Book Review: Dead Ever After

TITLE: Dead Ever After
Book 13 in the Sookie Stackhouse series
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris
PUBLISHED: May 2013
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves
PREMISE: Sookie's enemies conspire to destroy her as her life becomes even more difficult.
MY REVIEW: Oh Sookie. You were one of the first series I started when I began this blog (wow, has it been that long? Time flies). You were my first Charlaine Harris book. You were my first foray into the large world of adult urban fantasy (I don't know whether to love you or hate you for that...). As a result of all these firsts, I will forever have a fondness for this series and Sookie herself because Sookie is awesome.
So I'm probably in the minority, where I liked this book and this ending. It brought Sookie full circle. She found a place where she wanted to be and was happy with that. I see all you Eric fans going "but she didn't end up with Eric!" and while I'm sorry for the death of your ship, that pairing was never the point of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Hell, who Sookie ended up with period, was never the point of this series. FANS made it the point of this series because that's what fans do (look at Hunger Games/Harry Potter for example). I get it (I am a multi-shipper, believe me I get it), but I get super annoyed when people act like just because Sookie didn't end up with a/b/c suitor of their choice, that somehow makes it a horrible ending. The point is that Sookie was finally happy with herself and where she was. She's comfortable in her own skin. She's found someone who's willing to accept her as is, human/strange gift and all (did I call the Sam thing or what?). That was the point of this series: Sookie's character growth. Her character grew. She's happy. I'm satisfied.
Honestly the only thing I was upset here about was the Claude thing (not giving it away because spoilers) but that was because I liked Claude and it felt weird to me. But it made for a wrap-up ending so I can't complain too loudly. So I'm satisfied with this ending. I will be looking forward to the wrap-up book and this new Harris series I've been hearing about. Farewell, Sookie, I will miss you.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sookie Stackhouse fans, True Blood fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five tissues because it's over

Stacking the Shelves: July 28th

This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week.

Bi-Weekly library haul:

Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox-YA debut that I confess, I mostly picked up due to gorgeous cover. But also the story sounds like something right up my alley.

Arclight Book 1 by Josin L. McQuein-I've heard very mixed reviews about this debut. So I've decided to check it out for myself and decide.

Revenants series Book 3: If I Should Die by Amy Plum-I have a love/hate relationship with the Revenants series but I love it more then it annoys me so here we are.

Rebel Spirits by Lois Ruby-YA debut that sounds like a good old-fashioned ghost story like Ruined by Paula Morris. I love those.

The Cahill Witch Chronicles by Jessica Spotswood-sequel to one of my favorite debuts from last year. Can't wait to read it!

Permanent Record
by Leslie Stella-YA debut I've heard very little about for some reason. That always tends to get me curious.

Reboot by Amy Tintera-YA debut that has gotten lots of buzz. Dystopian so we'll see how it goes (these have been on and off for me lately).

Book Review: How to Lead a Life of Crime

TITLE: How to Lead a Life of Crime
AUTHOR: Kirsten Miller
PUBLISHED: February 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Parodyish, Mystery/Thriller
PREMISE: Flick escapes his father to live life on the streets only to be brought to Mandel Academy where he is given a test: become the best in his class of villains and he will get information that will put his father away in jail.
MY REVIEW: Ever have one of those books that is okay but you just can't click with it for some reason? That is me and How to Lead a Life of Crime.
There isn't anything I find particularly wrong with this book. It's bit violent but I'm not squeemish about stuff like that. None of the characters really did anything for me. While the storyline was interesting, I never felt heavily invested in it. I just honestly couldn't get into it.
Is that my fault or the authors? Who knows. I just know this wasn't for me. I'm sure some guys would get into though. Maybe fans of stuff like I Hunt Killers or Dexter.
WHO SHOULD READ: guys, fans of Miller's other books, I Hunt Killers fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five pickpockets

Book Review: Dance of the Red Death

TITLE: Dance of the Red Death
Masque of the Red Death series
AUTHOR: Bethany Griffin
PUBLISHED: June 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian/Steampunk, Retelling (of sorts)
PREMISE: Araby searches for answers when her world crumbles around her.
MY REVIEW: Every so often I'll give a book series that I was lukewarm about another chance. Masque of Red Death was...okay for me, but didn't thrill me. Mostly I liked Griffin's writing style which to be honest is the main reason I decided to give the series one more shot.
But alas, no real improvement. It's fine for fans of the series. It doesn't get worse, but it doesn't do an amazing turn around either. Most things in it, I saw coming from a mile away. I could also go on about the annoying love triangle but I'll spare you that particular rant.
If you're a fan of the first one, this should be good for you. For the rest of us...I wouldn't bother with it, unless you're really curious about how things turn out. Don't know if another book is coming in the series, but if it is, I probably won't be bothering with it.
WHO SHOULD READ: Masque of the Red Death fans, steampunk fans, Edgar Allen Poe fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five diseases

Book Review: Splintered

TITLE: Splintered
Book 1 in the new Splintered series
AUTHOR: A. G. Howard
PUBLISHED: January 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Retelling, Fantasy
PREMISE: Alyssa knows her family, descendants of Alice Liddell, are cursed. She goes to London to try an undo the curse and winds up in a Wonderland that is not quite the wonder the book made it out to be.
MY REVIEW: First off, cover artist? You rock. That is a freaking GORGEOUS cover ;pets it;. Second of all: I liked it. I was afraid this was going to be like Alice in Zombieland where it would be a girl named Alice and actually have nothing to do with Alice in Wonderland as promised. But this one did not do that. Actually, it reminded me strongly of The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy. Which is not bad because I have a big fondness for that series.
But this is Looking Glass Wars written by someone with much better prose (sorry Beddor, love your imagination, hate your writing style). I love the way Howard writes. Gorgeous. Can't give much points for originality because despite wonderfully crafted world, Alice in Wonderland retellings are a dime a dozen and there were a few tropes that are common in YA (such as the mean popular girl trope which we all know annoys me to death).
Still though, I read this because I wanted a creative Alice in Wonderland retelling and that is exactly what I got so I can't complain too loudly. This was a very decent debut, I can't wait for book 2.
WHO SHOULD READ: Alice in Wonderland fans, Looking Glass Wars fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five butterflies

Book Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed

TITLE: The Beautiful and the Cursed
Book 1 in The Dispossessed series
AUTHOR: Page Morgan
PUBLISHED: May 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fantasy
PREMISE: Ingrid moves to Paris with her family only to find her brother missing. Searching for him, leads to discoveries she never imagined.
MY REVIEW: This was a bit of a different debut and surprisingly, I liked it. I say surprisingly because that summary was not the most inspiring in the world and between that and the swooning girl on the cover, the most I was hoping for was a mild amusement. But I got some enjoyable reading out of this.
True, the author does play on the historical fantasy tropes that are so common in YA now. In fact, a lot of it reminded me a bit of the first Infernal Devices series with a dash of Gemma Doyle. It's far from the best series ever, but if you're looking for a historical fantasy to get into that manages to do something different then werewolves/vampires/witches, this one fits the bill. It helps that I was rather reminded of the series Gargoyles which was my favorite Disney animated show back in the day (I'm pretty sure Goliath/Eliza were my first OTP...it was them or Gordo/Lizzie from Lizzie McGuire).
Basically, this was some entertaining stuff. Tropes aside, I got enjoyment out of it and I imagine many other readers will as well if you're in the mood for just some fun historical fantasy.
WHO SHOULD READ: Infernal Devices fans, Something Strange and Deadly fans, historical fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five stone gargoyles

Book Review: Spirit's Chosen (mini-review)

TITLE: Spirit's Chosen
Book 2 in the Himoko series (or book 6 in the Princesses of Myth series)
AUTHOR: Esther Friesner
PUBLISHED: April 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Retelling, Myth
PREMISE: Himoko returns after her time away to a changed village and changed world...
MY REVIEW: This is going to be a short review because you guys already probably suspect what I'm going to say so lets cut to the chase: loved it as always with Friesner and this series. Apparently next she's doing an Irish legend. Bring it.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the Princesses of Myth series, retelling fans, historical fiction fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five kimonos

Book Review: The Fifth Wave

TITLE: The Fifth Wave
Book 1 in the Fifth Wave series
AUTHOR: Rick Yancey
PUBLISHED: May 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian/Science Fiction
PREMISE: Cassie tries to survive and hopefully find her brother after aliens destroy Earth and take over.
MY REVIEW: Ever wonder how the movie Independence Day might have gone, if the plot hadn't had the really convenient overly smart human who magically figures out how to blow up the ships less then three days after the aliens come? Look, I have a fondness for Independence Day (with Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum in it, how can I not?), don't get me wrong but there are so many giant plot holes and conveniences in that movie it's not funny. If you're looking for a better version, I highly suggest this book. It takes that idea of aliens invading and does a much better more darker version of it.
I was lucky enough to get a giveaway ARC copy of this and I honestly loved it. Yancey is a great writer, he really sat and thought about what this invasion would be, what would happen, how humans would respond, everything. It's one of the more refreshing dystopians I've read in awhile. True, the romance part was kind of weak (as always with these things. Seriously authors, why do you feel the need to add a "epic" romance to a plot that doesn't really need one?) but it doesn't ruin the book so it's not a huge issue. Just kind of annoying. But everything else about this, I kind of love.
If you're looking for something to read after Hunger Games, or just want a new dystopian to read, I highly suggest this one. I really hope it gets made into a movie because that would freaking awesome.
WHO SHOULD READ: Hunger Games fans, Independence Day fans, alien invasion story fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five aliens messing up planets

Book Review: Dead Silence

TITLE: Dead Silence
Book 4 in the Body Finder series
AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting
PUBLISHED: April 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Paranormal/Mystery
PREMISE: Violet's life gets more complicated as her secrets spill over into her personal life.
MY REVIEW: This is one of those series that has gotten better over time. I was mildly into it at first, but now it's become one of those I look forward to each time an installment comes out.
While this one was still solid it sort of...wandered a bit? I think the author is running out of ideas which probably means it's time to end the series. I have no idea if this is the ending or not (I thought the third book was supposed to be the ending but lo and behold...) so I can't say for sure if this is an ending of a series or not. Way it ended, leads me to say no. But you never know nowadays with YA.
But all in all, a satisfying installment. If you love the series, you'll probably enjoy this one.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of books 1-3, Clarity fans, mystery fans, paranormal fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five dead bodies

Book Review: The Casual Vacancy

TITLE: The Casual Vacancy
AUTHOR: J. K. Rowling
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Realistic Fiction, Drama
PREMISE: A small community deals with their grief over the loss of their leader.
MY REVIEW: So it was sort of a happy coincidence that I read this book about a week or so before the news broke out last weekend about Rowling having written a book under another name. Because her doing that and that book being accepted before hand as it was pretty much proves my point about Casual Vacancy: it had no chance because people just weren't going to accept it because it wasn't Harry Potter. I'm sorry, but that is the frank truth of the matter. Literally every other review I read had the "it's not Harry Potter!" whine in it in some form. Even from the people who liked it. Maybe it was too soon after the franchise closed? I don't know, all I know is that Casual Vacancy pretty much got screwed because of what it wasn't and I think that's really unfair to both the book and the author.
Now when one actually looks at Casual Vacancy for what it is, and not what it isn't, I actually think it's perfectly all write. No it's not the best book in the world. It wanders a lot. Characters are difficult to like. The plot isn't the most complicated thing in the world and it honestly kind of wanders for a bit. But what it is, is a rather good character study and great social commentary.
Mostly, this book served a purpose for Rowling. It was her saying she wasn't going to be just writing Harry Potter. That was just one chapter in her career. We will be getting more books from her. Books that aren't Harry Potter. Hopefully, people will actually give those books a chance.
WHO SHOULD READ: people who are actually willing to read something by Rowling that isn't Harry Potter.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five votes (I liked it well enough, but I can't rate it higher then just average because really the book isn't that groundbreaking/complicated and because of the wandering plot)