Category: Read in 2012

Early Review – Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Posted December 4, 2012 by Bonnie in Adult, Book Reviews, Early Review, Read in 2012 / 3 Comments

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Early Review – Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You on December 31st 2012
Pages: 369
Format: eARC
Amazon
Goodreads

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

My heart was not prepared for those kind of feels… *sigh*

‘The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life – or at least shoved up so hard against someone else’s life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window – is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.’

Louisa’s life is lackluster and she’s completely content with ‘playing it safe’ at life. Not that she’s ever allowed herself to contemplate how different things could possibly be. She goes to her job at the tea shop, she goes home to her windowless room at her parents house, and she occasionally spends time with her boyfriend Patrick who is far more concerned with his exercise regiment than he is with her. But when she loses her job at the tea shop she accepts a temporary 6 month position as a caregiver to a quadriplegic, Will Traynor.

Louisa and Will are complete opposites and the first few weeks of them knowing each other the quite truly hated each other. Will was oftentimes irrationally difficult and Louisa was ready to quit, but she stuck it out and slowly they developed an extremely touching friendship.

All I can say is that you make me…you make me into someone I couldn’t even imagine. You make me happy, even when you’re awful.I would rather be with you- even the you that you seem to think is diminished- than with anyone else in the world.’

Their blossoming romance was one of the most convincing I’ve read in a long time and was truly uplifting. They changed each other in massive ways in such a short period of time. Louisa gave Will happiness that he hadn’t experienced for a very long time and Will gave Louisa the determination to do something with her life and not let it go to waste.

Calling this book chick-lit isn’t doing this book any sort of justice; the subject matter is simply far too thought-provoking for that kind of label. The real meat of the story focuses on Will’s decision to end his life by assisted suicide, which is the reason behind Louisa’s ‘temporary’ position as he promised his parents he would give them another 6 months but no more. Convinced that he just needs something to live for, his parents hire Louisa who is bright, fun and talkative in hopes that she can convince him that he still has something to live for.

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

It was certainly a tough subject matter to read but was so well written and managed to actually make me laugh out loud at several parts. I loved Louisa and Will’s wittiness and constant banter, it was the perfect addition to this poignant story. It was hard not to picture what it would be like if you were put into a situation such as Louisa and Will’s. What you would do, if you would actually do anything different. All I know is that they both had an incredibly difficult decision to make and either way was bound to lead to heartache.

This was an incredible story that was so painful (in that crazy heart hurting kind of way) to read but I simply could not put it down. Me Before You is a heartbreaking story about finding what makes life worth living and making the decision whether it’s truly enough. Definitely a new favorite and one that my heart won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Tags: Drama

Book Tour Review – Married Love: And Other Stories by Tessa Hadley

Posted November 27, 2012 by Bonnie in Adult, Book Reviews, Book Tour, Read in 2012, Short Stories, TLC Book Tours / 0 Comments

I received this book free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Tour Review – Married Love: And Other Stories by Tessa Hadley

Married Love and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley
Published by Harper Perennial on November 20th 2012
Pages: 240
Genres: Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Romance
Format: ARC
Source: TLC Book Tours
Amazon
Goodreads

A girl haunts the edges of her parents' party; a film director drops dead, leaving his film unfinished and releasing his wife to a new life; an eighteen-year-old insists on marrying her music professor, then finds herself shut out from his secrets; three friends who were intimate as teenagers meet up again after the death of the women who brought them together. Ranging widely across generations and classes, and evoking a world that expands beyond the pages, these are the stories of Tessa Hadley's astonishing new collection.

On full display are the qualities for which Tessa Hadley has long been praised: her unflinching examination of family relationships; her humor, warmth and psychological acuity; her powerful, precise and emotionally dense prose. In this collection there are domestic dramas, generational sagas, wrenching love affairs and epiphanies-captured and distilled to remarkable effect. Married Love is a collection to treasure, a masterful new work from one of today's most accomplished storytellers.

‘He knew how passionately she succumbed to the roles she dreamed up for herself. She won’t be able to get out of this one, he thought. She can’t stop now.’

Married Love: And Other Stories is a collection of short fictional contemporary stories. Married Love is not all about domestic bliss. It’s about the every day struggles that the characters encounter. Each story is a showcasing of a brief moment that manages to convey an entire life without leaving one feeling incomplete by the shortness of it.

‘For a moment, however, she could imagine the sensation of chewing politely and sufferingly on a mouthful of broken crystal, tasting salty blood.’

Reviewing a collection of short stories is always difficult. Do you review each one individually? Do you rate them as a whole? All in all, the characters within her stories are strongly written and despite the fact that I certainly preferred a few more than others they all managed to shine in their own way. Her writing was stately and succinct and quite enjoyable. My interest has definitely been piqued and I would love to read more from this author.

‘I couldn’t help being swept along by the idea of someone changing who she was: I knew I wasn’t capable of this; I was just helplessly forever me.’

This post was a part of the Married Love blog tour.

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Review + Giveaway! Crewel (Crewel World #1) by Gennifer Albin

Posted November 14, 2012 by Bonnie in Book Reviews, Giveaways, Read in 2012, YA / 0 Comments

I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Series: Crewel World #1
Published by Farrar Straus and Giroux (BYR) on October 16th 2012
Pages: 368
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Sci-fi
Format: ARC
Source: the Publisher
Amazon
Goodreads

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

‘No one knows why some girls have the gift. There are theories, of course. That it’s passed down genetically. Or that girls with an open mind can see the weave of life around them at all times. Even that it’s a gift only given to the pure-hearted. But I know better. It’s a curse.’

In this world, everything is comprised of threads which can be altered, manipulated, or completely removed. Behavior modification can be done for unruly children or if they’re deemed a lost cause can be removed completely. If that is done then everything is reworked in order to change the complete structure of everyone’s thoughts and memories so that the child that was removed is not even remembered, even by his own parents. Even the most base things that would normally be natural: food cultivation, upcoming thunderstorms, these are all managed by the Spinsters. Only managed though.

‘Crewel work is an act of pure creation. Crewelers do more than weave the fabric of Arras. They can capture the materials to create the weave. Only they can see the weave of the raw materials. (…) The Spinsters wouldn’t have any matter to weave if it weren’t for her special gift.’

Because this world wouldn’t exist without the Creweler.

‘Day by day, I am remade, into someone else. I’m sixteen now, and I will be almost flawless forever. That thought helps me fall asleep at night, secure in my place here, but it also wakes me up trembling with nightmares.’

Their beauty routines and the description of how these women look reminded me of geisha’s. The only difference with the women in Arras is the access to renewal patches which allow them to heal wounds rapidly but also help to preserve their youth. These patches worked so well that you’re virtually unable to tell people’s true age anymore. A very sci-fi and freaky touch.

Sure, there is a slight love-triangle in the book but I’m starting to realize that my main issue with them is that there is always the guy the protagonist should obviously be going for and one that she very clearly should not be (and he’s usually a total prick). That wasn’t the case with Crewel and it was a very plausible situation in which the love triangle derived from. I actually liked both guys, one more so than the other (Jost), but they were both still well likable and weren’t total pricks. That calls for celebration I think.

I loved the twist that was thrown in at the end. Everything slowly begins to unravel (haha… pun intended) and Adelice finally realizes the enormity of the situation that she’s been forced into. The twist succeeded in not only making the entire situation crazy and eye-popping but really added a layer of realism to this ‘perfect world’.

While I had trouble grasping the concept (at first) I was still incredibly fascinated by the idea and everything ended up being explained sufficiently in my opinion. The attention to detail into every facet of this world was incredibly intricate and entirely original. I loved it. Crewel is a sci-fi world where everything can be altered with a 1984 type society where people are controlled to the nth degree. Highly recommended for dystopian fans.

My personal (signed!) ARC of Crewel is up for grabs!

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Contest ends December 5th, 2012

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Book Review – A Certain Slant of Light (Light #1) by Laura Whitcomb

Posted November 13, 2012 by Bonnie in Book Reviews, Read in 2012, YA / 1 Comment

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Series: Light #1
Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children on September 21st 2005
Pages: 282
Genres: Ghosties, Paranormal, Romance
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Amazon
Goodreads

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen--terrified, but intrigued--is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

‘That I am your heart’s secret fills me with song. I wish I could sing of you here in my cage. You are my heart’s hidden poem. I reread you, memorize you every moment we’re apart.’

This was a real shocker for me that I enjoyed it as much as I did. For one, this has been on and off my TBR shelf several times as I would occasionally decide that this is simply not for me and I have no plans to read it. But go figure a few months later it pops up on my Goodreads timeline, I take another glance and decide it may be worth a shot. Thanks, Wendy, for giving me that final push. 🙂

I was actually quite touched by Helen and James’ relationship/connection (at least I was once I overlooked their questionable acts). Helen had been Light (a spirit) for well over a century and not once spoke to anyone that entire time and had never quite realized how desperately she craved the company of another. Their feelings for each other were instantaneous yet it thankfully managed to not feel akin to every other insta-love situation these days in YA literature. Helen and James have their own special situation and instead of calling it insta-love I would consider it more of an extreme fascination with one another as they are the only ones of their ‘species’ as they called it.

I know that I should have been repelled by the whole concept of human’s walking around ’empty’ just ripe for the taking for deceased spirits. That their soul can be absent, drifted off to a new place, while their body remains living its life. It really was a creepy concept/possibility but what honestly scared me the most were Jenny’s religious extremist parents. Before Helen came along, she watched Jenny for some time as she simply went through the motions of life without exuding any sort of emotion. Being so constricted by your family, being forced to obey and follow such rigid rules, and forcing their religion into every facet of your very being? Now that’s scary.

This is one of those books where the writing truly took my breath away. It flowed so beautifully and was a real delight. I loved how she kept Helen’s speech true to form considering she wasn’t from this day and age. That type of extra little touch really helped make this a very special book.

This is a novel about love but it’s mostly about learning to forgive yourself for the very reason Helen and James were still on Earth to find each other was because they hadn’t relived their final moments in order to forgive themselves for the actions they made. This was a wonderful, mature, YA novel with hints of romance, paranormal, and learning to find peace.

‘Your mind will never lose anything forever that’s worth keeping.’

Tags: Death and Loss

Early Review – Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Posted November 12, 2012 by Bonnie in Adult, Book Reviews, Early Review, Read in 2012 / 1 Comment

I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Early Review – Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan
Published by Anchor on November 13th 2012
Pages: 320
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Amazon
Goodreads

Also by this author: Atonement

In this stunning new novel, Ian McEwan’s first female protagonist since Atonement is about to learn that espionage is the ultimate seduction.

Cambridge student Serena Frome’s beauty and intelligence make her the ideal recruit for MI5. The year is 1972. The Cold War is far from over. England’s legendary intelligence agency is determined to manipulate the cultural conversation by funding writers whose politics align with those of the government. The operation is code named “Sweet Tooth.”

Serena, a compulsive reader of novels, is the perfect candidate to infiltrate the literary circle of a promising young writer named Tom Haley. At first, she loves his stories. Then she begins to love the man. How long can she conceal her undercover life? To answer that question, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage: trust no one.

Once again, Ian McEwan’s mastery dazzles us in this superbly deft and witty story of betrayal and intrigue, love and the invented self.

“I was the basest of readers. All I wanted was my own world, and myself in it, given back to me in artful shapes and accessible form.”

Sweet Tooth tells the story of Serena, a woman living in early 1970’s England. She is an avid reader of modern literature and is eventually recruited to MI5, the United Kingdom’s security agency, after receiving an interview via her middle-aged lover. Her task is to recruit a writer, Tom Haley, who has been pegged as unsympathetic to communism in order for him to write articles with the intent to change the people’s perception. Except he can’t know that he’s doing this for the sole benefit of the government. When Serena realizes that falling in love with Tom means she needs to decide whether or not to continue lying to him or risk everything and tell him all.

Ian McEwan managed to portray an extremely convincing story from a female’s point-of-view. Admittedly, Serena was not a terribly easy character to like but I’m thinking that was quite possibly the intention. Sweet Tooth certainly had an extremely authentic atmosphere, his portrayal of 1970’s England was brilliantly detailed and exact. The 1970’s was of course quite different especially regarding the attitude towards women in the workplace.

Yes, this is a spy novel and several scenes reminded me of a John le Carré novel, but the whole espionage bit was really put on the back burner in regards to the rest of the story. The story really focuses on Serena’s personal development, her maturity, and finding love. The writing was brilliant at times, and most other times was dreadfully dull. It was really hard to be invested in the story as a whole; emotions were described but were hard to get a true grasp on them in order to really understand and appreciate the story. Enjoyable read, but certainly wasn’t as anticipated and lacked in overall impressiveness.

Tags: Espionage

Early Review – Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J.A. Souders

Posted November 8, 2012 by Bonnie in Book Reviews, Early Review, Read in 2012, YA / 1 Comment

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Early Review – Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J.A. Souders

Renegade by J.A. Souders
Series: The Elysium Chronicles #1
Published by Tor Teen on November 13th 2012
Pages: 352
Genres: Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-fi
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

Also by this author: Revelations

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

‘We are all Mother’s children. It is a privilege to show her our ultimate obedience to her laws.’

Evelyn Winters is the Daughter of the People in the underwater world of Elysium. She is a flawless specimen with ideal genes perfectly suited to create flawless children. Mother has worked hard to solidify Evelyn’s perfection and the perfection of all citizens in Elysium. Mother will do anything and everything to make sure this remains so. All is not as it appears in Elysium. Look carefully, beyond the perfection…. and you’ll see the malevolence hidden closely beneath the surface.

‘Greed has poisoned men’s souls. Surface Dwellers have destroyed what was once beautiful and turned it into a ghostly illusion of what they call peace. But down here, we have real peace. There will be no fear, or sickness, hunger, hate, or greed. We have created our Utopia. And it is magnificent.’

Evelyn is told from an early age that her people escaped to Elysium to hide from the evil Surface Dwellers that war with one another but when a Surface Dweller manages to breach Elysium Evelyn can’t help but be intrigued by him. His name is Gavin and with his help Evelyn realizes that the very world she lives in is a complete lie.

An underwater utopia? How. Awesome. I loved the descriptions and details of how everything worked and how people managed to not only survive but to truly thrive and be completely self-sufficient under the sea. I would have loved for it to be explained more in detail in the beginning rather than a conversation between Evelyn and Gavin when he’d ask a question here and there. I believe an introduction in the beginning on the underwater society would have been better.

Very intriguing from the very first page, it’s quite obvious that something is wrong with Evie and it all has to do with Mother. The introduction of Gavin had to be done in order to set in motion the entire story, but I didn’t buy how incredibly easy it was for her to understand and accept that she was being brainwashed. You’d think that for someone that was brainwashed for over almost her entire life wouldn’t just begin having doubts just because someone (that she doesn’t even know) randomly suggests it once. I think if there was more time spent on the overall character building that I wouldn’t have a problem with Evie trusting Gavin immediately or their instant bond which while it wasn’t quite insta-love veered a bit too close for my liking.

‘…I shiver at the sounds surrounding me: Gavin’s gasping breaths. The thunder of my heartbeat. The ripping of flesh. And, making it all worse, the man’s rasping voice as he sings.’

The action is intense and ongoing and it never seems to let up throughout the extent of the book. Towards the end though, the story takes an extremely gruesome turn. Mother was a truly evil villain and one that conducted some particularly shocking experiments in order to secure her perfect society. A textbook villain is one that is willing to do whatever is required to get what she wants, and Mother was definitely prepared to do that. You don’t realize till then end bits just how far she had gone with her experiments and what the end result was.

When I began this story I was under the impression that it was a standalone novel but there were far too many questions that were left unanswered for there not to be a follow-up. I will definitely be reading the follow-up, I’m quite excited to find out how everything is explained and to see where the author takes the story. Despite the few issues I had and the lower rating this was still a highly enjoyable, edge-of-your-seat kind of read that fans of dystopian and sci-fi genres will enjoy.

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Review + Giveaway! The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Posted November 7, 2012 by Bonnie in Adult, Book Reviews, Book Tour, Giveaways, Read in 2012, TLC Book Tours / 1 Comment

I received this book free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Round House on October 2nd 2012
Pages: 321
Format: ARC
Amazon
Goodreads

One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.

While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

‘The sun fell onto the kitchen floor in golden pools, but it was an ominous radiance, like the piercing light behind a western cloud.’

In 1988, thirteen year old Joe is forever changed when he and his father come home to find his mother covered in blood. She had been attacked, but she managed to get away to safety. Joe is unable to understand the difficulty behind getting a conviction even though his mother knows exactly who attacked her. The root of the problem lies in not knowing exactly where she was attacked. The approximate location is an area that happens to be so divided that tribal, federal, and state all claim ownership to various pieces. Since the exact location is unknown her attacker can’t be prosecuted if its unclear as to what laws would apply.

The story was told from the point-of-view of Joe, a teenager, and one having a hard time coming to terms with the changes his life is currently undergoing. He begins drinking and smoking with his friends more often and being a generally rebellious teen. Joe’s mother wasn’t the only one forever transformed from the attack, his transformation was just less obvious to others.

‘We read with a concentrated intensity. My father had become convinced that somewhere within his bench briefs, memos, summaries, and decisions lay the identity of the man whose act had nearly severed my mother’s spirit from her body. With all that we did, we were trying to coax the soul back into her. But I could feel it tug away from us like a kite on a string. I was afraid that string would break and she’d careen off, vanish into the dark.’

Joe’s father is a local tribal judge and shortly after the attack he begins bringing case documents home for research purposes and enlists Joe’s help. He becomes dismayed to find that his father didn’t handle cases of great importance but rather small and petty cases that seemed more like a waste of time. His father explains to him:

“We are trying to build a solid base here for our sovereignty. We try to press against the boundaries of what we are allowed, walk a step past the edge. Our records will be scrutinized by Congress one day and decisions on whether to enlarge our jurisdiction will be made. Some day. We want the right to prosecute criminals of all races on all lands within our original boundaries. Which is why I try to run a tight courtroom, Joe. What I am doing now is for the future, though it may seem small, or trivial, or boring, to you.”

I’ve seen it done before (and I have no idea why) where quotation marks are left out entirely. I would often read a passage and think it’s internal dialogue when in fact it’s an actual conversation so I would have to go back and re-read the entire passage to be in the right frame of mind. I’m really not clear as to what purpose it serves by leaving them out, other than confusion. My only other issue was after finishing I was left with the feeling that the book was unnecessarily long (despite it only being 317 pages long). It just felt as if there was too much information that in the end was simply irrelevant. Interesting, but ultimately irrelevant.

I enjoyed the obvious amount of research the author conducted in regards to Native American laws and culture. It made the story feel solid, sound, and very much believable. The Round House is an interesting story with a powerful message about how regardless of the centuries of change and advancement, the laws of today still have their flaws.

My personal ARC of The Round House is up for grabs.

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Ends November 14th, 2012

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Tags: Native American

Book Review – The Twelve (The Passage #2) by Justin Cronin

Posted November 6, 2012 by Bonnie in Adult, Book Reviews, Read in 2012 / 1 Comment

The Twelve by Justin Cronin
Series: The Passage #2
Published by Ballantine Books on October 16th 2012
Pages: 626
Genres: Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Paranormal, Vampires
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Amazon
Goodreads

Also by this author: The City of Mirrors

THE EPIC STORY OF THE PASSAGE CONTINUES...

At the end of The Passage, the great viral plague had left a small group of survivors clinging to life amidst a world transformed into a nightmare. In the second volume of this epic trilogy, this same group of survivors, led by the mysterious, charismatic Amy, go on the attack, leading an insurrection against the virals: the first offensives of the Second Viral War.

To do this, they must infiltrate a dozen hives, each presided over by one of the original Twelve. Their secret weapon: Alicia, transformed at the end of book one into a half human, half viral—but whose side, in the end, is she really on?

The Passage series

The Passage (The Passage #1) by Justin Cronin {Purchase}

I felt like I waited half a lifetime for this to be released and I’ll admit, I’m pretty damn disappointed. The Passage blew me away and is one of my all-time favorites/ The Passage really took some patience and focus because Justin Cronin’s writing is so intricately detailed that it’s incredibly easy to miss something important but it was SO worth it. It all began with several individual story lines that had no apparent relation with one another but as time progressed they started to intersect with one another to form one hugely multi-faceted story. The Twelve brings that writing style back into the spotlight with a new array of characters and new storylines.

There were such an immense amount of characters and intersecting storylines from The Passage that I was more than a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to understand what was going on in The Twelve. Fortunately, we’re given a refresher in the form of biblical writings from “The Book of Twelves”. I thought that the way it was done in the prologue was sheer genius. (Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical at first by the biblical approach he took and continued to take throughout the extent of the book. It threw me a bit but Justin Cronin is a genius and it managed to work out.)

It’s strange though, because if you really think about it the original story line from The Passage was solely focused on government conspiracies and the creation of a virus that went completely wrong and was unleashed on the world after the virus was given to death-row-inmates. In The Twelve, the story is centered around a city where individuals are utilizing vampire blood in order to achieve immortality. A far cry from the original story, which was a bit of a disappointment because I would have loved to find out more about the original Twelve.

The main difference for me between The Passage and The Twelve is how the multiple storylines inevitably intersected. With The Passage it was seamless and once everything came together there was the big ‘Ahhh’ moment where everything was clear and the light bulb went on. For me, I think when the ‘Ahhh’ moment was intended to happen my reaction was more along the lines of ‘Uh… I still don’t get it.’ Completely riveting story lines, complex and detailed to the max, but ultimately lacked in coming full circle and left me with far too many questions than answers.

The City of Mirrors, the final installment, isn’t due out for 2 years but I will of course be reading it. I’m hoping that questions are finally answered and aren’t left as they have been: a bunch of hypothetical possibilities.

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Book Review – Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson #4) by Darynda Jones

Posted November 1, 2012 by Bonnie in Adult, Book Reviews, Read in 2012 / 2 Comments

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet by Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson #4
Published by St. Martin's Press on October 30th 2012
Pages: 368
Genres: Funny-ha-ha, Urban Fantasy
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Amazon
Goodreads

Also by this author: First Grave on the Right, For I Have Sinned, Second Grave on the Left

In Darynda Jones's Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, sometimes being the grim reaper really is that. Grim. And since Charley’s last case went so awry, she has taken a couple months off to wallow in the wonders of self-pity. But when a woman shows up on her doorstep convinced someone is trying to kill her, Charley has to force herself to rise above. Or at least get dressed. She quickly realizes something is amiss when everyone the woman knows swears she’s insane. The more they refute the woman’s story, the more Charley believes it.

In the meantime, the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, has been cleared of all charges. He is out of prison and out of Charley’s life, as per her wishes and several perfectly timed death threats. But his absence has put a serious crimp in her sex life. While there are other things to consider, like the fact that the city of Albuquerque has been taken hostage by an arsonist, Charley is having a difficult time staying away. Especially when it looks like Reyes may be involved. Just when life was returning to normal, Charley is thrust back into the world of crime, punishment, and the devil in blue jeans.

Charley Davidson series

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)

Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2)

Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson #3)

Considering I have a ton of ARCs I should really be catching up on, and considering how much I love Charley, I really should have known better than to tell myself, “Just one chapter!” But it didn’t even take a chapter, I was hooked by the opening paragraph.

‘I sat watching the Buy From Home Channel with my dead aunt Lillian and wondered what my life would’ve been like had I not just eaten an entire carton of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy with a mocha latter chaser. Probably about the same but it was something to think about.’

Oh, Charley. I missed you.

Charley was funny and full of snark (as usual) but after the incident from the last book she has a new sense of reality. She’s still fragile and recovering mentally and hasn’t even left the house in two months when the book begins. It takes a lot of work from everyone close to her (and a few margaritas) to get her close to normal, or as normal as Charley has ever been.

‘Surely my macking on some guy in an insane asylum wouldn’t hurt him. He’d been living with his stalker, for heaven’s sake.’

Her love life is full of drama as usual and Donovan makes a (small) appearance to complete the love triangle going on. Strangely, this is one love triangle that doesn’t cause a negative reaction from me. I’m quite fond of both boys. 🙂 But, it was just a small appearance and Reyes is front and center in her life (as it should be.) The two butt heads for a short time until Charley can forgive him for his actions from book 3. He had an attitude problem for the vast majority of the book but he made amends for that. And then some.

Charley’s sister Gemma plays a larger role this time around and I loved what she brought to the story. Charley and Gemma have finally made amends and for the first time in their life they’re actually acting like sisters. One of their funniest moments was when everyone was concerned that Charley wasn’t sleeping so Gemma and Cookie resort to drinking margaritas (Cookie-a-ritas). The morning after conversation between Gemma and Charley:

“Have you seen my pants?”
“Speaking of which, how did you get home without them?”
“I borrowed a pair of your sweats. I ran into a convenience store with them on. I talked to neighbors out in their yard when I pulled up. And only after I got inside did I realize they had ‘Exit Only’ written across the back.”
“You stole my favorite sweats?”
“I wanted to die.”

I think I just died of laughter.

Charley finally gets some answers in this installment! What she’s capable of, why she’s here on Earth, and even why Reyes calls her Dutch which has bugging me FOREVER. I won’t ruin it for you but it was quite enlightening. Really opens up future storylines and how it’s going to go. As usual, this is one series I’m constantly pining for and cannot get enough of. Start the countdown for book 5 “Fifth Grave Past the Light” due out July 9th, 2013. Only 9 months. *sigh*

Tags: Grim Reaper

Gravity by Melissa West – Tour Stop + Giveaway!

Posted October 29, 2012 by Bonnie in Book Tour, Giveaways, Read in 2012, YA / 0 Comments

Gravity (The Taking #1)

by Melissa West

Expected publication: October 30th 2012 by Entangled Publishing, LLC

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

About the Author: Melissa West

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads

Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and Madeleine L’Engle.

She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.

Giveaway

Melissa is giving away a signed copy of Gravity and Swag to one lucky reader!

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Category: Read in 2012

The Passage series

Charley Davidson series

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