Audiobook Review - Siren by Tricia Rayburn (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-1606842126
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in a series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

I had been wanted to read this book for some time. I ended up getting it to listen to on audiobook at one of Audible's book sales. It was an okay book, while there wasn't anything technically wrong with the story I had a lot of trouble engaging with the story or the characters.

I listened to this on audiobook and I don't recommend it. The narrator had a breathy, cutesy voice that bothered me. I think the sounds of the narrator's voice made me like the main character even less than if I had been reading about Vanessa in paperback.

Vanessa and Justine are sisters. They spend every summer at Winter Harbor with their family. Vanessa is scared of everything and Justine is fearless. Then one night everything goes wrong; Justine gets in a fight with their mother and storms out of the cabin...the next day she is dead. Two weeks after Justine's death Vanessa can't help but feel something isn't right. She journeys back to Winter Harbor to confront Justine's boyfriend about what really happened that night. Little does Vanessa know that she is going to be entagled in doings beyond her wildest imaginings.

Okay so my main problem with this book is that it is named Siren. Guess what Vanessa spends the whole book doing? Well, she is trying to figure out what is killing people in the waters outside of Winter Harbor. I felt like shaking her the whole book and saying "Duh, it's Sirens! Obviously!" It would have been better to title the book something that doesn't totally give away the mystery that the characters spend most of the book trying to solve.

Enough griping about that. This is one of those high school kids go away for the summer and solve some seaside mystery sorts of books. It moves pretty slow, Vanessa is kind of dense, and of course she has to fall in love with the boy who helps her unravel the mystery. I am not sure why but this book constantly reminded me of Moonglass by Jessi Kirby. Granted this book has more supernatural activity; but it also has that same feeling of high school age characters slowing getting over grief and slowly solving a mystery.

Vanessa was hard for me to engage with as a character; she is always uncertain and always scared. She grows a little in this story but not much and I found her difficult to be inspired by and hard to relate to. She was also incredibly dense, she just didn't understand things and how they related and it frustrated me.

A lot of the characters in this book are fairly forgettable. They must be because I had trouble even distinguishing some of them from each other. I didn't realize this was part of a series. By the times things are actually picking up pace and getting somewhat interesting the book ends.

Overall this was an okay book. There isn't technically anything wrong with it. I just found the characters to be lackluster, the story predictable, and the mystery slow-moving and difficult to stay engaged with. So far I remain unimpressed with all of the Siren YA books I have read. I did think that Lost Voices by Sarah Porter was better than this book but not a ton better. I won't be reading any more of this series.

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

Graphic Novel Review - A Jester's Tale (The Stuff of Legend, Book 3) by Brian Smith, Mike Raicht and Charles Paul Wilson III (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Fantasy
Size: 124 pages
Publisher: Th3rd World Studios
Release Date: March 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0983216124
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd in the Stuff of Legend series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third book in the Stuff of Legend series and it was a fabulous one. The drawings are fantastic and the story is incredible engaging.

The Indian Princess has been stolen and the Jester is not pleased. He has to break free of the Jungle and evade the Boogeyman's minions to find her. Complicating things are a trip through a village of Dolls who are not as innocent as they seem and an evil twin that the Jester never knew made it into the Dark. As the original troupe of toys is separated you begin to wonder if they will ever find and save their boy.

I love this series and this book didn't disappoint. The drawings are beautiful and cleverly done and totally in keeping with the tone of the story. I love just staring at the wonderful pictures, they are so well done.

The story is getting epic in proportions and in this book follows a number of different storylines. This is done seamlessly and is so easy to follow that it is impressive. I highly recommend this to fans of fantasy graphic novels, or just fans of fantasy in general.

This whole series has been like a cross between Toy Story and Brom's Plucker. It would definitely be too graphic and scary for younger children, but should be fine for middle grade and older. There is a lot of violence, but it is between toys.

Overall an absolutely outstanding addition to the series. Now I need to wait for the next book and the wait is killing me!

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

Waiting on Wednesday - 4/11

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week my Waiting on Wednesday book is Destined by Aprilynne Pike.  Click on the image to go to Amazon and read more about this book.

Destined by Aprilynn Pike

Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 320 pages
ISBN: 978-0061668128

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

"Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful—and deadly—of all, and she is working with Klea to conquer and destroy Avalon. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares for a fight she never thought she would have to face.

Filled with heart-pounding action, sweeping romance, and higher stakes at every turn, Destined is the series conclusion that readers have been clamoring for—with a twist that will leave them breathless.

Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to touch her hair behind her ear. He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching.

She hated how much it felt like good-bye."

Early Review - Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Post-Apocalyptic
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0062107794
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in a series
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. I had been wanting to read this book forever, it just sounded so good. Griffin creates an awesome world in this book and all in all I really enjoyed reading about it. This seems like the first in a series but I haven't heard any news on upcoming installments. I know this is based on Poe's short story The Mask of the Red Death, which I have not read yet.

After a deadly plague decimates the population humanity is hanging on by a thread. Araby Worth is one of the lucky ones; she has food, shelter, and protection from the plague. When Araby's twin brother was killed by the plague Araby made a vow never to experience anything that he wouldn't be able to. Instead Araby and her friend April haunt the Debaucery club. It's the one place you are safe without a mask. While April looses herself in scandalous behavior, Araby looses herself in drug induced dreams. Araby is jerked out of her dream state when Will, one of the club's security guards comes to her rescue. Araby is drawn deep into political secrets when April's brother, Elliot takes an interest in her. Now Araby finds that everyone has secrets, maybe in the maze of everyone's secrets she will find the will to live.

There are a lot of very interesting aspects to this story. It definitely has a post-apocalyptic feel to it but also a steampunk or Victorian overtone. It's kind of Victorian turned on its head. Everyone exposes as much skin as possible to prove that they aren't infected. Everyone wears masks with filters to protect them from the plague. Carriages run on steam since no horses survived the plague and gasoline is pretty much non-existent. This is humanity on the edge; people living like they aren't sure if they will survive another day.

Araby drifts through the first part of the book; she goes from one drug-induced dream to another...she obviously doesn't care if she lives or dies. She has a unique place in society; her dad (as the scientist who invented the masks) is lauded as a hero. But mad Prince Prospero controls her father and the city. Initially Araby seems to make some decisions out of a need for excitement, but as the story continues she seems to slip out of her apathy and really starts to care.

Elliot, Will, and April are more interesting characters. There lives are full of secrets upon secrets and it takes a while to begin to uncover the complicated political maneuvering behind these characters. What starts out as a story featuring debauchery ends up as a revolution against a power hungry monarch.

The world in this book is what really steals the show. The world is extravagant with tattered velvets, glittery makeup, putrid streets, and glossy ceramic masks. Its full of things that are almost sickeningly beautiful balanced by scenes of stark despair. I loved the contrast throughout the book and loved this world torn apart by human illness and death. So, uh, yeah this is a pretty dark book but sometimes in a beautiful way. I enjoyed how a post-apocalyptic setting is blended with steampunk elements, Victorian sensibilities, mystery, and revolution.

The plot is also well done; it was unpredictable but never contrived. There is a lot of intrigue, politics, and mystery to be solved. The book is very easy to read and well-written and stopped at a good stopping point with more issues to be resolved in future books.

Overall I thought this was a fascinating read. I love the blend of genres and really enjoyed the world created here. While I was a bit underwhelmed by our heroine in the beginning of the book, she started to grow on me towards the end. The plot is intricate, hard to guess, and easy to follow...all in all very well done. I recommend this to those who are interested in reading a post-apocalyptic book with steampunk sensibilities; it is targeted to a YA audience but I think older readers would definitely enjoy it. Not for younger readers though; there is a lot of graphic death, drug use, and debauchery.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Steampunk Reading Challenge

Review - Fever (The Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 2) by Lauren DeStefano (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Release Date: February 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1442409071
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy by DeStefano. I enjoyed this installment in the series, although not quite as much as Wither. DeStefano writes beautifully and delivers a compelling story that will definitely grab the readers attention.

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from Rhine's husband's house only to be trapped by a twisted ringmistress of pleasures. Rhine is determined to get back to Manhattan to find her brother, but the place she is trapped in now is even worse than the house than she had to watch her sister-wives die in. Even if Rhine and Gabriel can escape the Madame they have to evade Rhine's husband's twisted father Vaughn and actually find Rhine's twin brother Rowen.

DeStefano just hands down writes beautifully. She is absolutely adept at making locations and scenes come vividly alive; she makes the characters come alive and then makes you despair as she sucks the life out of them...only for the characters to regroup and come out of their trial...well not intact, but alive. I think it is the metaphor's Rhine uses that make this book so alive; Rhine sees beauty in the simplest things even when she is surrounded by squalor.

Seriously Rhine goes through so much in this book, I felt bad for the poor girl. She is defintiely the driving force in this book. She is the one who makes decisions and survives, yet still manages to make caring for others (no matter how horrible the people she deals with) one of her main goals. Rhine is one of those characters that totally kicks butt, without ever resorting to violence.

Gabriel was an interesting character in his own right. It was intriguing to watch how someone who never left the Mansion reacts to the world that Rhine grew up in. I tried to keep this in mind as I read about Gabriel, because he acts extremely sheltered throughout the story. That's not to say he doesn't grow as a character, but especially very early in the story I was frustrated with how complaint Gabriel was and his lack of fight. Vaughn is everything an absolutely horrible evil man should be, he is the perfect villain, and creeps me out just as bad as he did in the first book.

We meet a ton of wonderful new characters. Lilac is trapped at the Carnival with Rhine and Lilac has a wonderful deformed daughter named Maddy. Maddy really adds a ton to the story; she is smart as a whip and just a spectacular child.

The plot was very well done and this book is mostly about the journey the characters take. It was fascinating to finally see more of this destroyed world and to watch as Gabriel is exposed to it. As with many of these dystopian books, there is more going on politically than first meets the eye and the reader is exposed to more political unrest than we saw in the first book. I just can't wait to see where this series ends up.

Overall an excellent addition to this series. I love the characters, the world, and the plot. We get to meet wonderful new characters, the plot is broadened, and the world is heartbreaking. The thing that really elevates this book over many other YA dystopian books is the beautiful writing; it just brings the story alive for me. I can't wait to read the next book when it releases next year. Highly recommended to fans of YA dystopia books. I also recommend Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Early Review - Royal Street (Sentinels of New Orleans, Book 1) by Suzanne Johnson (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: April 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0765327796
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Sentinels of New Orleans series
Source: eARC from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the first book in a new urban fantasy series called The Sentinels of New Orleans. I got an eARC for review through NetGalley(dot)com. The second book in the series will be titled, River Road, and is scheduled for a November 2012 release. This was an okay urban fantasy. The story has a unique setting and some of the magic is very interesting, but I found the plot and characters to be a little bland for me.

Druscilla Jaco (DJ) is a Junior sentinel, as a green wizard she spends more of her time mixing potions than confronting baddies. When she finally gets a more important assignment she ends up on the bad side of the dangerous undead pirate named Jean Lafitte. Not a big deal as long as the gates between their world and ours remain closed. Then Hurricane Katrina hits; not only does it tear apart New Orleans it also rips a number of tears in the Gates letting a number of supernatural baddies into the world. DJ's mentor and the lead Sentinal, Gerry, is now missing. To make it worse the Elder's have sent Alex to help out DJ; Alex is a grenade totting assassin and he is more likely to blow things up than ask questions. Now DJ has to close gates, dodge Jena Lafitte, solve a series of murders, and do it all with Alex at her side. Yep, it's going to be a long week for DJ.

There are some things I really liked about this story. The idea of setting it during Hurricane Katrina was an interesting one. It makes the characters deal with a number of real life issues that normally they would never have to deal with. It was also a good way to get a look into how things were in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina went through. The world created here is solid, although not super creative, basically the Sentinels guard humanity from the evil creatures that live on the other side of the Gates. This is kind of explained, but not in great detail.

Making DJ a green wizard is an interesting choice; DJ definitely isn't about flash and bang but more about planning ahead and being resourceful with the small magics she does have. This leads to some interesting scenes, but at times made DJ feel like too much of a victim to me. In face I never really grew to respect DJ as a character. She rushed into bad situations more than once and never seemed to learn from her mistakes. She was very flighty about which guy she liked best throughout the book; she kind of played with both of them and I just can't get into a character that does that.

Alex is a much more interesting character, he adds a lot more to the story than DJ. Still though I had trouble engaging with him. Him and DJ never felt like they had great chemistry to me and they didn't fight well as a team. The romance is thankfully limited in this book, because I don't think it would have worked well to make Alex and DJ any more engaged with each other.

The plot was very predictable. The main storyline involves DJ trying to solve a series of murders that look like they might be the work of a ritualistic serial killer. The way it all wrapped up was very predictable, I guessed it would involve Gerry in a certain way and it totally did. I was a bit disappointed to be right. DJ also spends a lot of time doing research, which really isn't all that interesting to read about. It made the story really drag at certain points.

The books wraps up decently enough with some loose plot threads for future books. The writing is decent and easy to read.

Overall this is a decent urban fantasy. I liked the interesting setting and the world-building that went on here. It's not super creative, but it was interesting to have the whole thing set during Hurricane Katrina. The idea of a parallel type of world that house the supernatural was interesting too but has been done before. I had a lot of trouble engaging with the characters; they were just too vanilla for me and never had great chemistry together. The plot was also a bit too predictable for me. Those things combined kind of left with a "well, I guess that was okay feeling".

I know a lot of people are totally loving this book, but I just wasn't feeling it. There's some good stuff here, but there's a lot of mediocre stuff too. I'd tentatively recommend for urban fantasy fans if you don't have anything else to read. I personally am getting a bit worn out on urban fantasy right now which may be why I just wasn't into this book. I'd recommend Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews, Elemental Assassin by Jennifer Estep, Jane Yellowrock by Faith Hunter and Charlie Madigan by Kelly Gay over this series. I am not planning on reading the next book when it realease, but I will keep my eye on it just to see if Johnson tightens up her story in future series and delivers something outstanding.

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

Audiobook Review - Friday Night Bites (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 2) by Chloe Neill (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade
Release Date: October 6, 2009
ISBN: 978-0451227935
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Chicagoland Vampire series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Chicagoland Vampires series. The sixth book, Biting Cold, will release in August 2012. Right now the author has 10 books on contract for this series. I enjoyed this book. This series has just been so fun and entertaining. I listened to this on audiobook, which I highly recommend, it was a very well done.

Merit is trying to finally get settled as Sentinel of Cadogan House, she's moving into the house and getting into a routine with the other Guards of the house. That is until Ethan needs her services elsewhere. Ethan has heard rumors that someone has leaked a story about vampire raves to the press and Ethan wants Merit to stop it. Then they find the Selena has been released from custody in Europe and is most likely on her way to shake things up. In an effort to make contact with the movers and shakers in Chicago Ethan asks Merit to do the one thing she vowed never to do again, reenter the elite social scene that plagued her childhood.

Merit is your typical urban fantasy heroine in some ways but not others. She has unusual powers, she is in the middle of a love triangle of sorts, and she is surrounded by supernatural power figures. The thing that sets Merit apart from other UF heroines is that to unravel the mystery throughout this story she uses something else entirely...her brain and her research skills. It was refreshing to see an urban fantasy heroine that is valued for her intelligence and actually thinks through the consequences of her actions. Don't forget that Merit is also funny, snarky, and wonderful at sarcasm.

Merit has also discovered that she is different from other vamps and this leads towards some interesting plot elements towards the end of the story.

Ethan, who was kind of stick in the mud in the first book, becomes a much more well developed character in this novel. Ethan actually has a sense of humor at points and even shows some vulnerability throughout the story. He is mostly still a mystery but we are starting to get some hint of who he really is.

We don't see a ton of Morgan in this book, he is definitely in the story but when he is he comes across as jealous and angry most of the time. This story focuses much more on Ethan. Mallory is also absent for much of the story; she's gone off to be trained in magic stuff. I missed Mallory and Merit exchanging witty dialogue, but Ethan was there to spice things up a bit.

One thing that absolutely irritated me about this book is that Neill sticks to a lot of the same description words throughout. Almost every guy Merit meets is just "so pretty". Seriously there are more pretty guys in this book than any other book I have ever read. The other thing is raised eyebrows; there is a whole dialogue of raised/quirked/lifted eyebrows in this book. I have never before read a book where eyebrows are involved so much in body language.... Okay I just had to get that out, now I feel better.

Overall this is a very fun and entertaining read. Merit does a lot of learning in this book and is as entertaining and snarky as in the first book. Merit is dealing with a lot in this book she is under emotional stress and under pressure to solve the mystery behind the rave stories. Ethan is the other big character in this book; we finally get to meet him and learn more about him. There is a great mystery woven throughout the story and it was hard to put the book down. This is a very entertaining read and fans of vampire urban fantasy will find a lot here to love. I would also recommend if you like the Night Huntress series; this series reminds a lot of that one but this series has less romance and more mystery.

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