Review: The Hidden Oracle

Book one of The Trials of Apollo
By Rick Riordan
Available now from Disney Hyperion
Review copy

Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson novels are great examples of children's books that can be fun for all ages. They're action packed and extra fun for anyone who enjoys spotting classical allusions. I feel like he's been growing as an author through each series, developing more complex plots and keeping his prose accessible but interesting. He's also made an impressive effort to diversify his books. For example, his Apollo is as casually bisexual as the god was in myth.

Apollo has been cast out of Olympus and into a mortal body by his father, Zeus. He must find a demigod to serve until he earns forgiveness. He ends up with Meg, a young homeless girl who is surprisingly capable. While THE HIDDEN ORACLE is best read by those familiar with previous books by Riordan, it is the start of a new series and puts the new characters front and center. Percy shows up a few times and Nico is present at Camp Half-Blood, but neither are that involved in the plot. There's also a stark contrast between Apollo and previous narrators, which gives THE HIDDEN ORACLE its own distinct feel.

I found Apollo's terrifically self-absorbed narration hilarious. Apollo is all about Apollo, and desperately trying to act as if getting knocked down a peg hasn't thrown him for a loop. And his centuries of experience aren't as helpful as they could be since he only has a mortal brain to rely on now (and let's face it, hasn't practiced thinking clearly and quickly in awhile). I found his character development a bit quick, but it is necessary to Apollo being useful. (And as much as he improves in THE HIDDEN ORACLE, he's got a long way to go.)

Meg is not just a sidekick. She's scrappy and clever, two things that are sure to appeal to many readers. And despite the fun, breezy tone of the novel, she's dealing with a rough past. I wasn't surprised by the reveal of her home life with her stepfather, but I'm sure it might be the first time some younger readers discover a story about how someone who seems to love you can hurt you. It's written with great empathy, and in a manner appropriate for the target audience.

This is one of those books where I finished and instantly looked up when the next book is coming out. Unfortunately, the answer is May. I'll have to wait until then to read THE DARK PROPHECY. I'll definitely be there to see what happens to Apollo, Meg, and a couple of surprise returning characters. This is an extremely promising start, and the Trials of Apollo could be the best part of the Percy Jackson universe yet.

Review: Remembrance

A Mediator novel
By Meg Cabot
Available now from William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Review copy

The sixth Mediator novel, TWILIGHT, came out when I was a sophomore in high school.  I remember eagerly devouring it to discover how Suze Simon and Jesse de Silva would make their relationship work, even though he was a ghost and she helped ghosts cross over to the other side.  I started reading Meg Cabot's books because of The Princess Diaries series, but I liked Mediator even better because of the paranormal element.

Twelve years later, Cabot has returned to Suze's story with REMEMBRANCE.  It's only been six years for Suze, who has graduated from college and is now interning as a counselor at her old high school.  Jesse is almost done with med school.  And Suze is being driven nuts by his old-fashioned refusal to have sex before marriage.  In walks Paul Slater, Suze's loathsome ex.  He's threatening to tear down Suze's old home, the building that Jesse haunted and still anchors his soul. 

Suze has quite a bit on her plate between her evil ex and a girl at the school being followed by a murdered child.  Luckily, those six years haven't dulled her edge.  Suze is fierce, and not to be messed with.  Her only power might be seeing ghosts, but that isn't going to stop her from delivering justice to those who need it.  Even though REMEMBRANCE is an adult novel and the first six books were YA, she (and the rest of the characters) feel like the same people.

The main difference is that there's a bit more swearing (although most of it is just referred to) and a darker storyline.  Suze stumbles across some stomach-churning crimes as she attempts to help one ghost achieve peace.  The way Paul re-enters her life by trying to blackmail her into sex is also pretty intense.  At the same time, I don't think Cabot edges it up too much.  The original fans are now adults, and there's nothing I don't think a new teenage fan couldn't handle.  (Especially not if they've been reading some of those dystopians.)

I loved getting a chance to reacquaint myself with Suze and her friends and family.  It's been ages since I read the original Mediator novels, but it felt like stepping back into a familiar place after a journey away.  REMEMBRANCE is a fun, vibrant read sure to satisfy fans.  I'm very happy Cabot went back to the well for this one.

Review: The Night Parade

By Kathryn Tanquary
Available now from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review copy

Saki Yamamoto has the three nights of the night parade to put things right after she accidentally calls down a death curse.  Not properly finishing a game of Kokkuri-san might be the best thing that's happened to her, because each night one of the three spirits (all tricksters) she's called comes to guide her.

THE NIGHT PARADE draws heavily on Japanese folklore and Shinto beliefs to tell both a mythical quest and one girl's dawning maturity.  At the beginning of the story, Saki can be quite trying.  She rejects genuine friendship to pursue the acceptance of bullies and grumbles about chores and listening to her grandmother's stories.  She's a city girl in the boonies and wants everyone to know she's not happy about it.

Of course, it is her bad attitude, laziness, and lack of care during the Obon preparations that helps invite an evil spirit in.

She shapes up almost inordinately fast, but I can't complain too much since it made THE NIGHT PARADE a more enjoyable experience for me.  I enjoyed seeing Saki come up with clever solutions to her problems and learn to truly listen and empathize with others.  It did help that she was learning these things through fantastical interactions with the spirit world.

THE NIGHT PARADE is a thrilling tale about the power of tradition and the value of respect.  I particularly liked the touch of Saki growing closer to her grandmother.  If you'd like to read THE NIGHT PARADE to coincide with Obon, it occurs either July 13 through 15 or August 13 through 15 depending on which calendar you follow.

Review: The Walls Around Us

By Nova Ren Suma
Available now from Algonquin Young Readers (Workman)
Review copy

THE WALLS AROUND US is a ghost story that becomes ever more eerie as it goes on, twining its way around you like the vines growing outside Aurora Hills, a juvenile detention center.   Aurora Hills is the home of Amber, sent there when she was thirteen.  It was the home of Ori, Violet's best friend. 

The girls both have terrible secrets in their past, as does the entire prison.  Nova Ren Suma doesn't shy away from many of the abuses committed in these institutions, nor from the racism and classism of the justice system in the United States.  THE WALLS AROUND US shifts back and forth in time, slowly revealing myriad tragedies, including the shocking murder of all forty-two residents of Aurora Hills and just what Vee and Amber have to do with it.

Vee and Ori were ballet dancers, both talented but bullied for different reasons.  Amber and her mother were abused by her stepfather, and Amber feared her younger sister was next.  The press says Ori killed two other ballerinas in a vicious rage.  The press says Amber engineered the car wreck that killed her stepfather.  Everyone in Aurora Hills says Ori and Amber are the only two innocent ones there.  But THE WALLS AROUND US is a story where no one knows the whole truth; at least, not until it is too late.

Nova Ren Suma's writing gets stronger with every novel.  She's always had style to spare, but I feel like her plots are becoming both tighter and more ambitious.  THE WALLS AROUND US is slow in event and focuses more on developing the main characters, as you might expect from a Suma novel.   But the overarching mystery of what happened between Vee and Ori and what happened to the girls of Aurora Hills ties everything together as the story begins hurtling to its macabre conclusion.

Questions of innocence and guilt, as well as the social issues surrounding juvenile incarceration, ground this slightly surreal story of a malevolent haunting.  There's also the question of remorse, which is always the question of justice.  Do only the penitent deserve to go free?  This is the kind of horror story where everyone gets what's coming to them.  I thought it was a satisfying, memorable read.

Review: The Casquette Girls

First book in a series
By Alys Arden
Available now from Skyscape (Amazon Publishing)
Review copy

THE CASQUETTE GIRLS, as I understand it, was originally self-published.  Alys Arden's success led to the book being picked up by Skyscape.  I never read it in that original form, but I can see why it was successful.

THE CASQUETTE is set in a New Orleans that has been ripped apart by a storm.  Katrina is never named, but it weighs heavy on the novel.  Adele Le Moyne was sent to live with her mother in France; however, her mother shipped her off to boarding school and rarely saw her.  Thus, Adele leapt at the chance to return to her father and her city. 

Arden's descriptions of New Orleans and the people that populate it are powerful.  It is a city full of memories that have been swept away and left to rot, and yet the traditions continue regardless.  Adele and her friends show up to work in a cafe every day, and eventually the kids go back to school.  Life starts picking up its expected pace.  Except for the crime wave.  There's a suspiciously high number of murders, and all of the victims have been drained of blood.

THE CASQUETTE GIRLS is darkly romantic, both due to love of a wild place and a romance with a boy who just might kill Adele.  There is the de rigueur love triangle, plus some bonus decoy love interests thrown in.  Nicco is a foreigner looking for his sister, and Isaac is a New Yorker come to give aid.  Both boys are full of secrets.  But Adele is starting to discover that the biggest secrets are those of her family's past, hidden in the objects she's inherited from her ancestor Adeline.  She could save her city, and all it requires is a ridiculous amount of translation.

I thought that THE CASQUETTE GIRLS went on for a touch too long and that the romantic resolution was rather abrupt.  It is still a thoroughly enjoyable popcorn read with a final line that will have you begging for the sequel.  (No really, when is it coming out?)  The book's greatest strength is its sense of community.  There's New Orleans itself, as I've already covered, but there's also the people Adele surrounds herself with and those that Adeline bonded with.  THE CASQUETTE GIRLS is a story of people coming together.  At the same time, it posits that trust can be dangerous.

THE CASQUETTE GIRLS is a great choice for readers who like witches, vampires, and folklore with more than a seed of the truth.  I hope that the sequel continues to build on the strengths Arden shows hear and that it is just as readable.

Review: 13 Days of Midnight

By Leo Hunt
Available now from Candlewick
Review copy

Luke Manchett's father left him and his mother.  Luke hasn't even spoken to him in years.  However, he has just received news of his father's death - and a rather large inheritance.  Tempted by the money, Luke doesn't pay too much attention to the papers he's signing.  But then the ghosts start showing up.

I thoroughly enjoyed 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT.  There's a nice balance of horror and humor.  I found Luke sometimes frustrating, since he takes a ridiculous amount of time to clue into the danger he's in.  He might not have intended to inherit a host of ghosts and dark necromantic powers, but he had plenty of opportunity to notice everyone warning him that things could go horribly awry.  Luckily he finds help with Elza, the school weirdo who just happens to have second sight and be a low-level witch.  With her, Luke isn't completely hopeless.

I did like that the reader figures out what is going on and how the necromancy works along with Luke and Elza.  All is revealed at the end, but it takes time since the reader is thrown into the deep end with Luke.  I love books that let you put together the pieces on your own.  I also liked that the adventure in 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT wrapped up neatly while still leaving a wicked hook for sequels.  I hope there are more books coming, because it looks like Luke has more terrifying things lurking in his future.

While 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT is a horror story, it's not a scary story.  It's a ghost story, and a creepy one, with some macabre imagery and heroes forced to use awful measures to prevent worse things from happening.  It's a kind of horror that I enjoy very much.

13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT is a book that will remind you to always read the fine print before making a deal with a lawyer.

Review: The Suffering

Sequel to The Girl from the Well
By Rin Chupeco
Available now from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy
Read my review of The Girl from the Well

I thought THE SUFFERING was a standalone novel, so I was very excited to start reading and realize that it is a sequel to THE GIRL FROM THE WELL.  It's two years later, and Tark and Okiku are still working out how things work now.  Okiku needs to hunt, and Tark is mostly fine with that.  But what about when Okiku sees someone who is going to kill and just hasn't escalated yet?  All debates have to be put on hold when Tark's mentor and friend Kaguya goes missing in Aokigahara with a crew of ghost hunters.

Rin Chupeco really punches up the horror in THE SUFFERING.  There are creepy dolls and cocoons full of writhing things and pits where you don't want to see what is at the bottom.  Tark has to figure out what went wrong in a village in the forest and set things to write, and the story that unfolds is horribly tragic and just plain sinister.  Talk about your towns with dark secrets.

I thought THE GIRL FROM THE WELL was terrific, and THE SUFFERING is so much more of what I loved.  Tark and Okiku's relationship is wonderfully complex and loving.  It's definitely unconventional, since he's a boy and she's the girl who is dead and possessing him to fend other ghosts off.   Then there's the way Chupeco combines Japanese mythology and horror tropes with modern American YA into a satisfyingly macabre and romantic tale.  It's a very cinematic style, and Chupeco can weave images with her words that make up for the lack of moving pictures.

THE SUFFERING does work well on its own.  You might not know how Tark and Okiku first came to know each other, but this is a self-contained adventure (or two).  I suggest reading THE GIRL FROM THE WELL first because a) it's a good book and b) you'll be completely up to speed, but you won't be horrifically lost if you read THE SUFFERING on its own.

Chupeco's series is fabulous for any horror fans looking to get a sense of creepy-crawlies hanging out behind them while they read.  I hope that a third book is coming. 

Review: Another Day

Companion to Every Day
By David Levithan
Available now from Knopf BFYR (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of Every Day

Note: ANOTHER DAY can be read independently of EVERY DAY.  I have read EVERY DAY, so this review contains spoilers.

Spoilery note: A considers themselves to be the gender of the body they're currently in.  I could switch pronouns to reflect this, or default to one gender, but I intend to identify A gender neutrally.  This is not a reflection of how A identifies, just shorthand for this review.

ANOTHER DAY covers the same time period as EVERY DAY.  Rhiannon and A meet (although she doesn't know it), and their love story goes from there.  Some people may not want to read a repeat of events, but I think Rhiannon's point of view is sometimes more interesting than A's.  She's less philosophical, a normal girl suddenly faced with the unexplainable.  

I do wish ANOTHER DAY had started a little earlier.  Rhiannon and Justin's relationship has soured, but Rhiannon still thinks it is worth fighting for, so she doesn't give up even though Justin treats her horribly.  It makes more sense while inside her head than A's, but it might make even more if we got a glimpse at the good days.  I do like that ANOTHER DAY concludes with Rhiannon forging her own path, seeking what she wants instead of trying to deliver what her significant other wants.  It's also a great hook for a straight-up sequel.

I liked that Rhiannon had a mix of mundane and more fantastical struggles.  Her friends don't like her boyfriend - standard high school stuff.  Her significant other is a different body every day - not so normal.  Sometimes she isn't physically attracted to the person she's in love with?  Somewhere between the two.  (And I liked that David Levithan worked to course-correct the fat-shaming in EVERY DAY.  Rhiannon isn't turned off by that body, but she is turned off by the way A is ashamed of it.)

Rhiannon's growth throughout ANOTHER DAY is wonderful.  She's a bit of a doormat at the beginning, and struggles with respecting herself for a long time.  She's a terrifically real young woman, although A's instant and intense attraction seems rather inexplicable at times.  In the end, I thought Rhiannon's point of view was just as strong as A's.

Review: Velvet

By Temple West
Available now from Swoon Reads (Macmillan)
Review copy

Swoon Reads has been around for more than a year now, but VELVET is still the first Swoon Reads book I've read.  On the website, you read, rate, and review YA manuscripts uploaded by users.  The best rated and most popular manuscripts get published by Macmillan's Swoon Reads imprint.  It is an innovative approach to publishing, so I'm surprised it took me this long to read one of the books.

VELVET starts when Caitlin Holte gets caught in a freak storm and rescued by an inhuman boy.  Readers soon realize she can't remember the incident, although she does know who saved her: her neighbor, Adrian.  Like her, he's an orphan who moved to the small town of Stony Creek, New York to live with his aunt and uncle.  He's also super hot, of course.  It's a pretty standard YA setup, but I like that Temple West took it in a few unique directions.

First, I loved that Adrian came clean to Caitlin about his vampirism pretty quickly.  He also let's her know that she's in danger from his father, who caused that storm at the beginning of the book.  His father is in a snit and Caitlin just happened to end up in the middle of things.  Adrian still keeps secrets because the vampire government makes him, but he's actually fairly open about what's happening because knowing the danger she's in helps Caitlin stay safe.  It's both logical and refreshing.

Second, I loved how lived-in Stony Creek feels.  Several of the girls Caitlin hangs with have their own romances going on, and school is a fairly important part of Caitlin's life.  As she starts to reconnect to her own life after her mother's death, she realizes that she has a lot to catch up on from those months she was tuning her schoolwork out.

Third, I loved that Caitlin's best friend Trish counsels her to leave Adrian if he isn't making her happy.  Being in love with someone isn't treated as the be-all end-all of relationships in VELVET.  However, that leads me to an aspect I didn't love, which is that Adrian and Caitlin get into fights all the time.  The seed, of course, is that their romance is forbidden.  Vampires aren't allowed to love humans, so his relationship with her is a fake to help him stay close and guard her.  Being a fake girlfriend to the boy she loves hurts Caitlin on top of the fact she's raw with grief and strange nightmares that plague her at night.  I got her emotions, I just got tired of fight, then make up, then fight, then make up.  It was an exceedingly repetitive story beat.

VELVET does end with a great hook for the second book, involving one of my favorite characters in danger.  I definitely want to read the sequel, especially since VELVET was a very quick and relaxing read.  I think I'll also try some of the other books published by the Swoon Reads imprint.  VELVET reflects well on their style.

Review: Hollywood Witch Hunter

By Valerie Tejeda
Available now from Bloomsbury Spark
Review copy

In Hollywood, witches have to kill to stay alive.  Hunters are born to hunt them and to protect those they prey on, even though the witches get the most power and youth from the worst people.  They still don't deserve to die.  Iris is the first girl to be born with the hunter gene, and she's been fighting to be part of the group instead of left in the kitchen (literally).

That premise is seriously retrograde, so I appreciated newly found hunter Arlo pointing out just how stupid it is.  Arlo always wanted to be a pop star, so being pressed into being a hunter hasn't made him too happy.  He's one of two love interests.  The other is Silos, an older man from Scotland who Iris dreams about before meeting.  I thought either of them were decent romantic options, but I'm so over triangles.

HOLLYWOOD WITCH HUNTER is full of great characters playing out cliches.  Iris is smart and believes her own observations over what others tell her about the world.  Her brother Knox is the kind of brother everybody wants.  Belinda, the head witch, has her own intriguing agenda going on.  But I could guess every twist and turn the story took, including the surprise ending leading into the next book in the series.

The other thing that bothered me about HOLLYWOOD WITCH HUNTER is the way that Iris starts to bond with some of the witches.  I am all for realizing that you've been indoctrinated your whole life and those people you've trained to hunt are actually people, but even as she got closer they were still killing people and Iris knew it.  Being fun to hang out with doesn't turn a murderer into a good person.

HOLLYWOOD WITCH HUNTER is Valerie Tejeda's first novel, so I hope she'll work out some of those kinks.  She's got characterization down, but she needs to find a plot of her own.  I did like that she made Iris half-Colombian, which figured into the plot.  People tend to assume that Iris is with the help, and being able to speak Spanish makes her a better investigator since she can talk to more people.

If you're interested, HOLLYWOOD WITCH HUNTER is on sale for the first week of its release for $2.99.

Review: Circus Mirandus

By Cassie Beasley
Available now from Dial (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

I suspected I would like CIRCUS MIRANDUS from the moment I picked it up.  Magical circuses are hard to resist, after all.  And it's such a beautiful book - the stepback image of two children inside a flying woman and a parrot and a white tiger is lovely.  I was delighted that it is an accurate promise of what was inside.  The child inside me adores an accurate cover.

Micah Tuttle is in fifth grade and still believes in magic.  His grandfather, who he lives with, has told him about the Circus Mirandus his whole life, and how the Lightbender owes him a miracle.  Micah knows just want his Grandpa Ephraim should ask for: a cure for the disease that's killing him.  He believes that is why his Grandpa Ephraim has finally sent a message to the Lightbender.  But the circus will be everything Micah imagined while still being quite different.

Debut author Cassie Beasley exerts an admirable amount of control over her story.  It weaves back and forth, telling of Grandpa Ephraim's encounter with the Circus Mirandus and the story of the Amazonian Bird Woman while also moving along the present day story of Micah and his best friend Jenny Mendoza.  There are many stories layered on top of each other, but I never felt lost.

The magic did falter for me at one point.  I realized that the realistic and the fantastical villains were both women.  At the same time I was realizing that, Jenny was embarrassing herself with her refusal to believe in magic.  Now, Aunt Gertrudis did become more understandable to me as more of her story was revealed, but both she and the Amazonian Bird Woman were rather stock villains in an otherwise wondrous story.  Jenny, however, is a great character.  I liked how her and Micah's friendship developed, and that they both taught each other to see a new perspective.

CIRCUS MIRANDUS is yet another story about believing in magic, being good to others, and taking a chance for what you believe in.  And it works, because it does it all beautifully.  Come and be entertained by a magical circus like no other.  Beasley's debut is a middle grade story that all ages can enjoy.

Review: I Text Dead People

First in the Dead Serious series
By Rose Cooper
Available now from Delacorte BFYR (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

I TEXT DEAD PEOPLE looked adorable, from the title to Rose Cooper's cartoonish illustrations.  The morbid cuteness reminds me of the ghostgirl series by Tonya Hurley, but for kids instead of teens.  I have a cousin that I know will love this one.

Annabel Craven, known as Anna, didn't want to move to a new town.  Her first day gets off to a bad start when a weird guy accosts her because he just knows she has something of his.  But things start to look up as she makes friends (even though some of them want her to do their homework) and finds a cell phone.  Then someone strange starts texting her.

Part of the book is told through the point of view of Lucy, who is a stalker.  I TEXT DEAD PEOPLE never uses the word stalker, but that's what she's doing.  I think her sections are meant to be over the top in a humorous way, but I mostly found it sad, creepy, and actionable.  Unfortunately, when Lucy dies she just keeps stalking the boy - and Anna, since she can talk to her.

I TEXT THE DEAD has a good combination of fish out of water and cozy murder mystery stories.  There's definitely a lot of legs for the premise in future installments in the Dead Serious series.  I thought Lucy was a bum note, but she's a one-book character.  Anna herself is interesting, and not stalking anyone.

Review: Powerless

Book one of The Hero Agenda

By Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs
Available June 2 from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy

I couldn't resist reading POWERLESS.  I like Tera Lynn Childs' Greek mythology-inspired series and Tracy Deebs' romance novels as Tracy Wolff.  Plus, novels featuring superheroes are one of my favorite things.  A topic I like by authors I enjoy?  Yep, no way I could resist.

I'm glad I didn't.  POWERLESS is a propulsive read that both tells an exciting story and sets up several future plotlines for a series.  It all starts in a lab, where Kenna Swift is working late.  Kenna is powerless, but she's also immune to powers thanks to a serum her mother secretly cooked up.  Hero or villain, it doesn't matter - although Kenna can still be hurt by collateral damage.  That's why she remembers the three villains who invaded the lab looking for a friend, even though one of them thought he wiped her mind.  Kenna knows who the heroes and the villains are, but she can't help thinking that they didn't seem that evil.  So she goes snooping.

If you like stories about family secrets, people banding together to do the right thing, and creative uses of chapstick, you'll enjoy POWERLESS.  I liked that there was an interesting mix of relationships in the main group.  There's Kenna, her best friend Rebel, and her ex-boyfriend Jeremy representing the heroes.  Then Draven (who Kenna is attracted to), Dante, and Nitro representing the villains.  There are romantic, sibling, and friend relationships within the group, in addition to some tensions between people who used to be enemies.  This mix means that even though it is a larger ensemble, there's a lot to define each character and how they react to the others.

I liked that Childs and Deebs didn't spend too long building up to the heroes-are-the-villains reveal.  (In fact, the prologue basically gives it away.)  It's where the story is obviously heading, so why save it for the climax?  When we get it at the beginning of the book we get to see more of how Kenna reacts.  (To be fair, it is mostly denial at first.)

POWERLESS did feel like the beginning of a series.  There's several action scenes, but they're mostly set up for events in future books.  At the same time, I feel like Childs and Deebs still managed to tell a complete story about Kenna and her friends.  I'm definitely curious about how things will play out in the second book.

Be sure to visit on Thursday, 6/18 for an extended excerpt of POWERLESS and a jewelry giveaway.

Review: The Eternity Key

Book two of Into the Dark
By Bree Despain
Available now from Egmont USA
Review copy
Read my review of The Shadow Prince and my interview with Bree

I enjoyed THE SHADOW PRINCE, so it's no surprise that I would pick up THE ETERNITY KEY.  I appreciated that there was some recapping of events since it had been awhile since I read the first book.  I think that will also be a boon to readers who leap ahead and skip book one for whatever reason.

THE ETERNITY KEY continues to switch between Daphne and Haden's POVs, and adds Tobin's POV to the mix.  I'm not entirely sure Tobin's POV added that much to the story, aside from reminders that they do need to find Abbie/CeCe.  (Okay, his romance with Lexie is cute.)  The main plot of the story is trying to figure out where the Compass and Key are so that Haden and friends can get into the Underworld and kill the Keres, while not letting anyone else get the Key and prompting more undesirable outcomes.  (If that sentence was gibberish, read book one.)

I liked the way the romance between Daphne and Haden developed at first in THE ETERNITY KEY.  Haden is working up the courage to say the words, and Daphne is working to prove to Haden that they can be equals (instead of her being the damsel in distress).  And then Daphne rebuffs Haden for a reason that barely made sense.  I sure hope the third book has a better explanation, like magical interference.

THE ETERNITY KEY ends with all three narrators in peril.  Bree Despain is a cruel author, torturing her readers like that.  I hope Lerner acquiring titles from Egmont USA means that book three won't be delayed, because I need the conclusion to this trilogy.

Review: The Girl at Midnight

By Melissa Grey
Available now from Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

I was drawn in by the name and cover of THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT.  Both are just this side of generic, but with a spark of personality.  That's a pretty good summation of the book too.  If you're looking for a plot with lots of twists and turns (or even just a small surprise), this is not the book for you.

Debut author Melissa Grey writes with a lot of charm, which will serve her well as she grows further into her voice and starts to take her plot and characters in their own direction.  THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT is a perfectly likeable book.  It's an easy read that will probably take most readers a single afternoon.  There's some action, some magic, some romance.  It's got all the ingredients for a good time even if it doesn't break the mold.  Homemade chocolate chip cookies might be the best, but there's a place for Chips Ahoy! too.

Echo is a seventeen-year-old thief who lives in magic-hidden cove of a public library with the Ala, both of them working for the Avicen, a race of bird-like people.  They're at war with the Drakharin, a race of dragon-like people.  Then Echo comes across the means to find the Firebird, a prophesied being that can end the war.  Echo shares narrating duties with Caius, the Dragon Prince; Dorian, his captain of the guard; and Ivy, her friend.  I wish the narration had been more focused.  It seems strange for some of the characters to take over for one or two chapters before fading back into the background.  It also might've given the book a bit more surprise if we were getting detailed points of view from both sides of the conflict.

I think Echo was the weakest point of the main characters.  She's got a dark past, a quirk of collecting words, and is an impossibly good thief.  She's mostly motivated by a desire to belong with the Avicen, to prove her place despite being a human.  But she just didn't have as much personality as the others.  She's a quirky YA fantasy heroine.  Caius is a leader, seeking what is best for his people even at cost to himself.  (And we'll just go with that whole wants peace thing and ignore that he tortures and kills Avicen in his first appearance.)  Dorian makes a moral mistake at the beginning of the book that haunts him, as do his unrequited feelings for Caius.  Ivy pays the price for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but stays firm to her beliefs.  Jasper, who shows up late in the story, is mostly after something pretty and shiny.

I feel like the world of THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT needed a lot more development.  Why are the Avicen and Drakharin at war?  What rift is so great that requires centuries of fighting and can only be ended through magical intervention?  Not even Caius, leader of one of the armies, knows.  (I did like Echo pointing out that peace talks hadn't even been attempted.)  I felt like Grey got away with the reveal of the firebird because it was obvious what was coming more than it actually making any sense.  It also adds a somewhat creepy dimension to the main romance.  (Speaking of the romance, Echo's boyfriend basically disappears from her thoughts halfway through, which I guess counts as a breakup.)

THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT is the start of a trilogy.  I honestly think it stood fine as a story, and I doubt I'll read the sequels.  The war and romance were adequately resolved for me.  I had fun reading THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT, but it just never differentiated itself from the pack.

Review: Chaos

Book three of the Guards of the Shadowlands trilogy
By Sarah Fine
Available now from
Review copy
Read more at my Sarah Fine tag

I really enjoyed FRACTURED and SANCTUM, the first two books in the Guards of the Shadowlands trilogy.  I picked up CHAOS eagerly, wanting to know how the Mazikin would be defeated forever and Malachai and Lela would find a way to be together again.  (Plus, there was that whole cliffhanger ending to SANCTUM.)  CHAOS satisfied those questions, although it took a bit longer to do so than I would've liked.

The main problem with CHAOS is that the meat of the plot ends about halfway through the book, and multiple twists are required to sustain the rest.  Plus, as wonderful as Malachai and Lela are, I got tired of them sacrificing themselves to save each other.  At some point heroic death comes cheap.  By the third time, it's definitely cheap.

I absolutely love the series as a whole.  Sarah Fine is a great writer, and the Guards of the Shadowland series is filled with both dynamic action and convincing romance.  There's also an exploration of different kinds of love; mother-daughter relationships are particularly important in CHAOS.  The afterworld Fine invented is clever, compelling, and unlike most anything else I've read.

In fact, I think I'm only complaining about CHAOS because the first two books in this series were so strong.  It had a tough act to follow.  I think it would've made it with one or two less extraneous subplots.  At the same time, it's much better than many books I've read lately.

If you're looking for a series with a fierce and determined Latin-American heroine, a romance that spans life and death (several times), a desperate fight against body snatchers, and battles against impossible odds, give Guards of the Shadowlands a try.  It's terrific fun.

Review: Chasing Before

Book two of the Memory Chronicles
By Lenore Appelhans
Available now from Simon & Schuster BFYR
Review copy
Read my review of The Memory of After

Note: I know Lenore Appelhans.

It's been awhile since I read THE MEMORY OF AFTER (published in hardcover as LEVEL 2), so it took several chapters before I readjusted to the mythology of the series and remembered what had happened before.  Felicia and her boyfriend Neil have both moved on to Level 3, the second level of the afterlife.  Unfortunately, the Morati (a group of rogue angels) have moved into Level 3 too. 

There were several things I liked about CHASING BEFORE and several things that frustrated me.  I liked that we got to meet Felicia's best friend Autumn, who had been murdered before the events of THE MEMORY OF AFTER.  Autumn is still working through her afterlife, and though she says she's forgiven Felicia for stealing her boyfriend, there is still an obvious friction between the girls.  They also run into Neil's older brother Nate, which felt like a bit much.  Maybe if he'd died many years after, but it sure feels like a lot of their peer group conveniently died off.  Nate, however, does provide one big revelation: Felicia and Neil didn't die in the car crash like they thought.  They're both missing months of memories.

CHASING BEFORE is full of neat twists like that, and they keep coming though the climax of the book.  The end of CHASING BEFORE can serve as a conclusion, but I'm excited to see Level 4 and find out what's next.  Unfortunately, the exciting twists and things blowing up keep getting bogged down by relationship drama.  The issues between Felicia and Neil are very realistic.  She wants to have sex; he still wants to keep to his ideal of no sex before marriage.  She's prone to jealousy and he's stubborn.  But their fights didn't endear me to Neil, who I've never found that swoonworthy.

Level 3 itself is also a mix of good and bad.  I liked the character development Felicia goes through as she learns to let go of her life on Earth, even as she's desperate to recover her lost memories and the whole of herself.  At the same time, Level 3 is apparently where you learn your afterlife career.  Thankfully we don't have to spend too much time in class.  There are less flashbacks in CHASING BEFORE than in THE MEMORY OF AFTER, if you're one of the readers that was bothered by those.  The past continues to be helpful to discovering what's happening, but it is no longer a focus.

CHASING BEFORE is a breezy read with an intriguing take on the afterlife and a heroine who is both brave and determined.  There is a love triangle, for those who hate that, but it is very much in the background.  It's probably best if you read THE MEMORY OF AFTER first, but I think CHASING BEFORE can stand on its own.

Review: Sacrifice

Book five in the Elemental series
By Brigid Kemmerer
Available now from K-Teen (Kensington)
Review copy
Read my reviews of Spirit and Secret

SACRIFICE is the fifth and final book in the Elemental series.  The Merrick brothers - Michael, Gabriel, Nick, and Chris - have fought off several guides and proved to some former enemies that they aren't a danger.  They're building a pretty good life with their significant others and Hunter, the former Guide-in-training who moved in.  But an enemy is closing in, and their methods are deadly to bystanders.  Michael is determined to stop whoever it is, alone, without risking his brothers.

Michael is the oldest and has felt the burden of responsibility since their parents died.  SACRIFICE is the perfect title for his book.  It's a title with several meanings, in fact.  Given that the Merrick brothers are strongest together, his determination is a little silly.  At the same time, it makes perfect sense from a parent's point of view.  And it makes waves with his girlfriend (an actual parent), who doesn't appreciate being out of the loop when her boyfriend keeps showing up in mortal danger.

Hannah and Michael have been dating in the background of previous books, so I was curious how the vibe of an established relationship would affect the book.  But Hannah is almost a non-entity.  Her chapters are rarely about the actual plot, and she's even given a secondary love interest like a love triangle was needed.  Hannah and Michael rarely interact.  Given how vibrant the romances in the Elemental series have been, it was a bit of a letdown. 

The plot, however, is thrilling.  The reveal of the Guide who has been harrowing them is simply brilliant.  There's a real sense that the heroes are in danger, and the effects of the violence aren't disposable.  There is a lot of pain in SACRIFICE.  If this was just another book in the Elemental series, it wouldn't be my favorite, but I would be very happy with it.

Having said that, I found that SACRIFICE was not a satisfying series finale.  There are a number of threads left dangling, including what I felt was the most important thread of the series.  The conclusion of SACRIFICE has about as much impact as the conclusion of the other four books.  I feel like I should still be expecting the next chapter to come out next year.  I thought this was a very fun series, but people considering picking it up should expect a very open ending.

Review: Gorgeous

By Paul Rudnick
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy

I feel in love with GORGEOUS's hardcover jacket, but I might like the look of the paperback even better.  (Plus, the white/black/red color scheme is ever so slightly more plot relevant than the black/red/blue color scheme.)  GORGEOUS is the young adult debut of Paul Rudnick, a writer known for his plays and humor pieces in The New Yorker.

In this modern-day Cinderella story, Becky Randle is left adrift when her beloved mother dies.  Then she finds a phone number in her mother's things, with instructions to call it.  She reaches reclusive fashion designer Tom Kelly, who promises her three dresses that will make her the most beautiful woman in the world.  The catch?  She must fall in love and marry within the year.

I enjoyed Becky's identity struggle.  She enjoys being confident, intimidating Rebecca, but can't quite forget that she's just nice, middle-of-the-road Becky.  Being Rebecca opens her up to a world of new experiences, and the potential to use her fame for good, but everyone warns her that there will be a cost to that fame.  And she's not entirely clueless that there's something sinister about the magic Kelly has worked upon her.

I do feel like GORGEOUS tried to bite off a bit too much.  There isn't really room for both Becky's coming of age and her true, magical romance.  I never quite bought the depth of her feelings because she didn't spend much time with the guy.  I did buy her relationship with her best friend Rocher, which is one of the highlights of the book.  Rocher is happy for Rebecca, and Rebecca sticks by her oldest friend.  There's no question that their relationship has changed, but both girls fight for each other.

In the end, GORGEOUS was a bit uneven and the internal logic doesn't always hang together, but it is fun and positive.  I loved seeing Becky's growth throughout the novel and cheered for her to get a fairytale ending, even when it looked impossible.  I think GORGEOUS would definitely liven up an airplane ride - you could imagine you were traveling Rebecca-style.

Fans of fairytales might want to check out Fairy Tale Fortnight, hosted by The Book Rat.

Review: Liv, Forever

By Amy Talkington
Available now from Soho Teen
Review copy

The titular Liv is a teenager with an art scholarship to Wickham Hall.  She's a bit out of place with the old-money students, but she soon makes friends with fellow, strange scholarship student Gabe and starts dating Malcolm.  Okay, so it isn't all good.  Gabe claims to see ghosts, for example.  But Liv's love for Malcolm smooths over the school's rough edges.

Then Liv dies.

In some ways, I wish that the blurb of LIV, FOREVER didn't give away her death.  It's a daring move for the book, and a rare one.  The plucky heroine and her friends start realizing something is awry, but they act too late.  It's not that Liv does anything stupid.  She just doesn't get stupidly lucky, or jump to strange conclusions about supernatural happenings for no reason.  All she does is go to a school that could really help her career and fall for a sweet, handsome boy.  And because of that, she dies.

Liv, Malcolm, and Gabe work together to uncover who killed Liv.  As they do so, they discover that girls have been dying pretty regularly at Wickham Hall.  Who done it and why isn't entirely surprising, but the journey there is well done.  I liked the little touches, like the fact that Liv can only communicate with Malcolm through Gabe.  I liked that debut author Amy Talkington resisted the urge to throw in a love triangle.  I loved the glimpses at the lives of the other dead girls, their ambitions and hopes and the injustice of it all.

The mystery plot doesn't take a backseat to the romance, but the romance is the emotional core of LIV, FOREVER.  It proceeds pretty quickly, because Liv dies early in the school year and they have to be deeply in love before their death.  I mean, it doesn't take much convincing that two good-looking teenagers with similar interests would be into each other, but they got together so fast I was convinced rich-boy Malcolm was up to something nefarious.  But the sweetness of their relationship won me over.

If you're looking for a standalone, romantic ghost story, you might pick up LIV, FOREVER.  (There is a sequel hook at the end, but LIV, FOREVER can be read alone.)  It has a few unique flourishes that make up for the predictable plot.  It also contains some of the worst friends ever, seriously.