Born Of Illusion by Teri Brown (review)

Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: June 11th 2013 by Balzer & Bray
Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis:
Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

Review:

Born of Illusion is, I can tell because I have superior powers (just kidding), the first in a series. It will either be a trilogy, no, it most probably be a trilogy. The novel is set in the 20s, as, for some reason or another, YA novels are wont to be. The setting does not play as large a part in the novel as it does in Bray’s The Diviners but the narrative is nicely sprinkled with meaty tidbits that situate the reader firmly in that decade.

My favourite part of this novel is Anna van Housen. Oft times, in my experience at least, I may  like a main character, I may even empathize with her but once the book is done she will be, ultimately, lost among all the other main characters so plentifully present in YA novels. Anna feels real. Her mommy issues are genuine and understandable and her small actions to separate herself and grow as a person in her own right rather than as an extension of her mother makes for intriguing reading. I think the dynamics of the relationship between mother and daughter with the layered conflicts and rich emotional payoff is what makes this novel so successful. Oh, the mythology, the paranormal aspect is gripping enough but Brown’s skill is in the way she creates believable and seemingly genuine relationships between people.

Anna’s mother is beautiful and uses this beauty and the accompanying charisma to further her business as a mentalist. She pretends to hear the voices of the dead and fleeces grieving parents/sons/daughters off their money. Oh and she also tells the world that Anna’s dad is Harry Houdini. The Houdini question is never answered explicitly but enough is implied that it is easy enough to read between the lines. Anna is the one who has the true powers, powers that she does not necessarily need or even want. There is a secretive society made up of magic practitioners and a supreme villain looking to harness the powers of the uninitiated for his own nefarious plans. Oh, there’s also this loveable inventor whose inventions come in very handy. All that’s missing is a talking cat but one can hope that the next few installments will provide that as well.

The romance I liked. There is a bit too much mush but I’m forgiving because the love interest is so interesting in his own right and evinces qualities that are not usually common to a love interest. He has a personality! Haha.

I had two main issues with this novel. First, the pacing seems intentionally slow. The novel is 352 pages and I think some tighter editing could have culled it down without losing anything but heightening the tension. The mystery, such as it was, was a bit too predictable and since I connected the dots so very easily, I wondered why Anna didn’t. Also, I wonder why there wasn’t more information given about Anna’s otherworldly powers but I have a feeling that Brown is saving that for the second book which, from the hint given to us at the end of this one, is going to be pretty darned awesome.

Get your hands on this book, guys. It has a wonderful protagonist, a kissable love interest and some fantastic action.

 

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn (review)

Hardcover, 432 pages
Expected publication: June 11th 2013 by HarperTeen
Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis:
The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn’s haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese’s fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Review:

I discussed in an earlier blog post the sudden proliferation of amnesiac protagonists currently littering the landscape of YA novels. Another Little Piece features such a protagonist. When Annaliese Rose Gordon is found, she is miles from home with no memory of who she is, how she got there and where she has been in the year she has been missing.

What follows is a journey: a real time construction of an identity, a tense realization of the incongruity between the physical self and the entity that resides in the physical shell. Anna, as the person inside Annaliese calls herself, is an other, not in the postcolonial sense but in a “not-human” context. There is a deal that bound Annaliese and Anna together and the completion of that deal is what leads Anna to be inside Annaliese in a very Stephen King-esque way.

The book is dark, dealing with themes of love (in all of its manifestations), the desire for immortality and the matter of choice. There are poems scattered throughout the novel, poems that were written by the real Annaliese, the one who is gone and will never be again. They are poignant and heartbreaking – they offer  glimpses of a girl who could have been much more if she had just given herself a chance. But she didn’t and now she is gone, leaving snippets of herself in various unexpected places.

The romance is interesting. Though it is not the most compelling one I have read, it does offer more than just binary expressions – he loves me, he loves me not. I still think the relationship could have deepened slower but I seem to have this problem with every YA novel I read. I liked how the love interest in this novel is more than a love interest. He is a person with his own thoughts, dreams and ambitions. He has his own problems and his own “abilities” to deal with.

And that’s the thing. This novel does not belong to, as Alison Waller would term it, “fantastical realism” (where the world is normal and the paranormal aspects affect only one person, my definition) but neither is it magical realism. It’s not outright fantasy where special abilities are the norm. The paranormalcy is not explained and scattered, the powers manifesting in different people without any reason given for their origin. The twin whose sister’s dead, the love interest – why do these people have these abilities? The novel does not even attempt to explain and while I have no problem accepting that they do, I would have liked some engagement with the mythology to give the narrative more substance.

This directly affected the denouement of the novel. I have no idea what happened and how or even why. Things worked out rather too neatly and I didn’t like that. I wanted more explanation, a slower pace to give the resolution more credibility.

The pacing has problems but the writing doesn’t. The writing has the right hooks and I had no problem immersing myself into the story. It’s only when the book is done and you are thinking about it that you realize that you still have some questions that remain unanswered.

However, when all is said and done, this novel entertained me. A lot. It is a strong debut and makes me look forward to what Ms. Quinn comes up with next. Recommended.

Book Haul and May Wrap Up!

I didn’t splurge too much this month but I did get some really awesome books I am excited to sink my teeth in. Some of them, I have read and wanted for my collection.

For Review

I’m excited to read Control both because of its author and the content. Emerald Green I have already read and loved. Review will be posted closer to release date. Gorgeous and Open Straight were both unsolicited copies from Scholastic Canada as were Tarnished, Mending the Moon and The Planet Thieves which were sent by Tor. A Fool’s Errand, the second one in Maureen Fergus’s Gypsy King series was sent by the publicist after I, you know, asked her for it. I’m quite excited about that one.

Gifted

Twilight, I bet some eyebrows rose at the book considering I haven’t made my disdain for it a secret. But it was given to me by friends in the MACL program because I’m going to be using it in my thesis and they found a secondhand copy at a thrift store. Zach’s Story was published by the CWC Society that I do editing work for and this is a student story that won a prize and they had it bound and illustrated. It’s a holocaust book and while I don’t know the literary merits of it, it’s quite beautifully bound.

Purchased

The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson
I’ve been meaning to read this one for ages and I finally couldn’t resist it so I bought it!

Tiger Lily – Jodi Lynn Anderson
I’ve read this and adored it even though it broke my heart to so many pieces.

The Day Before – Lisa Schroeder
Read this one too and adored it so when I found it at a thrift store in new condition, I snatched it up for my collection.

The Queen of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner
I’m a bit sad that the first two hardcovers don’t match the latter ones but now I have the first four, though I know two or more are still in the works. But since each book is a complete story on it’s own, I’ll probably start reading this sooner rather than later.

The Jewel of Kalderash – Marie Rutkoski
Rutkoski is a good writer, this much I knew, so I was utterly bemused by the insanity that was The Shadow Society. But that aside, I have now the complete trilogy and can read the second and third books. Eventually.

These all the books I got for this month. What’s new on your shelves?

——————————————————-

Now for the wrap up! 39 books read this month. They are, in no particular order,:

1. The Hallowed Ones – Laura Bickle
2. The Murmurings – Carly Ann West (ergh)
3. Transparency – Frances Hwang
4. Chantress – Amy Butler Greenfield
5. White Crow – Marcus Sedgwick
6. Basho and the Fox – Tim J. Myers
7. The Reluctant Dragon – Robert D. San Souci
8. The Ladder – Halfdan Rasmussen
9. Zen Ties – Jon J. Muth
10. The Ruby in the Smoke – Phillip Pullman
11. All Our Yesterdays – Cristin Terrill
12. The Girl with the Silver Eyes – Willo Davis Roberts
13. The Bitter Kingdom – Rae Carson
14. Spirit and Dust – Rosemary Clement-Moore
15. The Burning Sky – Sherry Thomas
16. Golden – Jessi Kirby
17. Love Among the Particles – Norman Lock
18. Zenn Scarlett – Christian Schoon
19. What I Did. – Jason
20. Outcast  – Adrienne Kress
21. Goodbye Tsugumi – Banana Yoshimoto
22. The First Escape – G. P. Taylor
23. Good as Lily – Derek Kirk Kim
24. Handbook for Dragon Slayers – Merrie Haskell
25. Fragments – Dan Wells
26. Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things – Ted Naifeh
27. You Don’t Know Me – David Klass
28. Night of the Gargoyles – Eve Bunting
29. The Pirate’s Wish – Cassandra Rose Clarke
30. Emerald Green – Kerstein Gier
31. The Sweet Dead Life – Joy Preble
32. India Black – Carol K. Carr
33. Bind Willow, Sleeping Woman – Haruki Murakami
34. The Shambling Guide to New York City – Mur Lafferty
35. Enchanted Inc. – Shanna Swendson
36. Mountain Echoes – C. E. Murphy
37. The Tiny Wife – Andrew Kaufman
38. Lady Lazarus – Michelle Lang
39. The Runaway King – Jennifer A. Nielson

Book Blogging: A Discussion

I’ve been pondering this for a while now. Next month on the 12th, I’ll have been book blogging for three whole years and it’s usually around this time that I reflect a lot on what I have been doing,  how I like it and whether I still want to continue doing it. This is particularly pertinent now because I am going to get busier with each month and I want to re-evaluate whether what I’m doing has any purpose or meaning to someone other than me. My original motive to start this blog was of course born out of my desire to talk about books – to have a medium in which I could give in to my bookish desires and just talk, as I wished, about the written word. Over the years, that morphed into writing reviews, almost religiously, because this is a book review blog and I want to write reviews. Or blog posts, or whatever you want to term it. Posting every day became a habit – something to draw readers in because what if there are no readers? What’s the point in writing? If no one comments on the posts you’ve spent hours perfecting, does it make a bad post?

I’m never going to win the popularity race. I just don’t have the patience or time for it. Or even the social know how. There are cliques on Twitter, GR and blogospheres – don’t think there aren’t. You’d be wrong. And I pretty much always run on my own. Perhaps my content is not fun enough – and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t participate in memes or even do too many discussion posts because I don’t have much time. But am I doing this for other people or am I doing this for me? Am I generating content and attracting viewers just so publishing houses can see my numbers and grant me access to the coveted ARCs etc?

No, not really. I’ve pretty much gotten over the insane desire for ARCs that I used to have in the early days of blogging. I still like them, of course, I’m not going to lie about that. But the books will be out eventually and honestly, with such little time, by the time I get to it, the book may be out anyway so what’s the point of panting for it now? Plus, I have an increasing preference of reading finished copies as opposed to ARCs because I want to make the experience as rich as I can make it. This is a personal preference.

I thought about quitting the blogging world but I realized that though it verged on obsession the first two years, in the third year, it has gotten its own niche in my head. I don’t spend time refreshing the page, wondering if there are comments and views and if there aren’t, why not. It is nice to go into detail about why I like the book and though I could fulfill this desire by posting reviews on GR, I like BM because it is my very own. I don’t advertise anything and I am not associated with any bookstore, online or otherwise. These simply are my thoughts and when I do review for publishers, I do so with my integrity intact. I have all the trapping; the FB page, the Twitter handle but at the same time, I’m more reserved I’d like to say. I still don’t follow authors unless I’ve read them and sometimes even then. I don’t wish to know the people, fascinating as they may be; I am more interested in the work they produce. I may not be able to articulate myself as eloquently as I’d like to but my enthusiasm is always sincere. And while my reading tastes may change in the future, I’ll always be honest about the books I read.

I guess the purpose of this post is not so much to discuss book blogging but to reassert and re-evaluate my decision to book blog. I am primarily doing this for myself. I love that my reviews help people determine whether to read a book or not or provide a venue for people to sound out their own thoughts or responses to my review but ultimately, this is for my own self. I think it would have to be, not just for me, but to anyone who spends any amount of time book blogging. Why else would anyone do it?

The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell (review)

Hardcover, 400 pages
Published January 10th 2013 by Dial
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Tamora Pierce meets George R. R. Martin in this smart, political, medieval fantasy-thriller.

There is a new king on the throne of Tildor. Currents of political unrest sweep the country as two warring crime families seek power, angling to exploit the young Crown’s inexperience. At the Academy of Tildor, the training ground for elite soldiers, Cadet Renee de Winter struggles to keep up with her male peers. But when her mentor, a notorious commander recalled from active duty to teach at the Academy, is kidnapped to fight in illegal gladiator games, Renee and her best friend Alec find themselves thrust into a world rife with crime, sorting through a maze of political intrigue, and struggling to resolve what they want, what is legal, and what is right.

Review:

I don’t know why I haven’t heard more about this book around the blogosphere. As far as debuts go, this one is really solid. I am really demanding where high fantasy is concerned especially where worldbuilding is concerned because if the worldbuilding isn’t done right, the entire novel flounders. The Cadet of Tildor presents a fractured world, one where three different factions battle in three different ways to rule. There is magic, there are sorcerers, there is a school for spies and sorcerers in training, there is a young king and there is adventure.

One of the more interesting things about this novel is the construction of its protagonist, Cadet Renee de Winters. She, unlike her cohorts, is rather more human. She has very little power but she has a lot of courage. She is not super special snowflake-status good at anything but she works hard; she works really, really, hard. And she’s flawed. She makes the wrong decisions and she pays the price. She speaks out of turn and she apologises. I love how real she is.

I enjoyed the strife, the conflict, the political maneuverings in this novel. There are no true blue love interests and while there are some feelings, they are secondary and mostly unresolved and for someone like me who likes the focus to be on things other than romance, this works perfectly. Of course, for those who love to organize themselves into various teams, this will be a turnoff. At the heart of it, this novel is a bildungsroman of sorts, a coming of age story. We get to see Renee grow up, face the music, get hurt and get up and keep moving. She realizes her potential and while she still has a lot to learn, she finally sees herself as valuable.

Of course, this book isn’t perfect. There are so many things unresolved at the end, especially the matter with the best friend who acts like the biggest douchebag on this side of town. He is so callous that it made me wonder what or why Renee ever liked him. The story doesn’t seem completely resolved so the potential for a sequel is there and I hope someone pays Lidell to write it. Another thing that bothered me was the ease with which people seemed to travel from one city to another. In a historical setting, travel of any kind is dangerous even to the wary and for Renee to travel so easily even with wandering bandits and other villainous folks around seemed a bit too easy.

All complaints aside though, this book was a really satisfying read. Solid and substantial, its themes of the freedom of choice versus the safety of the general population kept my brain occupied for a good while. I recommend it.

Acid by Emma Pass (review)

Paperback, 431 pages
Published April 25th 2013 by Corgi Children’s Books
Source: Library

Synopsis:
2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.

The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago.

Review:

Smart, sexy and sleek is what the cover tells you the novel will be. A dystopian set in London sounded something that I would like even though I am not too much of a fan of dystopians. And there is a reason I don’t like them very much – well, more than one actually. The first reason is that they scare me with their probable reality, I mean, some of the things we read about in dystopian novels is far too realistic for me. They give a glimpse of a possible future, a future I hope I am not alive to see. The other reason is that a lot of them don’t give as much importance or attention to the logistics as I would like my novels to do (unless they are absurd and knowingly defy logic, then I’m cool with it).

Acid is told very well. It has a relatable, sympathetic heroine that I could empathize with (most of the times) and for a long while, I thought I would totally love this novel to bits. I mean, I still like it but the holes are gaping and I can no longer step around for fear of falling. Or something. I have many, many questions about this novel.

More than once, it is hinted that the rest of the world is functioning in its normal tyrant-less life and things are only oppressive in England. That the internet is no longer present, in fact, it is a fairytale-ish thing, mentioned with awe and positioned with all the other impossible to achieve things. There is mention of a governing body apart from the government of IRB. Everyone has a “komm” and I’m thinking they have some kind of internet because they have things called “efic” which are ebooks that are heavily censored bits of trash disguised as literature. The kids don’t recognize books when they come upon them and I don’t buy that they wouldn’t recognize books because the year is only 2085 and the tyrannical government has been in power for only 50 years. Did they burn all existing books or are we working with the assumption that no one owned books and only libraries contained them?

Then there is the whole face changing deal which happens at least two times to the main character. There are problems with that as well. If this government has the power to mess with a person’s memories, why don’t they do it to all of them? Why is Jenna so special? I mean honestly, why doesn’t the General just kill her and have it done with? Or send her to that super prison to die? She’s in his power. And why change her face and identity when it will be found out so easily? It seemed like going to a whole lot of trouble for no reason at all. Also, the terrorists? What happens to them? Why is there no mention of them after the entire thing is done? Or are we saving that for the next book? And then Max, the son of the doctor who died while trying to rescue Jenna, why is he sent to prison?

Okay, I get it that tyrants and tyrannical and have tyrannical issues but Pass doesn’t seem to understand that tyrants are also very smart. There is a reason they have managed to reach the position of power they are currently holding. They are charismatic, psychopathic liars who can be charming and persuasive. They are not stupid and they know when to choose their battles. Prisons takes money and tyrants are greedy. Shackling a 14 year old to the wall whose only crime is being born is stupid. If the tyrant didn’t want that 14 year old, he would have her killed. But you know what would be more tyrannical? Brainwashing them and using them in his army of goons.

Another thing that wasn’t well thought about is the nature of politics. While there is a central governing figure, politics is like a web. Killing one person may send the country into chaos but it won’t automatically allow the good guys to come in and take over. Someone else will rise up and the only way to get rid of the bad is to cleanse and start from scratch.

The book attempts to do too much in too little space. Jenna follows her fellow dystopian colleagues in being entire kickass and taking down everyone when it doesn’t matter and not being able to take out one person when it does matter. The novel is constructed on a very flimsy foundation that doesn’t take into account that the world is a small place. That Britain has other countries very close to it and in the event that the police does try to take over the country, there will be massive bloodshed and perhaps America will send its troops to try to liberate “the people” as, you know, it has done with Iraq and Afghanistan (heh).

As far as the book is concerned, while it had potential, I don’t think it lived up to it. However, reading is subjective so if the things I mentioned don’t bother you, you may enjoy it a lot more than I did.

Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1) by Kasie West (review)

Hardcover, 352 pages
Published February 12th 2013 by HarperTeen
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Review:

I saw some really mixed reviews of this book and I was disappointed because it has such a fascinating premise and I really wanted to read it. So I went ahead and read it anyway.

(See, this is how negative reviews do not stop me from reading a book I truly want to read!)

And boy, was I glad that I did. There is this trend in YA recently (and this trend will get its very own post) where the main character either splinters or two or has dual identities or has two separate people living in one body. While Pivot Point does not unfold along those lines, it does have a duality to it that intrigues me.

Addison can see the future. Or rather, she can see the future as it pertains to her and the choices she makes. She can see what would happen if she chose something or other. She can see both paths. Pretty darned cool ability to have, I say.

When her parents split up and she goes “Searching” for what her future would look like were she to choose her mother or her father, she lives six weeks of very different lives. She falls in love with two different people and ends up losing people in both these lives. The question at the end for her is, who can she stand to lose?

The fact that she is in her bedroom, safe, throughout the story, even as she is in dangerous situations grounds the reader and lets them enjoy the tension, the danger without being too perturbed by what is happening. There is a love triangle but not a conventional one. I started out cheering for one dude and ended up changing my mind because the author built it up so superbly that I couldn’t help but go with the dude she chose. Kasie West writes some of the swooniest scenes.

I liked the sharp wit, the crisp prose and the character creation. I especially loved how both paths have parallel storylines that are shown from different distances depending on the decisions Addison makes in each life she is leading. I thought that was quite genius, actually. I also loved the whole supernatural compound deal. Even though these people had powers etc, they still dealt with the same problems faced by “Normals” as we mere humans are called.

Pivot Point is a very strong debut from Kasie West and I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve. Definitely recommended.

 

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon (review)

Paperback, 304 pages
Published May 7th 2013 by Strange Chemistry
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:
Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she’s learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn’s all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she’s feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn’t enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she’s started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can’t deny what she’s feeling.

Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what’s happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she’s actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients… or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year….

Review:

This book and I had a rather turbulent reading history. It annoyed me, frustrated me and at the end, I grudgingly accepted that it had, at times, impressed me. We’ll talk about the good things first before I speak about things that could have been done better.

Schoon builds his Martian world believably and the issues faced by the human settlers are realistic and faithful to logic. A fact I was grateful. He spends a lot of time and effort in imagining and creating alien animals and other beasts that are strange in both appearance and habits. Also, judging from the ease with which he tackled medical procedures, he either did his research really well or he has some veterinarian background. I think it was a combination of these elements that kept me reading the novel long after I had grown frustrated by the lack of anything happening.

The biggest problem I had with this book was the very slow pace. I mentioned once and again in my reading updates on Goodreads that this book was boring me to tears. I appreciated the information about the various animals and the little details that went into keeping them happy and alive, but a little less of that and a little more of things happening would have done a whole lot more to give the story the verve it so desperately needs. Zenn Scarlett, for all that she is the titular character, has very little time and space devoted to her – she is not truly as developed a character as one would hope. Her uncle Otha, has nothing but my scorn for being stupid and refusing to give Zenn the respect he should by hearing her out and believing her. I also did not dig how the culprit is so obvious and yet no one seems to be able to comprehend it. The flimsy justification Zenn gives failed to convince me.

There are a couple of scenes in the novel that have a staged feel to them and veer away from the realistic portrayal that I had become accustomed to. Things do happen but they happen far too late and the denouement is rushed over. If I were the editor, I would have cut half of the book and pushed the climax scene to the middle of the book and told the author to push start the adventure from there. I understand that the animals are important but they did not make the book interesting. I would have recommended the author put in a glossary or an index of the alien animals at the end which would have given him the space to geek out as much as he wanted to over them and left space in the novel itself for actual adventures to occur. And don’t even talk to me about the romance. If Zenn is stupid enough to forgive and forget, then ugh.

Honestly, while I did appreciate this novel, I don’t know if I’m going to go back and read the second one in the series. While the setting is fascinating and the animals are interesting, the pace is frustrating and the characters poorly developed. This is a debut, however, so I think that Schoon will improve with his second book. We’ll see.

Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance (review)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: June 11th 2013 by EgmontUSA
Source: ALA

Synopsis:
Pride & Prejudice meets Veronica Mars in this slick romantic spy-thriller where nothing’s as it seems.

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

Review:

I really liked Silver by Talia Vance so I snatched this up at ALA midwinter. I thought it was a retelling but the person at the booth told me it had more to do with spies than the Jane Austen novel. Which didn’t bother me at all because I really like spy stories and for the most part, I liked this one too.

I liked Strawberry Fields and her best friend Mary Chris Moss (not joking, those are their names). I liked the love interest and I liked the how vulnerable Berry was despite her badass fronting. The book is fluff, pure entertainment. It could have been a lot more. Had the pace been slowed down and the author taken more time to develop both the character and the narrative, the novel could have had a lot more substance. The pace is too fast. Things happen at a dizzying speed.

I did like how Berry’s mistreatment of her best friend is addressed and there are certain consequences. I did not like the fact that the boy best friend is half-Japanese and gay. Not because I have trouble with his ethnicity or his sexual orientation but because it is so common to have the requisite POC character as a best friend and a gay best friend is the oldest plot device ever.

Also the plot is rather thin with gaping holes that appear when you question it. However, honestly, this is pure entertainment. If you don’t question the details and just read it for fun, you will be satisfied. Tanner is pretty hot. And the friendship between the girls is really strong and heartwarming. So if you have time and want to read something fun, this may be it for you.

Artist Spotlight: Ileana Surducan

I love discovering new artists and this one in particular says so much without ever saying a word. Beautiful, beautiful!

Ileana Surducan
Art | Blog