Showing posts with label teen fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teen fantasy. Show all posts

Haven Review

Haven
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I almost didn't read this book because of the cover. The cover gods did not smile on Kristi Cook's debut novel. But, thankfully, she didn't need it. Bit's and pieces of this novel reminded me of different parts of other books, but it was unique in it's own way. I could see where people could see where it reminded them of Twilight, but only slightly. Or maybe Fallen. Sort of. It reminded me most of the Eternal Ones. But even so, there was a spin on that, something I've never heard of and it would seem an obstacle that would be very hard to overcome.Violet (a popular name this year) is feeling like a freak because of her visions of things that will happen in the future. Usually bad things. No one believes her. But at Winterhaven, she finds she isn't a rarity. And she begins to have friends for the first time. And a boyfriend. Who blows hot and cold. And who she starts to have visions about. And her visions are never wrong. And he tells her something terrible and she avoids him. Then one terrible night, while wandering the streets of Manhattan when she's supposed to be visiting her step mother, she finds herself in the middle of the one vision that has been haunting her since she's met Aidan. And after that, she has to believe what he's told her, what she's seen. There is no denying it.
Hope that's enough to whet your appetite. I can't tell anymore of the story without giving anything away. I will say that Violet has some friends with interesting abilities and I was glad the author explained them more fully because I didn't know what they were. Anyone well versed on astral projection? No, me either. But the author is good about explaining everything we don't understand. With some interesting new folklore on a being we know a lot about. And we get some science lessons. Yeah, I just kind of let some of the harder stuff float by. But some of it was really interesting. And where this story is leading, well, there are a couple of threads, are all incredibly interesting and like nothing I've ever read before. So, while it might tickle your mind with some memories of other books, it really is fresh and unique and the writing is easy and flows from one chapter to the next. The book is written from Violet's point of view and there is something called "The Aidan Effect" that is really funny to read in action. It's almost four hundred pages long, but it goes by fast. There is a little lag time in certain points, but it picks right back up again. You really won't notice too much.
I can't recall bad words. There was some lusting, but no actual descriptions of sex. A memory of some kind, but I don't know if it could be called sex. Lots of kissing. I'd say 13 and up would be fine to read this.

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Darkness Becomes Her Review

Darkness Becomes Her
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I enjoyed the read overall. There was a plot (sad that I have to say that, but so many YA paranormal books seem to lack them lately) and it moved right along. The paranormal world was well-drawn if based on all the same-old characters. I really liked the idea of a rebirth (post-hurricane destruction) New Orleans. The heroine was likeable and the secondary characters were interesting. I read the entire thing even though it definitely wasn't the best written book out there.
However, I did have a couple of real dislikes.
The profanity: The heroine is supposed to be a hard-edged, foster-child type teenage girl. She fights like Buffy the Vampire and solves her own problems rather than waiting for a hero. She also swears as part of her `edge.' Only it didn't work for me because she is also wishy-washy about making decisions (she changes her mind a lot), emotionally overwrought (passes out from over emotion kind of stuff), and falls in love so fast it makes her look stupid. And all this made her seem not hard-edged at all. So the profanity ended up being forced (like the author trying to prove how hard she was) rather than real.
The detached body parts: There really are real detached body parts in this book- it's got a Buffesque grotesquery to it. However, even better was the grammar. The best (worst?) was so funny that all my kids came running to see why I was laughing so hard. On page 178 the author intended to say that the heroine rolled her eyes after someone made a snarky comment. Then the heroine glanced over at some couples on a dance floor. However what the author put into print was, "My eyes rolled, falling onto the dancers..." (writing this made me laugh all over again).
The Big give away: The giant story has to do with the heroine's identity. Her deceased mother left her a message to `run' because someone is trying to catch/kill her. So she runs, gets chased, and tries to figure out what it going on. And the answer to why this is all happening is pretty unique (or at least I hadn't run into this exact scenario before). I would have liked this book a lot more if I'd been able to slowly unravel the mystery as the clues were dropped, etc. But the author RUINED it by putting a clue on page three that was so obvious that it explained everything and gave the entire mystery away. I don't know if she did it on purpose or not, but it totally spoiled the surprise.
The romance: By far the weakest part of the story. Within hours of meeting Mr. Perfect-but-Attractively-Grumpy, the heroine falls in love. It happened so fast it was boring. The romance scenes could have been cut/pasted from other books they were so unoriginal.
But even with all that, this wasn't the worst book I'd ever read. I probably won't read more in the series (is this a series? Probably), but for a quick read, it did its job.


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Portal Review

Portal
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PORTAL is a sci-fi romance with well-fleshed characters and an intriguing plot. Normally, a novel in the romance genre would be of no interest to me at all (being a guy and all!) but PORTAL managed to keep my interest throughout thanks to its main character, Arizona, and its fascinating sci-fi plot involving time travel and alternative dimensions. There's such a careful balance of sci-fi versus romance that both genre readers will enjoy it equally. I'd be hard pushed to say which genre comes through the strongest, and in this regard it reminds me slightly of The Time Traveler's Wife, another story that's hard to pigeonhole and one that wouldn't work if either the sci-fi or the romance was taken away.
There's a lot to think about after the book ends. All the complexities of the "experiment" are finally laid out for the readers (and poor Arizona) to see, and yet you come away with your head spinning -- in a good way. The best kinds of movies and novels are those that leave you with something to ponder, and PORTAL certainly does that. And the fact that there's a forthcoming sequel, EQUILIBRIUM, due in Summer 2010, is something of a no-brainer -- there's plenty more story waiting to be explored yet!
Not wanting to give away spoilers, I was happy with Arizona's decision at the end and think it would have been unrealistic for her to choose otherwise. Still, part of me wanted her to "take the plunge" and choose the other option, because what a great story that would make! Maybe that's what we have to look forward to in EQUILIBRIUM... or maybe the author will take us in a new direction altogether. There are so many possibilities, especially after the Epilogue, which almost came out of left field and really throws a sinister spanner in the works. Roll on Book II!

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Come Find Me Two Years Ago... Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension. She suddenly found herself in the past. In one moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates. Apparently it's a life she's always lived in. Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn't. She is Arizona Stevens. As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible. . PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley's attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children. Arizona's quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed. PORTAL is the first book of the Portal Chronicles. Fans of time travel, romance, and the supernatural will enjoy Arizona's quest for answers.

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