Terry Spencer Hesser – Kissing doorknobs (2/5)

Cover:

Genre: YA Drama

This is the book for you if you like:

- Books about OCD

Summary: (from Goodreads)

During her preschool years, Tara Sullivan lived in terror that something bad would happen to her mother while they were apart. In grade school, she panicked during the practice fire drills. Practice for what?, Tara asked. For the upcoming disaster that was bound to happen?
Then, at the age of 11, it happened. Tara heard the phrase that changed her life: Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Before Tara knew it, she was counting every crack in the sidewalk. Over time, Tara's "quirks" grew and developed: arranging her meals on plates, nonstop prayer rituals, until she developed a new ritual wherein she kissed her fingers and touched doorknobs...

Thoughts on covers:

They’re all pretty generic. The first, English, one is too chaotic for me and the last, Dutch, one too meaningless. My favourite of these three (or the one I dislike the least?) is the German one – at least with the numbers on it, it shows a bit about the OCD that’s the subject of the book.

Title:

It’s a great title; it’s weird enough to grab your attention and it’s also a very important thing in the book.

Characters:

Tara, our main character, is an 11-year old girl who’s always scared and uses rituals and prayers to deal with her fears. Aside from her OCD as a reader you don’t learn a lot about her personality, which made it hard to get invested in her story.

Her mother is totally crazy and abusive; I can’t believe the book actually depicts her as a normal mom who just doesn’t know how to cope with Tara. Donna, a party-girl she becomes friends with because she doesn’t care about Tara’s rituals, is your typical bad girl; she’s got no personality to speak of. This is true for the other characters in Tara’s life also: her younger sisters is a tomboy, one her friends is an anorexic model… They’re all archetypes without any true personality.

Setting:

The book doesn’t have a particular setting; it’s set in a, probably, small town.

General story:
(I read this in Dutch translation)

Let’s start with what I like: I like that this is a book about OCD, written for children. I think it’s important that they have a way of getting acquainted with mental illness and there is no better way than books.

There is, however, a better way than this book. Aside from my issue with the characters, this book Is structured very chaotically (in that sense the English cover fits the book perfectly); it’s like the writer picked a couple of scenes out of Tara’s life at random and decided to describe them, with no apparent reason why she picked those instead of other moments of Tara’s life. There is no logical development in it; even when she’s started therapy, it all goes in these huge steps that made me feel like I had lot parts of the book.

Will I read other books from this author?

Probably not.

Overall rating: 2/5

Johanna Thydell – Stars on the ceiling (5/5)

Cover:

Genre: YA drama

This is the book for you if you like:

- Books about losing someone

- Books that make you cry

Summary:

Why can’t everything just be ‘normal’? This is what Jenna wonders every day.

A part of Jenna’s life is very normal. Just like her friends, Jenna struggles with her first crush, her appearance, friendships and school.

But at home the situation is everything but normal. Jenna’s single mom has breast cancer. At home Jenny cares for her mom. She has to do more and more of the daily chores. Jenna has to learn to cope with the big and the small setbacks, and this, inevitable, leads to conflict.

(Translated from the book’s blurb)

Thoughts on covers:

The covers are, in order, the French cover, German cover, one of the Swedish covers and the Dutch cover (which I think is based on the original Swedish cover).

I’m actually very confused about the French cover. While the German cover has lost the stars, its title has too, so I think that makes sense in a way. The French title, though, still mentions the stars, so why wouldn’t the stars be on the cover? I’m not really fond of the other two covers, either, but at least they fit the book.

Title:

I’ve loosely translated the original title to ‘Stars on the ceiling’, the Dutch title loosely translates to ‘Starry Sky’. I’m not sure it’s a title that truly gets your attention, but it’s definitely a title that fits the book.

Characters:

Jenna, the main character, is mostly a typical 13 year old. But even so, her mom’s cancer colours every interaction she has.

I think my favourite character was Tilda. While at first she seems like your typical popular teenager, she has more feelings and thoughts in her head than Jenna and Susanna gave her credit for.

Setting:

The book is set in a small town in Sweden. The setting doesn’t really influence the story.

General story:

(I read this in Dutch translation. The original language is Swedish; while Goodreads has translations in German, French, Danish, I don’t think there’s an English translation. Apparently, this book has also been filmed: Glowing Stars)

Jenna’s mom is dying. Not once in the book is there a possibility of her mom recovering, which makes it a very hard story to read. You know there won’t be a happy ending and as you see her mom getting worse and worse, you’re pulled into Jenna’s world of trying to flee away in every way she can. She pushes away the friend she had and gets caught up in a friendship with Tilda, who, in her own way, doesn’t have a mom. This friendship generates some of the most beautiful scenes of the book, especially the one just after Jenna’s mom died.

My favourite part of the book was at the ending, when she has to deal with her mom actually being gone. It feels like she has fled from every feeling and every fear until that very moment, when she can’t do anything but face that her mother is gone. I cried. A lot.

Will I read other books from this author?

I’m not sure she has other books translated into Dutch, but if there are, I would really like to read some others.

Overall rating: 5/5

Toni Jordan – Addition (3/5)

Couple of covers:

Genre: Contemporary romance

This is the book for you if you like:

- Books with a non too heavy view on mental illness (OCD)

Summary: (from author’s website)

Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts.

The letters in her name (19). The steps she takes every morning to the local café (920); the number of poppy seeds on her slice of orange cake, which dictates the number of bites she'll take to finish it. Grace counts everything, because numbers hold the world together. And she needs to keep an eye on how they're doing.

Seamus Joseph O'Reilly (also a 19, with the sexiest hands Grace has ever seen) thinks she might be better off without the counting. If she could hold down a job, say. Or open her kitchen cupboards without conducting an inventory, or make a sandwich containing an unknown number of sprouts.

Grace's problem is that Seamus doesn't count.

Her other problem is...he does.

Thoughts on covers:

The covers are: English version, American version, Dutch version, Australian version.

I like how different these covers are! I’m not a fan of the English version, mostly because the “A comedy that counts” subtitle irks me a little. The Australian version is pretty, but a bit too specific to one scene to fit on the book. I mostly prefer the Dutch version, and I don’t think it’s because that’s the version I have; I love how it shows so perfectly how everything has to be counted in Grace’s world.

Title:

Both the English title ‘Addition’ and the Dutch title (in translation ‘Everything counts’) do a pretty good job of mixing Grace’s obsession with counting and the complication of having Seamus in her life.

Characters:

Grace is the main character and the one we get to know best; the story is told from her POV (first person, even). I like her; she knows how to not take herself too seriously, even if she takes all the numbers around her very seriously.

Seamus… He’s a good guy. I believe he really wants to help Grace, even if the help she eventually seeks on his insistence turns out to not be the one she needed.

Most of the other characters were a bit too broad for my taste, especially the shrink and the group leader. I couldn’t quite understand why Grace didn’t try and find someone who was better suited – or just plain a better therapist.

Setting:

Melbourne, Australia. The setting doesn’t carry a lot of weight in the book though; it could have been set anywhere, anyplace.

General story:

First time I read this, I really, really loved it. In re-read, however, it doesn’t really hold up. I still like the story of Grace’s OCD; the scenes in the book in which she is scared to death and has to count, count, count to battle it are without a doubt the best parts of the book.

It’s mostly the middle of the book that I have problems with. Maybe that’s part of Jordan’s plan – after all, in the middle of the book Grace is just wandering, lost without a sense of self due to all the medications she’s on. I just can’t quite seem to get why no one told her how she was changing for the worse (especially Seamus) and why she didn’t care about the one who did – her little niece. This part just drags on, without much personality in the writing either, and that made it pretty hard to finish the book.

I’m also not a big fan of the writing style, especially in the sexual (fantasy) scenes. It feels like they’re just thrown in there to up the rating, instead of some actual character development.

Will I read other books from this author?

Probably not.

Overall rating: 3/5

Sara Kadefors – Sandor / Ida (3/5)

Couple of covers:

Genre: YA Romance

This is the book for you if you like:

- Books that focus on feelings instead of on action

- Books that constantly switch POV

Summary:

She is gorgeous and popular.
He is a nobody.
She lives in the middle of Stockholm.
He in a backwards village near Göteborg.
She has endless talks with her girlfriends at a bar.
He spends all of his time dancing.
She has had enough of sex.
He has never had sex.
They call her a bimbo.
They call him a fag.
Her name is Ida, his name Sandor.
They hate their lives.
They meet each other in a chat room.

(Translated from the book’s blurb)

Thoughts on covers:

The covers are, in order, the German cover, the Finnish cover, the Danish cover and the Dutch cover. While I like the Dutch cover, I don’t think it actually captures the essence of the book that well. I’m really loving the German one, though; I think it fits perfectly.

Title:

There isn’t that much to say about a title that is “Sandor/Ida”, is there?

Characters:

Ida is a girl who flees in booze and parties, because her mom is depressed and doesn’t know how to take care of her. On the surface she seems like a girl who you can only hate, but the book actually made me feel for her.

Sandor has a passion – ballet – and it doesn’t make his life at high school easy. I was actually less impressed by him than by Ida, because he and his story just seem so… superficial.

Setting:

The book alternates between Stockholm and a small village near Göteborg.

General story:

First let me say, I’ve read this story in Dutch translation. As you can see from the covers, most of the Scandinavian countries (and Germany) have their own translation, too. Apparently there’s an American version which isn’t as much a translation as an American remake, so I’m not sure I’d suggest anyone read that version…

It’s hard to pinpoint how I exactly feel about this book. I liked Ida; her story was one of… not of constant improvement, but you could tell that was actually trying and when she hit rock bottom she picked herself up and tried to turn her life around.

My main problem with this book was Sandor’s story: he is so desperate to fit in, to be one of the group, that he’s willing to sacrifice all parts of who he is. I just can’t stand that kind of behaviour. What made it worse was that the book made me feel like I should applaud his steps toward belonging – while I felt that every step he took was a step backwards, I felt like I should have been applauding it like a step forwards.

Obviously, this is a book about how Ida influences Sandor in becoming more popular and Sandor influences Ida in becoming more herself, and mostly, it works. Especially when Sandor makes a couple of choices at the end of the book, they really have met each other halfway.

It took me a while to get used to the writing style, and I never actually started appreciating it. The book is a mixture of descriptions of their live and their actual chat or email conversations and I loved the way Kadefors used the language in the emails, but the style of the rest of the book just didn’t click with me. I did like the constant change in POV, though.

Another 3.5 for me, though this time, because of my conflicted feelings, I’m rounding it down to a 3.

Will I read other books from this author?

I might, but I honestly don’t know.

Overall rating: 3

Ally Condie – Crossed (4/5)

Series: Matched #2

Cover:

Genre: Post-apocalyptic

This is the book for you if you like:

- The second half of Matched (if you preferred the first half, chances are you won’t like this sequel at all)
- Books about feelings instead of about actions

Summary: (from author’s website)

Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky—taken by the Society to his sure death—only to find that he has escaped into the majestic but treacherous canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.

Thoughts on covers:

As with Matched, all the covers I could find where exactly this one, or a variation on it. I like this one slightly less than the first one, but only because I thought the green was prettier.

Title:

I love the title. It fits the story perfectly; if you’ve read the book, you’ll see that the title is the perfect summation of the book.

Characters:

There are a couple of new characters in this book, most notably Eli and Indie. I really liked Eli, while Indie remained more of a wildcard; I think she was meant to be that, though, so it didn’t bother me. Other than that, this book didn’t change my view on the most important characters, Ky and Cassia. I think Cassia is very strong, and she’s continuing her development that she started in Matched. Ky is this solid, quiet rock, that is always there to change the course of everyone around him.

Setting:

Fleeing from Society, both Ky and Cassia try to find their way, separately, in this world. Because of this, the setting is way grittier than the setting of Matched; no perfect illusions this time, just the harsh reality of the world out there.

General story:

I definitely liked this one way more than I liked Matched. Instead of just Cassia’s point of view, we get both Cassia’s and Ky’s, which I thought brought a lot more to the story. And while Xander isn’t really that much in this book, a big reveal about him and his character is known, which makes me look forward to how this triangle will continue in Reached.

The writing is really beautiful, Condie has a way with words that really grabs me. Like in Matched, poetry is a recurrent theme and I really love the emotion that it brings to this story. While it’s the story of Ky’s and Cassia’s travels, not much really happens, but all the more is felt.

The thing that really kept this book from getting five stars was that there was no world building at all. In Matched it was subtle, but it was there, but in Crossed we’re only presented with the information we already got and we get nothing new. I think the Society is a really intriguing concept and I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see more about it.

Will I read the other instalments in this series?
Definitely!

Overall rating: 4/5

Ally Condie – Matched (4/5)

Series: Matched Trilogy #1

Cover:

Genre: Post apocalyptic romance

This is the book for you if you like:

- Really well-written love triangles

- Post apocalyptic with subtle world-building

Summary: (from author’s website)

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices, but she begins to question just how perfect her world really is when she notices things are not what they seem. As Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility, she is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Thoughts on covers:

Almost all the covers I could find where exactly this one, or a variation on it. And who can blame them? To be honest, the cover was why I started reading this book. I’m absolutely, totally in love with it.

Title:

The title is a good fit for the book. I like one-word titles and I think this one is different enough to grab your attention.

Characters:

Matched is written from the perspective of Cassia, so her character is the one we learn about the most. She’s a strong character and I think one who goes through quite a lot of development in this book. At the start, she’s perfectly happy where she is, content in the life the society has written for her, but, following her emotions, she starts to question the world around her. I like that she’s not exactly naïve or rebellious; she’s somehow a mix of both.

The second most important characters are Ky and Xander; we learn more about Ky, because Cassia still has got to know him, so we learn about him, while Xander is already a known boy to Cassia. I liked Ky, he’s a really strong guy, someone who knows who he is, knows what he wants, even if his ideas and feelings go against the Society. Xander is a bit more of an enigma for me, but I really love his loyalty.

Setting:

Matched is set in a future where the Society takes care of everything. The Society assigns your work positions, what you can do with your free time, where you live, what you eat and, on your seventeenth birthday, assigns you your Match. I love how this book starts with giving us the idea that the Society might not even be all that bad (for example, I really liked the idea of people being able to chose to stay Single – while they’re not allowed to have children, they are allowed to date). As the book goes on, however, you realize that aside from that, the Society also regulates everything you think and create: all the creative input is very, very limited and they oversee everything, from your conversations to your dreams.

General story:

The story follows Cassia, from the moment she is Matched with her best friend Xander. Due to circumstances, though, she starts getting interested in Ky and after a while, falls in love with him. While using a love triangle might just be the oldest trick in this book, Matched does this beautifully; there is no moment at all in which I thought their love story was contrived or forced. I can also see why these two people are both a good fit for Cassia, which made the choices she had to made painful to read.

While the world-building is very subtle, especially at the beginning, once you have finished the book you feel just as Cassia does: shocked by what the Society entails and even a bit disappointed that it’s not all as beautiful as it was made out to be. The situation with Ky, together with Cassia’s grandfather, forces Cassia to see the world in a different light. There are some really heart-breaking moments in which Cassia sees her world falling apart in little ways.

I hesitated for the longest time between 3 and 4 stars; I’d like to give out 3.5 stars. I struggled a bit with the beginning of the book, wondering why everyone was so blown away by it, but the more I read, the more I started to understand it.

Will I read the other instalments in this series?

I’ve already started on reading Crossed, because I really want to know more about this world and how it will all come together.

Overall rating: 4/5

REVIEW: Maisey Yates – The highest price to pay (4/5)

Cover:

Genre: Contemporary romance

How did I get it: I won it via Maisey Yates’ website

This is the book for you if you like:

- Enemies-turned-lovers stories
- Stories about people overcoming their insecurities about their appearance

Summary: “While it has been reported that I’m missing my own soul, I have no interest in yours. This is about money.”

When Ella’s failing business comes wrapped up as part of Blaise Chevalier’s recent takeover, he plans to discard it – as is his usual way with surplus goods. Then he meets Ella! Cast from the same fiery mould he is, she makes an intriguing adversary. Perhaps he can have a little fun with his new acquisition…

As proud and strong as she is beautiful, Ella is determined to prove Blaise wrong about her business and her worth. As long as she hides her hint of vulnerability and denies the flicker of attraction between them when she catches her enemy’s eye….

(from Maisey Yates’ website)

Thoughts on covers: I can’t help it, but I really, really hate the cover. While I love the fact that Mills & Boons wasn’t too scared to put an interracial couple on the cover, I just can’t stand the way they’re looking. Why do they look so angry? Why don’t they look at each other? And why, oh why, is all of Ella’s scarred side covered up in this cover? It’s such a big part of the book and it’s just stupid that it isn’t on the cover.

Title: The title fits and I like how it’s kind of misleading when you’re reading the first part of the book. At first it’s so much about money and you think you know what the title is referring to…

Characters: I loved Ella. I really, really love the fact that Yates chose a physically scarred (Ella has been in a fire) woman to be the heroine. Aside from that, Ella is a tough girl, who knows what she wants and is doing everything she can to get it. I really like that about her.

I wasn’t so sure about Blaise, though. The book does a great job of trying to make us see that there is more to him than meets the eye and even though I believe that he’s a good person at heart, I’m just not sure he’s the right man for Ella.

Setting: Most of the book is set in Paris, which seems kind of odd to me (though that’s probably just me – I’ve got trouble picturing people in a country where they speak a different language than the language the book is originally written it). It is, of course, both the fashion and romantic centre of the universe, so in that way it makes sense. Parts of it is also set in Malawi, which was my favourite part. I love how the exotic atmosphere of that setting heightens the charge between Ella and Blaise.

General story: I liked the way the story was set up; Blaise starts out to be some kind of problem in Ella’s life, but in the end, she’s made a bigger dent in his life than he in hers. I like how Blaise soothes Ella’s insecurities about her scars; those were the parts in the book where Blaise just made me melt.

I would have liked the book to be just a little longer; the ending felt quite rushed.

Will I read other books from this author? I probably will.

Overall rating: 4 stars

Teaser Tuesday (#6)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

MY TEASER:

Oh sweet Lord in Heaven, I lifted my chin, held my ground and stood up to Nelson again. Told him I was going to meet my critique group for drinks. It’s a scary move for me to make. Nelson’s dander is up, up, up about this. I’m not backing down, no matter what he says. And no matter what he does.

In My Mailbox (#6)

Changing my IMM time to Sunday this year means today it’s time for “In My Mailbox"! This meme is brought to you by The Story Siren and the idea is to post about books you've bought, gotten from the library, received for review... books don't have to arrive via your mailbox.

As usual, I’ve been going crazy with Amazon’s free Kindle offers…

Still available for free – the titles lead you to the amazon.com pages:

	Ice Man by KyAnn Waters, the first book in the Blood Slaves series. Feeding and sex go hand in hand when you're a blood slave to a vampire. It's like a drug and Rowan is hooked. With the vampire Theron, Rowan has never wanted for more than his next fix. Until he meets Brett. Brett is hot, the sex is incredible and he's human. Brett is looking for kinky sex when he goes to The Catacombs, an exclusive fetish club for men. Flair bartender Rowan, also known as Ice Man, is sexy and mysterious. Brett isn't ready to complicate his life with a lover outside The Catacombs and Rowan isn't interested in club-scene sex but coming together and giving in never felt so good. Rowan's dark secret could destroy everything. He must never allow Brett to learn of his symbiotic relationship with the vampire. He has to choose-tell Brett the truth or remain a blood slave. He can only hope that Brett will trust in love enough to forgive him.
	Unholy alliance by Haley Yager and Lacy Yager A vampire with a conscience and a mission. The young man bound to destroy her. Forced to unite—will they open their hearts? Forever seventeen, vampire Maggie Wells has spent the last 150 years seeking redemption by helping troubled teens. Born to destroy vampires, Shane Campton is clueless in dealing with his two younger sisters, whom he is responsible for. When Maggie and Shane—who should be mortal enemies—are forced to work together to save Shane’s family, sparks fly. But will they ignite a forbidden love or incinerate both of them?
	Not what she seems by Victorine E. Lieske When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn't stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people lead him to a small Nebraska town he remembered visiting as a child. He didn't want to lie about who he was, but he couldn't exactly tell them the truth. Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.
	The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pandos, the first book in the Talisman series To be normal, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would shed her empathic gift in a second. Life has been difficult since her mother's mysterious disappearance ten years earlier - an event she witnessed, but can't remember. Julia's situation becomes more complicated after a near death experience from a blood thirsty stalker. As high school students go missing it is clear there is a connection to her own experience--past and present. Someone has to stop the madness and a chance encounter with a creepy psychic foretells that only Julia is the key to stopping the madness, but it may require the life of the one she loves.
	Marked by Kim Richardson, the first book in the Soul Guardians series Sixteen year-old Kara Nightingale’s ordinary life is suddenly turned upside-down when she dies in a freak accident, and she wakes up in a strange new world with a new career—as a rookie for the Guardian Angel Legion. Kara hurtles towards dangerous missions with the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David. But when she discovers a Mark on her leg, the entire Legion accuses her of being a Demon spy. Angels are dying, and David begins to pull away from her. Can Kara prove her innocence as she becomes the Legion’s only hope? It’s going to take a miracle to save the Legion, and Kara’s luck has just run out...
	The ultimate sacrifice by Talia Jager, the first book in The Gifted Teens series Kassia is a 16-year-old girl just trying to have a normal life. This is somewhat difficult because she has the ability to inflict pain on others with her mind, which is why she was sent to a special institute for kids with various gifts. It is here Kassia met her best friend Mira. Their lives will change forever after Mira is attacked and Kassia finds out her talent is much more powerful when she saves her. Little did she know that this act would attract the attention of demons. Suddenly she is on the run from them with her boyfriend, Mira, and a few of their close friends. Realizing she can’t outrun the demons, she seeks the guidance of a shaman. The shaman tells her the heart breaking news that the only way to protect her friends and the institute is through her own death.

Not available for free anymore:

Demon Hunter and Baby by Anna Elliott, first in a planned series  Her boss is a fairy, her ex-lover is a Knight Templar, and she spends her days fighting the demons that plague London’s streets.  But what’s really complicating Aisling McKay’s life is being a single mother to a nine-month-old baby girl. Ever since the End Times, magic has been leaking into our world.  Magic and demons, shadowy beings that possess humans’ bodies and destroy their souls.  The Monastic Order of the Knights Templar have revealed themselves to the world as guardians and defenders of the veil between the demon world and ours.  But the Templar Order is growing weaker, and the veil is starting to shred and tear.  Often all that stands between humans and complete demonic possession are professional demon fighters, Hunters like Aisling McKay. Aisling already has enough to handle between her day job, her (very unplanned) baby daughter, Willow—and avoiding Kieran, Willow’s father and a Templar Knight.  But now a new danger is abroad in London—and facing it will set Aisling on a collision course with the past she thought she’d escaped for good.

The Realms of Beliar: The Sword Myndarit by Andrew Arrowsmith In a world where magic rules, the benevolent Empire of old is challenged by the upstart Alliance run by greedy, bloodthirsty tyrants. Life, pleasant and prosperous under Empire rule, faces a bitter end as the Alliance closes in. But the gods are not above interfering, and four young, inexperienced people may hold the key to the continued future of the Empire – with a little help from a talking sword.

You've got murder by Karin Tabke Six mystery writers who exchange emails, instant messages and texts discussing plotlines, sex and murder for their books, get a dose of non-fiction when one of their own is suspected of doing in a wife-beating killer. The heat cranks up when another member's crooked literary agent is killed, and their newest member's husband is looking more and more like a serial killer. Flesh-eating pigs, New York skyscrapers, quadruplets, a feisty grandma, a husband on Viagra and a sexy Italian detective are just part of the mix as the Shady Ladies plot like their lives depend on it… Because it does...

Chosen by Sheri Peckover, the first book in the Dark Girl series Hidden by a name to conceal her identity as a Child of Light, The Dark Girl bravely faces a world where light cannot be seen except through filters of refined Chandra...or can it? Meet Kamshay, a stubborn and courageous teen, as she pursues her search to save the People of Light, and in the midst of adventure falls in love for the first time.

The Charm by Alana Siegel, the first book in the Olivia Hart and the Gifted Program series  When shy, sixteen year old, Olivia Hart, witnesses the actual rainstorm her ex-boyfriend, Max Smarr, creates in her high school cafeteria, she’s convinced she’s lost her mind. Nothing will prepare her, however, for the discovery of her own special Gift. Olivia Hart has always been satisfied living in the shadows of her peers, and so high school doesn’t get any easier when her charismatic brother goes off to college and her relationship with her edgy boyfriend comes to an end. When she comes across an antique charm, she finds out that she can compel people with her mind and hiding is no longer an option. With the help of her friends in the Gifted Program and each of their special Gifts, what happens next in this young love and coming of age story will force Olivia into the spotlight, test her friendships, and cause her to question her role in a society.

Broken hearts, damaged goods by Jack Gunthridge Sometimes the people that we love the most, end up hurting us beyond repair. When Jack and Liselle find themselves alone after having been cheated on, they decide to use each other to help get over the pain and heartache. Their plan was to make sure that nobody else would be hurt by love as they tried to rebound. As they start to develop feelings for each other, they must come to terms with their past and all of the damage their exes have done to them. With broken hearts and mixed emotions, they try to put themselves together again as a lover that somebody would want. Will they be able to heal themselves in enough time to admit their feelings for each other?

I’ve already started reading You’ve got Murder, and it’s so good!

REVIEW: Neil Gaiman – Stardust (3/5)

Couple of covers:

 

Genre: Fantasy

How did I get it: I borrowed it from a friend

This is the book for you if you like:

- Original fantasy stories
- Love stories without an emphasis on the romance

Summary: In the tranquil fields and meadows of long-ago England, there is a small hamlet that has stood on a jut of granite for 600 years. Just to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here, in the hamlet of Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. And here, one crisp October eve, Tristran makes his love a promise -- an impetuous vow that will send him through the only breach in the wall, across the pasture... and into the most exhilarating adventure of his life.

(from Neil Gaiman’s website)

Thoughts on covers: The covers are, in order, for the following editions: paperback 2009, paperback 2001, kindle. While I really love the colours of the 2009 cover, it doesn’t seem to really give you a feel of the book. I really adore the 2001 cover; I think it captures the atmosphere of the book perfectly.

Title: Seeing as the star is the centre of this book, I think the title fits perfectly. More than that, I think it’s a title that easily grabs your attention and that is easily remembered.

Characters: I had trouble connecting to Tristran, the main character of the book. This made especially the start of the book pretty tiresome for me. I did, however, really, really like Yvaine and she was the sole reason why I finished the book.

Setting: The book is set in Fairy, a land right next to the world we know, but where everything is different. There is magic all around and nothing is anything like what we know. I loved discovering Fairy throughout the book.

General story: I had a particularly tough time getting through this book, though I can't really pinpoint why. I had tried to read it once before and back then, I put it away when Tristran had just entered Fairy. I think my inability to connect to the boy was one of the reasons, as was the fact that I couldn’t stand Victoria from the moment she was introduced and it was hard for me to invest in a quest that was all for her benefit. Also, some parts of the book (especially the parts about the Lords of Stormhold, which seem to be entirely unrelated to the rest of the book until you’ve finished reading the entire story) just bored me.
But this time around, I did finish it. I especially liked the idea of the star being a person and I wanted to know everything there was to know about her. My favourite part of the book might just have been the part where Yvaine and Tristran are on a ship above the clouds, harvesting lightning. It had such a tranquil and lovely feel to it. I also really liked the epilogue.
This is actually one of those books that I would like to see in movie format; maybe it'd be one of those occasions where I prefer the movie to the book.

Will I read other books from this author? I might.

Overall rating: 3 stars

REVIEW: Carrie Vaughn – Kitty and the midnight hour (5/5)

Series: Kitty Norville #1

Couple of Covers:

Genre: Urban Fantasy

This is the book for you if you like:

- Kickass heroines
- Werewolves
- Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series.

How did I get it: I got it via Bookmooch

Summary: Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station - and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it's Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?

(from Goodreads)

Favourite cover: The covers are, in order: Paperback cover, German cover and Kindle cover. I really dislike the Kindle cover (even if I do like that font), though that’s probably at least partly due to the fact that I don’t really like to see faces on my covers – I feel like it forces some kind of imagination upon me. I don’t seem to have that same trouble with backs, however, as covers like the paperback cover, which show a girl from behind, really do grab my attention. I also really love the details in the paperback cover, like the small patch of red in the ribbon in her hair. But I think I like the German cover best; it breathes such a mysterious atmosphere.

Title: For some reason, titles that have this template, of [Name] and [Actual Title] sound a bit like child’s books for me. But apart from that, The Midnight Hour seems to fit both because Kitty’s show has that name and because it sounds fantasy-heavy to my ears.

Characters: I love Kitty. She’s exactly the type of spunky heroine that I like; she was thrown into this life, but she has decided to make the best of it. I love how she has the guts to go on with her late night talkshow, even if the entire paranormal society is against it. She fights for the ability to have her life as she wants it and I like that in my heroines.

Cormac is such a delightful mix of badassness and a well-hidden heart. I really look forward to exploring him and his relationship with Kitty more.

There were quite a few minor characters in this book, but I felt like I got to know them all, at least a little bit. I really love Matt, her assistant at her DJ job. I also have a soft spot for TJ.

Setting: The story is set in Denver, a city with a pretty big supernatural population; both werewolves and vampires roam the town.

The integral part of the setting was the radio station where Kitty hosts her late night show. I really love the fact that it’s based on this show and that we get to see a lot of it. Too often a book starts with such a great premise and then lets it go in favour of all the excitement or romance, but this book really went back to that radio station.

General story: I loved this book. I devoured it.

I have to admit, I’m usually more of a vampire kinda girl. Werewolves have never really been able to interest me and more often than not, when I read a book about werewolves, I walk away with a feeling that it reaffirmed my preference for vampires. Kitty, however, is a book about werewolves that grabbed my attention and didn’t let it go again. The werewolf hierarchy is a big part of the book, but in a way that had me emotionally invested. I really liked the way the scenes in which Kitty was a wolf were described: not only were they in italics, they also were from a third-person point of view, while the rest of the book was in the first-person point of view.

At no point in this book was I bored or thinking that it should have been written differently. I liked the mystery in finding out who the rogue was, I loved the scenes in the studio, I liked the cult-like story of Elijah Smith, I loved how high the excitement was in the final part of the book.

Will I read other books from this author? Yes.

Will I read the next instalment in this series? Definitely.

Overall rating: 5 stars