Review - Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Series: Lynburg Legacy #2

Published by Random House Books for Young Readers

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

Pages: 370

Rating: 3/5 stars

It's time to choose sides....  

On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways. 

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

Disappointing. I liked all of these characters so much less than I did when we were introduced in Unspoken. The only character I consistently loved was Angela, but how could I ever dislike Angela? This is a girl who uses her spare class to nap and who hates everyone except Kami and Holly. She’s pretty much my soul mate. The conversation between her and Kami about her sexuality is particularly poignant and well-played by Brennan. It’s understated and completely true to who Angela is.

Ash and Jared were a huge let down in this book. First off, there was just way too much of them. I needed a break from the Lynburns, okay? It felt like every other scene was an altercation with either Ash or Jared (or, god forbid, both). Maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but that’s how it felt! There was just far too much boy drama for my tastes. Considering everything on the line, I just don’t have time for that shit. Ash was not a fun character to be around. I understand that he was feeling a bit dejected, considering he has the worst parents ever, but it was really difficult to sympathize with him. I mean, boy did try to kill my soul mate. Ash was whiny and annoying, while Jared was a little piece of shit from page one. He spent pretty much the entire book moping about the fact that Kami cut off the connection between them at the end of Unspoken. He was incredibly selfish, not even considering that Kami might be equally affected by what happened. There was also the issue of his mindlessly hooking up with Holly, which just seemed like drama for the sake of drama. On a side note, and only mildly irritating in the grand scheme of things, Holly really didn’t need to kiss every boy she knew to hide her feelings for Angela (because lets be real, girl’s in looooove).

I found the plot here to be pretty weak. Not a heck of a lot happened until the very end of the book. It was a classic second book in a trilogy with all of the expected missteps. The bulk of the nearly 400 page novel was snarky dialogue and trite love triangle, and it got old very fast.

Brennan’s writing is very humourous. Between the narration and the dialogue, it’s quip central. Every single character has something funny to add. In my opinion, it got to be too much. Instead of adding a lightness to supplement the darkness of what was befalling the town, it started to cheapen it. I have a hard time believing that every person in this small town is so quick-witted. Also, I’m not sure if the writing is to blame or if it’s just me, but I often found myself unsure of who Kami was speaking to, Ash or Jared. That’s not a good sign. I’m pretty sure you should be able to tell who she’s talking to based on what they’re saying as well as the narrative cues surrounding the dialogue, and it just didn’t come together for me.

The pacing also needed work. It seemed like there were long stretches during which nothing happened, with a few ~major events~ thrown in to keep the plot going. The big problem, I think, was lack of gravity to the important scenes. It never felt like anything was really changing or growing throughout the novel. Things were happening, but I had a hard time caring. I ended up skimming the last twenty percent or so because I was losing patience and just wanted it to be over.

ARC Review - The Queen's Exiles by Barbara Kyle

The Queen’s Exiles by Barbara Kyle

Series: Thornleigh #6

Published by Kensington on May 27 2014

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: DNF at 42%

1572. Europe is in turmoil. In the Netherlands the streets are red with the blood of those who dare to oppose the brutal Spanish occupation. A vengeful faction of exiled English Catholics is plotting to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and install her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. But amid the unrest, one resourceful young woman has made a lucrative enterprise ... 

Scottish-born Fenella Doorn rules like a queen over a privateer's haven on the Isle of Sark. Her success at salvaging crippled vessels affords her gold and security, and it is on one of these ships that she meets wealthy Baron—and privateer—Adam Thornleigh. Secretly drawn to him, Fenella can’t refuse when Adam enlists her to join him in war-torn Brussels to help find his traitorous wife, Frances—and the children she’s taken from him.  

But Fenella’s own bold actions have put a price on her head. Now Adam and Fenella’s lives are in peril as they race across Europe in an attempt to rescue his young ones, defend the crown, and restore the peace that few can remember.

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

I tried really hard to like this book. It didn’t particularly offend my sensibilities in any way – the characters were decent, though I thought that it would have benefited from tightening up the number of characters it followed. I think it may have worked better for me if it only focused on Fenella and Adam, rather than Fenella, Adam, Isobel, Carlos, Frances, etc. I found myself dreading picking it up again, not sure which character I’d be following next, or whether I’d want to follow them at all. The only characters I truly cared about were Fenella and Adam, so it felt silly to me to feature the rest so heavily.

My biggest complaint is that the pacing was dreadful. It never really felt like anything was happening, and even when they did I found there to be a lack of urgency in the writing. I never feared for the characters, despite the frightening and risky situations they put themselves in. This was what really determined whether or not I would continue reading this book. If it were based merely on the characters and the plot, I feel like I would have greatly enjoyed The Queen’s Exiles. Unfortunately the writing made me nod off after about fifteen or twenty minutes of reading, whether I was tired or not. In my opinion, that is a sign that a book is just not meant for me.

TTT - Top Ten Books About Friendship

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week a new topic is given and weeks topic is:

Top Ten Books About Friendship

Considering how highly I value depictions of friendships in books and in television, I found it really hard to compile this list! I kept thinking of my favourite TV friendships and how few book!friendships measured up.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein 

"Queenie" and Maddie have one of the most amazing friendships I've read in my entire life. They are platonic soul mates and I'm still recovering from the heartache that this book caused me. I want a friend as loyal and caring and loving as Queenie and Maddie are to each other.

Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole 

Anna and Katy have a really beautiful friendship. I love that Katy is there for Anna when Anna needs her most. I love that this was a road trip book with a focus on friendship rather than romance. It wasn't my absolute favourite book, but it was a lovely friendship.

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow

Trent and Jem have a very strange friendship. They're a pair of homeless teens who meet when Trent runs away from home, and Jem shows him the tricks to staying alive and even thriving on his own. They end up finding an empty building and squatting in it and fixing it up together and even though sometimes they hate each other, they always help one another out. I loved that Trent's romance with 26 (yes, that's her name) takes a backseat to his friendship with Jem throughout most of the novel. Jem is without a doubt the most important person in Trent's life.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta 

I love everything that Melina Marchetta touches, but I found Saving Francesca to be, overall, a pretty forgettable book. The best part of it was definitely the friendships that Francesca builds. She isn't particularly nice to the other characters at the beginning of the book, particularly the other girls. I was particularly touched by her friendship with Jonah Griggs, mostly because on the surface they have absolutely nothing in common. I also loved the relationships between her, Tara, Siobhan, and Justine. Their friendship was born of circumstance, but became so much more than that. 

The Miseducation of Cameron Post - Emily M. Danforth

I'll tell you right off the bat that I'm not talking about Coley Taylor. The friendships I'm highlighting from this amazing book are between Cam and the people she meets at the de-gaying camp that she is sent to late in the book. It's an unusual place to make such strong, incredible, honest friendships, but Cam manages it. I'll admit I don't remember a lot of detail from this book (I don't even remember Cam's friends names!) but it's still one of my favourite books.

The Disenchantments - Nina LaCour

I have a feeling Nina LaCour is going to be one of my favourite authors. I've heard only good things about Hold Still and her new book is one of my most highly anticipated books of 2014. That said, the friendship between Colby and the girls in The Disenchantments is wonderful. They have their spats and sometimes they hate each other, but at the end of the day they're all there for one another 100%. 

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater

The friendships between the boys are SO STRONG. Despite their (vast) differences, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah are very close. As Blue notes at one point, these boys don't go anywhere without one another. They travel as a pack. They accept the things that they don't like about each other, while also trying to help each other with their problems. Well, it's mostly Gansey being everyone's rock, but I loved the scene where Ronan jeopardized his future to save Adam (even when Adam didn't think he wanted to be saved). I just wish Blue had some real friends - she just doesn't quite fit into the group as well as I'd have liked.

Holes - Louis Sachar 

I read this book in elementary school and was incredibly affected by the friendship between Sidney and Zero. My memories of the film may be more vivid, but this book (and friendship) was a major part of my childhood.

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Cath and Reagan have a great friendship because they take each other as they are. They don't like each other at first, mostly because they are so different. Being roommates, they have to put up with each other and Reagan eventually becomes Cath's only friend. What I loved was that they retained their differences while being changed by their friendship.

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery 

How could I possibly compile a list of beautiful book friendships without including Anne and Diana? I've spent my entire life looking for the Diana to my Anne. I mean, Anne named her oldest daughter after Di. It doesn't get more devoted than that. I may or may not use the phrase "kindred spirits" on a regular basis.

Bout of Books 10 Wrap-Up

My first Bout of Books didn't go as well as I'd hoped... 

I had quite a reading slump this week, especially considering I read four books without even trying the week before. I don't even have a good reason for not getting much reading done. I really struggled with reading The Queen's Exiles and The Raven Boys until Wednesday, when I broke away from them both and decided to switch it up with a novella and a different (very short) ARC. I ended up getting a physical copy of The Raven Boys from the library, which really helped me to get into reading it. I haven't even looked at The Queen's Exiles since Tuesday or Wednesday (and I don't miss it). Oh well! It's not like there are consequences for not reaching your goals.

I didn't reach any of my goals, but I'm okay with that because at least I tried!

• Read for at least 2 hours a day: I think I accomplished this most days. I didn't really keep track of the length of my reading spurts, and I tend to get most of my reading done in multiple short sessions during the day followed by an hour or more (depending on how tired I am and how into the book I get) before I go to sleep.
• Read 4 books: Yeah, no. I read 2 books (We Are the Goldens & The Raven Boys) and 1 novella (Glitches), as well as 42% of The Queen's Exiles, 10% of The Winner's Curse, and 100 pages of Eona. 
• Read at least 2 ARCs: I read 1 ARC (We Are the Goldens) and read nearly half of another before putting it on a potentially permanent hold (The Queen's Exiles).
• Comment on at least 10 blogs a day: I may have set myself up for failure with this one. I definitely commented on many more blogs that I usually do, but it was not 10 per day. I am pretty happy with the progress I made here though.
• Use my twitter account: Kind of? I've actually been tweeting occasionally, but I've mostly just been replying to people and retweeting. I didn't really have anything I felt the need to share with the world. I spoke with Kat Zhang at one point, which was pretty freaking cool. I may have run outside to share that with my mum because I feel like authors are like celebrities and their interaction with me should be celebrated. She didn't care.
• Write reviews as I finish books: This didn't happen. I wrote my reviews from the books I read two weeks ago, and I wrote (and posted) my review of We Are the Goldens, but I haven't gotten to the one for The Raven Boys yet. Oops.

Total Books Read (Completed): 2

Total Pages Read: 832

I do feel accomplished in that I stuck with the books that were on the TBR that I made for the readathon! I never do that! Yay me!

How did you do for this Bout of Books? Did you reach your goals?

Review - The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Series: Standalone

Published by Viking Juvenile on June 4 2013

Genres: young adult, contemporary

Pages: 435

Rating: 4/5 stars

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.
Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby. 

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby? 

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going? 

Sarah Dessen’s strong suit has always been characters, and she does not fail here. You’d think after so many books, she’d run out of steam eventually, but this is not that book. I haven’t related to a character the way that I relate to Emaline in a very long time. She may be a Type-A while I’m pretty laid back and carefree, but we have a lot more in common than I could have anticipated. This is primarily due to our shared strained relationships with our fathers. Like Emaline, I grew up in a (very) blended family with two older siblings and one younger. We were both raised by stepfathers who did a much better job at parenting than our biological fathers ever even attempted. Reading about Emaline’s conflicted feelings about her relationship with her father was like rehashing the last few years of my life.

While Emaline was clearly the best part of the novel for me, the supporting cast was all well-developed and interesting, as usual. The unusual relationship between Emaline’s best friends Daisy and Morris was particularly interesting, especially their decision to keep in touch via snail mail in the fall. It was a sweet relationship that I thought contrasted well with Emaline’s relationships with both Luke and Theo. They were both nice boys, but it was clear that personality-wise those relationships were doomed from the start. The vast differences between Emaline and Theo made for interesting events, and he was pretty adorable a lot of the time (I’m a sucker for unabashed enthusiasm) but I can see how his ambitious nature and desire for excess would conflict with Emaline’s less straight-forward worldview. I loved that the book ended with Emaline being single – it made sense for her. She needed to discover what she wanted, not what other people wanted for her. Also, it’s never a good idea to jump right from one committed relationship to another (in my opinion).

While not a plot-driven book, The Moon and More was swift-moving and captivating. Following the events of the summer after Emaline’s graduation from high school, there was enough going on at all times to keep the reader entertained without being overly involved. Between working for her family’s summer rental agency, boy drama, maintaining her friendships with Daisy and Morris, entertaining little brother Benji, and dealing with her tentative relationship with her father, Emaline is a very busy girl. This book is about her mental and emotional evolution into an independent young adult. I loved that it was about so much more than a summer romance.

The writing is just what this book called for, if that makes sense. It’s fluid and accessible, with a spattering of lovely turns of phrase. Like most contemporary YA, it relies more on dialogue and transitory action rather than description. And it does it well. Sarah Dessen has a lot of experiencing crafting contemporary YA, and she’s renowned for a reason. Her writing and stories are what other contemporary YA strives to; she’s the best of the best.

Weekly Wrap-Up (2)

• I had a job interview at the local public library on Wednesday. I should hear back from them on Tuesday, so fingers crossed I get this job! I really want it but I'm nervous that I won't know even if I do because my phone isn't working! It's my own damn fault - I didn't pay the proper amount for my last bill and they shut it off because it was overdue. Now I have to wait for the money to go through in my account before I can even send the money to the phone company to get them to turn it back on!
• My brothers came over for a combined Mother's Day/mum's birthday barbeque yesterday. I made a gluten-free, sugar-free coconut cream pie which was DELICIOUS. It would have been better if I'd used xylitol rather than stevia, but we were very low on xylitol and had a huge bag of stevia.

• On Monday I reviewed the best book ever, Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
• On Tuesday I counted the books that I almost DNF'ed but didn't
• On Wednesday I told the world what I didn't like about Origin by Jessica Khoury
• On Thursday I discussed how much book slumps ruin my life
• On Friday I reviewed We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

• Glitches by Marissa Meyer
• We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

 Nothing bought because I'm completely broke & very unemployed, but I did get some books from the library and from Netgalley this week!

Library

• Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano
• 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
• Emerald Magic edited by Andrew M. Greenley
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (read)
• First Truth by Dawn Cook
• Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey

Netgalley

• Anathema by Megg Jensen
• Paradigm by Ceri A. Lowe
• The Revealed by Jessica Hickam
• Nihal of the Land of the Wind by Licia Troisi
• Breaking Free by Winter Page
• I Take You by Eliza Kennedy
• Copper Magic by Julia Mary Gibson

Bout of Books Day 3/4/5 Update

I've actually managed to read more in the last few days! Yay!

Day 3 Progress: 7% of The Queen's Exiles (at 30%)

Day 4 Progress: 12% of The Queen's Exiles (at 42%)
                                 Completed Glitches by Marissa Meyer (32 pages)
                                 Completed We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt (208 pages)

Day 5 Progress: Completed The Raven Boys (409 pages)

I'm seriously considering DNF-ing The Queen's Exiles. I like it, but I have no desire to continue reading it. I'd like to make it at least halfway first, but I doubt it'll make much of a difference. Now I'm just trying to decide whether to read Eona or The Winner's Curse next!

ARC Review - We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Series: Standalone

Published by Wendy Lamb Books on May 27 2014

Genres: young adult, contemporary

Pages: 208

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Nell knows a secret about her perfect, beautiful sister Layla. If she tells, it could blow their world apart. 

When Nell and Layla were little, Nell used to call them Nellaya. Because to Nell, there was no difference between where she started and her adored big sister ended. They're a unit; divorce made them rely on each other early on, so when one pulls away, what is the other to do? But now, Nell's a freshman in high school and Layla is changing, secretive. And then Nell discovers why. Layla is involved with one of their teachers. And even though Nell tries to support Layla, to understand that she's happy and in love, Nell struggles with her true feelings: it's wrong, and she must do something about it.

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

I love books about sisterhood, especially about when the bond between a pair of sisters who were once extremely close becomes strained. This is probably due to the fact that I’ve longed for a sister for as long as I can remember. Instead, I have three brothers. Yay.

            

The problem with a lot of books about this subject is that they have a tendency to be very boring if not handled properly. We Are the Goldens was handled properly.

            

The brevity of the book (it comes in at just over 200 pages and took only about three hours to read) really works for it. It was easy to become completely wrapped up in Nell and Layla’s tiny little world and I became attached to them very quickly. If the writing hadn’t been as powerful as it is, I believe that this book could have failed for me – not a lot really happens. It’s very introspective and character driven, and Nell and Layla are both beyond frustrating at times. I very rarely read about characters under the age of sixteen, but the narrator, Nell, is only fourteen (perhaps fifteen towards the end). She is a freshman in high school and I really thought that her lack of experience and inherent naivity would make me hate her, but I never did. I found that she had a voice that was much older than fourteen. She was believable and she often had bad judgement like most fourteen year old girls, but she was a refreshing narrator.

            

My biggest qualm with Nell was her undying loyalty to her sister. She knew that Layla was in trouble and she was the only person who could help her, but because Layla had begged her not to tell anyone, Nell chose not to tell. She seemed almost obsessed with Layla, with wanting Layla to love her again and to trust her. She so hated that her sister was drifting away from her, locking her out of her life. I understand that feeling, but it was still difficult to read as Layla became more and more secretive and reserved. Nell wasn’t doing her sister any favours by keeping her secrets.

           

We Are the Goldens is written as a kind of letter from Nell to Layla. As such, Nell almost always refers to Layla as ‘you’. It was a risky move, and it worked. I think that this book would have been far less powerful were it written in a traditional first person point of view. I really enjoyed the strange, not-quite-a-letter style in which it was told.

            

The ending was fairly predictable, though I can’t see any alternative way for it to have ended. I would have liked to see some of the fallout of Nell’s actions and how her and Layla’s relationship fared. I wonder if they could ever rebuild their friendship and how tortured Nell would feel in the meantime.

Verdict 

Discussion Post (2) - Book Slump

I've been in a book slump for the past five months.

I read a grand total of six books in January and February combined. This coming from a girl who typically reads between six to ten books a month. To compare, in the same time span last year I read fifteen books (most of which were significantly longer than the ones I tackled this year). That's not okay with me.

I genuinely don't understand how people have the time (and energy) to go to school full-time, work part-time, read, and run a blog. I really have to commend those people, as I clearly failed at half of those things this year.  I can't even imagine throwing a family (or friends, which I do not have) into the mix! Maybe it's the pressure of being in upper-level courses and wanting to get decent grades to eventually get into grad school. I'm not a natural scholar, much as my family chooses to believe otherwise, so it's very difficult for me to get good grades. I have a very short attention span and am very lazy, which is not a great combination. I am also a chronic procrastinator (I pulled at least four or five all-nighters to write papers this semester alone). I know people who work full-time with a full course load, but I am not a person who can operate like that. I get exhausted after sitting through two classes.

I've been reading a lot since I moved home at the beginning of April. In fact, in April alone I read seven books. It's not a huge number, but it's better. I'm feeling better. I've started scheduling posts again and I think that will really help me out. I'm getting back into the swing of things. Alas, I'm still unemployed (I really need to find a summer job ASAP), but at least I'm reading!

How do you juggle your responsibilities?What makes blogging so worth it?

Bout of Books Day 2 Update

I read a little bit more yesterday than Monday, but unless I do some serious reading over the next few days & the weekend, I doubt I'll meet my goal of four books.

Progress: 13% of The Queen's Exiles (up to 23% total at the end of day 2)
                   13% of The Raven Boys (up to 30% total at the end of day 2)

I've been doing pretty well on my social media goals - I've been leaving a lot more comments on other peoples' blogs, as well as interacting and reaching out to other bloggers etc on twitter. It's out of my comfort zone, but all good things are, right?

On that note, I have an interview for a page position at the library in 20 minutes, so I'll be off now! Wish me luck!