Annette's Book Spot

Monday, November 12, 2012

Book Review: Beautiful Days, by Anna Godbersen

Beautiful Days kept my interest, but I wouldn't say it was riveting. This may be a classic case of "second book syndrome" (however you define that...)

The first book, Bright Young Things, introduced the characters and set up some tension for the next book.

Letty, Cordelia, and Astrid all end up, at least for a while, living at Dogwood, Charlie and Cordelia's father's house. We spend much of the book experiencing their attempts to connect with their various male interests. They do go to parties, and go out on the town, and Godbersen's descriptions of their hair and dress is once again, the best part of the book.

Cordelia is opening her own speakeasy. Letty wants to continue to pursue her singing career, and Astrid is trying to figure out if she's going to marry Charlie or not.

I didn't really feel much tension or excitement or suspense in Beautiful Days. There was a bit of a scare for one of our characters, but I never really felt like she was in any real danger -- and I don't thing Godbersen intended the reader to feel that way. I really couldn't stand some stupid decisions that were made. If someone tells you that you should stay home and not go out because you are in danger -- there are people that want to harm you -- would you turn around and get ready for a night on the town? Then, go to a run-down, sleazy bar in a bad part of town instead of going to a place where people know who you are? She behaved like a petulant child.

I also thought the ending of Beautiful Days was really abrupt! I wanted to revel a bit in the relatively happy situations, but everything happened so fast, and then -- bam -- "the end!"

Let me say once again that The Luxe is one of my absolute favorite series EVER. So, I guess it's no surprise that the Bright Young Things series can't live up to it. I actually enjoy Larkin's Vixen, Diva, and Ingenue books about the Roaring 20s better than Bright Young Things.

But, I still plan on picking up The Lucky Ones, the next in the series that will be released November 27.

Published by HarperCollins, 2010
Copy won from Bewitched Bookworms!
358 pages

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Stacking the Shelves - A Couple Good Ones!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Here's a couple of books I got my hands on this week:

For Review:

He's Gone, by Deb Caletti, from Edelweiss

So happy to get this one -- Edelweiss doesn't usually like me!

The Assault, by Brian Falkner, from RandomBuzzers

That's it for me. How about you? Good stuff this week? Let me know. Thanks for stopping by. And, thanks to Tynga's Reviews for hosting STS.

P.S. I'm hosting a giveaway of Nutcracker - a beautiful book. Check it out!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Follow Friday -- The Same Old Story...

Happy Friday! Here's the question of the week:

Q: Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, retellings or pulled-to-publish fanfic?

There are really only a few stories. Really. It's all in the way it's told and embellished. The setting, characters, and details that make us love the book. So, no, I don't mind books with similar ideas. A good author will always be creative -- even with a story that's been told a thousand times.

Wow. That's a pretty short answer, but I guess I really don't have much else to say! Except: Thanks to Parajunkee and Alison for hosting! And, thanks to YOU for stopping by. Hope you come back again soon.

Also -- you may want to check out my GIVEAWAY. It's a copy of Nutcracker -- a great Christmas book, and it's illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Don't miss it!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Book Review: Dark Inside, by Jeyn Roberts

Dark Inside is a heart-pounding survival story with rich characters. But...the world was not explained and therefore I really couldn't buy into the chaos.

Dark Inside starts out with a huge earthquake that pretty much destroys the entire west coast. Almost simultaneously, there are suicide bombings all over the country at schools and other public places. There's no power, no phones, no radio or TV, and no internet. After that, people are scrambling to stay alive and scrambling to stay away from people who are deranged. For no reason, some people have become zombie-like killers, while others are normal humans trying to survive.

Did you catch that "for no reason?" I read the whole book waiting for the reason, but there isn't one. There's no explanation. So you have our narrators, trying to survive and find family or friends, traveling across the wasteland that used to be the United States. Trying to find food and stay away from the Bangers (as the zombie creatures are called.) There are four narrators, plus one called "Nothing" who makes no sense at all. The differing perspectives are well done and not confusing.

I'm just so frustrated about how disappointing Dark Inside is -- after all the character development, the successes and failures, the climactic event, and everything else. The story is well-paced and well-written. But...I need at least SOMETHING to explain this bizarre scenario, or it means nothing. Dark Inside is the first in a series, and I haven't decided if I'm looking forward to Rage Within (already released) or not. I guess it depends on whether I'm going to waste my time on this stupid scenario, or if there's going to be some coherent explanation.

If all you are interested in is a straight survival story -- this one is good. But, if you need a world to mesh with that story, I found Dark Inside to be lacking.

Published by Simon & Schuster, 2011
Copy obtained from the library
329 pages

Rating: 2/5

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Book Review: Always the Baker, Never the Bride, by Sandra D. Bricker

Always the Baker, Never the Bride will make you hungry for sweet treats, as well as warm your heart with its sensitive romance.

Emma Rae is a master baker. She's won awards for her wedding cakes. Too bad she's diabetic and can't really eat much of what she creates. Jackson Drake, with the help of his three southern sisters, has taken on a project to honor his dead wife. He's bought a hotel and is turning it into a wedding hotel -- offering any service a bride could possibly want. Emma Rae can't resist Jackson's offer to come work for him as his pastry chef.

Emma Rae's friend and sous chef, the emo Fiona, adds some spark to the mix of characters which are somewhat cliche. The romance is very slow, and builds in a cute and natural way. The idea of the wedding hotel was my favorite part -- I loved all the ideas they came up with for the setting, food, and atmosphere. There are recipes and baking tips between the chapters that were interesting but not important to the story.

I didn't, however, realize Always the Baker, Never the Bride was considered Christian fiction. It's not that I have a problem with that, but I usually don't read anything labeled Christian fiction -- and I felt blindsided. It wasn't heavy -- but there was a lot of emphasis on praying, and relying on God that some might not enjoy. And, I just don't like that in my books. I AM a Christian, so that's not what it's about. I just don't like reading about being Christian. And, I'd like to know that before I read a book.

So, bottom line -- loved the setting and food, liked the romance, could do without the praying.

Published by Abington Press, 2010
eBook purchased
308 pages

Rating: 2.5/5

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Book Review and Giveaway: Nutcracker, by E.T.A. Hoffmann, translated by Ralph Manheim, & illustrated by Maurice Sendak

What a cute book Nutcracker is. I was unfamiliar with the story, and thoroughly enjoyed learning about this weird little tale.

It is weird. I've never seen the ballet, or read or heard this entire story. It's kind of complex. The little girl, Marie, gets a nutcracker for Christmas, and she becomes attached to him. He comes alive, and there's a big battle in her bedroom, involving all her dolls and her brother's hussars.

Godfather Drosselmeier tells her a story about a princess, who gets cursed by a mouse queen, and becomes ugly. The only way she can be released from the curse is to find a boy who can crack the Krakatuk -- a very hard nut, and this man must not wear boots and be unshaven. After many years they find the man, they are so happy they promise him the princess' hand in marriage. He cracks the nut, but then is cursed by the mouse queen and becomes an ugly nutcracker. So the princess doesn't want to marry him.

Long story short, Marie ends up saving the nutcracker. He takes her to a beautiful world made of candy and sweets And there's more, but I won't tell you everything.

It's an "enchanting" tale, of magic, beauty, and some horror too! There's blood. And evil mice.

I can't talk about this book without talking about Maurice Sendak's illustrations, which are very creative and captivating, although he did take some license with the descriptions in the story. The illustrations don't always match, but they are beautiful and definitely look like Sendak's work. There may even be a little homage to Where the Wild Things Are, but I'll let you find that.

Nutcracker would be a great book to add to your collection of children's Christmas books. You have one of those, don't you? Even though my children are all grown up, we still read some of them every Christmas. I've even featured one of MY childhood Christmas books in one of my Monday Memories posts. Pick up a copy of Nutcracker if you get a chance -- if nothing else, just look at the pictures.

Published by Crown, October 30, 2012
Review copy obtained from the publisher
102 pages

And, even better, I'm allowed to offer one copy from Crown Publishers to giveaway to a lucky reader! Just fill in the form below by November 16, and you are entered!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Book Review: Collateral, by Ellen Hopkins

Collateral by Ellen Hopkins really makes you think about the emotional damages to those involved in war, as well as their families. Hopkins portrays the challenges with realism and compassion.

Ashley never thought she would end up in love with a soldier, but Cole is different than she ever imagined a soldier could be. He writes poetry, and he's gentle, and kind, and they fall head over heals in love.

The story follows Ashley and Cole, as well as some other military couples as they suffer through deployments and training assignments that keep them apart for months at a time. Of course Ashley wonders what it will be like when they (or if they) are together all the time. Will their love survive being together?

And while they are apart, Ashley must go through week after week of not even hearing a word from Cole. Then, sometimes she will get a quick email, or a short phone call that really doesn't tell her anything. She is attracted to another man, and wonders if all the waiting is worth it. When she and Cole do get to be together for a few days, it seems like it's mostly about the sex.

Collateral really stuck with me. I felt the frustrations of the characters. I even had a dream my husband was cheating on me while I was reading this book -- and I know it was because of the book! The emotions are real and will take your breath away.

Since I read the eARC, I'm not sure of the formatting. To me, it seemed like this book was prose with poems that were written by the characters inserted after some of the chapters. But Hopkins usually writes the entire book in verse, so I'm interested to see the final copy. Either way, her language, as usual, is lyrical and beautiful. I also had difficulty with the jumping back and forth in time -- present, future, -- all these labels -- I really had difficulty discerning the order in which things happened.

I found Collateral to be depressing. I think a lot of Hopkins' books are -- and that's kind of what you sign up for when you read one of her novels. Collateral was also kind of "Bam!!! -- ending!" Wow. I suspected something like the ending might happen, but it was so sudden, and ended abruptly after with not much tie up.

Collateral is definitely a New Adult novel. The characters are college aged. There is some descriptive sex that would make Collateral appropriate for only the most mature teens. I would recommend Collateral to fans of realistic, heartbreaking romances. Fans of Hopkins, novels in verse, and New Adult Fiction will not want to skip Collateral.

Published by Atria, November 6, 2012
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
512 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Stacking the Shelves - Keep 'um Coming

Wow! The weeks really do fly by sometimes. Here's what this week brought me:

Won:

Speechless, by Hannah Harrington, won from Tara @ Fiction Folio

This came with a branded iPhone Gelaskin! Awesome! Unfortunately, I have an iPhone 5, and this one is for an the iPhone 4 or 4s. So, if you want to beg me for it leave a comment and I'll send it to you. If there's more than one person, I'll draw for it.

From the Library:

Dark Inside, by Jeyn Roberts. Wanted to read this before Halloween, but didn't quite make it. I've heard great things, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by. Let me know what you got! Thanks to Tynga's Reviews for hosting again.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Follow Friday - Deal Breakers

This week's question:
Q: What is a deal breaker for you in a book? For example, do you abhor love triangles? Or can't deal with bad editing?

This is a really hard one. My first inclination is to say, "A slow plot. One where nothing ever happens." Although there are exceptions. If the prose is particularly lyrical and the characters enchanting, I can put up with little action.

So, my next thought was, "a plot based on mis-communication." One of those where if the main characters would just talk to each other, everything would be solved (and there would be no book!) This happens a lot in romance books. But, most of the time, I still finish these books. So I don't know if that qualifies as a "deal breaker." I just find it very frustrating.

The other thing that keeps me from finishing (usually) is high fantasy where there is no connection to the "real" world. It's too fantastical for me. But....there are exceptions to this too. And I can't tell you why. But there have been a few books that are high fantasy that I've enjoyed.

Like I said, hard question. I'm interested to see your responses. Welcome to the weekend!

Thanks for Parajunkee and Alison for hosting this fun meme every week.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge - October Update

Happy November! 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 October I only added one (but it's a good one!)

32. The Giver, by Lois Lowry

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

If you would like to join us it might be too late, but you can give it a couple months! 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."