Audiobook Review - Endlessly (Paranormalcy, Book 3) by Kiersten White (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 400 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 24, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0061985881
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Paranormalcy series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third and final book in the Paranormalcy series. This was an excellent conclusion to the series; these are such fun books. They have a good plot and Evie is just so sarcastic and girly and funny.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator sounds exactly like I imagine Evie would sound and does a great job of doing the other characters’ voices as well.

Evie is finally looking forward to be a normal girl in a normal school and also to spending lots of time with her boyfriend Lend. Of course nothing is ever simple and now IPCA wants to force her to come back to work for them. On top of that the Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans and the other supernaturals are certain that Evie is the only one that can save them from a horrible fate. All Evie wanted to do was plan the color scheme for the Prom dance and now here she is again saving the world.

Evie is a fun character; she is sassy, girly, and tough...all in one cute little package. At times she is also sensitive and heartfelt and loyal. I have to admit I enjoyed her less in this book than in previous books, mainly because she whined nearly the whole book. It wasn’t until the last third or so of the book that she finally stops whining and starts doing what needs to be done. The whole whining thing seriously annoyed me.

This is a lot of Reth in this book which made for some interesting dynamics between the characters. You pretty much get to see some of all the characters we came to love and know in the first two books.

The plot is well done, many things that happened in the first two books come into play. Everything comes together nicely and makes for a great story. Not a ton of action in this book but lots of intrigue. A satisfying end to everything that the series has been building up to. No huge surprises here, but everything is nicely tied up.

Overall it was a fun read and tied up the events that started in the first two books very well. Evie whines a lot in this book and that really annoyed me, but aside from that it was a well done book. The best way to describe this book is fun and sassy. It’s not the best YA faerie based paranormal series out there but it’s a good one. I highly recommend the whole series to fans of faerie based paranormal YA.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Supernaturally (Paranormalcy, Book 2) by Kiersten White (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal
Size:  352 pages

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 26, 2011
ISBN:  978-0061985867
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Paranormalcy series
Source: Audio book from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars
 
This is the second book in the Paranormalcy trilogy by Kiersten White.  I enjoyed this book but not as much as the first book, Paranormalcy.  Evie spends a bit too much time whining and lying for my comfort; but you do get to meet a lot of new paranormal races.  I listed to this on audio book; in general the audio book was well done although the narrator sounds kind of whiny at times she seemed to capture Evie's character well.

Evie is trying to get used to her new normal life as a normal student in a normal school.  The problem is as much as Evie longed for normal, well she is finding it is just so darn normal and boring.  The only redeeming thing is getting to see Lend who she is still head over heels in love with.  Then fairies start randomly attacking Evie and things start getting out of control at the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA).  Soon Raquel is begging for Evie's help on a contract basis.  Evie wants to help but is worried about what Lend is going to think about it since he hates IPCA, oh and she still hasn't told Lend that he is immortal...so there is that to deal with too, not to mention college applications to be filled out...

We get to meet some new paranormals in this book which is cool.  We also get to meet Jack, who is a happy go lucky paranormal who can walk the fairy paths but isn't a fairy.  Jack adds quite a few laughs to the story and some interesting twists to the plot.  Additionally it was great to learn more about how Evie got to be how she is and what happened in her past.

I still enjoy Evie's sarcastic tone and how perky she is about everything.  The only thing I didn't enjoy in this book was all of the whining, melodrama, and lying that went on.  Evie lies to Lend a ton in this book, she rationalizes to herself, but it still made me like her a lot less as a character.  Seriously if she had just been honest then most of this book would have never happened.  Then there is the melodrama thing; there are couple points in the book where it is wwwaaayyy overdone.  Most of the time Evie's over melodramatic nature is kind of funny and cute, but there are a couple of times when I found myself rolling my eyes and just wishing she would get over herself.

There was also a lot less action in this book than in Paranormalcy  Much of page space is given to listening to Evie whine about how she has to lie and she hates lying and she hates her life.  The saving grace that balances out all this whining is Lend, he has got to be the most supportive and caring boyfriend ever.  So kudos to Lend as a character, hopefully he can help Evie grow up a little in the next book.

The book ends well enough, although there is some unfinished business that I have to assume will be taken care of in book three, Endlessly, which comes out in 2012.  Definitely read the Afterword because it was hilarious, even more funny at points than the book itself.

Overall I still enjoyed this book.  It is a fun read and Evie is sarcastic and cute throughout.  We meet new paranormals and learn a ton about Evie's history and why she is the way she is.  There is a lot of Evie lying, Evie whining, and Evie being super melodramatic in this book though.  At points I found this irritating and just wanted Evie to move on.  There is also definitely not as much action in this book as the first one. I plan on reading the third book, Endlessly, but I am hoping it is closer to the tone of the first book than to this one.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List

 

Review - Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy, Book 1) by Kiersten White (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 31st, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061985843
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in the Paranormalcy Trilogy
Source: Bought from audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This was another teen paranormal book that I was a bit reluctant to read, since some of the popular teen series I have read lately have been kind of disappointing.  I kept an eye on it though and the reviews were flattering, so I decided to give it read.  I am glad I did, this was a wonderful book.  I listened to it on audio and the audio book was well done, the person who reads matches Evie's personality perfectly.  Paranormalcy is the first book in a planned trilogy; the second book Supernaturally is due out Fall of 2011.

Evie works for IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency).  She tags and bags paranormals to keep both the paranormals and the rest of human society safe.  Evie's most unique ability is that she can see through any glamore; which makes her invaluable to the IPCA.  This is why sixteen year old Evie hasn't left IPCA since she was eight, unless she is on a bag and tag job.  Then a mysterious paranormal is caught going through the head of IPCA's office and he is unlike anything they have ever found before; his name is Lend and he befriends Evie during captivity.  Evie then finds that paranormals are being killed at an alarming rate and IPCA needs to figure out why before whole species of paranormals are wiped out.  As if crushing on Lend, finishing homework, and trying to save paranormals isn't enough...Evie has to deal with her fairy ex-boyfriend Reth who keeps trying to literally steal her heart...

Evie is a wonderful character.  She is tough, snarky, loves to shop, loves pink, and is lonely.  She is grateful for her place in IPCA but yearns to be part of the outside world.   She is a fun character that I really enjoyed reading about and listening too...she was just so real, yet tough at the same time.  Of course the other awesome character was Lend, he has a depth and a sensitivity to him that you don't see in a ton of teen male leads.  The way Evie and Lend banter back and forth is funny, engaging, and shows the wonderful chemistry they have together.

There is a lot of action in this book  and that is tempered with some interesting scenes dealing with Evie's struggles against Reth and with some tender scenes between Evie and Lend.  The plot moved at a fast-clip making the book hard to put down.  I really enjoyed White's writing style, she really nailed the dialogue between characters and made the book very natural sounding and easy to read.

White has also built a great world here.  It is a complex world with a lot of depth but the reader is introduced to it effortlessly.  The book wrapped in a wonderful way, but left a few tantalizing questions unanswered.  I was impressed with the completeness of the story and eager to read the next book Supernaturally to see what happens to Evie and Lend.  Really this was a great book and I highly recommend it.  It was refreshing, fun, and something readers of teen paranormal books should really enjoy.  It was an overall feel-good and uplifting book and just lots and lots of fun.

Overall a great read.  For a while I was a little put-off by teen paranormal books because series like The House of Night, Wicked Lovely, and the Wolves of Mercy Falls have been okay but nothing spectacular.  This book blows all of those out of the water.  I also recently read Nightshade by Andrea Cremer; this was another really excellent young adult paranormal series that is something different.  So pick up Paranormalcy and read it; and if you are looking for something else awesome check out Nightshade too. 

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Debut Author Challenge
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge Book List
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge