Review: Immortal Beloved

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan 

Series: Immortal Beloved, book  1

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Published: September 2010

Pages: 407

My rating: (Unfinished!)

Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past. Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.


It couldn’t have been just the blurb that got me to buy this book, because that still made me wonder what on earth the book was about. So, other than the beautiful cover, it must have been a review that drew me to the book instead. Because reading the summary on Goodreads didn’t do it for me either, to be honest…

So, how interesting can a book about an immortal wasting her (not so-precious) time be? After the overdose of vampires, angels, witches, faeries, dragons and other supernatural beings we’ve had lately, it was high time for a ‘new’ supernatural species. Why not drag out the old (pun intended) immortals again?! Okay, why not? Okay, why so?

After reading the initial paragraphs I wasn’t even that curious to find out WHY Nastasya’s life had been turned upside down, because she sounded like a drag. But I read on anyway. (One thing that stood out immediately though: the book is written in the third person! Finally! I was beginning to think they stopped making them all together!)

However, as I said before: Nastasya’s mind, where I found myself the entire time, never stopped spinning  in circles with the same uninteresting, selfish thoughts. After what happened in the beginning I really didn’t like this girl. Woman. Antique. At all. I was baffled that someone her age (about 450 years old!) still acted so adolescent. Her friends seemed like ‘the wrong crowd’ also; an elite, arrogant, sadistic, superficial, egoistic clique. Especially Innocencio. (Note: I understand people had different names in the past, but these are truly unpronounceable…)

But, a good thing happened when ‘Nasty’ didn’t like herself either and ran away, ending up at a kibbutz/rehab centre for immortals. Reyn sounded like a dream come true, being, you know, the guy you usually don’t encounter unless he’s on the cover of cheap romance novel. Swoon...

Not certain whether to blame my own lack of reading mood/time, or the promise of having to continue this particular book, I choose to go with the last reason after all. I gave the book another chance last night and continued reading. It seems the only time Nastasya really had been happy was during the sixties: when she was on drugs, at parties. How shallow. How pathetic. Things became even worse (be it with a heads-up provided by Cate Tiernan herself) when Nasty found out about Reyns German background/origins and decided to act on them when he suggested she could rinse the dishes.

Proving that maturity doesn’t necessarily come with age, I saluted and goose-stepped to the sink. ‘Yes, Herr Kommandant!’ 

My jaw practically dropped to the floor upon reading that, feeling vicariously embarrassed for Nasty. The story proceeded to drinking herbal tea, kneading bread and Nastasya’s thoughts about those things, as well as her thoughts on the self-grown vegetables. Not only extremely boring to her, also to me. Nastasya is a failure, a loser, a quitter, a very adolescent girl despite her age. She’s all the things I mentioned above about her ‘crowd’ which makes her an unattractive person, unappealing to me and undeserving of my further attention.

I don’t care what’s going to happen to Nasty, whether she will succeed in becoming a better person. It only took her 450 years to realise what a horrible person she is, I however already knew after reading the first page. (Maybe that IS a sign of good writing though?!) She couldn’t have had a better nickname. 

I give up after reading 82 pages. No matter how fluently written the stoy itself may be. I’m not wasting my time reading Nasty's story, the way she wasted her eternal life. If I happen to find myself being immortal after all, I might give ‘Immortal Beloved’ another chance. Until then it’s ‘Immortal Whatever’ to me.

Care to share your thoughts on this book with me? Feel free to drop me a line! 
Have a good day! :)

Cover Reveal: Rapture & Fallen in Love

Greetings my fellow Lauren Kate fans!

While surfing, I accidentally I stumbled accross the covers for Lauren Kate's 2 upcoming books! Which is kinda funny because I already stumbled accross Lauren Kate's 'Fallen in Love' by accident as well. But from what I gather, everybody was taken by surprise by this unexpected publication from Lauren Kate!
'Fallen in Love' is going to be a collection of romantic stories starring some of the characters from the 'Fallen' series, not just limited to Lucinda and Daniel. Could be romantic, could be cheesy, could be very funny too. It'll hit the stores January 24th! (I pre-ordered mine already. Since it has to travel to The Netherlands I hope to receive it around the 31st of January...)

Cleverly created to keep the fans happy no doubt, I'm sure 'Fallen in Love' will be a lovely read, but I am ofcourse still anxiously awaiting 'Rapture', the 4th and final instalment in the 'Fallen' series. Which is gonna be released June 12th next year!


The cover of 'Rapture' fits the other ones perfectly. (I actually disliked 'Passion's cover for some reason, there were too many colours in it and Lucinda's dress was too 'simple' in comparison.)



One detail that immediately stands out when you see the cover of 'Rapture' is the colour of Lucinda's dress. It's actually white, instead of the usual black... What does it mean? Will Lucinda and Daniel get married, perhaps?

What are your thoughts on the subject? Drop me a line! Oh...and have a nice day while you're at it ;)

Review: Unearthly

Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand
Series: Unearthly, book 1
Genre: Ya, Paranormal Romance
Published: January 2011
Pages: 435
My Rating: 

Angels are some of my favourite ‘things’. I simply adore these divine beings with their majestic wings. Their pure, untouched souls vibrating with untainted love. Ergo, reading about them is wonderful to me. I enjoy(ed) the 'Fallen' series by Lauren Kate very much, but was very disappointed by 'Hush, Hush' and its sequel. So I was hoping ‘Unearthly’ would be better. It was actually, being good and sweet, but not as epic I hoped it would be. It was, however, the story I expected 'Hush, Hush' to be. The way 'Hush, Hush' could and should have been had it been about 'good' angels and had it been written properly...

The beginning of the book did not draw me in immediately though. The vision Clara had, wasn’t written very strongly; it’s more telling than showing what the author does.
The rather simple writing style in the present tense even appalled me at first. (To me, writing a book in present tense feels like a beginner’s mistake.) Too many sentences are short and start with ‘I...’ or ‘He...’, another indication pointing towards the author’s lack of writing experience. But the storyline takes the focus off these flaws, fortunately.

Lately, I find myself becoming tired of 16-year old heroines. However, the concept of ‘Unearthly’ is original enough to grab ones attention and it makes one wanna read on. Being a normal, modern, school-going girl who happens to be part-angel, Clara receives a vision which becomes her life’s purpose. Bit by bit the vision becomes clearer, until Clara knows where to find the mysterious boy she is supposed to save from a forest fire. The author wrote in some lovely and believable details and explanations on angels, which were new to me. Everything is clear and simple, and explained rather than expected to be common knowledge.

Slowly, the story develops once Clara moves across the country with her half-angel mother and demi-angel brother and meets Christian, the mystery boy from her visions. Clara makes new friends and learns more about angels from an unexpected source. Because she is still uncertain about her purpose, Clara tries to get to know as much about Christian as she possibly can. This involves a mild form of stalking, not like some of the unhealthy stalking we’ve read about in a lot of YA books lately. Wink, nudge…
Nothing epic happening at first, asides from the knowledge Clara has angel blood flowing through her veins and feathers growing out of her back (when needed/forced). Through the major part of the book, the story seems to focus more on Clara’s adjustment to her new life. Towards the end and Clara’s supposed purpose-fulfilment the story picks up speed. Still the plot isn’t huge but more subtle and not entirely exposed during this first instalment of the trilogy.

Because of the simple writing style, ‘Unearthly’ reads away quickly, easily and understandably, without the ridiculous plot twists or over-the-top paranoia we encountered in ‘Hush, Hush’. Actually, for a book on angels with meaningful purposes the pace is very slow. Clearly ‘Unearthly’ puts the emphasis on romance rather than action. The story itself is endearing enough to make you forget about the lack in sentence variation or non-descriptiveness.

The romance part flows very naturally, it doesn’t feel forced on in any way. I had expected things to go slightly different, knowing Clara’s destiny was somehow entwined with Christian’s. Then again, that’s not how these stories usually turn out. The story is incredibly sweet and realistic, and like Clara, you forget she’s part-angel sometimes. Sure, there almost isn’t anything she isn’t good at, but most of the time her human side prevails. She’s a normal teen trying to find out her purpose in life, not just an angel-blood trying to live up to her purpose. Her angelic-ness makes it even harder for her to be herself, having to hide her true self most of the time.
The choices she makes are very understandable, Clara is easy to relate to. It’s hard to act divine and put yourself last, when you feel like a normal girl who wants to live a normal life and put herself first. I was left as confused as she was, in the end. Which is a sign of good penmanship after all. I truely was Clara...

Tucker seems like the kind of guy any girl would be lucky to have: an attractive, spirited cowboy with a golden heart.
Christian is still too much of a mystery to me to make up my mind about him.
My initial thoughts that something was ‘up’ with Angela were right. Gotta admire a girl with so much enthusiasm, whose mother owns one of the coolest places in town.
Wendy shares most qualities her twin brother Tucker; she’s steady, trustworthy, loyal and down-to-earth.
I know Clara's mother Maggie deliberately let her daughter find out things, but it pained me to actually feel her shutting Clara out at times.

The way things were going I should have expected the book’s ending. But the way things were supposed to be going, allowed the ending to surprise me. Thankfully Hallowed (the sequel to ‘Unearthly’) is already written and I’m glad I pre-ordered it. Because this book was clearly a set-up for a longer story, a (albeit very long) introduction for more to come; leaving some serious issues to be resolved, questions to be answered and mess to be cleaned up. A task I am willing to take on, because this book was a very lovely read. A feel-good book if you will, with its darker passages, humour, endearing characters, very promising concept and somewhat gloomy ending.

P.S. Alas, I own the book with the *least* attractive cover option out of the 3 different versions. It's hideous in my opinion even; the girl dressed in white with her 'computerized' hair, against the blue forest background. I sooo don't get this cover, as opposed to the other beautiful ones!

Review: Always a Witch

Always a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough
Series: Once a Witch, book 2
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal, Romance
Published: August 2011
Pages: 288
My Rating: 

I added some spoilers at the end, so be aware...!

I just finished reading 'Always A Witch' (the seqeul to 'Once a Witch' ofcourse) and wrote this review while it was still fresh. I swallowed away the tears that came over me while reading the ending, to share my experience of this story with you.

I do admit I'm very disappointed about this book. So, why do I give it 4 stars then? Because I'm disappointed there aren't any more sequels to this story!!! (Or will there be???)

The author clearly found her voice, because this book read better than the first one. It took just a few chapters before Tamsins adventures began this time. And what an adventure it was! I don't think I disliked anything that happened, I got sucked into the story and wanted to know what was gonna happen next badly. It was such a quick read, an easy story to stick with. I don't mean that negative, it was simple in a way that stops you from being confused as to why things are happening, who's who, what some sideplots or seemingly needless sidetrips have to do with the story.

As in the first book, the lack of description still kind of bugged me, but not so much because the story itself had me too gripped to be bothered with it. The story isn't one that relies on beautiful sentences, but it's okay. Some of the dialogue writing has already improved from book 1, a bit more spice was added. Still the writing is rather simple and basic, nothing too fancy. It is the story itself that gives this book a high score.

I loved Tams trip back into the past (to prevent Alistair Knight from warning his past relatives about what The Greene Family is gonna do to them). The author really involved the reader in what it must have been like to work in a rich household in the late 1800's. (Asides from the strange things happening in the 'Knight' family household, of course. And the fact that Tamsin seems to be able to cope with her new job so easy.)

Tams sense of 'duty' is greatly admired by me, her will to go through this alone because she doesn't want anyone (Gabriel in particular) to get hurt. (Maybe she's just stubborn, who knows...) Even if it means she'll be in more danger, she'll be terribly lonely and does not even know how and IF she will be able to come back to the present. Luckily Gabriel turns up after all.

I love Tamsin, I hate saying goodbye to her so soon already :( I liked all the side characters too, especially Tamsins 'Talented' (and very quirky) relatives, Cook and Jessica.

Little original things I liked: how Tamsins sister Rowena is able to make inanimate objects speak, like the china lions standing next to the fireplace. Unfortunately for Tamsin these china lions tell Rowena exactly what has been said been before, uncovering her sisters plans.

Towards the ending things got very exciting again, the book seemed to read even faster then. (Like in the previous book, I can see this being turned into an amazing movie!) I was soooo curious to see how Tamsin, Gabriel and Isobel, as well as Tams other relatives, were gonna fix things. They had some close calls. It had me very worried their future still wasn't safe after intervening (Gabriel couldn't 'Find' their relatives in the future, his gift being able to 'Find' any lost object. Next to being able to Travel in Time, obviously.)

When they finally figured out how to stop the Knight Family, I was still shocked about what Tamsin did at the last minute. But it made sense. No matter how heartbreaking it was. Such a sad, and yet at the same time happy ending.

Also I have to share my love for the cover, I seriously adore it! I loved this book. I want more. I seriously recommend this book! Go read it NOW!



SPOILER:


At Tams realisation that she had lost her Talent forever, it being locked inside the Domani to guard the Knights Talents, was killing me. Even if she did know it would happen. I cried along with Tamsin for loosing her precious gift, for giving up her gift as a sacrifice to save her entire family. Once Gabriel and Tamsin had returned to their Family home, everything still intact, everyone still alive, I felt happy. Even more glad that Tamsins life hadn't changed at all. She still had Agatha as her roommate and friend, she might be able to get into Stanford, her sister was still about to be married. She might have lost her Talent, she still has the life she always had, the life in which she assumed she had no Talent at all. No wonder Grandma raised her into believing she had no Talent, somehow she foresaw there would come a time Tamsin actually *would* be without a Talent.

Review: Once a Witch...

Once a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough
Series: Once a Witch, book 1 of 2
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal, Contemporary
Published: September 2009
Pages: 292
My Rating:

'Once A Witch' was a quick and easy read. Aimed at a younger audience I think. If you want to read a nice book, that's not too complicated, and able to finish within 2 days, go for it!

First I'll talk about the things I did not like. Or maybe the things I missed is a better way to put it. Because I missed some descriptions. Environments and persons weren't very well described. Maybe it's good because it leaves your imagination at work, but I like my books more descriptive. That would have given the book, the characters and the environments a little more colour. Because it was a colourful life going on here.

The dialogues between Tamsin and Alistair, as well as those between Tamsin and Gabriel, could use a little more spice. I guess the whole book lacked a little spice. It was a very nice read indeed, but nothing very special or memorable that stands out.

The story enveloped at a slow pace, but not annoyingly slow. Things happened, but no major events at first. I think about halfway through the book, the story picks up speed.

The farther I read, the more the plot sped up. When something happened to Tam's sister Rowena, I was really curious how and what had happened to her. Albeit the plot being somewhat simple, the story not too complicated, I still found myself wanting to know what was gonna happen next, how Tam was gonna fix things.

Because of the 'action' I liked the second half better than the first, admittedly.

I like the book/plot/characters and promise of romance enough to read the sequel 'Always A Witch' today or tomorrow. The ending sort of forces you too, actually ;)
(Also because I know it's a quick read, I'm not always in the mood for a book that takes too long to finish.)

It's purely the lack of description (details) and the simplicity of the writing/ story /plot /characters that make me give this less than 5 stars.

If 'Once A Witch' were a meal, it would be a simple but pleasant supper, lacking a little spice... A meal that wouldn't linger too long on your brain for its complexity, or the fact that it touched you deeply somewhere because of its originality and boldness, but still an agreeable meal. An every-day supper.




****SOME SPOILERS: THINGS I LIKED VERY MUCH****

The family gatherings, and 'Talents' (witchcraft related gifts) every family member has, were sometimes really fun. After all, these people are normal people too and use their Talents for entertainment purposes as well. The uncle who allows the littles kids to break the china plates and then puts them back together with his Talent was a nice humorous touch. So was the uncle who keeps (dis-)appearing everywhere out of thin air, startling everyone all the time. Or the poor aunt who kept saying she had lost is, though no one seemed to know what it was she lost, including herself. I could imagine the chaos vividly.

I really liked the scene where Tam and Gabriel attended a party in 1939 to locate the object Alistair desired. It felt romantic being there, doing a waltz all dressed up, magic surrounding them. Magic, because of all their 'Talented' family members, even more magical because it was Tams own heritage she was in. She got to meet her own grandmother as a young woman, how cool is that? Also, she finally got to understand the things her grandmother would tell her later, *why* things happened the way they did, why everybody kept Tams talent a secret, letting her believe all this time she wasn't special in a family where everybody else is. But that's exactly what gave Tam her strength I think, to try and be normal.

And of course the ending scene was brilliant too. I could just see that before me on the silver screen. I didn't quite understand what it meant when Alistair vanished into the clock, but the epilogue clarified things for me. Tamsins family's future is blank, as in there will be none. Obviously Tamsin's got her work cut out for her and I am curious to see what will happen. Especially because that will happen in the Victorian Times. Can you say 'jummy'? ;)

Have a nice day! :)

Review: City of Bones

City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments, book 1 of 6
Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural
Published: March 2007
Pages: 485
My Rating:

In all honesty I was interrupted for several periods of time while reading this book (amongst which was a hospital stay due to surgery, during and after which I could not concentrate on anything), so I'm not sure whether I am to blame for my lack of being able to be swept away by the story, or too many things in the story itself kept me from being drawn in.
But, since I have read ‘Clockwork Angel’ by Cassandra Clare which I thoroughly enjoyed (the Victorian Setting appealed to me more than the setting of the ‘Mortal Instruments’ though) I blame me for this temporarily state of insanity. Upon finishing 'Clockwork Angel', the book left me empty-hearted and longing for more of it. I loved Cassandra’s writing, characters, setting, action. So despite the different setting, I decided to order the ‘Mortal Instruments’ anyway.

I had prepared myself that this series would be less good than ‘Clockwork Angel’ because it was written earlier. But Cassandra’s writing is of the same high standard then as it is now, she treats her readers like adults instead of tweenies. She takes us seriously for a change. From page 1 the book is action-packed and introduces us into a different world not far from ours, without losing sight of the plot. Nothing happening drags on too long or seems senseless.

The action just keeps coming, Cassandra doesn’t waste words on jibber jabber. Everything happens for a reason but is still descriptive enough and pleasant to read without being rambled on like a story that has to be told without paying attention to use of words.
However I do find Cassandra uses the same sentences/words a lot. The werewolve's 'lolling' tong for example, and the 'breathing like he/she had just run'. Not much variation, whereas most sentences read like beautiful poetry.

The terms are explained in this book, the gadgets and history about Shadowhunters and their powers and weapons. I love the original ideas of the rune marks, and how this whole world works. I find there's nothing weird about it, like it has always been like this. Totally believable.

I like how the plot comes together piece by piece. It’s not childish or immature, it’s a very well thought through story/plot (of which I wish I'd thought it up).

Like in ‘Clockwork Angel’ I do find that all the excitement and action keeps Cassandra from writing ‘too deep’. I’m still having trouble with feeling Clary. I know what she looks like, but I don’t know anything about her insides. With everything that’s going on in her life, she seems to be taking things rather well, rather superficial. I would like to get a bit deeper inside her head. It’s hard to identify yourself totally with one of the main characters that way.

I’m getting kind of annoyed with the fact that whenever something major happens (Clary finds out her mom was a Shadowhunter, married to the bad guy Valentine, stayed on the ‘wrong’ side too long) some kind of action thing happens and we don’t get to read any of her thoughts. I actually longed for some peaceful times, some slow times in the book, to catch my breath. The book felt like a never-ending rollercoaster ride, and no matter how fun rollercoaster rides are, if you're being forced to stay on them while getting more and more nauseous, it's not fun anymore...

Those are my only points of criticism, Cassandra needs to slow down sometimes, and I want to read more about everyone's feelings in between the action. Or at least Clary's feelings, because she's the main character.

And I hope that Clary and Jace aren't really brother and sister. (I think I read a spoiler about that somewhere, ignoring it for now...) Cassandra wrote the story very plausible, no soap-opera-like-surprises, but believable, and leading to something more. Not just a twist to keep it exciting or fill the pages, no, some devious sidetrack to the plot.

So, I got sucked into the story finally, but I'm gonna do some light reading first, before I continue this series. I can easily let go of the 'Mortal Instruments' world, whereas I had more trouble letting go of the 'Infernal Devices' reality. Not a very good sign I guess...

However, this would really make for a heck of a movie!!!

Have a good day! :)

Review: Crescendo

Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2), by Becca Fitzpatrick
Series: Hush, Hush, book 2
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery
Published: October 2010
Pages: 427
My Rating:



** SPOILER ALERT **

In some ways 'Crescendo' was an improvement to 'Hush, Hush', in other ways it was just as... bad. I'm sticking to 2 stars for this one too. There were parts I liked, there were other parts that seemed entirely out of place and there was too much confusing information. Way too much going on again.

The beginning is more hopeful than 'Hush, Hush'. It starts out with more action, some flashbacks in which we learn more about Nora's dads death. And at least now Nora knows what she wants from Patch. She's not afraid of him anymore, doesn't suspect him anymore and can feel free to love him. He's proven his love to her by denying her sacrifice, thus giving up his chance to become human. (Despite this, Nora still doubts his feelings for her, silly girl!!!) Patch's reward is: being Nora's guardian angel. Only when Nora finds out Patch can't be 'with' her as her lover, at penalty of hell, she decides it's better for both of them to dump him. (Not so selfish anymore: she chooses Patch's happiness over her own.)

Nora didn't give up her old paranoid habits: she still suspects everyone, Scott being her next victim. She follows him around, manoeuvres herself in his bedroom while she doesn't trust the guy, even fears for her life... Doesn't she EVER learn? I find the whole thing pretty juvenile, the suspicions, the stalking, the snooping. Get a life, Nora!

As pointed out by both girls, they're each others only friends. So WHY does Nora neglect to fill Vee in on earth-shattering news when she finds it out, like the fact Marcie's dad could be her dad? Is it because she's afraid that telling one thing may lead to having to tell her more? Or does she simply 'forget' these things because of all the other stuff that's going on in her life? Not raining down on her, no pouring down!

Vee remains a flat character to me though, all I really know about the girl is that she's a little overweight and tries to diet all the time, in her own way. Oh yeah, she's got a big mouth. And she drives Nora around when Nora doesn't have her own car anymore. (Again, what mother in her right mind would sell her daughters car to pay off stuff? Especially if her daughter is stuck in an abandoned farmhouse, all alone!)

Vee's willingness to be Nora's private driver for so long, is no reason to begin several chapters in a row with the same statement that Vee dropped Nora off somewere. Seriously missing variation in writing here... (I read the sentence about 'favouring the stairs over the elevator' twice already.)
And what happened to Nora's black eye? One minute it's prominently there, the next chapter it's already gone. It takes most HUMANS longer to heal, Nora. Euhm, Becca.

And Patch can't feel, physically? That's like sparkly vampires all over again. As is the being sucked into his memories upon touching his scars... There's nothing wrong with a little imagination, but this is very unbelievable.

Also, I still don't get what's up with Marcie and Nora. Patch can't have true love, but he can screw around? And since he can't have Nora, he's just 'doing' the girl he already knows is her biological sister? WHAT AN ASSHOLE! The whole book makes noooo sense, I'm telling you...

Things seemed to happen randomly, the book was going nowhere for some passages, then when things finally sped up, an information overload rained down on me. I had a hard time finding order in the chaos. All the clues that had to be figured out by Nora are chaotic, the whole book reads like a detective for kiddies. It actually reads like it's written by a twelve-year old, for twelve-year olds. (Which is why the sex never goes any further, obviously...)

I had to grin when I read about the 'Black Hand'. I'm assuming Becca never read any Dutch children's books, but there's an old famous book about 'Pietje Bell' and his 'gang'. Pietje Bell was a naughty boy who lived on the streets, he was a poor boy and along with his 'gang' (guess what it's called? The Black Hand!) they were the little menaces of society with golden hearts, you know the kind. This 'coincidence' made me feel even stronger that this book is written for a very young audience.

And WHY was the Amusement Park built by fallen angels? Why on earth 9pun intended) do fallen angels build amusement parks in their spare time? Are we going to get an answer to that question in the next book? WHY won’t archangels go there? Because of all the noise and thoughts they can't tune in on the fallen angels' thoughts? Or was it purely because it makes a nice, creepy setting? (It does do that. Especially Funhouses are freaking me out!)

Another unbelievable fact: they release Nora from the hospital mere hours after she was shot, attempted to be murdered even, and allow her to stay ALONE in the farmhouse? Yeah, right…

I'd have to re-read the entire book to finally make sense of the whole thing, all the plot twists and turns, the who's related to who and who wants to kill who and why again. And the open end makes things even worse. Nora's biological dad wants to bring down the fallen angels because they posess the Nephilim's offspring bodies and doesn't like it one bit that Nora's chosen the other side. Please, don't tell me he wants to kill her as well... How many people have tried to kill Nora by now? I've lost count...

This books brings me to tears and not in a good way... I cancelled my pre-ordered for 'Silence' already, uncertain I can take anymore of this. I kept hoping things would improve, but they don't. Well, sort of. In this book there were actually more good parts than in the first book. It's the tying loose ends together that takes too long, you've lost track of the whole plot already a long time ago. Since I've hear Nora actually suffers from amnesia all through the third book, I really quit. This is going nowhere. Fast.

This book could/should have been EPIC with the battle between Nephilim offspring and fallen angels that's coming, but it's like reading a suspicious teen girl's diary. A real shame.

Have a good day! :)

Review: Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Series: Hush, Hush, book 1
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Mystery
Published: October 2009
Pages: 391
My Rating:




** SPOILER ALERT! **

Don't make the mistake of judging this book by its cover. The cover is gorgeous! But the book? We'd better 'hush, hush' about it...

Firstly, I have to ask: what's up with these names: Nora and Patch? Are they Becca Fitzpatrick's cats' names? (And I still don't know Patch's real name...!!!)

At first, I was drawn in from the first chapter. Who was this guy, knowing everything about Nora? I really liked the interaction between the two of them. Or maybe I should say the way Patch handled Nora. I had a few laughs about some things, for example when they discuss human reproduction in class, more specific body language. When Patch analyses Nora's body language in front of everyone, concluding 'she's game' I was laughing, as well as feeling Nora's shame. I love Patch's bravoure.

I thought the way Nora and Vee tried to find out things about Patch (and Elliot) was very fun. It was something I could have attempted too, at age 13 though, rather than at age 16. Dressing up like someone else and not very subtily questioning those who obviously are not interested in answering your questions and see through you rightaway may not be all that clever...

While reading, I got the 'Final Destination' vibe more and more, with all the bad things that happen (in Nora's mind, as it turns out later). 'A Hundred Ways to Die' would have been an appropiate title too. I got a bit tired of all the accidents that happened, and then seemed not to have happened. And it never occured to Nora that because Patch is able to 'speak' in her mind, he can make her 'see' things in her mind as well?
I didn't expect so much of a thriller and basically a murder mysterie (even though the subject wasn't killed, merely attempted to). I guess when I read the book was about fallen angels, I expected something like Lauren Kate's 'Fallen' books. I expected more, somehow. But it's not fair to compare I guess.

Nora's feelings and suspicions are all over the place. First, she suspects Patch. Then, when she starts to develop feelings for him, she stops to listen to her head (sometimes) and lets her heart take over. Luckily, Elliot shows up to take the blame. Looking all evil all of a sudden. And even though Patch finally admits he wanted to kill Nora, that thought gets washed away as quickly by Nora as I will have forgotten this book.
Which is a great example of how shallow/superficial this book is written. The feelings aren't going that deep. You don't get to relate to Nora('s crush) that much. You are left hanging in the midst of it all, maybe it's because Nora can't seem to make up her own mind, I blame it on lack of writing skills and lack of a consistent character.

Buildings and surroundings are described very little. I'm not even sure what Nora's room and living room look like, that's lacking for me.

When I read that Nora's mom has a job that keeps her away from her daughter for weeks at a time, only 1 year after her husband -Nora's dad- was murdered, I couldn't believe it. No mother in her right mind would leave her only daughter ALONE in an abandoned farmhouse situated in a scary location. Especially not after her husband died the way he did! Trying to hang on to memories by trying to keep the house would not have been enough reason for my mom would to go away and NOT take care of me!!!

I hated that whenever Nora and Patch were about to go beyond kissing, they were interrupted somehow. The build-up was very hot and steamy indeed, but then their intimacy was brutally ended. It got old and annoying after a few times. If you're scared to write sex-scenes, this is obviously the way to avoid them: have something happen that will break the couple up. Doing that 2, maybe 3 times is okay, but after that we have to have some resolve!!!

And what is up with Patch's inability to feel touches to his skin, being a fallen angel? I find that idea just as stupid and unbelievable as vampires' skins that sparkle in the sunlight. 'Come on, let's throw in another barrier! It's not bad enough that Patch wanted to kill Nora at first, no, once they overcome that issue, let's make him unable to feel too! You know, just to make things more interesting!'

I am kinda curious to know what happens next to Patch and Nora, the story in itself was okay and could use further deepening. Which is why I'm reading the sequel (since I've already bought it anyway and it's a quick read).

This book is okay to read, but it's not earth-shattering. It's a quick read that doesn't make you think too much. It's not heavy or action-packed in a hard-to-follow way. Maybe it's really for a younger audience. (Which I'm definately not anymore) I seriously don't understand the hype surrounding this book.

If compared to food, this would be junk-food. A quick snack which tastes good while you're at it, but makes you long for a real, decent meal to leave you satisfied afterwards.

Have a good day! :)

Review: Kissed by an Angel

Kissed by an Angel (trilogy), by Elizabeth Chandler
Series: Kissed by an Angel, book 1-3 of 5
Genre: YA, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance
Published: August 1998
Pages: 690
My Rating:

The plot of this book is what attracted me. Ivy falls in love, but when her boyfriend dies in a car-crash (the same car crash Ivy survives) she's left behind. Or is she? Tristan finds himself being an angel and tries to get through to Ivy. Which is very hard because she's given up on angels when Tristan died, after once being a firm believer. Tristan believes Ivy is in terrible danger so he needs to get through to her desperately.

The book was an easy read, a page-turner in the sense of simplicity. The characters were a bit shallow, feelings not entirely believable conveyed. Some parts dragged on too long. Especially towards the ending. I had to force myself to continue reading, hoping the plot would finally reveil itself. Because as a reader I knew what danger Ivy was in, and eventhough I understood that danger couldn't be dealt with another way, I was almost desperate for it to end. It took a bit too long even if it did turn more dark and creepy towards the end. The things that happened then weren't that original, and I didn't sympathize enough with the characters to really feel their pain.

There were some humorous side aspects in the shape of Tristan's little helper who uses her powers to... confuse people.

Even if the plot idea sounded original to me, it felt like something I have seen/read before already. The story had a murder-mystery feel to it, somehow not what I expected. It was a nice book to read, but average. I already own its sequel, 'Evercrossed' but I'm not in any hurry to read it...

Enjy your day! :)

Review: Passion

'Passion' by Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen, book 3 of 4
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-fi
Published: June 2011
Pages: 420
My Rating: 

The best book so far in the 'Fallen' series!

Again I could not wait until 'Passion' was available! The way things ended in 'Torment' led me to believe that Lucinda would embark on a journey through her past lives. Oh how I love to read about past lives and history! Luckily Lauren Kate didn't let me down,
I loved peeking into Lucinda's past lives also!

Some of those past lives did seem too good to be true though. I mean, what were the odds of being wealthy in the past? The odds of encountering someone royal? The odds you actually played an important part in history? (Besides Lucinda's link to Daniel, which I know will prove to be of great importance somehow.)
But I had a blast going through her past anyway. It was like reading all sorts of interesting and appealing books about different subjects I liked, without having to change books ;)

Russian Lucinda touched me much for example, as did the bratty Houston-based one. Every life had its charm, but of course it always had its downside: ending abruptly because of some interaction with Daniel. Somehow I had a hard time believing WHY Daniel would still fall for Luce in some life, because her behavior/character weren't that inviting or endearing. I mean, Daniel may have been attracted to the same soul over and over, but when that soul seems different in a bad way, why still the attraction?

About the whole soul thing: I get that through time, especially in different parts of the world, Lucinda's and Daniels appearances were different. That's how things go with reincarnation: the soul remains the same, it just travels from body to body. So why didn't their appearances change throughout their most recent past lives? Simply because there was no need for them to change because they still would have fitted in with their current habitat? That defies all logic...
And another thing Lauren Kate should have explained, which, apparently, isn't common knowledge to everyone, is that angels don't actually have an appearance. They are a sort of glowing energy shapes. However, does that apply to fallen angels as well? I don't know. Assuming it does, Daniel just shaped himself into something Lucinda would understand; a human shape. A manly human shape. Because angels don't have genders, either. So basically there was hardly any need for Daniel to change his appearance throughout his past lives. (Or rather, LIFE.) Unless geography required it.
Anyway, I sort of read over these aspects, not torturing myself about the 'why's' too much, maybe because I already knew some things about angels. Even if there will be a explanation in the next book, it'll be too late. Readers got lost in this installment already. I got lost in the story in a good way, but now the plot-holes are sort of gnawing on me.

As to Lucinda's little sidekick through the shadows: I had my suspicions... And I was right... I'm very curious what's going to happen next and whether 'Rapture' will prove to be an even better read, because the books improve with every sequel. Lauren Kate finds her voice more and more, the writing improves, the characters develop more.

Plot-wise there wasn't actually happening that much in this book, a much heard point of critique. I think of this book as sort of a break in the series as well, a breathing pause where more background info is given. Although I feel I didn't learn anything new from this book (we already knew Lucinda's still alive in this lifetime because of her non-baptism, we already knew Daniel would still choose to fall in love with her, over and over again) I enjoyed the read anyway. It wasn't until the end the set-up for the final battle was made, leaving us readers begging for more.

How is she gonna set things straight this time, on such an epic scale, with such high-ranked players involved? I'm going to have to wait until this Summer, unfortunately. Until then she leaves us (surprise!) with a kind of add-on novel in the series: 'Fallen in Love'. It features some love stories including several of 'Fallen's characters. I already pre-ordered mine, yay!

Have a nice day! :)

Review: Fallen

Fallen, by Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen, book 1 of 4
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Published: December 2009
Pages: 452
My Rating: 

In all honesty I have to admit I'm writing this review whereas I've read the book quite some time ago. (About 2 years ago even!) That's not my usual style, but 'Fallen' deserves a review, so here I go.

The original (movie-worthy!) setting of this book set the tone immediately to a dark read: the reform school 'Swords and Cross' Lucinda is being sent to is a grim, gruesome place. It wasn't even her fault she got sent there in the first place. It's not like she meant to set her boyfriend on fire, it just happened. But maybe it was for the best Lucinda was sent away, it gave her the chance to live her life without being judged by all her fellow students.
Whether the academy is the best place to have a fresh, new start is debatable. It's not very inviting with all its grey buildings, the cemetery on school grounds and the old church now harboring an Olympic size swimming pool. Most of the students seem to have adapted to their surroundings and fate and seem like they actually belong in a place like that. The mandatory all BLACK dress code doesn't do anything to add to the cheeriness. However, Luce quickly finds herself a new friend in Penn, whose father used to be the janitor. Even Arianne who seems very strange at first turns out to be a loyal friend.
And of course, then there is Daniel. Daniel who doesn't seem interested in Luce and treats her with her disrespect. That is, when he acknowledges her at all. But Luce can't stop herself from feeling attracted to him. (Although why I can't figure out: I don't like his looks and he's the wrong kind of tormented. He's a drag, actually!)
Anyhow, Luce pines for Daniel and tries to get in touch with him. This goes on for the major part of the book, nothing else of importance happens. There were times I wondered why I kept reading even, it felt rather boring to read about this seemingly unrequited love.
Luckily, we have Cam to keep things interesting, with his black hair and cat-like green eyes. And even though you can sense from a mile away he's BAD news (yes, with a capital B, A and D!) he's smoking hot. Now there's an attraction I understand!
When it comes to Cam, you can sense Daniel is jealous, or rather protective of Luce, in other ways, deeper ways. Like he knows about Cams badness. And finally things start to make sense, the romance takes off (a little, in a goody-two-shoes-way) and we find out why Daniel kept Luce away but didn't want Cam near her either. At that point there hadn't been any 'fantasy' aspect to the book, so although I knew what the book was about, I was still surprised when Daniel showed his true self. Like his angelic-ness didn't belong in the book. But I got used to it quickly. One things that kept being annoying though, was that Daniel couldn't tell Luce what the deal was about. No, she has to find out herself.

The semi-epic ending of the book was harsh in ways I did not see coming. Well written, realistic when it comes to feelings, detailed when it comes to he angels' appearances.

All in all a book with an original concept, a promising story with epic battles lurking around the corner, an endangered romance without knowing how to make sure it will last this lifetime. The writing is okay, not too hard, but detailed enough. The characters aren't that well-written and I can't really feel the chemistry beyond the fate-link Luce and Daniel share. A bit of a mediocre book perhaps, with a little extra though. It certainly  kept me engaged enough to read the sequels!

Also, I dare say it's right up there with the 'Twilight' Saga. If you liked those, you'll like these as well. I hope the movie they're planning on doing about this one will go through, because I know these books will translate beautifully onto the silver screen!

Have a nice day! :)