Review: Thicker Than Water

By Brigid Kemmerer
Available now from Kensington
Review copy

I loved Brigid Kemmerer's Elemental series (even if I think it didn't entirely stick the landing), so I'm not sure why I let THICKER THAN WATER languish on my Kindle so long.  When I did start it, I devoured it in a single sitting.

When the book opens, Thomas Bellweather is getting ready for his mother's funeral.  She was strangled in her bed while he was home.  He is, understandably, a suspect.  He doesn't realize how much everyone in his new home suspects him until he shoves Charlotte Rooker aside when she accidentally causes him to flash back to finding his mother's dead body.   This arouses the wrath of her older, overprotective cop brothers.

What follows is a Romeo and Juliet story that fits the forbidden love pattern that showed up so often in the Elemental series.  Because I was familiar with Kemmerer's other books I suspected a paranormal twist was coming, and I wasn't wrong.  While THICKER THAN WATER shares much of the appeal of Kemmerer's debut series, it has its own strengths.

Thomas is wonderfully free of guile.  He's been stripped to the bone by the changes in his life, and all he wants are answers - and Charlotte.  Charlotte, meanwhile, is struggling to define herself in a paternalistic family and worries if her attraction to the "bad boy" really is as dangerous as everyone else says.  Thomas is thrilled to find someone who believes him, but even Charlotte has her doubts.  I found it realistic that she questioned her instinct to just believe him because he seemed to be telling the truth, but at the same time it makes some of her decisions dumb even from her own point of view.

THICKER THAN WATER is a standalone novel, although the ending leaves some ends open for a potential sequel.  I was very satisfied with the ending, but I must admit I'd love another story about Thomas and Charlotte.

Review: Arrows

By Melissa Gorzelanczyk
Narrated by Laura Knight Keating and Nick Cordero
Available now from Recorded Books
Print version available from Delacorte Books (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

At least once a year, I listen to an audiobook.  They'll never be my favorite way to experience books, but they've been growing on me.  ARROWS had the advantage of being a mere 6 and a half hours long.  It took me a week of driving to listen to the whole story - but far better than one of those 24 hour audiobooks that would take me a month.

ARROWS tells the story of Aaryn, son of Cupid and Psyche, and Karma, a human.  (Great thing about listening: I didn't have to look at that spelling of Aaron for the entire book.)  Aaryn was supposed to shoot a couple with arrows to become a cupid himself, but he accidentally misplaced one while busy with social media.  The result: Karma is hopelessly in love with Danny, who takes her for granted (and worse).  Aaryn has to get Danny to fall in love with her in return or be banished.  The problem: No one would wish Danny on their worst enemy, much less a perfectly nice girl.  Even worse, Karma got pregnant, and so him being a terrible father is also a factor.

I preferred Laura Knight Keating's narration to Nick Cordero's, but I enjoyed the sections of the story through Aaryn's point of view more.  (Cordero did grow on me.)  The result of the arrow is just horrific.  It's not like real love - Karma physically feels herself getting sick if she gets angry or upset with Danny.  She can't even think ill of him when he hurts her.  It was hard to hear her continually stuck in that rut.  Aaryn, meanwhile, gets to be more dynamic and realize how broken the system he dreamed of becoming a part of is.

Remember the 6 and a half hours running time?  ARROWS is a short novel.  That can be an advantage, and I don't think there was more story to explore.  (Except maybe any sort of explanation for why Karma, a serious dancer, never seems to have considered an abortion.  She clearly didn't keep Nell to make Danny happy.)  But I felt like what was there spent too much time spinning its wheels and that the climax played out too quickly.  In ten minutes, everything gets resolved.  I was also bothered that Karma seems to overcome her cursed love for Danny more for Aaryn than herself.

Listening to ARROWS livened up my commute, but I think I found it more disturbing than it was meant to be.  I might, however, look for more novels narrated by Laura Knight Keating.

Review: Tear You Apart

Companion novel to Kill Me Softly
By Sarah Cross
Available now from EgmontUSA
Review copy

EgmontUSA may be shutting down, but at least they're releasing their 2015 slate. The first one I just had to read is TEAR YOU APART, the companion to KILL ME SOFTLY.  The first book introduced Beau Rivage, the town where descendants of faerie-human unions are forced to live out curses, curses worse than living in Mississippi for the rest of your life.

One of the big differences between TEAR YOU APART and KILL ME SOFTLY is that Viv grew up in Beau Rivage.  She knows exactly what story she's living, and she fears it.  She is Snow White, which means the Huntsman Henley will either kill or save her.  If he saves her, her stepmother Regina will keep trying.  Once Viv loved both Regina and Henley.  But when Regina betrayed her true colors and Henley was cursed, Viv decided she couldn't trust anyone.  She can't keep herself from Henley, but she can't bring herself to trust him again either.

TEAR YOU APART weaves together "Snow White," "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," and "Rumpelstiltskin" in a darkly romantic tale.  Viv can be an utter spoiled brat, but getting out of her comfort zone and talking to people really forces her to take measure of her life.  And even when she's in spoiled brat mode, I admire her dedication to her own survival.  I liked the romance between her and Henley, but liked that she takes a chance when her prince Jasper shows up.  Even more, I like that she grows into being her own rescuer (as much as she can).

TEAR YOU APART will satisfy fans of fairytales who aren't afraid of some rather large liberties and some of the darker endings remaining in place.  Fans of KILL ME SOFTLY will enjoy that the cast of that novel makes cameo appearances.  Also nice: a reoccurring character is confirmed as a lesbian and there is a princess and princess couple that no one remarks upon.  Little details like that help the updated fairytale concept really work.

--

In other news, today is Multicultural Children's Book Day.  The sponsors are holding a virtual book drive to support First Book.

Review: Afterworlds

Book one of a duology
By Scott Westerfeld
Available now from Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)
Review copy

AFTERWORLDS, the latest effort from the hugely popular Scott Westerfeld, is two books in one.  Darcy Patel's story will appeal to fans of contemporary novels, while Lizzie's story will appeal to paranormal fans.

Darcy is moving out thanks to the huge advance she just got for her first novel and unwritten sequel.  She's going to live in New York where the writers are.  There, she discovers that maybe it wasn't best to rely on her younger sister to budget (because who knew how many mops she would need?) and falls in love with another author, who is also making her YA debut.  It's a bit fairytale, except for the fact that Darcy's girlfriend has secrets.

Lizzie just survived a terrorist attack by pretending to be dead.  In fact, she pretended so well that she crossed over to the world of the dead and became a psychopomp.  There she meets Yamaraj, who starts teaching her what she needs to know to survive.  But an encounter with a pedophile's victim inspires her to start getting more active with her new powers.  Her story is gripping from that first, horrifying chapter.  It's no wonder that a publishing company would pay the big bucks for her story.  (It made me think of the first chapter of Beth Revis's debut book, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.  It is only similar in how gripping and terrifying it is, but it's easy to envision how a publicity campaign could be enacted around it.)

Lizzie's story is AFTERWORLDS, the book Darcy wrote.  As Darcy's section progresses, it becomes clear that we're reading the edited version of the in-story AFTERWORLDS.  We also learn the twist: the original draft has an unhappy ending.  Darcy's dive into the world of publishing - editor's letters, meeting other authors, agents - will determine whether she changes the ending or keeps it.

Each girl's story is entertaining on its own merits, although most readers will prefer one or the other just based on their own preferred genre.  Either the odd chapters or even chapters can be read on their own, if that is preferred, although the two stories go together in interesting ways.  Lizzie's story has more action and terror, with a hint of romance.  Darcy's story has more romance, with lots of meta discussion  about Lizzie's story.  For instance, is Darcy appropriating her own culture by making Yamaraj the romantic hero?  Both heroines grow in interesting ways throughout their stories.  I took longer to warm up to Darcy (that terrible budget!), but by the end I liked both girls.

I'm sure I'll be back for UNTITLED PATEL next year.  (There is going to be a sequel, right?)  AFTERWORLDS is a different sort of book, and for me it was a successful experiment indeed.

Review: Sinner

Companion to the Wolves of Mercy Falls
By Maggie Stiefvater
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy
Read more posts in my Maggie Stiefvater tag

Cole St. Clair and Isabel Culpeper return in the long awaited conclusion to their relationship that began in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.  I'm very happy that Maggie Stiefvater waited until she was inspired to write their story, because SINNER is sun drenched, sexy, and the story these characters deserve.

For those who just want to jump in, it is possible to read SINNER without reading SHIVER, LINGER, and FOREVER first.  Cole even starts by warning the reader that he's a werewolf so that wouldn't surprise the uninitiated.  Grace and Sam are briefly mentioned, but they're off doing their own thing.  However, SINNER is most satisfying if the reader knows how Cole and Isabel's relationship originally went sour (not to mention what happened to Cole's drummer).

I really liked that Cole is still dealing with his addiction issues in SINNER.  He might've gotten clean during the series, but being sober is an ongoing process.  And Cole is a master at finding new addictions and new ways to self destruct.  It's even more difficult to keep control since he's agreed to be on a reality webshow and his producer wants drama.  Isabel might bring the drama, but she won't sign a release.  (Smart girl, as always.)

Cole and Isabel are such a wonderful pair.  The both hold themselves aloof, but Isabel does in coldly while Cole reaches out through a persona.  Isabel is pretty good at seeing through Cole's mask, but he's pretty terrible at seeing through hers.  It isn't easy between them, but it could be worth the effort.

I think Maggie Stiefvater just keeps getting better and better.  SINNER is a wonderful story about two damaged people helping each other and learning what lies beyond their passion for each other.  It's a story about art, and family, and grief.  I expect the fans who have been waiting for more about Cole and Isabel will not be disappointed.

Review: Thorn Jack

The First Night and Nothing novel
By Katherine Harbour
Available now from Harper Voyager (HarperCollins)
Review copy

Finn Sullivan and her father move to the small town where he grew up in the wake of her older sister's suicide.  There, Finn attends college and makes two good friends, Sylvie and Christie.  She's finding the rhythm of life again.  Then she meets gorgeous Jack Fata at a concert.  The Fatas are beautiful, strange, and scary - soon Finn, Sylvie, and Christie are in over their heads.  They must be clever to save themselves.  But Finn doesn't just want to save herself; she wants to save Jack as well.

I felt that THORN JACK started slowly.  For one thing, the college sounds nothing like a college and it really bothered me.  It's called HallowHeart.  What kind of name is that?  It's even a college with a phys ed requirement.  Plus, Finn and her friends all live at home and generally seem more like high schoolers than college students.  I don't think it would've changed the story to put them in high school, and several little things would've made more sense.

I did enjoy being slowly pulled into the mythology of the Night and Nothing series.  It's fairly traditional, as THORN JACK is based on the Tam Lin ballad.  But it incorporates a few non-Celtic traditions and has its own spin on things.  I also liked that the danger to the main characters felt very real.  They mostly survive because the Fatas have plans for them, although they do a little better once they learn how to protect themselves and to fight (with poetry).

Katherine Harbour is a debut novelist, but she has strong control over her language.  THORN JACK is very lush and lovely, although she repeats some of her best images until they become almost meaningless.  Generally, however, the beautiful imagery enhances the horror elements. 

If you're familiar with Tam Lin, you know where everything is headed in THORN JACK.  But Harbour makes the story worth reading.  Finn is a heroine who is somewhat foolhardy, but also loyal, determined, and inventive.  Jack may be dangerous, but he's protective of Finn.  (For a moment, it did look like THORN JACK was headed for the TWILIGHT mode.)  Finn's best friends are great additions to the story.  I am eager to read the next two books in the Night and Nothing series and to learn more about the wolf-eyed man.

48HBC Review: Feather Bound

By Sarah Raughley
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy

I was excited about FEATHER BOUND, a YA debut based on the Hagoromo/Crane Wife legend.  After seeing several negative reviews, my excitement dimmed and it moved down in my TBR pile.  But 48HBC, with its focus on diversity, pushed it back up toward the top.

The story begins with Deanna attending the funeral of an old family friend.  She's mostly there out of obligation, but she does mourn the man's son, her best friend who died when he was ten.  Cue the reveal that in Deanna's world some people are "swans" - they have feathers, which if stolen make them the slave of the one who takes them.  And that old family friend enslaved his wife.  Cue the second reveal that Hyde is still alive, taking over his father's company, and making some big changes to it as well.

Sarah Raughley's writing is fine and there are lots of good ideas in FEATHER BOUND.  Through the metaphor of swans, Raughley addresses human trafficking, coming out, and several other issues.  At the same time, that means those issues only get addressed shallowly.  Deanna is only interested in keeping herself and those she loves free; she's not interested in ending slavery or campaigning for stricter protections or ending the stigma against being a swan.  Much like a fairy tale, there is no explanation for the magical.  Swans just are.  FEATHER BOUND really requires the reader to buy in to the metaphor.  I did, but I wished Raughley had the time to go deeper.

Deanna was a frustrating heroine.  She's the type, as her sister points out, to refuse any help offered and then complain that she's all alone.  Thus, Deanna tries to go at it alone in a desperate situation while ignoring people who could and would help.  At the same time, it's easy to see why a confused, scared teenager would withdraw from the world as Deanna does.

I think fans of traditional fairy tale retellings will enjoy FEATHER BOUND.  The world's rules serve the characters journey.  It's not appropriate for most readers younger than twelve due to the sexual slavery angle, but it doesn't really have any other elements that play up the darkness of the premise.  (Okay, I am now remembering that there is another strange sexual bit that is not for younger readers.)  I did like that Deanna found her inner strength at the end.

Review: When the World was Flat (and we were in love)

By Ingrid Jonach
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy

I was psyched to read this book.  I mean, just say the title aloud and marvel at it.  WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT (and we were in love).  That's poetry.  Through in the fact that it was standalone sci-fi and I was lining up to read it.  But somewhere along the way, I fell out of love with this book.

I love that YA blurs genre lines and blends tropes together in new ways.  But WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT is never quite convincing as a romance or as a work of science fiction.  In the beginning, there's a nice sense of dread.  Protagonist Lillie can't sleep, haunted by creepy dreams that are getting worse.  Around forty percent in, nothing more unexplainable has happened than strange dreams and deja vu.  Then, suddenly everything gets explained.  In fact, it all gets so explained that even shivers and the human imagination are no mystery.  And yet, there's still quite a bit of book to go.  What crazy parallel universe hijinks will fill that space?  Not much.

As for the romance, Lillie is drawn by new guy Tom (much like the other girls in school).  But she really thinks there's something there, despite the fact that the dude is withdrawn from everybody and completely hot and cold to Lillie.  But not to worry, because it all gets explained.  And they aren't just in love because they're soul mates, they're also in love because Lillie has a sense of humor.  No, it isn't much more convincing in context.  I was expecting some major swoon,  but there is zero spark to this romance.

Going back to those creepy, haunting dreams . . . they're perhaps the biggest disappointment.  They seem to foreshadow a showdown, one that never comes.  Honestly, WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT is brimming with potential.  I particularly liked Lillie's relationship with her best friends at the beginning.  Sylv and Jo are very different from Lillie and each other, but none of them are suited to the popular crowd, and they're used to each others' foibles.  At the same time, they're also the best at poking each others' soft spots.  Friendships being tested, dreams coming true, and then it all becomes bogged down in a boy with the personality of wet paper.

Ingrid Jonach is a competent writer, but WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT has serious pacing issues and a lack of real action and suspense.  Her female characters are varied and flawed, particularly in their propensity to insecure teen girl slut-shaming.  I'd be interested in seeing what she's doing a couple of novels from now, because she seems to have some nifty ideas.  Unfortunately, WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT falls flat (and I'm not in love).

Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

By April Genevieve Tucholke
Available now from Dial (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

Violet White and her brother Luke live alone in Citizen Kane, their crumbling family estate.  Their parents are off in Europe, and have been for awhile.  Violet's only friend is Sunshine, their neighbor who delights in flirting with the sexist Luke.  To make money, Violet decides to rent the guesthouse - which brings River West into their lives.

Soon enough, strange things are happening in their little town.  And it always seems like River is at the center of the strangeness, which is steadily becoming more sinister.  Debut author April Genevieve Tucholke has good instincts for making Violet's continued attraction to River believable.  For one thing, the first truly horrible thing done is partially done in defense of a child.  There's Violet's lack of supervision and upbringing.  And there's River himself, stacking the deck in his favor.

BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, like UNSPOKEN, is a modern Gothic.  It has all the trappings of one of the classics: an atmospheric house, children in peril, an enigmatic man, possible supernatural shenanigans.  That traditional feel commingles with modern attitudes and morality to create a truly absorbing read.  There's mystery, romance, terror, and teenagers spinning out of control.

In some ways, I feel like I shouldn't like BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA.  Or perhaps I feel that I should feel guilty about liking it.  This is one twisted book.  But it's twisted in such a fun, compulsively readable sort of way.  I would've eaten it up back when I was a morbid teenager, and I ate it up pretty easily now.  It's why certain types of horror are popular.  There's a perverse pleasure in being disturbed.

Fans of paranormal romance looking for something with a lot of style and atmosphere should flock to BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA.  It's both different and familiar, in all the best ways.  It's certainly a promising beginning to Tucholke's career.

Review: The Deepest Night

Book 2 in the Sweetest Dark series
By Shana Abé
Available now from Bantam Books (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of The Sweetest Dark 

I fell head over heels for THE SWEETEST DARK.  It's one of my favorite books of 2013, one I called "a swoony book that I'll probably read multiple times before the promised sequel."  That was true, and I'm happy that THE DEEPEST NIGHT wasn't delayed like its predecessor because I did not want to wait any longer.

Warning: major spoilers for the first book.

Summer is coming, which means scholarship student Lora Jones is about to no longer have a place at the Iverson School for Girls.  That's not good, because she's getting a mission from the stars to save Armand's older brother, thought dead.  You see, Lora and Armand can turn into dragons and Lora's boyfriend was a star in human form who died.  It sounds crazy, but Shana Abé writes it so sweet and lovely.

There's some interesting development on the romance front.  Lora shot down a love triangle in the first book, preferring Jesse to Armand.  But she's getting over the loss of Jesse and feels a pull toward Armand, the only other member of her species she knows.  It leads her to do something I found incredibly dumb, but I'm curious to see how her decision will play out in the final novel.  And I can't hold it to much against her, because it was a noble thing to do.

Most of the novel deals with Armand and Lora traveling across war-torn Europe.  Abé continues to use the WWII setting well, although I must admit my favorite bit was Armand turning his family home into a hospital for wounded soldiers.  The biggest bully at Iverson turns out to be a talented, comforting nurse; however, it makes her no kinder to Lora.  Lora has no talent for keeping her cool during surgery, yet it makes her no less brave when she must face battle herself.  It sets up so many wonderful character moments.

I wasn't quite as in love with THE DEEPEST NIGHT as THE SWEETEST DARK.   At the same time, a number of interesting plot points have been set up for the next book in the series.  (I don't know whether this is just a trilogy or not.  I'd both love to find out how everything ends and spend more time in this world.)  Given the strength of the first two books, I'm sure things will continue to play out in a fascinating fashion.  I'm also happy that the Sweetest Dark series has encouraged me to read more of Abé's backlist.  I just devour her beautiful, poetic prose.

Review: Earthbound

First in a series
By Aprilynne Pike
Available now from Razorbill (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

Tavia Michaels survived the plane clash that killed her parents and more than two-hundred strangers.  She's on her way to physical and emotional recovery when she starts seeing things.  A boy, triangles, flickering people.  Worse, there's a man following her.

I enjoy books where characters find out that they're living in a paranormal universe, not a realistic one, and they have to piece together the rules.   Thus, I liked quite a bit of EARTHBOUND.  On that note, however, the book got more disappointing as it went on.  Several important pieces of the puzzle are handed to Tavia in a long infodump, one delivered when the characters should be running for their lives.  Then it turns out that the rules of the universe might not apply.

There is a love triangle, which will excite almost no one I know.  I will give Aprilynne Pike this: I am slightly unsure which boy Tavia will end up with, which is rare indeed.  (I have strong feelings about which I think will be Tavia's choice, but the second book will probably be needed to solidify those feelings.)  One of the boys is Quinn, who she keeps seeing around but who talks in an elliptical fashion and keeps disappearing.  The other is Benson, her best friend whom she wants something more with.  He works in a library, which certifies his hotness bona fides.  So far my favorite thing about the triangle is Tavia's insistence that she will date and fall in love with who she wants and everyone else can keep their opinion to themselves.

In other words, the triangle didn't bother me much.  What did bother me were a couple of brief passages that dropped in on the bad guys.  They didn't flow, and I felt they were too obvious about upcoming plot twists.  I'm not sure cutting them would have changed EARTHBOUND at all.

EARTHBOUND doesn't really get moving until the end.  It's mostly setup - not bad setup - but I felt like the opening was a bit long.  I think Pike is developing an interesting mythology and I'm interested in seeing where her strong-willed heroine will go, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with EARTHBOUND.  At the same time, the book ended with the main characters in an interesting place.

EARTHBOUND is a good choice for paranormal fans who enjoy conspiracies, secret societies, reincarnation, and love triangles.  It's a bit slow, but it promises exciting things for the series to come.

Review: Outcast

By Adrienne Kress
Available now from Diversion Books
Review copy
Read my review of The Friday Society

"Sixth year, I shot an angel in the face."

So ends the first chapter of OUTCAST, the newest book by Adrienne Kress.  I adored THE FRIDAY SOCIETY, thus picking this one up was a no brainer.  And that first chapter hooked me and kept me reading long after I should've gone to sleep if I wanted to be daisy fresh for work the next day.

Once a year, angels take people from Riley Carver's hometown.  The year after they take her best friend, who recently kissed her, she decides to fight back.  She ends up with Gabriel, a naked punk who thinks it's still 1956.  But perhaps two people can fight back better than one.  But perhaps even more than two . . .

I liked quite a bit about OUTCAST.  It has the same zany, madcap energy as THE FRIDAY SOCIETY.  It has an intriguing, slow-building female friendship.  It has a gradual romance filled with tension.  It has a crazy plan that involves shooting angels in the face.  It's slightly absurd and over the top, but it still makes decent points about our reality, including race relations in the Deep South, girl-on-girl crime, and the power of smoke and mirrors.

OUTCAST is held together by the force of Riley's personality.  When the book begins, she's not that confident.  She's not fashionable or socially gifted, her best friend disappeared and left her without a social or love life, and she's stuck in a town she doesn't like that much.  Gabe's arrival - her attraction to him and the possibilities he opens up - help bring Riley out of her shell and discover who she wants to become.

The only thing I don't like about OUTCAST is the ending.  It gutted the romantic in me.  I want another book set in this world to sooth my hurts, but I suspect it's a standalone.  (Please note I would welcome a book about cheerleader Lacy just as much as another about Riley.)  I still think the book was a ton of fun, and I think the ending works with both the characters and the world.  I just wanted everything to end with rainbows and sparkles.

OUTCAST is a good light paranormal for people who like laughing while reading, girls who can handle guns, and guys who fix up their own motorcycles.

Review: Forevermore

By Cindy Miles
Available now from Point (Scholastic)
Review copy

Honestly, it isn't that hard to get me to read a book.  FOREVERMORE had me hooked from the back blurb and cover promising a Scottish castle and a ghost.  Cindy Miles, an adult romance author making her YA debut, delivers everything one could hope from a Scottish castle-set ghost romance.  It's good, cheesy fun.

Violin prodigy Ivy Calhoun moves with her mother to Glenmorrag, the home of her stepfather Niall.  And Ivy isn't that opposed to Scotland (which, among other things, offers excellent music opportunities), but she doesn't really know Niall, his mother is a judgmental old lady, and a disembodied voice keeps telling her to leave.  It's all a bit of a hostile home environment.  As it turns out, the voice belongs to Logan Munro, who is just trying to save Ivy from a terrible fate.

One of the strengths of FOREVERMORE is Ivy and how she acts both sensibly and like a teenager trying to find her footing.  She knows she can't just leave the castle given that she's sixteen and in a country she barely knows, so she sets out to solve the mystery of Logan's death.  One of the main ways she does this is by talking to people.  Classmates, servants, people who have been around and might know something.  There's a real sense of Ivy becoming part of the community.  At the same time, she doesn't talk to her mother and stepfather despite the fact they could be a real help - and possibly in danger themselves.

FOREVERMORE ties into one of Miles' adult novels, HIGHLAND KNIGHT, which is out of print but available as an ebook.  I haven't read HIGHLAND KNIGHT, and it isn't necessary.  I think it could've been integrated more smoothly, but I thought it was an interesting idea.  I am down with a universe where time-traveling knights and cursed ghosts coexist.  And it's fun to think that one day a crazy paranormal romance might apply to your life.

The biggest weakness of FOREVERMORE is the ending.  Ivy gets one solution handed to her and stumbles across another and everything is solved with nary a trouble.  In a more plot-driven paranormal I might not forgive it, but FOREVERMORE is first and foremost a romance.  I enjoyed Ivy and Logan's relationship quite a bit.  There is some development before they start liking each other.  (Of course, Ivy instantly notices Logan is hot, but that's another animal.)  But they trust each other and work together to fight the evil haunting Glenmorrag, which is important in a relationship.

I must admit that I'm also happy the cover models actually bear a resemblance to the characters.  She has Ivy's blonde hair and pink streak!  Overall, the cover is a great encapsulation of the contents.  If you like romance, castles, ghosts, and music, I recommend picking up FOREVERMORE this summer.  It's a quick, sweet read with good atmosphere and an engaging lead couple.

Review and Freebies: Spirit

Book Three of the Elemental series
Includes short story "Breathless"
By Brigid Kemmerer
Available now from K-Teen (Kensington)
Review copy

I am happy to be a part of the blog tour for SPIRIT, hosted by The Midnight Garden.  Be sure to check out the tour page for a chance to win the series.  I thought STORM, the first book in the Elemental series was fantastic.  It had danger, magic, and some serious swoon.  The same is true of SPIRIT.  Male protagonist aren't as rare in YA as some people like to think, but they are rare in books this intensely romantic.  But it's not all romance, and Kemmerer has a talent for taking the story unexpected places.

No one trusts Hunter Garrity.  He's one of the Fifth, and expected to hunt down other Elementals.  He's still grieving for his father and processing the secrets revealed to him by his father's dying words.  His family isn't much comfort and he hasn't made any friends.  Then new girl Kate comes to town.  She could be his chance to make a real, human connection.  Or she could be a Guide sent to kill the Merrick brothers, like Hunter's father.

I liked that Kate had her own agenda.  She's a terrific foil to Hunter.  They have similar issues, and reacted to their upbringing in similar ways, but at the same time they don't have entirely the same goals.  They do have chemistry in spades.  SPIRIT was the first thing I read on my new toy (more about that later), and I kept showing people a shiny feature I discovered only to have them go, "She's not wearing any pants?!"  Yes, you should always check that it isn't a steamy scene before thrusting your book into someone's hands.  (There is an instance of tame, tasteful sex; these scenes are just awesome makeouts.)

The Elemental series does not shy away from moral ambiguity.  Some of the worst atrocities in the series are committed by kids - thirteen or younger.  How far should our protagonists go to stop them?  How responsible are children for their actions?  Hunter knows moral ambiguity.  He thought he knew black and white, but lately all he's been seeing are shades of grey.  He doesn't know who to trust himself.

I also like that the books stand decently on their own, each providing a full character arc for the protagonist, but that they're tightly tied together.  In SPIRIT,  Hunter is still reaping what he sowed in STORM.  Becca cares about him, but keeps her distance because she got played.  It's good turnabout that Hunter is at risk of getting played himself.

SPIRIT is heart wrenching, more so than the first two.  The emotions and stakes of the series just keep rising.  I cannot wait for the fourth book, tentatively titled SECRET.  Nick is probably my favorite of the Merrick brothers - levelheaded but dangerous.  "Breathless" is a good lead in to his story.  I'm excited that the Elemental series is going to have a gay protagonist, but even more excited to see what happens next to the Merrick brothers and their allies.

I've got two goodies for ya'll.  The first is a code to download "Elemental" for free.  This short story gives the background of Michael Merrick, before he had to become a parent to his brothers and shoulder the guilt of several senseless deaths.  Just follow this link and use the code VCARD.  Be quick - the code expires May 31st!  The second goodie is the first chapter of SPIRIT!  Just follow this link to download it or read it online.

If you're a fan of the Elemental series, I highly recommend voting in the poll below.  Kemmerer is going to write a short story featuring the guy who gets the most votes!

Review: The Sweetest Dark

By Shana Abé
Available now from Bantam Books (Random House)
Review copy

I bought THE SMOKE THIEF a few years ago for about a dollar based on a vague recollection of someone complimenting Shana Abé's style.  It just rocketed up my to read list because her young adult debut THE SWEETEST DARK blew me away.  (I just have to find it, first.)

First of, Abé's style does deserve being complimented on its own.  She has a smooth, almost poetic, way of writing that draws you into the magical atmosphere of her drákon-inhabited England.  The majority of THE SWEETEST DARK's action takes place at the Iverson School for Girls, on the coast of England during World War II.  It's all very gothic, aside from the lack of moors.

Eleanore "Lora" Jones grew up in an orphanage and spent much of her childhood in a mental institution due to the music she heard running through objects all around her.  Now seemingly cured, she is chosen to be a scholarship student supported by Duke Idylling.  There she encounters Jesse, the supposedly mute gardener who speaks to her, and Armand, the duke's discontented son.  And there the music begins to return.  Jesse knows what it means and helps Lora discover her power.

I liked how Abé handled the love triangle.  Armand is clearly into Lora, but she turns him down cleanly and clearly because she prefers Jesse.  There's no dithering about when she's obviously more into one of the choices.  I also liked that it wasn't the center of everything.  Although there's nothing magical about the girls in the school, Lora does have to live with them.  Thus learning to navigate their company takes some of her attention.  I liked that not all of the girls were horribly stuck-up and that some were more friendly than they first appeared.

The way history interweaves with the paranormal plot also works well.  London-born Lora is quite conscious of the threat posed by German bombs.  And, inevitably, the war does reach her doorstep.  Even with dragons on your side, war leaves devastation in its wake.

THE SWEETEST DARK made me forget the paranormal fatigue I've been feeling.  It's a swoony book that I'll probably read multiple times before the promised sequel comes out in summer 2013.  If you've ever enjoyed a paranormal romance, then read THE SWEETEST DARK.  It's one of the best books of the year.

Review: Spellcaster

First in a trilogy
By Claudia Gray
Available now from HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

When Claudia Gray's EVERNIGHT first came out, I saw it on the now defunct HarperTeen First Look sight.  But I didn't pick it up then.  I picked it up last year, when the e-copy was free and the series was complete.  And let me tell you that series worked beautifully when I could read the books one after another like six heaping handfuls of popcorn.  I was a little nervous reading SPELLCASTER now because what if I wanted the next book immediately?  I'd have to wait a year!

I will totally be waiting.  Gray manages to pull the rug out from under the reader at the last second, setting things up for an even bigger confrontation in the next book.  But what is contained within SPELLCASTER is a pretty fantastic handful of popcorn.

Nadia and her family are in a car wreck the instant they come to town, but luckily the extremely hot Mateo is there to save them.  Oh, to be a YA heroine.  Nadia and Mateo both have secrets.  Nadia is a witch and now that her mother has abandoned the family she'll remain untrained.  Mateo can see the future and is going to go insane just like everyone else in his family.  Also, there's something horrible inside the town strangling it from within.  Okay, maybe I don't want to be a YA heroine.

I'd tell you all about my favorite character, but I've forgotten all about her.  So does everyone else.  It's kind of a thing.  And I adore every time she pops up and goes, "Guys, I am still here.  Stop making moon eyes at each other."  She is the best and sadly pushed to the side all the time.   Luckily the narrative realizes that sidelining her is horrible - even when Nadia and Mateo don't - and is clearly angling to let her be noticed by book three.

If there was one thing I didn't like about SPELLCASTER, it was the villain point of view.  I would've preferred learning the information in those scenes when Nadia did instead of having it handed to me.  The villain scenes felt like a crutch.  Plus, they took away from the villain.  They were revealed to be so petty and fallible that they didn't seem as formidable as they should have.

But that's a pretty small quibble.  SPELLCASTER is the type of paranormal romance I can gobble down easily.  Friendship and family life balance out the thrill of meeting someone new.  The danger is rarely forgotten and not easily defeated.  And the heroine is willing to trust herself to find a way to triumph.  Also, Gray's twist on spellcasting is really nifty and poetic.  So, when is book two going to be available again?

Review: Deep Betrayal

Book Two of the Lies Beneath series
By Anne Greenwood Brown
Available now from Delacorte BFYR (Random House)
Review copy courtesy of Audra of The-Society.NET
Read my review of LIES BENEATH

LIES BENEATH wasn't my absolute favorite of the deluge of mermaid books last year (that was THE VICIOUS DEEP), but I enjoyed it quite a bit.  One of my favorite aspects was Calder's slightly inhuman narration.  Getting the paranormal romance through the point of view of the monster is still a twist.  So when I cracked open DEEP BETRAYAL and realized Lily was the narrator, I was a bit disappointed.  I hated myself for being disappointed about that, but it is what it is.

And it did take me awhile to get into DEEP BETRAYAL.  In the beginning, Lily is upset about being separated from her family and Calder, but mostly Calder.  When Calder shows up, she's concerned that he doesn't feel the same way about her as she does him and it only gets worse when he starts hanging out with her father and helping him through the changes in his life.  Did Lily forget to pack her spine when she left?

But then DEEP BETRAYAL started firing on all cylinders.  Lily and Calder start to investigate a series of murders clearly committed by a mermaid.  This requires them to track down both a mermaid of legend and Calder's estranged sisters.  I loved getting another perspective on them.  They're vicious, but there are reasons to pity them.  DEEP BETRAYAL is clear that killing and eating humans is wrong, but when your food is human you're in a tough spot.

Lily also makes an independent investigation into her own nature, following her discovery of her heritage at the end of LIES BENEATH.  She sees the worst that can happen, but can't resist the longing.  It's an interesting dilemma that's glossed over in many paranormal romances I've read.

I'm not gonna lie, the beginning of DEEP BETRAYAL is rough and it's not just because of the change in narrators.  I think if you stick with it, however, it's an excellent sequel to LIES BENEATH and has me salivating for the next book in the series.  I can't wait to see what Anne Greenwood Brown will throw at her protagonists next.

Review: Broken

First in a trilogy
By A. E. Rought
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy

I've been meaning to read basically all of the Strange Chemistry books, but BROKEN is the first one I got to.  A. E. Rought's debut young adult novel is an update of FRANKENSTEIN, with far more romance, fistfights, and high school gossip than the original.

Emma Jane Gentry is still recovering from the death of her boyfriend Daniel.  He fell to his death right in front of her, which definitely left an impression.  Then Alex Franks transfers to her school.  He's got a weird disease and his dad is creepy, but Emma is still drawn to him.  He reminds her of Daniel in the strangest ways, but he's also a decent guy in his own right.

The fact that BROKEN is based on FRANKENSTEIN diffuses some of the tension.  The dark secret behind Alex's connection to Daniel is pretty easy to deduce.  Fortunately, Rought doesn't focus the story too much on Alex's secrets.  Instead, Emma's recovery and her romance with Alex drive the story.  And it's a good romance.  Their relationship builds throughout the story, and they actually talk about making it official.  It's very high school, and sweet, but still driven by an intensely physical attraction.

I also liked how much time is spent within the walls of the high school.  Emma goes to class, she hangs with friends, she avoids the guy who tries to get her attention in all the wrong ways, and she has homework when she goes home.  She also has two parents, both of whom are involved in her life.  Her mother isn't afraid to ground her for getting up to standard paranormal romance shenanigans.  And when she fractures her hand, it continues to be a problem throughout the story.  These things aren't present enough to interrupt the momentum of the story, but it's nice to actually see them in a paranormal.

I enjoyed BROKEN.  I'm curious as to how Rought will launch a series from this title, as it stands alone just fine.  But I'll definitely read the next book, because BROKEN is a good start.  I feel like I haven't read much paranormal fiction lately, so it was nice to start the year off with a fun example of the genre.

Review: Black City

Book One of the Black City Chronicles
By Elizabeth Richards
Available now from Putnam (Penguin)
Review copy
Part of the Fall 2012 Breathless Reads Campaign

I watch True Blood an entire season at a time.  My dad Tivos the episodes for me, then I watch them all when I go to visit him. Thus instead of watching season five this summer, I watched it shortly before reading BLACK CITY.  One of the points made repeatedly was the humans outnumbered vampires enough to destroy them all if it came to war, even though the vampires are stronger and faster.  Then I read BLACK CITY, where the vampires (called Darklings) are all living in a ghetto, having been defeated and quarantined by the humans. 

How do you keep the Darklings to stay quietly behind a wall?  How do you keep them fed, since it wouldn't be well received to let a defeated people starve to death?  What do you do about the plague racing through the population?  What do you do about the children of half-human, half-Darkling heritage?  These are all questions the heavily religion-influenced government would prefer the population not think about.

Ash Fisher has to think about it because he's a twin blood, living with his human father and letting humans get high on the drug that is his blood because there's no other way he can make money.  Natalie Buchanan has to think about it because she's the daughter of the Emissary, the head of the local government who is struggling for control with Purian Rose, local religious leader.  They also have to think about it because they fall in love - and human and Darkling relationships are illegal.

I must praise Elizabeth Richards for putting both vampires and a love triangle in her debut and doing something very different with them.  Seriously, this is one very inventive twist on the love triangle and I can't wait to see how it plays out in PHOENIX and other subsequent installments of the Black City Chronicles.  And her vampires have an interesting mythology.  They have their own legends, funeral rites, and other culture.  They're willing to do tough things in order to endure and eventually overcome.  Richards also throws in some genetic manipulation via mad science, and ya'll know I'm always up for mad science.

BLACK CITY is a fast-paced, and indeed breathless, read.  I fell in love with the story from the first chapter, where Ash's meeting with a client goes very wrong.  And I didn't fall out of love at any point.  I'm intrigued by the world Richards has created and want Ash and Natalie to make it, even if I do have to laugh at some of their more dramatic gestures of love.  BLACK CITY is an intense, original novel and I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.  I have to know what happens!

Review: Death and the Girl Next Door

By Darynda Jones
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin
Review copy

I wanted to read Darynda Jones' first foray into young adult fiction because of its awesome title.  DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR sounds like a morbid screwball comedy, doesn't it?  That's not a description of the book, just so you know, although the title is fitting.

Lorelei can see visions when she touches people, sometimes.  She just got the strangest one yet from Jared Kovach, the new boy in school.  But while he's arrived suddenly, loner Cameron Lusk already seems to know and hate him.  Both boys keep running into Lorelei on the tenth anniversary of her parents' disappearance and something quite remarkable is about to happen.

Are you fleeing in terror from the dreaded love triangle?  Fear not!  Lorelei and Jared are very into each other, but Cameron's got a different romance going on.  In fact, there is a bit of a love triangle, but it's centered around Lorelei's best female friend Brooklyn.  Their other best friend, Glitch, is clearly into Brooklyn and dislikes her budding flirtation with Cameron.  Plus, Glitch and Cameron had a mysterious run-in with each other on a second-grade camping trip that's left lingering bad feelings.

I took awhile to get into DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR.  For the first couple of chapters, I had trouble parsing Jones' sentences.  I think it was more because I was distracted by the Olympics than a fault in prose.  I was also turned off by Lorelei's repeated descriptions of her looks.  Jones didn't seem to be going for a secretly beautiful thing - Lorelei is short and pixie-looking, just as she complains.  Okay, she's clearly pretty, but not beautiful.  Anyway, she must goes on and on about how she hates her looks far too many times.

Things really get going once Lorelei gets hit by a car.  She, Brooklyn, and Glitch determine that they must get to the bottom of Cameron and Jared's damage.  (And, y'know, figure out how Lorelei survived.)  Brooklyn and Glitch are both awesome characters, so I'm glad they don't disappear once paranormal things start happening.  Brooklyn is five-feet-nothing of attitude and Glitch (AKA Casey Niyol Blue-Spider) stands by his friends even though he's not as big or strong as the things their facing.

I felt like the plot of DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR hopped around a lot.  There's figuring out just who and what everyone is, two girls at school who are acting strange and need help, and a sinister news crew to escape.  I liked that Jones didn't labor herself to withhold answers from the audience or suddenly stop in the middle of the climax to create anticipation for the next book.  I'm not saying she should change that.  But there could've been more shape to the story.

DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is a good choice for readers who like YA urban fantasy and paranormal romance but are tired of love triangles.  It's one of the better angel books I've read too.  Angels are tricky to work with.  But DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR avoids my major gripe with angel books, which is a refusal to acknowledge any sort of metaphysics.  There's a Heaven, there's a Hell, and the prayers of believers have power.  Jones draws on Judeo-Christian mythology, but doesn't attach a religion to the angels.  On the whole, DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is uneven, but I'm looking forward to whatever happens next.