Review | Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Lies Beneath
Anne Greenwood Brown
Lies Beneath #1
Published June 12, 2012 by Delacorte (Random House)
YA paranormal romance
3 stars
Egalley from NetGalley

Bite-Sized Review
For the first few chapters, I thought I would hate this book, but in the end I actually enjoyed it. It was a good light read, and the male narrator was enough of a change from Everything Else to make it a bit more interesting.

King-Sized Review
Lies Beneath is basically the same book as about a dozen others I've read in the past year. Dangerous boy with superpowers, semi-normal girl, issues, etc. The only differences are that Calder is a merman rather than a vampire or nephilim or werewolf or whatever else is out there, which isn't really a lot, and that he's the narrator, which is a slightly more interesting twist but still wouldn't have been enough to make me like the book on its own. However, in the end, it turned out to be a pretty good book.

When the Hancock family moves back to Lake Superior, Calder and his sisters see it as the perfect opportunity to exact their revenge for the death of their mother. Calder is elected most likely to be able to get close to one of the two daughters, but finds himself falling in love with Lily Hancock. As you can see, it's definitely a rather cliched storyline, though on the plus side, no vampires. (I'm tired of vampires.) The story doesn't really provide surprises, but it is pretty well-written and well-paced, and Calder's perspective, while a little angsty, is an unusual take on the story – one that, happily, doesn't involve him falling head-over-heels in love the first time he sees Lily.

I do have a couple of issues with the book. It's a little overly moralizing in places; any moral a story contains should always be implicit, or you risk alienating your audience. Luckily this is only a small problem in a couple of places, and not bad enough to be really annoying. I wasn't terribly impressed with one or two of the plot decisions – once again, I feel I must point out that the plot serves the characters and not the other way around. Anything else is jarring and wrecks the whole suspension of disbelief thing. Again, not a huge issue in this book, but enough of one that I feel compelled to point it out.

Otherwise, if you're looking for a light beach read, Lies Beneath would be a good choice, because who wouldn't want to read about killer mermaids while sitting next to a large body of water. It's a fun book, with a story typical of YA, and if you like that sort of thing you'll certainly enjoy this book. However, if you're bored with the standard YA paranormal romance, Lies Beneath probably isn't for you.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Good

In the same aisle
Die for Me by Amy Plum
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Review | Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Struck
Jennifer Bosworth
Struck #1
Published May 8, 2012 by FSG BYR (Macmillan)
YA apocalyptic
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Struck is a good story about the end of the world, though with mediocre characters. It's still worth a read: well-paced and exciting, with a decent sense of mystery.

King-Sized Reivew
Struck takes place not after the apocalypse but right in the middle of it. Mia, who has been struck by lighting countless times, now lives in LA, a place where it almost never storms. Unfortunately, when it rains in LA, it pours, as the recent massive storm and subsequent devastating earthquake proved. In the wake of the disasters, two groups, the religious cult of the Followers of Rance Ridley Prophet and their opponents, the Seekers (who were basically also a cult, just not religious), want Mia on their side, because the worst is yet to come, and whatever it is, Mia will be in the middle of the lightning.

Struck was a good if fairly standard example of YA paranormal(ish) literature. There's some originality here – people gain their power by being struck by lightning rather than the many other means used in other sources – but for the most part Struck similar to the rest of its kind: fate of the world rests in the hands of one person who has no idea of her destiny, love interest with secrets, powerful, unscrupulous people in need of some serious thwarting, et cetera. The lightning feature was definitely interesting and gave the book a little extra spark. (Not even going to bother pretending – that pun was totally intentional.) But it's a popular story because it works, and Jennifer Bosworth does a good job with it here. The pace of the story is good, without any dragging or confusion.

The characters weren't bad, but I didn't love them. They were just sort of there, without much personality or depth. They didn't really make me feel anything for them, which was a little disappointing. There were aspects that I liked, such as the fact that I only figured out Jeremy's big secret in a flash of intuition about 70 percent in, which is pretty much the ideal way to figure things out in books, but that's not so much a character quality as a storytelling quality. They mostly didn't really seem like real people. My indifference towards the characters was the main reason I didn't love the book, because I enjoyed the storyline and the world quite a bit.

I know some people have said they're uncomfortable with the prominence of religion in this book, but if anything, the book comes across as anti-religious; the Followers are definitely not the good guys, and, at least in my reading, were pretty clearly portrayed as worse than the more mystical, secret-society-esque Seekers. So don't let that stop you from reading the book, if you're worried about it. The story does focus a lot on apocalyptic events, but each group has different opinions of the origin of these calamities.

The apocalyptic climax does make me wonder a little about where the second book is supposed to go from here. It's the same issue I had with season 6 of Supernatural: how do you find something with more tension than the apocalypse? It's pretty tough to find a tougher time than the end of the world. But I'm sure I'll pick it up anyway, because I did enjoy Struck and I'm curious.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Good

In the same aisle
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

Fair Game
Patricia Briggs
Alpha and Omega #3
Published March 6, 2012 by Ace (Penguin)
Paranormal romance
My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Bite-Sized Reivew
Fair Game, though not my favorite of the Mercy Thompson/Alpha and Omega world, is a good addition to the series and contains some pretty great stuff. Any fans of Mercy or A&O had better get their hands on this one before any more books come out, because it contains a game-changer.

King-Sized Review
After an interesting prologue, Fair Game opens with Anna arguing with Bran. It's a great start to the book, because while the Anna of Cry Wolf would have backed down the second the Marrock expressed a hint of disapproval, now she's able to meet his eyes when other wolves are off cowering in the corner of the room. But now it's not Anna who's having problems; it's Charles. Ever since the werewolves went public, Bran has sent Charles out more and more for cleanup duty, and it's getting to him. To give him something different to focus on, Bran sends Anna to Boston to consult on a criminal case involving a serial killer who's moved up to werewolves.

Most of the plot of this book isn't terribly exciting. Although Anna is the type of person everyone loves without even thinking about it, and it actually works, Charles, who is supposed to be terrifyingly dangerous, spends most of the first three-quarters of the book brooding. It's not very scary. I can sort of see why Charles is supposed to be frightening, but only from the way other people react to him, and it doesn't quite feel real. I think that's because from Mercy's perspective, Charles seems more enigmatic than scary, and obviously he doesn't frighten Anna (at least not anymore).

There are occasionally cordially antagonistic interactions between different investigative departments, investigators and werewolves, witches and werewolves, fae and werewolves, Charles and Anna and local werewolves, and so on that are extremely entertaining, but other than that the book starts off rather slowly, with more discussion of things that have already happened than actual current happenings. When the story picks up, it does so quickly. All sorts of things happen, most of them slightly predictable except for one "holy crap!" moment at the end of the book. That one scene, and you will know it when you see it...ahhh, I can't say anything about it without giving something away. But wow I need the next book now.

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Good

PNR or UF?
GARS Score: 0.71 (3/2/4/3)
What's a GARS score?

In the same aisle
Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

Mini-Reviews | The Shadow of the Wind and Come In and Cover Me

Because I am far behind on my reviews and I don't have a ton to say about these two books, I thought I'd just combine them into one post and avoid clogging up my archives. Both were good reads that I thoroughly enjoyed!

The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Published 2005 (2001) by Penguin
Historical fiction/mystery
My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

This one isn't exactly a regular genre for me, but I found it at a used bookstore and it looked interesting. I'm so glad I picked it up. I don't know what it is about books translated from Spanish, but the writing is always beautiful. The Shadow of the Wind is no exception. It takes place in 1950s Spain, under the rule of Franco. On a trip with his father, a bookstore owner, Daniel stumbles upon one of the last remaining books by Julian Carax. Someone has been systematically destroying Carax's works, after Carax himself disappeared. Daniel tries to unravel the mystery of these books while avoiding a vindictive police inspector.

Although Daniel is a teenager for most of the book, it is definitely not YA. This is a gorgeously written story that takes into account all aspects of life. There is danger, mystery, romance, family, and of course books. Everything about the story is handled very well. The mystery is excellent; I had no idea what was going on until I was supposed to figure it out. All in all a great read, and if you have any interest in the book, I definitely recommend it.

Come In and Cover Me

Gin Phillips

Published January 12, 2012 by Riverhead (Penguin)

Paranormal

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars

I wouldn't call this book urban fantasy, despite the main character having some paranormal abilities. Rather than fighting ghouls or vampires, Come In and Cover Me revolves around coming to terms with the past, both ancient and recent. Ren has been chasing evidence of a certain potter who died a thousand years ago. Silas stumbled upon a site that he thinks contains the work of the same woman. Their process of discovery is rather different from most archaeologists' because Ren can see ghosts, including the ghosts of the dig sites she visits. There is the obvious difficulty – no one believes her, but it gives her insight no one else has. 

This one was unusual (for me) because no one ever tried to kill Silas and Ren. I was kind of hoping it would happen, but it was still a good story, more about the characters knowing and accepting themselves and each other than really about finding any of these bowls they're looking for. The romance, while utterly essential to the story, was quite low-key, which I appreciated. I can't entirely explain why I liked this book, but it was very enjoyable, despite the lack of murder, fighting, and other violence. If you're interested in archaeology and history, give it a try.

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Bloodrose
Andrea Cremer
Nightshade #3
Published January 3, 2012 by Philomel (Penguin)
YA paranormal romance

Bite-Sized Review
If you prefer romance to action and don't mind angsty teenagers and love triangles, this might be a good book for you. And if you've read the rest of the series, I assume you'll read this one as well, but just note that it doesn't live up to the promise of the first book.

King-Sized Review
**WARNING: This is the third book in a trilogy. This review contains spoilers for the previous books, and discusses in general terms the events of this book.**


Bloodrose sounds like quite the adventure. After meeting Shay, learning that her life was a lie, teaming up with the Searchers she thought were her enemies, watching most of her pack get hurt, and finally rescuing Ren from the Keepers, Calla was ready for this war to be over. But to accomplish that, they needed to find the Elemental Cross that only the Scion could wield to stop the wraiths. And Calla needed to choose between Shay and Ren.

The Nightshade series always had an interesting premise. Lies are a good start. Follow that up with exciting conflict, genuine characters, a little tragedy, and a dash of romance, and you probably have an excellent series.

It's the dash of romance that's a problem.

You see, as it happens, I enjoy baking along with reading. When your recipe calls for a dash of salt, and your final product ends up two-thirds salt, it is not palatable. Or even edible. The same is true for books. If you're writing a book that's supposed to be about truth and doing the right thing, but it's 90 percent melodramatic love triangle, it will not accomplish anything. I was under the clearly mistaken impression that the love story had been resolved when Calla slept with Shay in Wolfsbane, but sadly we had to revisit it ad nauseum in Bloodrose as well. So much of the book was devoted to the love triangle that the actual story, retrieving the swords of the Elemental Cross and using them to defeat the Keepers, was rushed and incomplete.

Not only did the attention to the romance negatively affect the book's pacing, it was also highly detrimental to Calla's credibility and likability as a character. It was obvious who she was going to choose, so dragging it out the way she did just made her seem cruel and manipulative.

Without actually saying anything specific, the ending was a huge cop-out. For one thing, the story itself went something like this: love triangle angst indecision whining EVENT angst love triangle infighting EVENT anticlimactic decision whining arguing angst banter EVENT THE END. It's not a structure that really promotes closure or satisfaction, particularly with the obviously contrived way everything worked out. It was neither logical nor believable, and while the last few chapters, in spite of their absurdity, actually did make the ending seem less easy, even then the characters never really seemed to struggle. Because of that, the conclusion had a fake quality that detracted from the book almost as much as Melodramatic Love Triangle did.

Despite all that, I did mostly enjoy reading this book. It was easy to get through once I got into the story, and as I said, the world is quite interesting. Most of the relationships were sweet, if a little too abrupt to be genuine (another disappointment to lay at Love Triangle's door). Nightshade was easily the strongest book in the series, with Wolfsbane and Bloodrose trailing far behind.

Quality: Poor
Enjoyability: Acceptable

In the same aisle
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica's Guide to Dating of the Dark Side
Beth Fantaskey
Jessica #1
Published 2011 by Harcourt
YA paranormal romance

Bite-Sized Review
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is corny, clichéd, and occasionally idiotic, but enjoyable. It doesn't look like much at first, but it improves a lot and makes for a nice light read.

King-Sized Review
Dating on the Dark Side follows high school student Jessica Packwood. Jessica does not believe in the supernatural. She believes in science, and things that can be proven. So when the new boy in school introduces himself as her fiancé and informs her that they're both vampires, she scoffs. But eventually she realizes that something doesn't add up about her worldview. And while she may not believe in vampires, the rest of the town isn't so sure.

At first the characters annoyed me so much that I almost put the book down. The plot and the world seemed incredibly cheesy. The book contained every YA PNR stereotype known to man. So when I started to enjoy the book, I almost resented it for drawing me in. But it actually turned into more than I would have expected from the first half.

Early in the book, Lucius was an unbelievably obnoxious snob who thought power was merely privilege. Now many love interests in these kinds of books can be jerks sometimes, but Lucius was a repellent jerk all the time.  I couldn't imagine, from the first half of the book, anyone ever finding him attractive. But then Lucius underwent a rare and mysterious process known as "character development." He became someone who was, if not exactly "good" then at least sympathetic. While some of that process did involve rather over-the-top American "we're so awesome" undertones, it was impressive to see him change from a character I hated to someone I actually respected.

Although I would have appreciated a little more growth from Jessica as well, she did change throughout the book, though less than Lucius did. She was a bit on the boring and desperate side and made some seriously questionable decisions, but by the end of the book she started to grow into her heritage. With luck, in the next book she'll be more interesting.

As someone who appreciates grand worldbuilding, I was underwhelmed by Dating on the Dark Side. The book mainly follows basic vampire legend – except for the sunlight thing, because no one does the sunlight thing anymore. Vampires were the extent of the supernatural, and they lived in rival clans, mainly in Romania. It works for the book, though, so this isn't really a complaint, just an observation. However, some of the cheesiness in the story was a bit on the wrong side of ridiculousness.

Overall, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side was a light, enjoyable read that would be great for a rainy day. Despite its flaws and first impressions, it's actually a pretty decent little book and worth a try for any vampire fan out there.

Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Good

In the same aisle
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Bite Me by Parker Blue

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Goddess Interrupted
Aimée Carter
The Goddess Test #2
Published March 27, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
YA paranormal romance

Bite-Sized Review
Fans of The Goddess Test will certainly enjoy Goddess Interrupted, though it suffers from the same issues as its predecessor as well. A sympathetic narrator compensates to some degree for the willful destruction of classic mythology. Fair warning: the book ends in a humongous cliffhanger.

King-Sized Review
After passing the tests to become Henry's wife and queen of the Underworld, Kate expects her life to be good. Not perfect, but good. All her hopes are dashed, however, when Calliope wakes the Titan Cronus, who threatens to destroy not only the gods but all of humanity.

I enjoyed Goddess Interrupted more than The Goddess Test. While some of the same issues still persisted, there was a lot more action and the story as a whole was more interesting than the first book's. I liked that Henry and Kate's relationship wasn't perfect, although the amount of not-talking that went on between them was a little absurd. However, it wouldn't have been believable for them to live happily ever after even without this new disaster, and that was fairly well done.

I'm rather surprised at how much I sympathize with Kate. She's pretty self-absorbed and doesn't actually do very much, but somehow manages not to be as irritating as many other YA heroines. Still, it would have been nicer if she had actually done something instead of sitting around bemoaning her impotence while everyone she loved risked their lives to fight Cronus. She could have at least sat in on the planning sessions. Maybe she would have had some insight born of growing up in the twenty-first century. But even through all that, I liked her and found myself rooting for her.

If I could change one thing about this book, it would be to separate the story more from actual Greek mythology. The characters really don't resemble the figures they're supposed to be in any way except for their powers. They're far too noble and too human for me to associate them with Greek myths, where both gods and people are callous, wanton, and not even slightly concerned with morality. There's too much discussion of who's slept with whom, which, if you know anything about Greek myths, is basically everyone and everyone.

Plus it's almost impossible for me to remember who's who: Diana isn't Artemis but rather Demeter. Calliope isn't the muse of epic poetry but instead Hera. Zeus adopted the Terribly Imposing Name of Walter. And even after two books I still don't know who most of the rest are supposed to be.

Goddess Interrupted was a pretty enjoyable read that I recommend to fans of YA who haven't heard a lot of stories from Greek mythology or can ignore that fact that they will be demolished in the course of this story. Actually, because of the confusion I had with the names, it was pretty easy to just pretend it was a completely unrelated story, and there were only a few moments where I had to stop for a minute and think to myself, "Wait. Since when is Aphrodite (Ava) happy to be married to Hephaestus (whose name in the book I've already forgotten)?" If you enjoyed The Goddess Test, I'm sure you'll like this one, despite the giant cliffhanger at the end.

Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Good

In the same aisle
Abandon by Meg Cabot
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
Published 2011 by Little, Brown, and Company (Hachette)
YA paranormal romance

Bite-Sized Review
I adored the first half of the book and found the second half mediocre in comparison, which makes this a rather difficult review to write. Fans of YA paranormal romance will certainly enjoy this book, however.

King-Sized Review
The first half of this book is mysterious and beautiful. Where other writers walk among words, Laini Taylor dances with them, bringing into being a transient and fragile world. Karou, a blue-haired artist with impossible friends, is a spectacular character with sympathetic flaws, and her "family" behind the door is fascinating in its mystery.

And then after crossing some invisible line, Daughter of Smoke and Bone transforms from something dark and lovely to a standard YA paranormal romance, insta-love, reincarnation, and all. The haunting beauty is still there, but it's only a flimsy façade for the house identical to every one before it and all that will come after.

That's not entirely fair. If the entire book had been like the second half, I would have written it off as just another paranormal romance and reviewed it as such, with a nod, perhaps, to the unusual quality of language and the imagination of the world. But by writing the first half of this book, Laini Taylor demonstrated that she's capable of amazing things and proceeded to disappoint me in their realization.

Explanation makes a major difference between the two halves of this book. Not that I think we should never have found out who Brimstone and the others are, because obviously that wouldn't work. But the way the finding comes about is almost dropped in Karou's lap, as much as anything is, and it doesn't seem right. It's almost as though the first and second halves are two different books. One of them is like Alice in Wonderland and the other is like Twilight. It would be impossible not to think of them differently.

So, while I do think you should read this book, I wish the whole thing had been more like the first half. Daughter of Smoke and Bone makes a reasonably good paranormal romance, but it would have been a great Something Else.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Good

DNF: Evernight by Claudia Gray

A couple of weeks ago, I started reading Evernight by Claudia Gray, and at a certain point, I just couldn't finish it. That's how annoyed I was with this book. I'm not saying I never stop reading in the middle of a book, because it happens, but it's very rare, especially when I've already gotten through half of it. Unfortunately, even though I have no problem reading other people's DNF reviews, when I think about writing one, it makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, like that sticky residue feeling on your hand when you lean on that stain on the counter from where you spilled the lemonade three weeks ago and didn't really clean it properly. Okay, now I feel like I need to clean my kitchen.

Anyway, luckily for me, my friend Alison over at Winged Reviews read Evernight as well and had almost exactly the same reaction, and she actually did finish the book, so I feel no guilt whatsoever about sending you over to her review to give you an idea of what we both thought of the book. Plus now we can feel justified because our opinion is supported. Hooray self-congratulations!

Have you read Evernight? What did you think?

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Abandon
Meg Cabot
Abandon #1
Published 2011 by Point

Bite-Sized Review
Despite a few storytelling flaws, Abandon was a highly enjoyable book with a rather rambling narrator.

King-Sized Review
Pierce was a normal high school girl: a little distracted, maybe not the best student, but normal. Then she died.

Now she's moved to her mom's hometown, trying to start a new life, trying to fit in. The only problem is him. He keeps showing up, sometimes to save her, sometimes to annoy her. Pierce just wants him to leave her alone until she realizes there's someone out there who never wanted her to come back, and most definitely wants to send her back to the Underworld.

Abandon is loosely based on the myth of Persephone, which, for whatever reason, is currently a popular one to retell. However, it's not much like The Goddess Test, the other Persephone-based book I've read, and personally, I prefer Abandon: it has more action, a more appealing romance, and a less morose MC.

While there is plenty of action in Abandon, most of the story is the product of Pierce's internal monologuing. Fortunately her thoughts were much less irritating than some other YA characters I could name, though she did have something of an angst issue and a tendency to blame her problems on her death and revival and/or other people, which was a little wearying after a while. But otherwise, her perspective on her new home was often funny, and the slow revelation of her history was suspenseful without being overdone.

The romance between John and Pierce wasn't spectacular, but it could have been worse. There was a bit of an element of insta-love, but they spent enough time angry at each other that it all managed to balance out in the end mostly. John could have used a little more of a story, particularly one in his own words; the hearsay about his past was interesting, but it's clear there's more to the tale. (And if there's not, there should be.) But hallelujah! No love triangle!

Abandon is, unfortunately, by no means a self-contained story. The ending would have done better for a chapter than a book, and it was frustrating to have so many things unresolved on all levels of the plot. However, I enjoyed Abandon, and will be looking forward to the next book.

Quality: Acceptable

Enjoyability: Good

Abandon is similar to:

The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Vanish
Sophie Jordan
Firelight #2
Published 2011 by Harper Teen

Bite-sized Review
Vanish had just the right combination of readable writing style, zero plot, and hate-able characters to be incredible entertaining to rant about. If you're going to read it, make a friend read it with you so you can vent your frustration together.

King-sized Review
In order to write this review, I had to translate my definitely-not-appropriate-for-a-review comments from reading Vanish with some friends into coherent and (semi-)professional statements. And it was not easy. Much as I wanted to like this book, because the draki are quite an interesting and original concept and Sophie Jordan's writing style makes for a quick and easy read, my utter contempt for every one of the characters ruined any chance this book had for success.

Jacinda, our incredibly selfish main character, drove me insane. She was whiny, wishy-washy, useless, needy, and every other unfortunate trait of YA heroines without any of the good qualities that might make up for it. She spent the entire book (and the last one too) wanting to be somewhere she wasn't or have something she didn't, and as soon as she got what she wanted, she started complaining again about how she wanted to be back where she was before! Somehow she just sort of stumbled into decisions and then convinced herself that they were the right choices. Then, later, she tripped into the opposite decisions and rationalized those choices. And on top of that, she treated both of the boys who loved her like crap on the bottom of her shoe. She had no sympathy or compassion or anything for Cassian no matter what he did, except, oh, when she randomly decided to make out with him.

Poor Cassian. Not that I actually liked him, but it just doesn't seem necessary for him to be so hurt by the obligatory YA paranormal love triangle. I don't like love triangles, and I especially don't like them when the heroine seems determined to be as cruel as possible to everyone involved and then act like it's not her fault. Will, Jacinda's actual True Love For Ever And Ever, was barely present in this book (which, as I alluded to earlier, meant that Jacinda moaned approximately every other page about how she wished Will were there, only she couldn't have him, only she just had to be with him, only...etc.).

Unfortunately, Jacinda wasn't the only awful character. Her mom, who was not exactly a favorite in Firelight, suddenly experienced a complete transformation into a distracted alcoholic, which was neither necessary nor helpful in any way. Tamra, who actually had the potential to be interesting, was noticeable mainly in her absence.

On top of all that, there was very little actual plot in this novel, as it served almost entirely as a bridge to cross from book 1 to book 3, which only meant more emphasis on Jacinda's whining and vacillation. The lack of real story meant that every little problem Jacinda ran into was blown way out of proportion and the blame unconvincingly laid at anyone else's feet. The plot of this book could have been mercifully fit into a much shorter story, but instead we got stuck with Vanish.

So after all that, you probably think I hated this book. Well, okay, I kind of did, but it's a fun hate. Have you ever watched a really awful movie just to make fun of how ridiculous it is? Reading Vanish was a little bit like that. I don't regret reading this book at all because I had so much fun ranting about it on GR with my friends, several of whom shared my opinion. If you read this book, I definitely recommend an outlet for the occasional frustrated rant. If you don't have an outlet, I don't think I'd recommend it, though. There's just too much irritation here to be contained by one person.

Rating: Love to hate it. Yes, I made it up just for this book.

Vanish is similar to:
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Darkness and Light by JA Belfield

Darkness & Light
JA Belfield
A Holloway Pack Story #1

Bite-sized Review
Darkness & Light is an enthralling read. Despite its relationship and character issues, I really enjoyed it, and I'll definitely read more in this series.

King-sized Review
*Contains extremely minor spoilers*

Married to a controlling, neurotic man, Jem is very aware of her place in life. Her days are routine, but her nights are filled with dreams of werewolves. Disturbed by the insistent calling of "Sean!" in her head, she's still surprised to meet the man from her dreams and visions in real life. He introduces her to a world she never imagined really existed. But dangers await her there as well.

Darkness & Light was a very absorbing read, perfect for my travel day. I lost track of the plane and was focused entirely on the story. It's just one of those books that you can't put down, and I'm very glad I read it.

However, whenever I did have to put the book down, I had a few issues with it. Jem and Sean's relationship didn't seem all that much healthier than Jem and Peter's, although it was definitely warmer and safer. For a lot of the book, I had the feeling Jem became the pack's housewife, though circumstances did improve toward the end. But something about Jem and Sean's relationship bothered me for a long time. I guess one of the reasons I dislike insta-love is that it severely decreases the chances of both partners being equals, and watching everyone hover around Jem trying to compensate for her vulnerability wasn't much fun. Happily, as I said, things did improve some by the end of the book.


I did like seeing Jem become more confident and willing to express herself during the course of the story. I was especially pleased that she was willing to fight with Sean, even though I kind of thought that making up five seconds later wasn't entirely believable.

For some reason I have difficulty accepting reincarnation (even in books about werewolves. Go figure.) So while it was an acceptable explanation for Sean and Jem's connection, I didn't really like it. Plus I'd much rather see an actual relationship develop, and regaining memories of a past life isn't really the same thing.

Even so, I did enjoy this book a lot and definitely recommend you give it a try.


Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Excellent

GARS Score: 0.67 (4/2/5/4)
What's a GARS Score?

Darkness & Light is similar to:
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
Stray by Rachel Vincent

Masquerade by Cambria Hebert

Masquerade
Cambria Hebert
Heaven and Hell #1

After Heven was involved in an attack she doesn't remember, her scars only make her want to hide. But when the mysterious Sam appears at her school, she begins to come out of her shell and reclaim the life she once had – or she would if the people who attacked her would stop threatening her. Only with Sam's help can she remember who attacked her and why...but Sam has a past of his own...

Having heard some amazing reviews, I was quite excited to get this book through PNR/UF Fanatics' R2R program. I didn't know much about it before I began, having only read the synopsis and skimmed reviews. (I don't like accidentally reading spoilers.)

I'm sorry to say I was a little disappointed. Other than a few moments of excitement, a lot of the story was rather slow. The first half in particular was mainly Heven talking about how miserable her life is (which complaint, to be fair, was not without some truth to it), Sam mooning over Heven, and the random appearances of unknown characters, which were explained only much later. Building suspense is a little bit like building a tower of cards. If you do it right, it's really cool, but it's not easy and trying to draw it out for too long just makes it topple.

I was quite frustrated by the characters. They epitomized the qualities of YA leads that really bother me: from Heven, insecurity, clinginess, angst, superficiality; from Sam, overprotectiveness and possessiveness. Some of these attributes can be reasonable in small quantities, but when they make up a majority of a character's thoughts and behavior, it's gone too far. Sam's jealous reaction to Cole particularly bothered me, as did Heven's constant need to whine about something. I don't want to trivialize her injury, because of course it was terrible, but at the same time I would much rather read about how determined she is to deal with it or at least see some kind of change in her, but she seems quite willing to go straight back to her old life.

I'm not a fan of love at first sight in general because it tends to breed this kind of character development and because it often excludes other characters from the story when the main couple are so wrapped up in each other. In 99 percent of cases, the love-at-first-sight trope just seems fake because there's nothing between the characters to back it up.

On a more positive note, this was a very quick read and did capture my attention. I finished it in about a day, even though it was rather long (a little too long for this sort of story if you ask me, but that's not really the point). Masquerade's world is creative, containing a lot of religious elements without being preachy. I do wish there had been more explanation for some of the supernatural/divine aspects other than Sam's nature, because anyone, however benevolent, who claims to be following some sort of Divine Plan makes me nervous, but as that element was introduced later in the story I imagine there will be more in future books.

Even though I personally didn't like it, I think other people who like the things I mentioned in the review might enjoy it. It wasn't horribly written or anything, it just wasn't my kind of book. If you love all examples of YA PNR, this might be the book for you.

Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Poor

Read Masquerade if you liked:
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Michelle Hodkin
Mara Dyer #1

From Goodreads: Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. 
It can. 
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down and stayed up until 2 a.m. reading it. This was one of those books that just swept me away and left me completely oblivious to the passage of time and anything going on around me.

I have a thing for books that don't tell you everything right away, where you have to wait to figure out what's really going on. I love suspense and mystery and trying to figure things out before the characters do, and those are all huge parts of the The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Which is why this review is going to be a lot of talking around the book rather than much about the book.

Much of the appeal of this book lies in the fact that no one knows what's happening to Mara, least of all Mara herself. Hodkin does an excellent job making this aspect of the book suspenseful rather than frustrating or confusing. The timing of the revelations is very good throughout the book, which I really appreciated.

While I obviously enjoyed this book very much, I did have a few issues with it, particularly regarding the characters. With the exception of Mara herself (and maybe even including her) the characters were very flat. Noah (whom I admit I kind of loved, but still) was this ultra-epic fantasy boy; Daniel, Mara's brother, was way too consistently nice for a believable sibling; her mom was the stereotypical hovering, overly concerned parent, and so on. Despite the great twists in the plot itself, none of that was really there in the characters. But even so, I loved this story and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the sequel to come out.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Outstanding

If you liked The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, try:
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

Second Grave on the Left
Darynda Jones
Charley Davidson #2

The indomitable Charley Davidson returns in Second Grave on the Left, where she is faced with a missing persons case that has her stumped. And as if that's not enough, she has to find where her boyfriend's stashed his body before he can get it killed. 

Second Grave on the Left is 84 percent fluff. And granted, it's fairly fun fluff, but if you're looking for something with depth and substance, look elsewhere. This book takes a similar tone to its predecessor, First Grave on the Right - light and funny, sometimes a little overly so.

I find it somewhat difficult to believe that Charley takes so little seriously, particularly considering her improbable depth of knowledge and experience. She seems to just sort of flit from scene to scene with no real plan or thought, while her "assistant" Cookie does all the real work. She rarely listens to anyone else's advice or opinion, however logical it may be. Not that she's not funny, because she is, but it would be more believable and more relatable if she at least occasionally didn't think the most reasonable response to any given situation was a joke.

I'm not actually sure there are any other characters in this book. There basically just seems to be Charley, and Other People Who Exist To Facilitate The Plot/Jokes. Everyone else is an afterthought to the brilliance that is Charley Davidson. She has her Sidekick, her (Wise) Old Mentor, her Love Interest, various villains, etc. and they're little more than the archetypes they represent.

However, at about the two-thirds point in the book, I forgot my other concerns and was able to really enjoy it. The story picked up and the suspense overcame an endless litany of mediocre wisecracks. The quality of the last third was enough to distract me from the various irritations of this book. Despite the problems I had with Second Grave on the Left, I'm sure I'll read the third book when it comes out.

So I leave this one up to you, avid readers. Don't take this review to mean I didn't like the book - I did, with the previously mentioned reservations that made up a smaller portion of the book than the review. Presumably you know what you like, and you can decide whether you would enjoy a fun book with the flaws I've described. But you'll probably want to start with the first book.

Plot: 3 cupcakes
Characters: 2 cupcakes
Style: 3 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes

GARS Score: 0.83 (2/3/4/2)
What's a GARS Score?

If you liked Second Grave on the Left, try:
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance?

Or "Other than flipping a coin, how do I tell what genre my book is?"

I've heard this question a lot in various incarnations. (Is such-and-such urban fantasy or paranormal romance? What's the difference between them?) It seems to me that it's not really an either/or question; there's a spectrum between UF and PNR. But there is a difference between the two. And it matters.

It's easier to start by defining PNR. Paranormal romance books are those where the romance is the focus of the story. This would be your standard boy meets girl, (fill-in-the-blank issue) interferes with their being together, (same issue) is resolved, boy and girl live happily ever after romantic novel, but since it's paranormal, boy and/or girl are vampires or werewolves or demons or witches or something.

In urban fantasy, there may (read: probably will) be a romance, but it grows over the course of several books, and the more central plot is whatever else is going on. Maybe the characters have to save the world or find a magical artifact or kill someone. There's a lot more action (no, not that kind of action) in UF than PNR, and that, rather than a ride off into the sunset, is the point of the story.

So there are your definitions, but how do you tell before you even start reading a book what subgenre it is? It's actually pretty easy, and will take you five minutes or less and spare you from accidental romance purchases (just kidding PNR fans!)

1. Look at the cover

You know that saying "don't judge a book by it's cover"? Yeah, that one's a lie, at least if you take it literally. Most of the time you can get a pretty good idea what genre the book is just from the picture on the front. If your book looks like this:

it's probably urban fantasy. If it looks like this:

it's probably paranormal romance. So to recap: cover with boy and girl = PNR, cover with girl (especially with a weapon) = UF. Got it? Good. Moving on.

2. Check the point of view

Found an ambiguous cover? That's okay, that was only step one. Now open up the book and read the first couple sentences. If the story is in third person (he or she), it's more likely to be PNR, especially if it switches between male and female protagonists. If the narrator speaks in first person (I), it's likely UF.

Two caveats: 1, this rule doesn't apply to YA, which is harder to split between PNR and UF, and 2, there are definitely exceptions.

3. Glance through the rest of the series

If the other books in the series are available for your perusal, just glance at the blurbs for the next few books. Is the protagonist the same? Great, it's more likely to be UF, since most UF series don't bring their main characters together in the first installment. Different main characters in each one? That's probably PNR, and each one is a new love story. (I can think of at least two exceptions off the top of my head, but in general, it works.)

4. GARS Score

For this post, I tried to arrange all the books I've read that fall into these categories in order from UF to PNR, and immediately ran into difficulties. What if a book has a lot of action and a lot of romance? What if it has very little romance but lots of *ahem* action (yes, this time it's that kind of action)? To make the task easier and because there were lots of other things I didn't want to do, I created a quantitative way to determine where books fall on the scale. I call it the GARS scale.

GARS stands for Grittiness, Action, Romance, Sex. I gave each series a score from one to five, then took the ratio of G and A to R and S. The lower the score, the more the book is weighted towards romance. Higher scores have less love than war. Here's a list of everything I've read on this spectrum and their GARS scores, but first, a few notes:

a) The categories: Grittiness refers to the graphic depiction of violence in the story. Action, of course, involves fighting, pursuit, explosions, etc. Romance is mostly of the Happily Ever After variety, though shorter relationships did get a couple points. Sex should be fairly obvious; the higher the score, the more detailed the description.

b) These scores are completely unrelated to how I felt about the book, or at least I tried to keep them objective. If a book got a one in every category, that wouldn't mean it was bad, nor would fives across the board necessarily indicate a great book.

c) Scores can change. Most of these series haven't yet been completed, and I haven't read all the currently extant books in every one of them. The scores I've given the books reflect what I've read so far, and I tried to avoid giving scores to series without having read at least the first two books (unless there's only one book out).

d) Scores are relative. I started out each category by assigning a one to the book I though had the least of it and a five to the book that had the most. That means that a one in action, for example, actually had a reasonable amount of action, it was just less than everything else. (A one in sex pretty much means no sex scenes, though.)

So, now that this has become the longest post in the history of the world *cue drumroll*, I present you with my (quasi-)official GARS scores.

Aisling Grey, Guardian by Katie MacAlister: 0.57 (2/2/3/4)
Alex Craft by Kalayna Price: 1 (3/3/3/3)
Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs: 0.57 (2/2/4/3)
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (through book 8 or so) by Laurell K. Hamilton: 1.29 (5/4/3/4)
Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward: 0.4 (2/2/5/5)
Cassie Palmer by Karen Chance: 1.14 (3/5/3/4)
Charley Davidson by Darynda Jones: 0.88 (3/3/4/4)
Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill: 0.67 (1/3/3/3)
Dark Swan by Richelle Mead: 1 (4/3/3/4)
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher: 2.25 (4/5/2/2)
Dorina Basarab by Karen Chance: 1.17 (3/4/3/3)
The Edge by Ilona Andrews: 0.78 (3/4/5/4)
Elemental Assassin by Jennifer Estep: 1 (3/3/3/3)
Elemental Masters by Mercedes Lackey: 0.5 (1/2/5/1)
Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff: 0.5 (1/2/4/2)
Fever by Karen Marie Moning: 1.33 (3/5/3/3)
Georgina Kincaid by Richelle Mead: 0.56 (2/3/4/5)
Guild Hunter by Nalini Singh: 1 (4/4/4/4)
Haven by Kalayna Price: 1 (3/2/3/2)
Highlander by Karen Marie Moning: 0.3 (2/1/5/5)
The Hollows by Kim Harrison: 1.33 (3/5/3/3)
Insatiable by Meg Cabot: 0.57 (1/3/4/3)
Iron Druid by Kevin Hearne: 1.67 (2/3/1/2)
Jazz Tremaine by Linda Wisdom: 0.57 (3/1/4/3)
Kara Gillian by Diana Rowland: 1.17 (4/3/2/4)
Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews: 1.14 (3/5/4/3)
Kitty Norville by Carrie Vaughn: 1 (3/2/3/2)
Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs: 1.2 (3/3/3/2)
Night Huntress by Jeaniene Frost: 0.88 (3/4/4/4)
Night Huntress World by Jeaniene Frost: 0.4 (2/2/5/5)
Psy-Changeling by Nalini Singh: 0.6 (4/2/5/5)
Riley Jenson, Guardian by Keri Arthur: 1 (4/4/3/5)
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey: 5 (5/5/1/1)
Shadow World by Dianne Sylvan: 0.75 (4/2/4/4)
Sunshine by Robin McKinley: 1.6 (4/3/3/2)
Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong: 0.75 (3/3/4/4)

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right
Darynda Jones
Charley Davidson, Book 1

Charley Davidson sees dead people.  She's been helping her dad and later her uncle solve murders since she was a kid, and now that she has her P.I. license, her help is a lot easier to explain.  But even for Charley, three dead lawyers in one far-too-early morning is a little much.

I was hesitant to pick up this book at first, because it looked kind of ditzy, but I'm glad I did.  I still think it's a little ditzy, but it was also funny, sexy, and highly entertaining.  I don't know what it is about necromancers that makes them almost universally snarky, but it seems to be a trend, and I like it.  Charley is about as comedic as they come, and although her humor comes off a little forced at times, on the whole it was fun to read.

I didn't quite understand why Charley was so attracted to Reyes, but after I moved past that little qualm, the romance in the story wasn't bad.  After a startling revelation at the end of the book, I'm excited to see what happens next.

I did kind of get a cookie-cutter feel from some of the characters.  Reyes was the only one I found really interesting.  Charley seems to have suffered a ridiculous number of near-death experiences unrelated to her work (okay, not that many, but still), but they don't seem to have affected her all that much.  I'd like to see a little more character growth in future books, which I think seems likely based on the ending of this one.

The murder-mystery aspect of the plot had enough depth to keep me interested, and other elements backed it up nicely when necessary.  The story had enough going on that I was never bored, and there was plenty of action and romance to keep anyone happy.

Characters: 2 cupcakes
Plot: 3 cupcakes
Style: 4 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes

You Slay Me

You Slay Me
Katie MacAlister
Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 1


For Aisling Grey's first assignment as an antiquities courier, her uncle sends her to Paris.  After she successfully navigates customs, the stalwart Rene the Taxi Driver brings her to the residence of Mme. Deauxville--where everything goes wrong.  Aisling finds Mme. Deauxville dead in what appears to be a circle for summoning demons, though everyone knows demons aren't real.  Then the mysterious Drake Vireo tells her she's supposed to be some sort of mystical Guardian.  On top of that, the Paris police suspect Aisling of committing the murder.  To clear her name, Aisling must navigate the dangerous supernatural underworld of Paris and claim her heritage as a Guardian.


You Slay Me was an enjoyable read.  It wasn't terribly original, but it was entertaining all the same.  I enjoyed Aisling's witticisms, particularly in the interactions with Jim the demon Newfie.  Aisling's romance with Drake was steamy, if a little hard to believe. Aisling's frequent vacillation over how to treat him didn't do much for the plot.  


The supernatural murder mystery novel is common because it works, and MacAlister manages it successful.  The real killer is a mystery till the end, though Aisling is a little slow to pick up some clues.  MacAlister sets the stage for an interesting series with You Slay Me, and I'll certainly read the next book.


Characters: 4 cupcakes
Plot: 3 cupcakes
Style: 4 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes

A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches
Deborah Harkness
All Souls Trilogy #1


Diana Bishop has used magic four times in the past year, and one of those shouldn't count because she didn't have another choice. Ever since her parents died when she was seven, Diana has tried, despite being from a witch family, to be as normal as possible. She became a professor of history, and (except for a few desparate occasions) cut magic out of her life. Until she comes across an alchemy text that's a little more than your average book. Suddenly she's surrounded by witches, vampires, and daemons, all of whom want to get their hands on it. One vampire in particular gets Diana's attention - the stunning Matthew Clairmont, whose protection may be the only thing that allows Diana to survive the sometimes sinister presence of other creatures, who may want more than the book after all.


I'm not really sure why this book is so popular. It's not bad, it's just that I've read a lot of books in the same genre that are much better. Of the three groups of "creatures" (vampires, witches, and daemons) the most unique are the daemons, whose great intelligence and creativity border on insanity. However, the daemons are the least featured in the novel, and most of the rest of the setting is nothing new. The combination of magic, history, and science was interesting to read, particularly the genetic aspect of creature origins and the story of the Knights of Lazarus. I found the references to the Salem witch trials a little iffier, but hey, artistic license.


What bothered me the most about this book was the plot itself. About a quarter of the way through, it became clear that A Discovery of Witches is primarily a romance novel, to the detriment of the rest of the plot. At first the other creatures are after the book, then it's Matthew and Diana's relationship that's a problem, then their enemies want Diana's powers. There's no one danger that binds the story, making the plot seem a little disjointed.


Even the romance struck me as off, somehow. Maybe it's because they got together so quickly (and yet not?), maybe because Diana's protests over Matthew's protectiveness never seem to amount to anything, but their relationship did not have that crucial rightness that happens in the best love stories. I just didn't get that feeling. (Sorry, that's the best I can do for tangible description.)


I did enjoy this book, and I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out. (Oh yeah, there's a sequel. Not a big deal, but it would have been nice to know.) I did like the characters, and the plot, while unfocused, was enough to keep me engaged. However, I don't think it deserves the glowing reputation it has. If you want a great urban fantasy, I'll be happy to recommend some, but this just isn't one of them.


Characters: 3 cupcakes
Plot: 2 cupcakes
Style: 4 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes