are already so many different things going on in the plot made it a little more difficult for me to follow. Oh, and the eyebrow-twitching thing was also a little weird. Basically, supernaturals can "twitch" their eyebrows to get a vibe about another supernatural, and I kept trying to picture this in my head, and every time ended up mentally giggling to myself :)

Overall Born at Midnight was a great book because it had a fun setting and fun characters, and the plot was definitely suspenseful and kept me reading. I would highly recommend picking up this book if you like the whole "boarding school" genre, or reading any kind of supernatural story. 

~Cover Love~

OMGosh, this is total cover love! Not only did this cover draw me in right away with the mysterious picture of the split tree and girl, but it's like, purple and silvery! This is one of those covers that is beautiful anyways, but when you see it in person, it's even better. I also think that the girl looks just like Kylie would look.

LC's Rating:

Awesome characters and a suspenseful story line made this book a must-read! Add in the fact that it takes place at a summer camp for supernaturals, and you have yourself one awesome book-- definitely have this one bumped UP on your TBR lists! :D

Book Review: Shattered Souls

Author: Mary Lindsey
Publisher: Philomel/Penguin
Release Date: December 8, 2011
Pages: 336
Read it in: 2 days

Summary: A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

LC's Take:

Warning: If you don't like reading rants about books, especially for ones that you liked or think you're going to like, then you aren't going to like this review. If you do like reading rants about books, well then, this should probably be pretty darned entertaining...

*****

OK, so let me start off by just saying, I really tried to like this book, honestly I did.

I tried up until the very last page to have hope that something was going to happen that would redeem the entire thing for me.

But it just.

Didn't.

Happen.

[Insert sad face here.]

Maybe I should blame my OCD tendency to finish a book no matter what. Because even when I absolutely can't stand a book, I have to finish it. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I really did consider DNF-ing this book about halfway through because I just could not take much more of Lenzi's weak character-- she was literally making me sad and angry at the same time-- but then, I thought well, maaayyybeeee she'll get better, maybe she'll have some kind of major revelation and turn into this super awesome character, transforming into a strong, confident, kick-butt kinda gal who can stand on her own two feet without a man to validate her entire existence.

But alas! It was not to be.

And the farther I got to the end, the more annoyed and disappointed I became.

~Brief Summary~

Lenzi's dad has recently died-- committed suicide-- because he couldn't get rid of the voices in his head. Now 16, Lenzi is starting to not only hear voices, but see things too. Her musician boyfriend Zac can't help her. Alden, the strange guy she meets in a graveyard one night, tells Lenzi that she is a Speaker-- she can speak to lost souls and help them to find rest in death by freeing them from the problems that keep them bound to Earth. Alden is her Protector-- he protects her from Malevolents, violent spirits who don't want to be helped, but who could potentially possess Lenzi's body, using it to take out their rage or revenge. But Lenzi has no recollection about her past lives as a Speaker, and now there is a really dangerous Malevolent who wants revenge on her for something Lenzi can't even remember...

~My Thoughts~

So the number one reason why I could not stand this book was because I could NOT stand Lenzi. The girl absolutely annoyed the living crap out of me, and it was downright painful having to read from her whiny, immature point of view. Yes, I can understand her frustration and fear after finding out that she's supposed to talk to the dead and help them out of Earthly purgatory, but really? If I had just found out that I could talk to dead people AND it was up to me to save them from eternal damnation, I'm pretty darned sure my number one concern wouldn't be which boy I'm currently dating. For real.

Now, this seriously drove me crazy, because all Lenzi ever did was: A.) Drool over how gorgeous and beautiful Zak and Alden were, or B.) whine and complain about how sucky her life was.

That's it, the girl had no other thoughts.

Oh, but she can fold origami-- lots of origameeee!

(Because, you know, the main character has to have a "hobby" to make her seem "smart" and "interesting.")

Meanwhile, the immaturity levels reached astronomical proportions-- I'm talking whining and complaining galore. And when she does finally try to be the mature adult? She gets about as far as donning a pair of "tan slacks and cream-colored turtleneck"-- yes, that is an actual description of what she wears, I'm not making this up-- because clearly you have to dress like a flipping geriatric to appear "grown up." Slap on a pair of Velcro Easy Strides and Lenzi is good to go. Terrific!

OK, so on a more serious note, my main beef is that I thought the message Lenzi sends out to readers was absolutely horrible-- I found nothing about this character that was respectable, admirable or worth emulating: she was lazy, whiny, vapid, annoying, willingly ignorant, and worst of all, completely and desperately dependent on the acceptance of a guy-- no matter how controlling or abusive-- to validate her existence and her sense of self-worth.

I'm sorry, but that is a crap-tastic way to present a character.

If you're going to write about a self-deprecating girl who constantly belittles and demeans herself, you need to at least let her eventually come to the realization that she doesn't have to debase herself, and that she really is worthy of respect and healthy male attention. But if this never happens? If the main character never learns to respect herself? How am I the reader supposed to respect her? I honestly wish that Lenzi had developed into a strong and confident character. But this never happened. And it made me sad. Really, it did.

And then there's Reason Number Two why I didn't like this book-- Zak.

Whom I affectionately like to call Zak the Asshat.

Where do I even begin with how much I loathed this crappy excuse for a love interest?

Zak (the Asshat) was hands down the biggest jerk-wad I think I have ever read about. And what's worse, he was passed off as actually being in the running for Lenzi's heart! I mean if this is any indicator of what a cruddy little weasel he was-- the guy got drunk on page 40, tried to feel up Lenzi at her father's GRAVE and then abandoned her in a cemetery at night, in a bad neighborhood, on her freaking BIRTHDAY.

Say whaaaat?!?

Oh, you heard me right.

Which brings me to what I hated most about this book-- the dysfunctional, abusive and completely NOT romantic relationship between Lenzi and Zak. So after everything that Zak puts her through, Lenzi goes right back to him so she can appease her mountain of insecurity, essentially turning into a total doormat and kissing the ground he walks on for the next 20-something chapters.

Because, you know, God forbid she lose this absolutely perfect specimen of male chivalry.

Yes, I know she goes off with Alden to do her whole Ghost-Speaker thing, but here's what grinds my gears: Lenzi never gets a clue about what a dirt bag this guy really was-- and what really scared me was that the author never seemed to have a clue either, because even by the very end, Lenzi was still spouting about how Zak was such a "cool guy" and her only "real friend."

Well, NO-- no he wasn't.

Actually, he was a controlling, possessive, alcoholic, and even dangerous and abusive psycho. And I'm not OK with that never being addressed. I'm NOT OK with that kind of a person being passed off as romantic or attractive.

To hammer home my point, there is even one point at the end of the book where Lenzi gets into a car with drunk Zak, and tells him it's all her fault that their relationship failed and that she's a freak who isn't good enough for him-- this is the same guy, I'll mention one more time, who abandoned her in a bad neighborhood at night on her birthday, and possessively stalked her to the point where the police should have been involved! Umm, NOT OK!!

[Side Note: If I had to hear Zak say "babe" at the end of one more sentence, the book would have gotten hurled across Starbucks. (Not really, it was a library book-- and I wouldn't want to knock over anyone's triple venti macchiato-- but you know, in theory). Seriously, give me a fa-reaking break.]

Oh but wait ladies and gentlemen-- there's more douche-baggery ahead!

Let me introduce you to Alden, Lenzi's second love interest, whom I affectionately like to refer to as Asshat #2. Alden is Lenzi's Protector who keeps her safe from all the big, bad Malevolents. Except for the fact that he never tells her anything, keeps her completely in the dark, and did I mention that he is TURNED ON by Lenzi's fear and pain? Yes, I kid you not, it actually says in the book that Alden Asshat #2 is turned on by Lenzi's fear and pain.

I'm sorry, but isn't that the definition of sadism??? Why yes, yes it is! And how lovely-- it's being passed off as hott, sexy and romantic!

*****

[This is the part where I take a long, deep breath and try not to FLIP THE CRAP OUT.]

*****

Alrighty, so added to all this wonderfully disturbing twistedness, the book was also full of some of the most bizarre and ridiculous one-liners that I've ever read, which illicited reactions running the gamut from bursting out laughing hysterically to slapping my forehead in total frustration to looking up from the pages like someone had just run across my yard wearing nothing but a thong and a cowboy hat.

Oh, I know you're curious now! Well here are a few little gems that I couldn't resist mentioning:

"Even lifeless, he was hot." ~p.80 (OK, that's a little creepy...)

"I wasn't addicted to Xanax, but I could certainly become addicted to Alden." ~p.116 (I literally burst out laughing for a good 5 minutes after reading this.)

"Should I shake his hand or kiss him good night on the cheek? Maybe I should act like Spook and just lick his face." ~p.138 (No comment-- I'll just let you revel in the sheer awkwardness of this quote.)

We also have a wonderful villain in the story, named Smith. Smith is a crazed lunatic from the 19th century who is out to whack Lenzi due to a century-old grudge he has because Lenzi jilted him in some past lifetime. (Totally by coincidence, Smith was the only character in the book I liked.)

Finally-- and this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine in YA literature-- I HATE when the protagonist comes across as being mind-numbingly vapid and completely useless.

Now I don't want to beat a dead horse because I've already ranted about Lenzi, but I'm still not quite over her character and how she came across as being 115 pounds of pure dead-weight. Throughout the whole book, Lenzi is just thrown around by events outside her control and by the people (in this case, the boys) around her, and she reacts-- no real thought or action on her part changes the plot all that much, so she's basically a pretty-- albeit whiny-- little puppet.

And what's worse? It comes across as though Lenzi's entire sense of identity is wrapped up in whether she has a guy to fawn over. This bothers me big time, because not only is it annoying for me to have to read about; I think it sends a really bad message to readers in general. I mean, if you look at this story, Lenzi basically lets herself be a doormat for Zac to wipe his dirty boots on for the first half of the book, and the second half of the book is Lenzi pathetically trying to be a good Speaker just so she can impress Alden and live up to his expectations. AND she's also cheating on Zak, who yes, does win Asshat of the Year, but still, I was not at all impressed with our girl Lenzi throwing herself at Alden when *technically* she was still with Asshat-- I mean, Zak.

So yeah, I don't like any of that. Why couldn't she have wanted to be a kick-ass Speaker to make herself happy, to increase her own self-confidence, based on what she's capable of and not what some dude thinks of her? Not to stand on a feminist soap-box, but I'm just saying, I would have liked to see Lenzi be more independent, strong-willed and confident, without the whole "I'm nothing without a man" attitude.

Sigh... OK, so after that tirade, it's now time to say something positive about this book. It's a policy of mine that no matter how much I disliked a book, I won't leave a review without stating at least ONE thing that I did like about it. So I will say that the action scenes in this book were really well done, and the concept of the Speakers and Protectors freeing the Hindered and fighting the Malevolents was a really good one-- I thought it was interesting and creative.

Honestly, I did, I'm not just saying that to avoid getting the stink-eye numerous times for being a total jerk about this book...

So to wrap up this really long review, I will just say that there were lots of readers out there who adored Shattered Souls. I totally respect their opinions, and know that my review is only one of many. And even though I didn't like it, that doesn't mean that you won't! I can't recommend this book myself, but I would suggest checking out other reviewer's opinions of it to see whether it's something you want to get into.

[FINAL NOTE: To fully appreciate my feelings and reactions to this book, it's best to read my Goodreads status updates-- in fact, if I didn't get all of this off my chest while I was reading the book, I'm pretty sure I would've had an aneurysm, no joke. So a big thank-you to Goodreads for helping me to maintain my sanity.]

~Cover Talk~

OK, I admit it-- I was a total sucker for this cover. I saw that dang cover and I had to get this and read it. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed by the story inside as I was by the rose-petal-prettiness that first lured me in. And well, to be perfectly honest, the cover in person is a little strange if you look at it closely-- it sort of looks like the girl was cut in half at her torso and then petals were pasted on top. It is still beautiful, but the design could've been a little more put together...

LC's Rating:

Ugh, I really feel bad that I disliked this book so much, especially since so many other readers loved it. But basically, I was completely disappointed with Lenzi, the main character. The story itself was creative, but the dysfunctional romance and undeveloped protagonist were total turn-offs for me!

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk Publishing
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Pages: 352
Read it in: 3 days
Source: The library

Summary: A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

LC's Take:

I absolutely HAD to read this book. As a sucker for anything creepy, bizarre, or otherwise strange and phantasmagoric, I had this one on my TBR list from the moment I saw that disturbingly odd little girl levitating on the cover. Add to the fact that the story centers around an abandoned orphanage on a mysterious island?? Yup, I was all about it.

Jacob has just lost his grandfather. At 16 years old, all Jacob has left are memories of the fantastical, sometimes horrifying, stories that his grandfather used to tell him as a child, and the last words his grandfather uttered-- clues to the real story Jacob never knew. Now Jacob wonders if the nightmarish monsters his grandfather spoke of were not just metaphors for the Nazi soldiers that killed his family, but real monsters that still exist somewhere...  and whether they are out to get him like they got his grandfather.

I'm actually not really sure what to say about this one. It's not that I didn't like it, but I had pretty much the same reaction to it as everyone else: it just was not at all what I had been expecting. I think the main problem is that people going into this book are like me-- they saw that extremely creepy cover and flipped through to see some equally creepy old photos and thought that this book was going to be scare-your-pants-off terrific, but then when you get into the actual story it just... wasn't. Definitely no scary-pants-action going on here.

And honestly, it's not that the story was bad-- there was a lot of suspense, some romance, some folklore, some mild creepiness with the villains. But I went into this book expecting something totally different. The kids were not creepy. And I was looking for creepy ghost children. I was looking for a story that gave me chills and shivers and made me jump every time I heard a noise while reading. What I got instead was a good story, but it fell a little flat next to what I had worked myself up to experience.

The concept was really great, and I loved how the pictures were incorporated into the story. That was such an incredibly unique and awesome idea, and it definitely kept me interested throughout the book. The story told through Jacob's voice was very real, incredible funny, and I loved all the uncensored snark and raw emotion that came through from his perspective. Jacob's point of view really made this story come alive for me.

In the end, I was a bit disappointed with this book, despite some great characters and an interesting premise. I really needed this story to amp-up the creepiness factor because I had been expecting a bone-chilling ghost story and got something very different instead. Not bad, just not totally living up to my expectations.

~Cover Talk~

Seriously one of the most intriguing covers I have ever seen. If I was walking past this book, I would stop dead in my tracks to pick it up and see what it was about, even if I was running late to be somewhere. It would be like an involuntary reflex, that's how awesome this cover is. That picture of the levitating girl with the creepy face is so haunting, and the pics on the back of the book are even more nightmarish-- like, super scary! I wish that the story had the same creep-out factor as some of the photos did.

LC's Rating:

A good story with a good premise that unfortunately fell slightly flat for me. I was expecting a very scary, creepy story with freaky ghost children, and got something totally different. It wasn't bad, just unexpected. I did really like the mix of old photos with the story! Altogether, still a unique and intriguing book.

ARC Book Review: Darker Still

Author: Leanna Renee Haber
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Pages: 320
Read it in: 3 days
Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Summary: The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

LC's Take:

Alright, so I had mixed feelings about this book. There were definitely things I liked, and things I was a little bit disappointed with. We'll start with the likes!

First, the characters were great. Natalie was a strong, smart, unique, and independent heroine whose intelligent thoughts and eloquent account of events had me mesmerized from start to finish. While her rationality compels her to disbelieve what is happening between herself and Lord Denbury, she is still inexplicably drawn to his portrait. Her inquisitive nature and vulnerability were the perfect mix to create a very likable main character. I also liked no-nonsense, slightly kooky Mrs. Northe-- she was the epitome of Victorian etiquette and proper manners, but she had a subtle sense of humor that had me smiling to myself every time she entered the story. Her quirky notions and habits made her both endearing and memorable. And then of course there was Lord Denbury-- talk about melt-your-heart irresistible! Dark, brooding, but with a vulnerable, sweet side that longs to do good in the world, Lord Denbury was the perfect gentleman. He sort of reminded me of Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, and I think you will fall in love with him too!

The writing was also incredibly well-done. Leanna can take the simplest of movements or gestures and with words, turn them into something stunningly beautiful and real. When Natalie reaches to touch the painting of Lord Denbury for the first time, I could actually see and experience the scene. Furthermore, the narrative of Natalie Stewart was witty, intelligent, descriptive and flowing-- it definitely kept me reading!

The story itself was downright creepy and sent shivers down my spine-- it was eerie and Gothic and the plot built up suspense in all the right places. I loved all of the Victorian literature tie-ins too! Leanna vividly captures a proper and superstitious Victorian society with all of the dark undertones and rigid social rules that characterized the time. Reading like a ghost story of old, Darker Still had plenty of shivers, thrills and creepiness!

However, there were some things about this book that rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not trying to turn anyone off from reading this book, but I wanted to point out where I personally had some issues-- probably most people won't even be bothered by these things.

OK, so the first issue had to do with approaching religion and faith in books. I was going to go off on a big tangent about this, but I decided not to. Why? Because it's a personal issue that has nothing to do with the literary merit of the book, and I don't think it's fair to base a review on what I personally believe. Furthermore, I totally understand that much of the story drew its inspiration from Gothic-Victorian elements, which were heavily influenced by religion, spiritualism, superstition, etc. So, while the whole religion thing bothered me somewhat (I won't go into specifics), please disregard this entire paragraph if it's not something that would affect your own enjoyment of the book.

On a (slightly) less controversial note, I sort of thought that this book was a **bit** condescending and derogatory towards men. Now, I'm not saying this was intentional, but I have my reasons for being a little miffed. First of all, nearly all the men in this book were portrayed as being either devilish villains who victimize women, clueless and bumbling idiots, paid cronies, or helpless victims in need of saving. Meanwhile, all the women seemed to be categorized as either fiercely independent and the only ones with enough sense to deal with serious issues, innocent victims of male brutality, or glorified saints and angels. Added to this, Natalie tends to hint at the superiority of women over men, describes her father as though he's nothing more than a child, and mentions repeatedly how unfairly women are treated-- but then makes some rather unfair stereotyped statements about men. Maybe it sounds like I'm being too uptight, but I think that if we read a book written by a male author where all the women were made out to be clueless bimbos and all the men were awesome, we would be pretty offended, so it's only fair to have it go both ways in my opinion... let's not stereotype please! Yes, it is true that women were mistreated and not given equal rights in the 1800's-- and still aren't completely even today. I get that, so I really don't need to be reminded every dozen pages. This only makes me feel like some kind of hidden agenda is being pushed on me, and I don't like that very much.

I also thought that the plot began to drag somewhat, due to the fact that there was so much description and explanation. And the story just got so convoluted! I mean, we've got Christian dogma, Biblical stories, Spiritualism, Mysticism, magic, spells, witchcraft, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Latin incantations, demons-- it was very difficult to sort out and then process the gigantic mish-mash of plot twists. The ending got to be pretty lengthy due to all these conflicting elements, and it took a long time for all the loose ends to be tied up. (You know how at the end of The Lord of the Rings movie there are like half a dozen points where you THINK the story is about to end, but then it just keeps right on a-going? Yeah, similar story here. Side note: I LOVE LOTR, I just thought it was a funny comparison!)

Altogether this was a tough book for me to review because I had so many conflicting opinions about it. Added to this, some of my hang-ups were personal, and while I wanted to stay true to myself and at least mention them, I didn't want them to bias my review. Still-- personal opinions aside-- the writing was awesome, the narrative and dialogue were wonderfully done, and the Gothic-Victorian elements made for a dark and creepy story that was very unique. It did feel to me a little drawn-out towards the end, and I didn't like some of the main characters' opinions. But overall I'm pretty sure that this book will appeal to most readers, and be thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining!

~Cover Talk~

I do like the cover for Darker Still-- I think that the deep purple background goes really well with the purple dress, and I like the glow coming from behind the model for Natalie. However, after reading the book, I think that the model, the dress and the cover all look too modern for the Gothic, Victorian themes and the old-fashioned narrative that the story was told through. The model is very pretty, but not at all how I would picture Natalie! Still, the whole effect is very eye-catching, and I think it will appeal to a lot of readers.

LC's Rating:

Darker Still is a unique and imaginative story that mixes Gothic-Victorian tones with mystery and suspense. Despite some personal hang-ups that I had, I think this was very well-written and that most readers will really love it.

Book Review: Through Her Eyes

Author: Jennifer Archer
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Pages: 384
Read it in: 2 days

Summary: The last place Tansy Piper wants to be is stuck in Cedar Canyon, Texas, in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of small-town kids. But when her mother decides to move to the desolate West Texas town, Tansy has no choice but to go along. Once there, Tansy is immediately drawn to the turret of their rickety old house, a place she soon learns has a disturbing history. But it's the strange artifacts she finds in the cellar-- a pocket watch, a journal of poetry, and a tiny crystal-- that have the most chilling impact on her.

Tansy soon finds that through the lens of her camera, she can become part of a surreal black-and-white world where her life is intertwined with that of mysterious, troubled Henry, who lived in the same house and died decades earlier. It seems their lives are linked by fate and the artifacts she found, but as Tansy begins spending more and more time in the past, her present world starts to fade away. Tansy must untangle herself from Henry's dangerous reality-- before she loses touch with her own life forever.

LC's Take:

Have you ever read a book that catches you totally by surprise? You're just working your way through your TBR list, and happen upon a book that doesn't particularly stand out to you, and then by page 2, BAM! You're completely, irreversibly HOOKED. You can't stop reading, the characters are jumping off the page, the scenes are so vivid you feel like you're right there, and the story is so incredibly addicting, you can't stop thinking about it. Yeah, that pretty much describes my experience with this book.

I picked up Through Her Eyes without any preconceived ideas-- yes, the cover is pretty awesome, the story sounded pretty good-- but it's not like I was super-excited about it or anything. But then I started reading. From the first couple pages, I knew this was going to be a really, really good book.

Tansy Piper has just moved to Cedar Canyon, a small West Texan town in the middle of nowhere, with her mom and grandpa. The house they move into is very big and very old-- and it also happens to have a very disturbing past. Long ago, a boy named Henry lived there. One night, Henry jumped off the bridge into the canyon, and now it is rumored that his ghost still haunts the old house. Soon after moving in, Tansy discovers a journal that once belonged to Henry, along with a crystal pendent, and a pocket watch. For some reason, Tansy feels inexplicably drawn to Henry's past, and soon she finds herself becoming more and more wrapped up in his dark and troubled world. Is she going crazy? Or is she really being haunted? The only way she'll be able to find help is by finally letting her guard down and learning to trust other people.

I loved the characters in this book, because the author gives them history, motives, and depth. Tansy Piper, for me, was a wonderfully flawed character, and I really felt for her throughout the story.  I got to know her past, her pain, her fears, her passions, and her hopes. Tansy has been on the move her entire life, going from one city or town to the next-- she's known what it feels like to be an outcast and what it feels like to be betrayed by someone she thought was a friend. The emotions and thoughts that run through her head and the inner struggles she has felt very real to me, and I was definitely able to connect with her.

And then there was Papa Dan. Papa Dan was hands-down one of my favorite secondary characters ever. Over eighty years old and suffering from dementia, Papa Dan barely ever says a word, and yet JA creates a tragicomic character who you can't help but love like your own grandpa. Throughout the book, I laughed and cried, as Tansy learned to appreciate all the memories she had with Papa Dan, while learning that she has to let go of him eventually.

The mood set in this story was eerie, yet irresistibly alluring. The small town of Cedar Canyon completely draws you in until you feel like you're actually there, and really can see through Tansy's eyes. The story itself moves along at a bit of a slower pace than others I've read-- there's a good amount of internal dialogue as Tansy struggles with what's going on-- but I didn't mind because I was so thoroughly invested in the main characters. Also, I had to see how everything ended!

I could probably say a million different things about this book, about how I couldn't put it down (I couldn't), about how brilliant the writing was, about how easy it was to understand and follow the characters because we know their history, but I feel like that still wouldn't be doing it justice. I will just end this review by saying, give this one a chance, because it completely threw me off guard and exceeded my expectations. Beautiful, mysterious and haunting, Through Her Eyes was one amazing book.

LC's Rating:

I went into this book without any kind of expectations and absolutely loved it-- extremely well-written with unforgettable characters and an addicting story, I won't soon forget this one!