The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

So, I read a review of this book at bloggin bout books and thought it would be the perfect match for my tastes. I chose wisely because I really enjoyed this steampunk novel. Katherine Tulman is sent by her aunt to commit her crazy uncle to insane asylum. When she arrives at the family property she discovers that the estate is much more that it appears on the surface, employing an entire village of people, who build her uncle's brilliantly designed machines. Her aunt is right, though, there is something wrong with her uncle, but underneath his odd ways lives a mind that is brilliant with numbers and engineering. How can Katherine put such a mind into an asylum and how can she destroy the livelihoods of people on the estate? Yet, to disobey her aunt is to ensure a tortuous future for herself. Unable to make a decision Katherine spends the summer on the estate getting to know her uncle, and enjoying every last moment of precious freedom that she has left. Yet, it appears that she may have more in common with her uncle than she thinks. Does she also belong in an asylum? As her mind grows more disordered and forgetful Katherine fears what it means for her future.

This was an awesome book from a point-of-view/characterization stand point. I think the author did such a marvelous job showing the character through how she thought about things. It was really interesting to read a Victorian--themed novel whose main heroine had an affinity for numbers and logical thinking. It really made her feel different and unique. Her Uncle also had some form of autism probably, which also made him an interesting character. In the end you are rooting for Katherine to protect this vulnerable and brilliant man from those that would cast aside his brilliance because it was abnormal. I highly recommend this one.   

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After Hello by Lisa Mangum

After Hello by Lisa Mangum

"What if the first day of your relationship was the only day you had? 

Seventeen-year-old Sara is a seeker. She’s always on the lookout for the perfect moment to capture with her ever-present, point-and-shoot camera, especially on her first trip to New York City. 

Sam is a finder. He has a knack for finding what other people can’t—a first-edition book or the last two tickets to a sold-out Broadway show. In New York, there is always something interesting to find. 

When Sam and Sara’s paths cross, neither one of them is prepared for what they will find out about each other—and about themselves when they form an unlikely partnership in search of a seemingly elusive work of art. They have one day to find the impossible. Fate brought their talents together, but what happens when time runs out? Will love be able to overcome fate? This new novel from award-winning author Lisa Mangum explores what happens after hello."

 

Sara is stuck wandering the streets of New York while her father is in a meeting that runs late. She happens to run into Sam, and they discover that they are kindred spirits, both holding wounds that they can help each other heal. Sara accidently gets Sam’s brother fired from his job being the personal assistant to an actress with anger management problems, and spend the rest of her time in New York searching for a piece of art that will get Paul his job back. I enjoyed the characters and setting of the novel and it reminded me in small way of The Fault in our Stars, except the novel was far less depressing, as the book is ultimately not a tragedy, and has a happy ending. I guess the only problem I had with the book is that I felt like the stakes to find the art weren’t high enough personally for Sara. The book kind of slowed for me in the middle because I had a hard time believing that Sara would go through all this trouble and blow off her dad for some guy that was actually kind of a jerk to her when they met. Still, over all I found this to be an interesting read.

 Tour giveaway is here

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Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Transparent by Natalie Whipple

"Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl."

Fiona is one of those whose genes have been affected by change. Her particular mutation makes it so that she appears invisible to everyone around her. When she looks in the mirror she doesn’t even know what she looks like. In fact, she often feels like a tool and she is an extremely useful one to her Father, the leader of a crime syndicate.  When her father has plans to send Fiona overseas to kill somebody her mother decides it is time to get out.

They sneak off to a small town in the middle of the desert, and Fi actually gets to go to a normal school. There she begins to make friends and have an almost normal life. Life is almost perfect except for the fact that her brother, her dad’s henchman, keeps coming around the check on them. Fiona can’t trust the fact that he’ll keep their location a secret. She has to rely on her new friends to stay out of her father’s long reaching clutches.

Alright, I know this sounds x-men, and I’m not really a huge fan of this mutant trope, but I loved the small scale of this novel. A vulnerable girl trying to navigate her way through high school, her first crush, and her seemingly insurmountable family issues . I loved the details of how Fiona’s invisibility affected her everyday life, her sense of self, and her relationship with others. I have to say that I loved the way the teen romance worked out in this book. Like the setting it is small, subtle and in a market saturated with epic teenage love stories with protagonists that just can’t keep their hands off each other even in the most unlikely of circumstances Whipple presents the exact opposite. Without a single kiss Fi and Seth build a tender and honest relationship. An excellent read that I’d recommend to everyone.

The sequel Blindsided comes out January 2^nd and I can’t wait to finish reading Fi’s story. Find out more about Whipple's work at her website.

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah S. Wilson

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah S. Wilson
"Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her." (Amazon summary)

I really enjoyed reading the Ugly Step-sister Strikes Back. Loosely framed around Cinderella fairy tale tropes, this novel  is told from the perspective of a jealous stepsister named Mattie Lowe. Mattie is aggrieved at her inability to compete with her workaholic, absolutely gorgeous, and successful step-sister Ella, especially when Ella starts dating the guy that Mattie has loved since fourth grade.  The novel has a wonderful voice and a plot line full of un-put-downable tension.  I felt that the first several chapters had a few moments of choppy narrative where the narrator slowed the prose down by being repetitive, but these choppy moments disappeared as the story got rolling. I loved how all the characters grew throughout the novel and the fact that Mattie had a back bone and self-respect. Mattie was fun to root for because she remained true to herself even when she was a little nerdy. 

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Since I review this book as part of a blog tour hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer there is a fun giveaway.


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Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedwick

Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Cantele Sedgwick


"Ash Summerland has it all–good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings. Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. When he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings. A.K.A. the head fairy godmother. Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a "happy ever after". But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father's death, Kendall doesn't want anything to do with him. And worst of all, she doesn't believe in happy endings." (summary from author's website)

I really enjoyed the voice of the main character in this one. Ash is a likable male protagonist and I love the humor that was involved in making him a fairy godmother. It is fun to watch him grow as a character as he comes to care about people instead of just completing his assignments. The ending was a little rushed in some parts, but introduces some very interesting conflicts for the sequel. I also really liked the world that the author created. It feels like fairy tale retellings are female centric these days so it was interesting to see how the author made a place in the clichés for a real teenage guy characters. Overall, I really did enjoy this light-hearted, humorous fantasy story, and thought it was really fun to read.

Visit Chantele Sedgwick website
Visit Chantele Sedgwick's blog

Princess of the SIlver Woods by Jessica Day George

Princess of the Silver Wood by Jessica Day George

The Princess of the Silver Woods, the third book in Georges retold fairy-tale princess series, continues the stories of the twelve sisters introduced in The Princess of the Midnight Ball. In this book princess Petunia the youngest of the sisters is kidnapped by Oliver, the leader of a bandit gang called the Wolves of Westfalian Woods. Oliver discovers that she is a princess and realizes that his life of crime has gone too far. Forced into banditry to feed his people when the King gave half of his lands to another man after his father died, Oliver has done his very best to be the leader they need.  He escorts Petunia to her original destination, the home of the Grand Duchess Volenskaya intending to leave her there and walk away. Then he has to avoid being captured by the Duchess’s son Grigori and finds himself hiding on the grounds. As he makes his escape off the property in the middle of the night he sees shadow men crossing the lawn, climbing to Petunia’s window.

Knowing that the princess is in danger Oliver decides to turn himself in and tell her father what he saw. Oliver’s observations prove useful as Petunia’s sisters all suspect the same thing. That the King Under Stone wants them back, determined to have them as brides for his court. His report leads them all on a mission to save Petunia and rid themselves of King Under Stone once and for all.  

I enjoyed returning to this world again. Petunia is such a strong characters and I really came to like her. I thought the author did an excellent job of bringing back King Under Stone and working him back into the plot. The added details about the origin of King Under Stone’s sons made them even creepier and made the world feel more fleshed out. Galen also plays a major part in trying to bring Under Stone down again and I loved reading about him again. He is such a Heroic character because he cares so much for Rose and all of the sisters; he is willing to give up everything in the book to see them free. I thought all the threads of the story in this book wove together gracefully to make a really compelling, page-turning read.   

I'm very grateful that the folks at bloomsbury sent me a review copy so I could be a part of their blog tour.

Visit Jessica Day George's Website 

Star Climber by Kenneth Oppel

Starclimber

Okay, I admit. I have a prejudice against space elevators. I read a space elevator book in fourth grade and found it dumb and boring and completely foreign to anything I had real experience with. So I had declared for a long time since then that I liked books that happened on planet earth. Then my husband starting writing science fiction and they didn’t take place on Earth. So, I had to be a bit more open minded, so I could be supportive and read his books, some of them multiple times. Cause that is what a good wife does.  Surprise, surprise, I really  liked Wolfhound.  So, I started reading more “doesn’t take place on Earth stories.”

So, I am sort of proud of myself for continuing on with this book because inside the front cover there is a large, although cool, sketch of a space elevator. Skeptical, I read on because I really enjoyed Skybreaker and because I’m married to a science fiction writer, right? So, I have some kind of obligation to get over these prejudices.  

To make the long story short I really enjoyed StarClimber and thought it was an excellent novel. After their adventure aboard the Hyperion Matt and Kate go back to business as usual. Except mankind is now determined to reach space. France is building a huge tower up into the atmosphere so they can be the first to claim that they reached space. Canada however has choses a different tactic. As Canada is both Kate and Matt’s home they are both invited to join the space program. Kate is automatically accepted as their zoologist expert, to see if there is really life in space. Matt however is merely accepted for the training program. He has to compete with dozens of candidates in order to be accepted on the space crew. The competition is extremely tough and the first half of the book is about the training regimen that Matt and his fellow astralnauts have to go through. This is actually pretty entertaining stuff seeing how they have to pass impossible tasks and be pushed to the limit.

The second half of the book deals with the space trip and the adventures there. Matt and Kate find that there are some type of strange creatures in space. When  unexpected circumstance place the entire crew in an emergency situation and it will take the entire crew’s mental and physical talents to return to earth alive. This one is an excellent space adventure.  

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Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel

Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppal

Sky Breaker is the sequel to Airborn, a steampunky action-adventure novel. I think I really liked this story better than the first one in the series.  Matt works hard at the academy in Paris as he trains to get his pilot’s license. Kate is still trying to convince the scientific community that cloud cats still exist, and aspires to become a respected zoologist.  So, while Matt completes an internship aboard a small plane the crew runs into an old ship  Hyperion, rumored to hold the treasures of a reclusive millionaire that was something of a mad scientist. They crew is almost destroyed as it climbs up to high altitudes to capture the ship.

When Kate finds out that Matt has seen the ship with his own eyes she sets out to hire an expedition so that she can take a look at the ship herself. It is rumored to have not only lots of gold but an amazing collection of zoological specimens. This could help Kate get her name recognized as a zoologist, while Matt thinks of buying his mother a nice home, and having enough money to finish paying for his pilot school. They team up with a captain of a special high altitude ship and go off to the last known coordiantes that only Matt remembers.

Only once they reach the ship and begin to explore it. They find out that there  are dangerous squid-like creatures that dwell with in it, but that isn’t the only danger they face. The high altitude and freezing  temperatures threatens all of their lives on more than one occasion. Then the pirates that have been hunting down Matt since they discovered he was the last one that saw the coordinates of the Hyperion catch up to them.

I really loved this one! There was something fascinating to me about exploring the old abandoned ship of a mad scientist. There were some pretty cool inventions and discoveries made by their investigations on board. Also, I thought the author did an awesome job of creating a believable air creature, which  turned out pretty cool. They were lethal and useful, which made them fascinating to read about. Combining the discovery and exploration story line with running from pirates under dangerous conditions from being that high up in the sky and you get a great story with enough challenges and tension to keep you reading from start to finish.

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The Princess and the Horse by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Princess and the Horse by Mette Ivie Harrison

Fierce has been an outcast in her pack ever since her mother left to be a human. As a hound she is fearless and one of the best hunters in her pack, and though she is not treated well by the others in the pack she loves the forest and her life as a hound. Then she is changed into a human by a princess looking for her precious horse. The wild magic that this princess wields so recklessly has endangered the balance of the world. Fissures form in the ground and from them come white worms that eat the life around them and then imitate it to cause destruction.

Fierce arrives at the nearest human residence to somehow make a life among humans. There she discovers Red, the boy who cares for the hounds. He wishes to learn the language of the hounds, and Fierce finds it comforting to spend time with the other hounds. As they form an acquaintance a woman comes to ask the Lord of the manor for help when the wandering princess turns her husband and daughter into animals. The Lord turns his back on her plea, but Fierce knows that this princess must be stopped and so she and Red go after her.

Convincing a spoiled princess to change her behavior is quite a challenge, as well as facing the worm creatures that are now traveling the forest and harming people. They must return them from the fissures they came from before they alter the world permanently, but such a task requires great cost from those that fight the substance. 

I am really loving the fact that authors are now independently putting up books in series that their publishers dropped, because it means I got to read another Princess/Hound book by Mette Harrison. The price recently went down to 99 cents, which is a total steal! I was so excited when the book went down to that price and snatched it up immediately. In fact, it is still at that price right now. If you are interested in the book at all you should consider picking it up while the price is still low.

I always find something that annoys me in these books, yet I always keep coming back to them because I really do love the voice of the series. This book also has that wonderful fairy tale feeling, and yet still feels substantive. The author often combines vivid emotions and profound views of human nature, but does it in a way  that comes naturally from the world and characters. It also has the interesting romance story that managed to feel the same, but still ended up having a twist that surprised me. For some reason I find the human changed into an animal or vice versa to be a very interesting romance trope in the series. The author managed to find so much tension and conflict in how such a dramatic change affects the characters and how that plays out in the romance plot line.

My complaint is that the world felt a little bit fuzzy to me. Some of the scenes felt odd in that I felt like the setting faded. A entire mob came into the forest to confront the Princess and the her entourage, but I wasn’t exactly sure how they all fit in between the trees enough to have the confrontation the author described. There were several other examples of that where I felt the author was so focused on telling the story she forgot the little background details that makes a story feel sharp and clear.

Despite that I still really enjoyed the book and really enjoyed the story and the characters. Totally worth reading if you are a fairy tale fiction fan.

Find out more about this series at Mette Ivie Harrison's Website.

Wildwing by Emily Whitman

Wildwing by Emily Whitman
When Addy is swept back in time, she couldn't be happier to leave her miserable life behind. Now she's mistaken for Lady Matilda, the pampered ward of the king. If Addy can play her part, she'll have glorious gowns, jewels, and something she's always longed for—the respect and admiration of others. But then she meets Will, the falconer's son with sky blue eyes, who unsettles all her plans.
From shipwrecks to castle dungeons, from betrothals to hidden conspiracies, Addy finds herself in a world where she's not the only one with a dangerous secret. When she discovers the truth, Addy must take matters into her own hands. The stakes? Her chance at true love….and the life she's meant to live. (summary from Author's website)

I do not know if I like the fact that the author wrote a time-travel novel that basically ignored the fact that going back in time changes the future. Fun to enjoy her historical medieval world without worrying about complications of a distorted time-line, but on the other hand how can you not logically assess the implications of telling people about agricultural innovations that happen 50 to 100 years later? Eh, I’m sure opinions will vary widely on the treatment of time travel stories. Just know that this time travel novel is very light handed with the science involved and gauge whether you are a reader that will enjoy it anyway.

The romance was kind of so-so for me. It was little bit sappy and I was really annoyed with how unprincipled the main character was when she discovered she loved William, thehawking boy. She basically asked him to get involved with her when she was betrothed to marry someone else, and wanted to turn the relationship into an affair after she got married, which was just an stupid idea all around. Not to mention how that is a horrible way to treat the guy she truly loves. He totally deserved better.

Still I was caught up in the story enough to wonder how exactly she was going to get out of her betrothal to Sir Hugh so she could be with William without getting half the cast of characters tortured, maimed, or killed in battle. Those are some pretty severe consequences for your choices and so made for good reading. It was interesting to learn more about hawking, as it seems it was sort of a medieval sport.


I think Whitman has beautiful prose and I loved reading many of her descriptions in the book. Despite, my few little nitpicks I found the book to be entertaining and enjoyable.

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The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

"Jack Perdue, a ninth grade classics prodigy, lives with his father on the Yale University campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But one winter evening, a near-fatal accident changes Jack’s life forever.

His father sends him to see a mysterious doctor in New York City—a place Jack hasn’t been since his mother died there eight years ago. In Grand Central Terminal, he meets Euri, a girl who offers to show him the train station’s hidden places, the ones only true urban explorers know about. Eight floors below the station, however, Jack discovers more than just hidden tracks and mysterious staircases..." (summary from author's website)

I don’t remember just how I came upon the summary for this title, but once I did I knew I wanted to read it. I put it on my to-read list and found it while browsing at the library two weeks ago.  Essentially, this could be cast as a retelling of the classic Greek myth about Orpheus and Euridice. This tragic tale about Orpheus tells of his quest into the underworld. While there he is permitted find his love Euridice and bring her back to the world of the living on the condition that he not look back while he leads her out. As in all tragedies Orpheus fails in his quest and looks back before they exit the underworld. Euridice is lost to him and Orpheus mourns greatly and is never the same again.

This novel put a new spin on the tale by changing the setting of the underworld  to the streets of New York City. Those who are familiar with the city’s many landmarks will be amused and delighted to experience them anew from a ghosts perspective—flying and swooping through the air and disappearing through walls. This version of the story becomes less a tragedy and more a mystery novel of sorts as Jack has to discover exactly why he was allowed to enter the Underworld in the first place while avoiding the three-headed dog Cerebus and other underworld guards. Jack finds companionship and love with Euri as they search the underworld for his mother. Each of the characters must face the conflict of finding closure with the finality of death.  I really enjoyed this read.  While not action-packed as most myth retellings these days, it gives a strong sense of place, complex conflicts, and characters that are worth rooting for. 

Also, the Latin didn’t hurt. There are lots of fun Latin phrases scattered throughout, and as a former Latin teacher I had lots of fun reading and enjoying familiar and new phrases. Also, I think I have mentioned before that I have an obsession with underworld fiction, as I find it fascinating. So, this also increased my enjoyment of this book.

Please check out Katherine Marsh's website.

Wolves Boys and Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

Wolves, Boys, and Other Thing That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

KJ Carson has never attracted much attention in her small town of West End, Montana. Then she takes a Journalism class and is assigned to write a newspaper column on wolves with her new classmate and crush, Virgil. Virgil’s mom is a biologist studying the wolves in Yellowstone park, and that means she gets to spend early mornings with Virgil and his mom learning about the wolf packs that roam the park.  Her fascination with wolves puts in in a precarious position with people in town. The ranchers are violently opposed to the wolves reintroduction into the park because their livestock is being killed. Then someone shoots at Virgil’s pro-wolf float in the holiday parade and suddenly the argument about wolves as becomes dangerous as acts of violence and vandalism multiply.

In general I really enjoyed KJ’s character in this book. She doesn’t back down from what she thinks and is always quick with a clever comeback. She really knows how to fight with words. I found her kind of annoying in the fact that she doesn’t make much effort to see the rancher’s point of view when they live all around her. I thought that since she was the editor of the school newspaper she would make a bit more effort into getting an interview besides just ignoring the one rancher dude that hates her. There had to be other rancher kids that were less hostile toward her that she could have interviewed.

Overall, this was a pretty interesting book that explored the conflict surrounding the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park and I thought that was unique angle for a book. Occasionally, the small town setting felt a little plain to me, but the author managed to keep the story interesting by escalating the conflict between the rancher and the pro-wolf groups. In the end KJ has to confront the villain and survive both him and a harsh Montana hail storm, as her effort to make peace turn into a wilderness survival situation.  

Visit Kristen's website

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
In this latest installment Alek tries to make himself useful by aligning himself with the inventor Tesler, who claims that he has invented a machine that can waste an entire city with the push of a button. Tesler proves to be unstable and more interested in his own glory than the lives of others. Alek is the only person who can stop the destruction of the entire country of Germany, but will he decide to preserve his enemy?

Deryn continues to prove her airman skills time and time again. It was only a matter of time before someone discovered she was a girl. What will happen now that her true identity is revealed not only to her closest friends but to a nosy reporter looking to break the next big headline?

The last and final installment of the Scott Westerfeld’s steampunk trilogy is full of adventure, new sights and fun. So, this last book took interesting turns that I did not expect, namely that our main characters ended up meeting Pancho Villa, and spending a lot of time in America. My favorite chapter of the entire book is when you are trying to figure out if Alexander has guessed that Deryn is a girl or not. Westerfeld teases the reader throughout the entire thing, and it is hilarious! The entire book is worth a reread just for that chapter alone. I got to say that my favorite book of the entire series is Leviathan. This book didn’t have the dramatic character arcs of the first book, and that wild serendipitous feel of first adventure and accidental meetings. Goliath does have a dramatic, satisfying, and romantic ending that will have your insides mushy with happiness. I will recommend this series for a long time to come. It is beautiful, original, and just plain good writing. Please, go enjoy this wonderful trilogy.

The Wretched of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

“Imagine a world where words are so precious they are only etched in gold, and only the privileged are allowed to learn how to read. Muirwood Abbey is one of the few places where learners are taught to read and engrave, and thirteen year-old Lia wants nothing more than to learn both of these skills—yet she is a wretched, an orphan, and doomed to remain in the Aldermaston’s kitchen, forbidden to read and subject to his authority. Her future is destined for preparing recipes in a privileged household until, unexpectedly, a mysterious knight-maston abandons the wounded squire Colvin at the Aldermaston’s kitchen in the middle of the night. Soon after, Sheriff Almaguer comes hunting for Colvin, and Lia is thrust into the greatest adventure of her life as she and the squire are forced into a partnership that brings her closer to her dream—and Colvin closer to his fear of dying on the battlefield. The Wretched of Muirwood is the first book of the Muirwood Trilogy.” (amazon summary)

So, with all the news about indie-publishing and with my husband planning to jump into the foray himself, I decided to take the leap. The Wretched of Muirwood is the first electronic indie-published purchase of mine. So how did the experiment go?

I really enjoyed the story in this book. There were several really bad typos. As in the main character Colvin suddenly gets called Cohen in a few paragraphs. Awkward! There were a few descriptions that I would have pointed out to the writer to clarify if I were critiquing the manuscript.

Yet, when it came down to basic storytelling I was hooked. The first chapter had a good hook, and after that I was pulled along with the main character Lia on her interesting adventure as she learned more about her magical abilities. I really didn’t want to stop reading. At first Lia only agrees to hide Colvin from Sheriff Almaguer until the sheriff comes looking for him at the Abbey. Lia manages to help Colvin escape only to discover she has sent him directly into a trap intended to capture him.

Lia can’t allow her new friend to get captured on her bad information so she leaves her safety of the abbey and with the help of a magical orb sets out to save Colvin. The result of her actions sends her on a journey that helps both of them discover more about their powers and heritage than they knew before. I enjoyed how the author showed that this duo needed one another to achieve their potential. I liked watching the trust and friendship grow between them as they faced and supported one another through their darkest moments.

I also liked the setting and the interesting aspects of the magic system, which is based on faith and belief. All magical powers are achieved through the use of a power called the medium. The use of the medium feels very similar to the way religious belief works in our world. I think some readers may find this as sort of preachy, but I found it kind of interesting. It allowed the author to portray the topic of faith and how it works without referencing a specific creed. Though I must say that I enjoy the thematic exploration of faith in literature. Those are the stories that I find most interesting and some of my favorite passages of the book were when Lia had to struggle within herself to find the strength to use the medium.

Story wise, some things that bugged me was that Lia did a lot of lying and stealing, and general sneaking around behind the Aldermaston’s back, but never really got in trouble for it. Though, I guess at the end of the book she did realize that she should obey and trust the Aldermaston. Yet, still I don’t like lying characters that much. I hated Lyra in the Golden Compass series for the same reason. Yet, I loved Harry Potter and Harry lies a lot. The lying wasn't so bad that I hated Lia as I did Lyra, but sometimes it annoyed.

Shall we return to the topic at hand? Overall the Wretched of Muirwood is an entertaining story with characters that will stay with me even after I have finished reading the pages.

Visit the author Jeff Wheeler's blog

The Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry

The Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry

The end of school looms before Evie and her friend Priscilla, who have both fought for the highest grades and honors in school. They both feel too young to start families, and Evie has long held the dream of attending the university to become physician like her parents. The villagers consider Evie lucky because of her unusually good health and skill in helping others during childbirth and illness.
Then shortly before the traditional feast of St. Bronwyn a herald appears to announce that the king himself will be visiting their celebration. Soon the town is abuzz with repairs and preparations. One town member even manages to invite a troop of gypsies from which Evie buys a few good luck charms. Perhaps that is why her skill is called upon when one of the king’s men falls ill with a fever. Evie is able to heal him, and either as a result of her new gypsy charms or the good deed, the king offers her and Priscilla chance to study at the university in Chalcedon.
As Evie sets out for the capital with her friend Priscilla and her old neighbor Aiden, who is returning to finish his apprenticeship to a stonemason, she discovers that not even a lucky charm can protect her from unsafe travelling conditions. After several mishaps she ends up sailing to Chalcedon on a ship, and finds that she has an almost magical attraction to the sea. She soon discovers that this feeling is more than newfound awe, and discovers that she has an ancestry that she never knew about before, an ancestry, which includes her having a powerful sea serpent as her companion.
Last year Julie Berry’s debut novel Amaranth Enchantment came out, and this year she publishes her next novel Secondhand Charm, a story about a girl who stumbles upon her magical powers unexpectedly. The discovery of her powers helps her to make friends in high places, and soon she discovers that someone is plotting against the king. Evie must come up with a plan to stop the plotters from succeeding, and save the king.
I really enjoyed this little fantasy novel. It was a quick read with a strong action plot, though the author sneaks in Aiden, who was very crush worthy, as a romantic lead. I really liked the sea serpent twist in the story, and thought it was interesting to see Evie getting used to her new serpent friend. One of my biggest complaints was that I wished the story had lasted longer! I would have loved more details about her sea serpent. The only other thing was that I found it odd that Evie took the big reveal about her ancestry at the end pretty easily. I would have thought that she would be more upset about finding out the truth about her mother.
Overall, this story drew me in from the first page with the line, “And what were fish eyes between friends?” and kept me interested until the very last page. The ending is satisfying and yet leaves the possibility open for a sequel. Since I wanted to read more about the world and Evie’s sea serpent powers I would very much love to see one.

Visit Julie Berry's website

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Everyone thinks that the Incarceron created Finn, but he has memories of before. Memories of some place outside the prison. The only one who really believes him is an old sapient wise-man named Gildas, who believes in the lore about Sapphique, the only prisoner to ever escape. Gildas believes that between his knowledge of Sapphique lore and Finn’s visions of the outside that following Finn is the way to escape. Finn thinks that they both must be crazy until he finds a woman that recognizes the tattoo on his arm. The tattoo looks exactly like a key that she found, and once Finn gets his hands on the key he finds out that there really is an outside, because he can talk to a girl named Claudia through it.

When Claudia’s father, the warden of Incarceron, comes home and announces that her wedding date to Prince Casper has been moved up, Claudia panics. She hasn’t wanted to marry him since she learned of the engagement, and now she can no longer ignore the fact that the day of reckoning has come. As the maids flurry around the house making preparations she knows that her time at the house is short, and so is her time to find out exactly what her father is planning. So she and her tutor Jared make bold plans to break into his study, but she doesn’t find what she expected. All she finds is a key—a key to Incarceron. This key brings her into communication with Finn, a prisoner who is trying to find the way out. As the two communicate they discover a web of secrets that will change both of their worlds forever.

So I took a risk when I bought Incarceron because I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not. I had read several reviews of it online. Some people loved it and others didn’t. One of the kids in the High School library raved that it was ranked among one of the best books he had ever read. I knew enough about the book to know that it was sort of fit into the steampunk sub-genre. So, I decided to risk it and ordered it off of Barnes and Noble the weekend that they sent a 15% off coupon to me. Incarceron doesn’t rank among one of the best books I have ever read, but I can recommend it as a good book. I was intrigued by the premise of the story from the very beginning, and became interested in both Claudia and Finn. It wasn’t until the last half of the book that I got hooked into plot and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I really liked all the Sapphique lore and thought that it gave the book a nice mythical feel to it.

The book is set in a future in which the king has declared that the kingdom must go back to old values in order to avoid war and social collapse. So the government has mandated that everything must be in era, specifically the Victorian Era. I had a debate with my husband about whether or not it was really steampunk because it was set in the future, and the technology wasn’t based off of the industrial revolution, but was far more advanced. I think my husband had a point when he said that most of the charm of steampunk is the alternate history aspect of it, but I feel that those who love steampunk stories will find enough Victorian era inspiration in the book to enjoy it as a steampunkish novel. I think the biggest complaint I had about this novel was that some of the descriptions were hard to follow on multiple occasions, but I don’t think this ruins the overall enjoyment of the characters and plot line. I am intrigued enough to want to check out the sequel Sapphique in December.

Catherine Fisher's Author website

My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions by Becca Wilhite

My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions by Becca Wilhite

“Sarah Howard’s first year at the university is everything and
nothing she expected—especially when a very cute boy named
Ben in her Art History class starts to show interest in her.
Sarah feels like she’s an average, normal, everyday girl. So,
when Ben (to whom she secretly refers as Adonis because
she thinks he could be a Greek god) begins to take interest
in her, Sarah is in denial. For one thing, last year she was
deeply crushed and humiliated by “Jesse James”—a guy who
she thought liked her. She’s determined not to get burned
again. But in her heart of hearts, what she really wants is a
Jane Austen kind of romance. Ridiculous, right? That kind of
romance doesn’t exist anymore . . . or does it?
Sarah is smart and fun to be around and even pretty, despite
her Medusa-like red curls. She even plays the guitar. (So does
Ben!) Yes, Sarah is everything Ben has wanted. He’s crazy
for her, but Sarah is just not getting it. She’s playing hard to
get, and if she’s not careful, she’s going to lose a real “hot”
gentleman—her 21st-century Mr. Darcy.” (Summary from Publisher’s Website)

I really enjoyed reading this clean romance novel. There are a few steamy kissing scenes, but I appreciated the fact that they did not overwhelm the rest of the plot or the character’s every waking thoughts . The author also explored other interesting part of their relationship, and showed them getting to know each other better. The getting to know you stage of love is so interesting and fun to read about for me. I love how both Ben and Sarah were flawed and honest human characters. Sarah sometimes gets on your nerves because she lacks the self-confidence to communicate with Ben real effectively, and thus enters the human element.

Her lack of self confidence is seen as a lack of enthusiasm for their relationship and thus the typical miscommunication ensues and she must fix it before she loses Ben entirely. Yet, Ben is also self-conscience of the fact that he has a learning disability, and has a hard time thinking that the brilliant, studious Sarah could ever want to be with him. I really loved reading about these two because they were both so imperfect, and yet despite all of that found admirable things about each other and fell in love anyway. It also helped that they were both hilarious! I laughed a lot reading this book, and closed it with a smile on my face.

This is definitely a fun, cute, and entertaining chick-read that will make you laugh.

Check out Becca Wilhite's website

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor to his or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capital wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rules.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before – and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love." (jacket flap)

So, I’m sad that I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would. It was a really compelling read. I was expecting the book to be more violent. It is a book about teenagers forced to kill each other in a futuristic version of reality TV. There was actually quite a bit of the plot that dealt with wilderness survival since the terrain the players were placed in was challenging. I really liked that bit of the story, and the resourcefulness that Kat showed during the entire book. However, I really didn’t like the romance, in fact, I found it more creepy than romantic. Peeta is a cool guy and all, but the fact that Kat kissed him because she thought it would make the sponsors send her gifts really didn’t set well with me. Honestly, it grossed me out. So, while I found it an entertaining read, it won’t be on the list of my favorites, and I’m not all that interested in reading the sequel. Alas, maybe I just had too high of expectation for the book since people were raving about it so much.

Suzanne Collin's website

The Dead and Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The dead and the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer


This book is not a sequel to Life as We Knew It, but a companion book. The plot line is the same—moon is hit by asteroid causing apocalyptic meltdown worldwide—it is the setting and characters that are different. Miranda and her family are stranded in suburb in Pennsylvania. They are a typical middle class, divorced family, which doesn’t have official religious connections. In fact religion is not really mentioned at all.

The Dead and the Gone tells the story of Alex Morales, a son of Puerto Rican immigrants, devout in the catholic faith, and living the middle of New York City. Alex attends an all boys catholic school on scholarship, and does everything he can to prepare for a good college education. He is working at his job when the moon is hit by the asteroid, and doesn’t know what is happening at first. His mom is working at the hospital at her new job as a surgery technician, and his father is attending a wedding in Puerto Rico. Since his elder brother Carlos is a Marine in California that leaves him, a 17 year old, in charge of his two little sisters for the time being. He soon learns that his father won’t be back from Puerto Rico any time soon, and in fact may have been killed in the huge tidal waves that hit the island. Then his mom never comes back from her job, and that leaves him in the huge city fending for himself, and his sisters until things get better or until they can get out.

I really enjoyed reading this book, thought I really liked Life as We Knew It better than the dead an gone I still thought it was a riveting read. It really is much darker than the first book. Alex steals stuff from bodies to buy food on the black market. A flu epidemic hits the city and the bodies lay out on the streets to get eaten by rats. Details like that make this book a bit more depressing to read, but you again get caught up in the characters struggle to survive. Again the theme of taking care of family is a big theme in the book. Alex does all he can to protect his sisters, and you really feel for him when he has to make hard decisions about how to take care of them.

I really enjoyed reading something from a Catholic character’s perspective that didn’t portray the church structures in a bad light. Reading a book with strong Catholic religion themes isn’t something I do often. So it was nice to read something from a new point of view. I’ve discovered I like to read stories about faith. This story doesn’t really bring up the almost cliché why does God allow such bad things to happen, but could still provoke interesting questions about how faith helps us to get through times of trial.

I would probably recommend this one for older teenagers as the themes are kind of dark, but it still an engaging book that is hard to put down once you get started.

Visit Susan Beth Pfeffer's blog

Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld.

Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma.
Time freezes.
Nobody moves.
For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour -- only they are free to move about the midnight time.
These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School.
Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her before she can use it.
A story of courage, shadowy perils, and unexpected destiny, the secret hour is the first volume of the mesmerizing Midnighters trilogy by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld. (summary from back of book)

As I mentioned before the hubby liked this one more than Uglies. I still liked the Uglies series better, but this was still an enjoyable read. It is interesting to watch each of the midnighters deal with their powers, and deal with the threat of the darklings. I also like the spin that the darklings have been haunting man since prehistoric times, and are ancient creatures. I think it is interesting that the characters have to learn about the prehistoric origins and history of Bixby as a result. It gives the series a different feel than a bunch of other stories. The beginning of the book was a bit boring for me, but I eventually got really into the story and enjoyed all the nerdy high school characters. Not as fun as Uglies, but still a solid entertaining read.

Visit Westerfeld's website