Book Review: Passion

TITLE: Passion
Book 3 in the Fallen series
AUTHOR: Lauren Kate
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: angels, romance
PREMISE: Luce jumps from past life to past life in a effort to find answers.
MY REVIEW: Okay I will be the first to admit this series is bad. I seriously don't know why I keep reading it and expecting more from it but there it is. It's like potato chips, I just can't read one. I blame the cliffhangers. So yeah, my opinion on this series is that it's addicting but very mediocre entertainment.
But even by the standards of the Fallen series, this book was pretty bad. I did like the historical stuff but that was it (and honestly the historical stuff was terribly inaccurate). Kate is a decent writer stylistically. She manages to set scenes up well, I can picture everything. That is a talent she has. I just wish her plot and characters were as good as her writing style. This one was especially pointless unless you count the repeating over and over that Luce and Daniel are the epic couple to end all epic couples as a point. I particularly don't.
Nothing was new here. At least the other two had a bit of a point and plot to it. This one just felt like Kate was waffling and writing fanfic till she got the last book done. Honestly this was Fallen's Breaking Dawn book: utterly pointless and obviously just written because there was a contract for more books then was actually needed and to squeeze more money out of a dying cash cow. I will read the fourth one, only to see how the author ends it all. I am in no way expecting it to be epic though.
WHO SHOULD READ: Fallen fans who still love the series
MY RATING: One and a half out of Five face palms for a epic fail

Book Review: Guardian of the Gate

TITLE: Guardian of the Gate
Book 2 of Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy
AUTHOR: Michelle Zink
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: historical fiction, fantasy
PREMISE: Lia and Alice seperately plot and gear up for the final confrontation.
MY REVIEW: There is honestly nothing hugely wrong with this book. It's just as enjoyable and well written and interesting as Prophecy of the Sisters. Unfortunately it suffered from what I call the second book curse.
Second books in trilogys are tough to write, many authors will tell you that. Any reader will tell you that many second books in trilogys stink, with a few exceptions (Catching Fire, The Two Towers). This is not fair because most second books in trilogy's are really stepping stones to the final book of the trilogy. So to the reader, it feels long and trudging no matter how much the author tries.
That is Guardian of the Gate's curse. It's trying to set up the story for the final book. Therefore it feels long and boring even if it is good and necessary for the plot. I'm hoping the final book will be more exciting which it probably will be.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Prophecy of the Sisters, Gemma Doyle Trilogy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five medallions

Book Review: Hourglass

TITLE: Hourglass
Book 1 in a new series
AUTHOR: Myra McEntire
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: paranormal, romance
PREMISE: A girl who sees ghosts learns there are other people like her.
MY REVIEW: The thing with Hourglass is it's a very decent first book. Unfortunately for the author my expectations for this one got so high because of all the OMG this is so creative/unique whatever reviews. I'll be honest: there's nothing new here. This is actually very typical stuff in the YA genre right now. The only real unique thing here is the time travel and I've run into quite a few books with that idea in it in the past few months. Seriously YA ENOUGH WITH THE TIME TRAVEL. You don't use it right anyway so please, don't do it unless you have a plausible legit way/reason for the time travel. While it was slightly better here then from what I've seen it still was a very flimsy idea. Her trying explain it with science, did not help matters.
Other then the fact that I wasn't blown away by creativity like people said I was going to be the book was okay. The writing is decent, characters are tolerable, and the last one hundred pages have twists galore that you don't see coming. I wish the author hadn't spent so much time on the lame romance which was as usual predictable cookie cutter stuff, but all in all it's a decent read.
But I wasn't blown away. So once again, I have to be a naysayer for a popular book. ;sigh; Maybe the second one will be better. I do look forward to more ideas from this author as she matures more in her writing though. Because if this is her first book then we're in for some real good stuff down the road.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of time travel, romance fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five TARDIS's (the cool way to time travel)

Book Review: Tempest Rising

TITLE: Tempest Rising
AUTHOR: Tracy Deebs
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Mermaids, romance
PREMISE: A girl goes through changes when she discovers she's a mermaid.
MY REVIEW: The number one problem with this book (other then the juvenile tone to it) is that it's completely unoriginal. All the tropes that have been plagueing YA are in this book: girl discovering she's a magical whatever and of course a uber special magical wahtever? Check. Love triangle? Check. Girl dumping perfectly decent boy for uber hot supernatural because being a human is so lame? Check. Insta-love interest? Check. Girl dumping her whole life for a guy she pretty much just met? Check. Nothing new to see here, folks. Move on.
It doesn't help matters that Tempest is a big Mary Sue (as if the name didn't give that away already) of the whiny and world revolves around guys kind and this novel is predictable as all get out. For younger tweens this is a perfectly okay book. But honestly I wouldn't waste my time because basically if you read the YA genre regularly, you've basically have already read this book. I really wish the mermaid books would step it up. I've yet to read a really good one and why are all of them aimed at the younger crowds? Older people want to read mermaid books too.
WHO SHOULD READ: younger teens into mermaids
MY RATING: Two out of Five gills

In My Mailbox (59)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week. All the links in this post go to the book's Amazon page if you want more info.

I was good this week, only new stuff is the weekly library haul:

Raised by Wolves Book 1 by Jennifer Lynn Barnes-I've been meaning to read Barnes' stuff for awhile now, she has a lot of YA books she's written. Figured I would start with her newest series.
Fallen series Book 3: Passion by Lauren Kate.-Oh Fallen series, why can't I quit you?
Luminous by Dawn Metcalf-checked out mostly for the gorgeous cover.
Dustlands Book 1: Blood Red Road by Moira Young-FINALLY got a copy of this. I've been wanting to read it for ages.

Book Review: Uncommon Criminals

TITLE: Uncommon Criminals
Book 2 in the Heist Society series
AUTHOR: Ally Carter
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: adventure, mystery, drama
PREMISE: Kat gets a new Mark: The Cleopatra Diamond but as she soon learns, even thieves get conned...
MY REVIEW: I've made it no secret that I've basically become a Ally Carter fangirl. Could the books be deeper and have better writing? Sure. Okay, yes, the idea of teenagers going around on dangerous heists is probably totally absurd but Carter makes all of this work in such a way that I don't give a damn, I just want to sit in on the adventures Kat has.
The series works due to intrigue, fun characters, great snappy dialogue, and a fast-paced plot that keeps you interested. Doesn't take much concentration, no. But it's still a enjoyable ride. I hope there's more in this series and I can't wait to read the next Gallagher Girls book series which I believe comes out next year which is TOO FAR AWAY.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Heist Society, Gallagher Girls fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five diamonds

Book Review: The Ghost and the Goth

TITLE: The Ghost and the Goth
Book 1 in the Ghost and the Goth series
AUTHOR: Stacey Kade
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: paranormal, drama, romance
PREMISE: Alona hadn't meant to get killed but here she is. Now her only hope is the deadbeat loser goth boy from her school...
MY REVIEW: I didn't expect much from this series. I figured it'd be cute and that would be all there was too it. Now to be clear, it's not phenomenal literature. But it is cute and a heck of a lot of fun. Also for a chick-lit oriented series the writing is not half bad.
The characters are relateable and more importantly are not uber Mary Sues/Gary Stus. They have personalities. One of the reasons I steered clear of this was that I was afraid it was going to turn into one of those popular kids vs goth kids things and naturally popular people would all suck or vice versa which tends to happen in those types of books. But it actually wound up being very balanced and fair to all social groups. It didn't stereotype and pointed out that EVERYONE has issues. Lets face it, that's a rareity in YA nowadays. So there actually was something poigntant going on within all the humor (it was hilarious) and romance (which was actually kind of decent all though it could have been developed better).
In the end I think this is a fun book and I'll definitely be picking up the second and anything else Stacey Kade has to offer (I believe she writes adult novels?). If you're tired of vamps and werewolves and want good old fashioned ghosts, give this one a try.
WHO SHOULD READ: ghost book fans, fans of The Mediator series
MY RATING: Four out of Five ouji boards

Book Review: Uglies

TITLE: Uglies
Book 1 in the Uglies series
AUTHOR: Scott Westerfield
PUBLISHED: 2005
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: dystopian, adventure
PREMISE: Tally can't wait to turn sixteen and finally be a Pretty but there's a snag in her plans: she has to betray a friend in order to do it.
MY REVIEW: Long before Hunger Games Westerfield was ahead of the game by writing a dystopian series. Sadly because they're everywhere now, this doesn't feel as fresh and as new to me as I'm sure to people who read it when it first came out. I sort of wish I found it before the dystopian trend happened. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. It's still a very good book either way.
Westerfield has become a favorite author of mine recently after discovering his Levianthan/Midnighters books. He's been around a few years and for good reason. His writing is solid, he's creative, he has good relateable characters, he helps teens think about issues without pandering or condescending to them.
So yes, because of the dystopians all out nowadays it doesn't feel new and shiny but this is definitely a solid book and I see why so many recomend it. Really looking forward to reading the rest of these.
WHO SHOULD READ: Westerfield fans, dystopian fans, Hunger Games fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five Pretties

Book Review: 13 to Life

TITLE: 13 to Life
Book 1 in the 13 to Life series
AUTHOR: Shannon Delaney
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: young adult
GENRE: werewolves, mystery, romance, urban fantasy
PREMISE: When Pietr comes into town he messes up Jessie's quiet life.
MY REVIEW: Okay admitedly I had low expectations for this series. While it did now blow me away, I was a lot more impressed then I thought I would be. The thing that hindered the book for me was the teen drama/romantic shenanigans. Seriously, I'm beginning to think YA authors should just cut out romances entirely now because lately all the books I've read have had their quality lowered by the insiped romance.
But when this book did not focus on the yawn worthy teen drama it knocked it out of the park. I was intrigued by the mythology, I dug the character stuff, even while the romance bored me to tears I did sort of find myself liking the main couple, and the writing was actually kind of good. The only thing that bothered me, other then the insepid romance was the Jessie/Sarah thing. That made NO SENSE whatsoever. You seriously expect me to believe someone is going to try and be your best friend after you've been a bitch to them before and you KILLED THEIR MOTHER? No one is that much of a good person. Also I'm sorry, but why the hell isn't Sarah in jail?! I don't care how old you are or if the family forgives you, you kill someone in a accident you do time. It's a little thing called involuntary manslaughter and yes, teens can be convicted of it I believe or at the very least get sent to Juvie. That whole scenario made no sense whatsoever.
Other then those issues I dug this book a lot more then I thought I would. Will definitely be picking up the next two books in the series. I just hope there's more focus on plot and less on teen drama in the coming books.
WHO SHOULD READ: werewolf fans, Twilight fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five russian dolls

In My Mailbox (58)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week. All the links here go to the book's Amazon page if you want more info.

Bought at Barnes and Noble:
Song of Fire and Ice Book 2: A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin-If you have not read this series yet, do so. The hype is actually right about this one.
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series Book 4: The Necromancer by Michael Scott-It makes me sad that this series doesn't get as much buzz as it deserves. If you've never heard of it, read the first book The Alchemist.

From the library:
Heist Society Book 2: Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter-If you have not checked out Heist Society or Gallagher Girls yet, do so now.
Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs-Mermaid book thing I've been meaning to check out.
The Ghost and the Goth Book 1 by Stacey Kade-Finally got ahold of a copy of this via interlibrary loan. Been wanting to read it for a while now.
Hourglass by Myra McEntire-YA debut that got a lot of buzz this year that I'm eager to read.

That's it for me this week. What did you get in your mailbox?