Annette's Book Spot

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Book Review: Burn for Burn, by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian @jennyhan @siobhanvivian

Burn for Burn is full of teenage angst, friends and enemies, and ultimately, revenge.

The first half of Burn for Burn introduces a group of students attending a high school on Jar Island. This island is only accessible by ferry. This is a book about three girls getting revenge on some other teens who they perceive as having wronged them, but we don't really get to the revenge plotting until the second half of the book. That's OK in this case, because the slow exposition of these characters really allows us to know them very well, and therefore we can sympathize with these three teens, as well as their victims.

For me, there was too much wining, complaining, fighting, scheming, and drama. It's just one thing after the other. But I'm far from a teen, and while this group may be a bit over the top, I'm sure at times it is much like this for the teens at the school where I teach.

It took me a while to get the rhythm of the story. The three different POVs were confusing at first. I hope in the finished copy of the book there is some indication at the beginning of the chapters as to who the narrator is. A lot of characters are introduced very quickly. Some of the names were confusing to me. There are a few that are not gender specific, so I had trouble remembering, "boy or girl?" Then they called some characters by their last names at times. I couldn't figure out who "Lindy" was. Sounds like a girl, right? But then I realized Alex's (a boy) last name is "Lind" so that was his nick name. Once I got to know the characters' personalities better, I was OK, but at first I was scrambling a bit to make sense.

There's just a bit of a paranormal ability introduced in one of the characters. It seemed like the only purpose was to assist in the climactic ending. They had to have some way to make things happen, so they decided, "we'll just use this paranormal thing." It didn't bother me that much, but just felt kind of "added," and not very purposeful.

Despite the previous paragraphs, I enjoyed Burn for Burn. I thought the acts of revenge were realistic and I really had mixed feelings about who to care for. Teens make mistakes, and I didn't really want to see them hurt, but on the other hand, some of the things they did were really despicable. But, not ALL of the things. So Burn for Burn really gets you thinking about justice and just when is revenge going to far? It makes you think about the assumptions we make about people, and how sometimes with more information those assumptions are revealed to be incorrect.

I liked that three very different girls banded together and stayed together to help each other. These girls were not friends, they were either enemies or didn't know each other at all. I thought that made their partnership even more interesting.

The writing was easy to follow (other than the problems I mentioned above) and like I said, I felt like I really got to know these characters -- even some of the minor ones.

OK. Now for my last gripe. You're really gonna end it like THAT!!! I felt like I was watching a soap opera --"Tune in tomorrow" -- except it's not going to be tomorrow. It's going to be next year! I feel like Han & Vivian must have reached their publisher's deadline and decided, "OK, we'll just end it here." You don't have to write huge cliff hangers to get people to read the next book. If your first book is good, they will want to read more about the characters. As a matter of fact, I can name several series that I have not gone past the first book because the cliffhanger ending made me so angry. This might be one of those series.

I have no problem recommending Burn for Burn to my teens. It's a quick read -- I was reading the eARC and am really surprised that the book is over 350 pages. It read a lot more quickly than that. I think teens will enjoy Burn for Burn, as they have enjoyed other works by Han & Vivian. I'll warn them about the ending, though...

Published by Simon & Schuster, September 18, 2012
eARC obtained from NetGalley
368 pages (qualifies for my Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge!)

Rating: 3/5

Monday, September 10, 2012

Book Review: Daughter of the Goddess, by Rita J. Webb @RitaJWebb

Daughter of the Goddess is a fantasy novella that easily will hold your interest.

Peaches has had a rough life her first 5 years. But all that changes within a few minutes of beginning Daughter of the Goddess. She gets taken in by a new "mom" and given to the Goddess to be educated and grow into a woman.

When she is 18, she begins an epic journey to a foreign land to find the man that she is to marry. Her journey is hampered by Naga, the snake-man that has plagued her dreams since she came to the Goddess. Anything that the Goddess favors, Naga wants to destroy.

I became attached to Peaches, and cared what happened to her. She is fully developed and interesting. Daughter of the Goddess moves quickly, and at 85 pages, my complaints have to do with the fact that it is so short.

I don't read many short stories or novellas, simply because I like the full details of the setting, plot, and characters. While Peaches had me rooting for her, none of the secondary characters really mattered to me at all. I would have liked to know more about the world and specifically this religion. When Peaches goes on her journey, people know she belongs to the Goddess. What does that mean to them? There's some mythology here that I think is missing.

Some things happened very quickly. I found myself thinking, "Wait, now what just happened?" And going back to re-read. One example of this is the beginning when Peaches is passed from her evil birth mother, to the woman that pledges to be her new mother, to the Goddess in a matter of a few minutes. I understand this is a characteristic of a novella, and I did understand what happened, but once again, the reason that I don't read very many novellas.

Webb has done a good job with Daughter of the Goddess, and it's worth the short time it takes to read. The ending is tense and also happy. It is easy to read, and I didn't find any grammar or proofreading errors. If Peaches ever returns in future books, I'd like to find out what happens to her.

Published by Robot Playground, July 22, 2012
eBook obtained from the author
85 pages

Rating: 3/5

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Something Different - Wedding Crafts

I have decided to quit posting on my other blog, The Housework Isn't Getting Done. I haven't posted there much at all, and I've decide that I'd like to post about those "other" things that I do besides reading right here on my book blog.

I'll only be doing this once in a while, for now I think it will be on some Sundays when I usually don't post anything. Feel free to skip these if you aren't interested.

Some of you may remember that my daughter got married in May, and I'd like to show you a few of those decorations we made for the wedding. Her colors were green and navy blue.

We made these favor boxes. My sister has one of those fancy cutting machines, so she cut all the boxes and flowers, then we glued the boxes, and added the flowers and the "thank you" tag. We had a candy buffet, so everyone could fill their box and take them home. We were very happy with the way they turned out.

We had two different centerpieces, with sliced limes floating in water. We took pictures of the happy couple for the table numbers.

My son made the boxes, and I grew grass to put golf tees with paper golf balls. These were used for table numbers.

We thought it was all beautiful, and it was just what she wanted. It was a lot of work, and a lot of fun.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Stacking the Shelves - All eBooks Again

Once again, I didn't get very much this week, but that's my plan for a while. Trying to do some catching up.

For Review:

Broken, by A. E. Rought, from NetGalley

Bought:

The Assassin Series, prequel to Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas, ebooks

Loved Throne of Glass and have heard great things about these novellas. And they are cheap!

Thanks to Tynga for hosting. Hope you got lots of good stuff this week-leave a link. Thanks for visiting!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Feature & Follow: Current Reads

Today's question from Parajunkee and Alison is one I'm always ready to talk about!

What are you reading right now? How do you like it?

I'm usually a one-book person, but you caught me at a time when I'm reading a few! I'm almost finished with Libba Bray's The Diviners. I'm really enjoying it. Kind of has an epic feel. It's really long, but very entertaining. Look for my review next week!

I started Raven Boys, by Stiefvater, and decided to quit and read something else. I was having trouble getting through a slow start -- but I'm convinced a different attitude will allow me to enjoy it. I'm going back to it this weekend.

I've been reading King's 11/22/63 for a while now. It amazes me how King can write such a long, meandering book and still make it riveting. I love his story-telling. He's a master. I'm about 3/4 through, so I think I'll be picking up the pace for the finish soon!

I'm listening to Daughter of Smoke & Bone and enjoying it. But I usually like to listen to more long, meandering books on audio because it takes me so long. This is taking me too long, and it's too exciting. I can't wait to find out what happens, and might just have to pick up the print copy to finish. The hype is justified.

How about you? Leave me a link so I can see what you are reading (and add some more to my never-ending TBR!) Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Book Review: Henry Franks, by Peter Adam Salomon @petersalomon

Sometimes after I finish a book I think that maybe I should have read the blurb first. I'm not sure if that's the case with Henry Franks or not. You see, I didn't realize this book was billed as a horror.

On the one hand, I was able to slowly realize that, "Hey, something really weird is going on here." But, I was also so shocked at the ending that I almost laughed. I was unprepared for the unbelievably horrific resolution.

Henry has been in a terrible accident that killed his mother and wiped away all the memories of Henry's first 15 years. So, we have a high school boy who remembers nothing from the past. His father isn't much help. He's a workaholic, and when he's home he spends most of his time in his room -- which has a padlock on the door! The few times Henry wanted to talk to his father or ask him some questions it wasn't even possible.

Thank goodness Henry has made a friend with the next door neighbor, Justine. Henry is covered with scars and bullied at school, but Justine befriends Henry, and she begins to help him investigate his past. They do find out some things, but none of it makes much sense. Eventually they begin a very sweet romance.

Henry is also seeing a psychiatrist, who in my opinion, isn't helping much (I'm no expert, though) A few little breakthroughs would have been nice. Henry dreams of a little girl who calls him Daddy. This doesn't make sense because Henry is only sixteen years old.

There's also a serial killer committing extremely brutal murders that the reader is exposed to via newspaper clippings. And, the newspaper also reports that a hurricane is coming.

I was totally confused about what was happening. I had no explanation for the events occurring. I couldn't figure it out -- which I guess is a good thing. But, when the explanation was given, I was shocked. It was of the "unbelievable" nature. The ending was also very quick. Henry Franks is relatively short, and Salomon could have spent more time on a more detailed ending. Some events happened so fast that I had to go back a re-read to make sure I caught it all!

I liked Henry and Justine. I liked how their relationship developed. I hated Henry's father. Salomon is a good writer and pulled me into the story. Except for the breakneck pace of the ending, I enjoyed reading Henry Franks.

I have to rant a bit about the eARC format. The newspaper clippings are obviously two columns in the printed book, but when they converted it to eBook format, the clippings were read straight across, so the text was all jumbled. Now, I could kind of figure out what was going on, but it really slowed me down, frustrated me, and pulled me out of the story. I know this is only an ARC but I cannot believe that someone didn't take the time to fix this! It is a disservice to Mr. Salomon. I can imagine people tossing Henry Franks aside when they come to those parts and deciding not to finish. This blatant mistake, repeated over and over throughout the book, is inexcusable.

Fans of the macabre will enjoy Henry Franks, although it is a very slow building story. It's not all horrific all the way through, but the characters, their relationships, and the puzzling events will hold their interest.

Published by Flux, September 8, 2012
eARC obtained from NetGalley
288 pages

Rating: 3/5

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Book Review: Shadowfell, by Juliet Marillier

Shadowfell is a fantasy -- a pretty high fantasy -- which is usually not my thing. But, having said that, I did enjoy the story for what it is.

Neryn has been left all alone after the sudden murder of her father. She has unusual magic. She can hear and see the Good Folk, which are the fay beings in the world of Alban. This land is being ruled by a king who is against all magic (unless it's performed by those in his court, for his purposes.) His armies are pillaging the land and killing off entire villages.

Neryn feels her only choice is to try to get to a secret place called Shadowfell, where she has been told a rebellion is forming. Little does she know that her powers may give her a big part in the success of the rebellion. These powers have also put her in danger, as the king's soldiers are looking for Neryn.

She meets Flint, who is very helpful and seems to want to keep Neryn safe. But it turns out he has many secrets, and might not be very trustworthy. Neryn makes her way north to Shadowfell, and meets many interesting magical creatures, endures many tests of character, and gets help at times from Flint.

As I said, I'm not a big fan of fantasy. Worlds where there are constantly weird magical creatures appearing and saving the day, where humans don't play a big part, where things aren't "normal" enough just have a hard time piquing my interest. Shadowfell, however, did hold my interest. It was a well-written book, full of action and adventure, so I was able to get through it easily. The characters evolve, and the reader is slowly exposed to more information along with Neryn. These new pieces of the puzzle serve to keep the story moving. The magical creatures are varied and creative, and the romance is not quite non-existent. I'm thinking something is bound to develop in the next book.

The ending allows a small respite, but nothing about the big overwhelming task is resolved. By the end, we are attached to several characters, and Marillier's website says the three Shadowfall books will be published at one year intervals, so prepare for a wait! Fantasy fans, both teens and adults, should not hesitate to read Shadowfall. It has all the elements that make it easy for me to recommend.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, September 11, 2012
ARC obtained from Library Media Connection for review
410 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Book Review: Hidden, by Sophie Jordan @SoVerySophie

Hidden is everything I could ask for from the conclusion of the Firelight series.

Even though it's been a while, I fell right back into the world of Jacinda, Will, and Cassian. There are some really scary moments for these characters, in particular Jacinda. Something about their troubles really tugs at my heart, as well as making it pound at times! I want them all to be happy, and I think the ending was the best possible for all of them (even though they don't all get what they want.)

*spoiler from second book, Vanish* Miriam, as you recall, has been captured by the enkros and the beginning of this book involves Jacinda putting herself at risk in order to free Miriam. And, after that suspenseful beginning, the action just never stops. *end spoiler*

The romance is very special, and the love triangle is pretty much non-existent from the beginning of Hidden. I don't think many people will be surprised at Jacinda's choice.

I was really happy that most of the open plot points were tied up. And I loved the addition of a new character, even at this late date. He brought some drama and some happiness to the mix. I can't say much more about Hidden. If you've read the first two books, Firelight and Vanish, you will really enjoy Hidden. If you haven't read any of the Firelight books, you should -- but you need to read them in order. Hidden is also a very quick read, so there's no reason not to take the time to see how it all turns out. Can't wait to give this to my Firelight fans!

Published by HarperCollins, September 11, 2012
ARC obtained from Around the World ARC Tours
260 pages (qualifies for my Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge!)

Rating: 5/5

Monday, September 3, 2012

Books You Can Read in a Day - August Update

Happy September! It's time to see how we're doing on our Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge! You can see my entire year's progress here. My goal for the year was to read 25 books. I've surpassed that, but I'm going to keep going!

For August here's what I added:

24. Forbidden Fire, by Kimberly Kinrade
25. Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have), by Sarah Mlynowski
26. Lockdown: Escape From Furnace, by Alexander Gordon Smith
27. The Raft, by S. A. Bodeen
28. Where Things Come Back, by John Corey Whaley
29. Guilty, by Norah McClintock

How about you? Have you read any books in ONE DAY? Give me some suggestions.

If you would like to join us, it's not too late! There's a link to the challenge page on the sidebar.

If you are participating, please leave a link to your post, or just list your books in the comments. Hope you are having fun with these "little gems."

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Stacking the Shelves - Only One...

I guess I'm too busy being "back to school" to get any new books! But, I work in a library, so I really could bring some home. Truthfully, I know I don't have time to read library books, so I really have no business bringing any home.

For Review:

In a Fix, by Linda Grimes from NetGalley

I've been trying to find just the right book to try out the urban fantasy genre and I read Tynga's Review of this one that convinced me to try it.

Tynga is also the one that hosts Stacking The Shelves, so make sure you visit her blog as well as the other participants.Thanks for visiting and don't be a stranger. If you are from the United States, enjoy your Labor Day!