Review: The Enforcer Enigma by G.L. Carriger

The Enforcer Enigma (San Andreas Shifters #3)
By G.L. Carriger
Publisher: Gail Carriger
Format: eARC
Source: Author

To Sum It Up: After spending many years of his werewolf existence searching for a pack where he felt he truly belonged, Judd seems to have finally found a home with the San Andreas Pack. And then there’s Colin—Judd’s pack mate and the person whom Judd can picture himself being with for the rest of his life. Colin, however, is used to being invisible and doesn’t feel he has anything to contribute to his pack, let alone to a relationship. As the pair attempt to work through the obstacles in the way of their happiness together, they also find themselves caught up in some intrigue involving selkies who also happen to gangsters as well as a rather unwelcome figure from Colin’s past.

Review: The San Andreas werewolf pack has returned, and not a moment too soon! The Enforcer Enigma is the third book in Gail Carriger’s paranormal romance San Andreas Shifters series, this time centering around Judd, one of the pack’s enforcers, and Colin, the pack’s quietest member who was basically abandoned by his parents and as a result, struggles with finding a sense of worth not only to the pack, but also to himself. Kind and patient Judd would love nothing more than to call Colin his mate for the rest of their lives, but Colin’s insecurity and Judd’s hesitation over their age difference pose challenges to a possible future together. The book follows their burgeoning relationship while also featuring a subplot with an otter shifter/barista, a country music superstar/Alpha werewolf, and selkie mobsters. Intrigued? You definitely should be!

One of the hallmarks of this series is how much you find yourself rooting for the main character pairing to get together and get their happily ever after. Judd and Colin could not be sweeter as a couple. The development of their relationship is just so wonderfully written, with neither wanting to pressure the other into moving too quickly or making a long-term commitment. Seeing Judd, who has lived a long life as a werewolf, perhaps finally find love at last, and Colin, who has been starved of affection for the majority of his young life, become the center of another person’s universe will melt your heart.

As in the previous two books, the deep bond between the members of the San Andreas Pack shows its strength here. Not only does the pack have each member’s back, but it also embraces an extended family of supernatural friends. That circle widens with each book, and it’s simply lovely to see familiar faces from the other novels pop up.

I absolutely love, love, love the humor that Gail Carriger incorporates into all of her books, and The Enforcer Enigma won me over on the first page with a café named Bean There, Froth That. I’m still chuckling typing that! And who wouldn’t welcome some laughs right now? Not only that, and more significantly, there’s also a sweet story about finding acceptance, love, family, and home and learning that everyone unconditionally deserves a family who loves and accepts them for who they are.

All in All: An excellent follow-up to The Omega Objection! And yes—still giggling over Bean There, Froth That!

Review: Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger

Defy or Defend (Delightfully Deadly #2)
By Gail Carriger
Publisher: Gail Carriger
Format: eBook
Source: Author

To Sum It Up: Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, alumna of Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, is now a seasoned intelligencer, skilled at espionage all while being irrepressibly effervescent. Settling down with a family is now very much in Dimity’s thoughts, though, and she already has a potential partner in domestic bliss in mind—Sir Crispin Bontwee, who’s previously looked after Dimity’s safety on missions. The two are assigned to work together again to investigate a vampire hive that has gone Goth. Armed with a prodigious eye for interior design, Dimity must put her talents into action quickly before time runs out for the hive.

Review: Sometimes you read a book at EXACTLY the right moment, and that was 100% the case with Gail Carriger’s Defy or Defend. This short novel is the second installment in her Delightfully Deadly series, which is set in the paranormal/Victorian steampunk world of Carriger’s Parasolverse works and follows the characters from the YA Finishing School series as adults. During this time of real world uncertainty, Defy or Defend was a most welcome escape and an absolute joy to read.

In Defy or Defend, we catch up with Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, best friend to Finishing School protagonist Sophronia Temminnick. Despite being a stellar spy (code name: Honey Bee) for the War Office, Dimity finds herself contemplating leaving life as an intelligencer behind and settling down. She would love nothing more than to win the heart of Sir Crispin Bontwee, her security on some past missions, but he seems immune to her formidable charms. What Dimity doesn’t know is that Sir Crispin does in fact have a soft spot for the Honey Bee. When the pair must work together again, masquerading as a married couple no less, they’re given the perfect opportunity to make their feelings for each other known. There is, however, the not insignificant matter of their mission: to discover what has driven the Nottingham vampire hive to go Goth and to set things to right before BUR, the authority that oversees paranormal affairs, steps in and takes drastic action.

In addition to a very sweet romance, Defy or Defend features Goth vampires who are quite in the throes of gloom, the entire makeover of a vampire abode, overwrought poetry, and ballet. If all of that weren’t enough, there may be a familiar name or two from the Parasolverse. I love how existing characters are incorporated—there’s just enough of an appearance to thrill readers already familiar with the Parasolverse without making newcomers to the world feel that they need to have read previous books. If anything, I think that these cameos spark curiosity about the characters and entice new readers to pick up the other books.

As much as I rooted for Dimity and Cris, who are an adorable couple, to sort out the situation between them, I also rooted for the Nottingham hive to find some cheer (which mostly takes the form of Dimity). Dimity is truly a makeover maven with irresistible magic and every bit suited to Cris’s nickname for her, Sparkles. But I also love how Sparkles has her other, lethal side that honed her proficiency in all matter of deadly arts at finishing school.

Defy or Defend was perfect from beginning to end: the romance, the mission to save the hive, the friends from other Parasolverse stories, and as always with Gail Carriger’s books, the humor! This book and its wonderful heroine and her gallant tuppenny knight are just what I needed in my life right now.

All in All: 5 sparkly stars!

Review: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

Vengeful (Villains #2)
By V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: It’s been five years since ExtraOrdinaries Victor Vale and Eli Ever faced off, with Victor seemingly killed and Eli captured. With the help of another EO, however, Victor is alive, though not well and deteriorating at an alarming rate. Meanwhile back in Merit, once the scene of Victor and Eli’s showdown, a new EO named Marcella Riggins is literally using her bare hands to destroy anyone who stands in her way of taking control of the city. Marcella’s power is so formidable that it may take turning to the currently imprisoned Eli for help in stopping her.

Review: I finally read Vengeful, the highly anticipated sequel to Vicious, one of the best stories about morally ambiguous characters EVER. I’d say THE BEST that I’ve ever read. And everyone continues to walk a fine line between good and evil in Vengeful.

Once again, Victoria Schwab jumps back and forth between the present and the past to unreel her narrative. Five years have passed since Victor and Eli met for what appeared to be the final time. Eli is now the prisoner of EON, an organization headed by Joseph Stell, the former detective who locked Victor up. Stell thinks that EOs might be rehabilitated into using their abilities for something other than wrongdoing. Eli, who once hunted EOs down and killed them in his belief that they were abominations, finds this notion preposterous and insists to Stell that heroes are not in an EO’s nature. When a new EO named Marcella Riggins threatens to destroy Merit in her quest for power, Stell reluctantly realizes that his best hope for stopping Marcella may be Eli Cardale. Watching Stell and Eli try to stay one step ahead of each other is absolutely riveting.

We also get some significant backstory for Eli that details the development of that carefully calculated veneer. I love how Schwab constantly challenges the reader, both in Vicious and in Vengeful, to rethink their views of the characters by making them so complex. You can’t help but wonder what Eli’s life would have been like if he’d had a different childhood, if he hadn’t ended up at Lockland University, and/or if he hadn’t met Victor Vale.

As for Victor, we discover that Sydney’s EO ability to bring back the dead isn’t without consequences, and Victor’s time to find a permanent fix for his problem is running out. Here again this series questions the definitions of good and evil as Victor takes lives in in order to try and save his own. As much as you may want him to survive, you’ll probably also ask, but at what cost?

While Vengeful is still Victor and Eli’s story, new EO Marcella Riggins commands an equally powerful presence on the page. After her mobster husband Marcus’s failed attempt to kill her, Marcella wakes up in the hospital with the ability to reduce whatever she touches to dust and ashes. She also awakens, understandably, in a murderous mood towards Marcus. What begins as a thirst for revenge quickly escalates into an insatiable hunger for power. She teams up with two other EOs—Jonathan, who can shield himself as well as extend the shield to another person, and the mysterious June, who can take on someone else’s appearance—with a very interesting twist. Alone, Marcella and her destructive touch are formidable, but working with June and Jonathan, she seems unstoppable. Marcella puts the “Extra” in “ExtraOrdinary,” reveling in making a spectacle of everything she does. I do think her grandstanding slowed down the book’s pacing at times, making Vengeful not quite the feverish page turner that Vicious was.

Overall, though, Vengeful is a not to be missed sequel. Once again, Victoria Schwab takes the superhero story and flips it every way imaginable, creating an unpredictable, deliciously twisted tale that you won’t easily forget.

All in All: Although Vicious just edges this out as my favorite book in the duology, Vengeful is certainly not a sidekick of a sequel. These are some of the best flawed characters ever—perfectly imperfect and incredibly compelling to read about.

Review: The Sumage Solution by G.L. Carriger

The Sumage Solution (San Andreas Shifters #1)
By G.L. Carriger
Publisher: Gail Carriger
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Publication Date: July 18, 2017

To Sum It Up: Max Barker is a sumage, only able to absorb then redirect the quintessence that other mages use to cast spells. He’s also stuck in a bureaucratic job that’s going nowhere until Bryan “Biff” Frederiksen arrives at the DURPS office. Biff is the Beta werewolf to his younger brother Alec’s Alpha, and he’s been tasked with getting the newly relocated pack officially registered. Max and Biff form an instant connection, but the past that Max tries so hard to bury beneath copious amounts of sarcasm may stand between them.

Review: Gail Carriger is a must-read author for me, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read The Sumage Solution. Writing as G.L. Carriger, the novel is a bit of a departure from the Victorian steampunk world of Carriger’s adult Parasol Protectorate and YA Finishing School series. The Sumage Solution is set in modern day San Francisco and is one smoking, scorching, smoldering paranormal romance. This might be the closest my Kindle Fire has ever come to, well, catching fire.

The Sumage Solution features a variety of paranormal beings, some of which, like kelpies, kitsune, and mermen, I haven’t read about as much as one of the book’s main supernatural species, werewolves. What I love about Carriger’s take on the paranormal is that you never feel like you’re reading yet another book about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, etc.; her characters are always unique and often endearingly quirky, and they completely draw you into their story and their world.

Anyone who loves snarktastic characters, which I do, will love Max, the titular sumage and one of the novel’s two protagonists. Not only is Max a smartass, but he also doesn’t know when to shut up, and the resulting sass is hilarious. Beneath all of the razor-sharp sarcasm, though, Max tries to distance himself as much as possible from a horrible childhood growing up with a cruel father in whose eyes Max was nothing but a failure. Lacking a steady, supportive presence for most of his life, Max starts to panic when instant chemistry with werewolf Bryan (nickname: Biff) begins turning into something more serious.

Biff is the Beta of a pack new to the San Francisco Bay Area, and his Beta instincts to calm and protect are exactly what Max needs. Biff is also a man/werewolf of few words, which works out perfectly for the relationship because Max is always running his mouth. While the romance definitely has some absolutely torrid moments, it’s also sweet; you’ll root for these two to be together and to overcome anything that drives them apart.

I really liked getting to know the pack a bit and the sense of brotherhood between them. The bond is especially strong between Biff and his actual brother Alec, the pack’s Alpha. Biff has always looked out for his younger brother, and it’s touching to see Alec do the same for Biff here. (For a bit more about Alec, you can check out Carriger’s short story Marine Biology.)

Overall, this was a sizzling start to the San Andreas Shifters series. Gail Carriger has created another cast of highly entertaining characters, and I look forward to more of their stories.

All in All: Gail Carriger continues to make the supernatural feel fresh with her new paranormal romance. And yes, there is tea involved!

Review: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)
By Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Kate Harker and August Flynn’s families stand on opposite sides of the divide between the two halves of their city, a city teeming with lethal monsters. Kate’s ruthless father offers paid protection from the monsters to those in North City who can afford it, while August’s father is rumored to be sitting on a massive weapon that could destroy Callum Harker’s hold on North City. As their fathers edge closer to leading their territories to conflict, Kate and August find themselves somewhere in the middle and discovering that there’s a fine line between being human and being a monster.

Review: I am so glad that I read This Savage Song soon after reading Victoria Schwab’s superb adult novel, Vicious. At the very beginning of This Savage Song, there’s a quote from none other than Victor Vale, one of Schwab’s Vicious protagonists. It’s an apt quote, too, about humans and monsters, which lie at the heart of This Savage Song.

The monsters in this book are all kinds of scary and fall into three types: Corsai, Malchai, and Sunai. The Corsai and Malchai are truly the stuff of nightmares with their claws and teeth. While the Sunai come the closest to passing as human in appearance, they’re capable of stealing human souls—with only a song. August Flynn, one of the book’s two protagonists, is one of three known Sunai. The adopted son of Henry Flynn, the human leader of the southern half of a city left divided by a territory war, August struggles with who—and what—he is throughout the novel. Yes, he’s part of a family with human parents and a Sunai brother and sister. But August is also capable of mass destruction, a secret that must remain hidden from Henry Flynn’s nemesis Callum Harker, the iron-fisted ruler of North City and the father of Kate Harker, our other main character.

Kate is a no-nonsense young woman. We’re introduced to her just as she’s about to set the chapel at St. Agnes Academy on fire. Her goal is to get expelled and sent home to V-City and to her father, who’s been shuffling Kate around from school to school for the past few years. Kate finally gets her wish and is allowed to return to North City, although it’s not exactly a warm welcome that greets her arrival. Still, she’s determined to prove to her father that she’s very much the daughter of the man who sells protection from the monsters to those willing to pay for it.

For me, the center of this book was the connection that develops between Kate and August. I’m struggling a bit here to find the right word to describe what’s between them. Refreshingly, there aren’t any romantic undertones to it. The two are drawn to each other’s company when they shouldn’t be, given the enmity between their fathers. In fact, August is sent to Kate’s new school to keep tabs on her, but some thrilling—and chilling—plot twists find them both running for their lives—together. Schwab is just so good at writing deep story lines. She’s also brilliant at writing characters who aren’t exactly good but aren’t exactly bad, exemplified here by a monster with a conscience who doesn’t want to give in to his nature and go dark.

The only teensy hiccup I ran into with this book was grasping some aspects of the world-building. I was expecting a little more backstory to the origin of the monsters and the cataclysmic event known as the Phenomenon, but the novel is very much focused on the present and not so much on how we arrived here. I became so invested in the characters, though, that I was OK with not having all the answers to my questions about the world. Other readers, however, might want those details about the past filled in.

Vicious left me thinking about it for days after finishing it, and This Savage Song has lingered in my mind in a similar fashion. Victoria Schwab’s take on monsters is very unique, and this is definitely the kind of book that you need to experience for yourself. As I was writing this review, I had a hard time putting into words specifically why I enjoyed the book so much. I just got lost in the story, driven by two fantastically written characters. So in short, I really, really liked This Savage Song because . . . I just did.

All in All: Victoria Schwab is a storytelling virtuoso, and here she brings together monsters and music for one hell of a rockin’ concert.

Review: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks #1)
By Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: In Victorian England, Evelyn Wyndham longs to travel and see the world rather than constantly attend local social gatherings in the hopes of fulfilling her mother’s wish to see Evelyn marry well. The sudden disappearance of Evelyn’s sister, Rose, however, pushes all other matters aside. Evelyn’s sole focus becomes finding Rose, even if she has to break social propriety to do so. Evelyn’s search uncovers a startling discovery—that some individuals develop special abilities, and this may be precisely why her sister has been taken.

Review: Hmm . . . it seems we have another case of It’s Not This Book, It’s Me here because a ton of readers enjoyed These Vicious Masks. Going into the book, I had been all set to be one of those readers because These Vicious Masks was being touted as a mashup of Jane Austen and the X-Men. I also went into this right on the heels of the incredible Vicious by V.E. Schwab, another novel about extraordinary beings. I very much wanted to make it 2 for 2 with the superhero reads, but alas, it was not meant to be.

These Vicious Masks left me with an overall feeling of needing more: more depth to the characters and the plot, more world-building, and more urgency to the conflict. The novel begins on a promising enough note, with protagonist Evelyn quickly establishing that she has a sassy side to her and isn’t afraid to say what she’s thinking. Later, though, as she searches for her missing sister, Rose, in London, Evelyn also shows a more reckless side, one that had me shaking my head at the danger she threw herself into. I’m not saying that she should have played the damsel in distress; rather, she took her thinking too far to the other extreme at times, believing that she needed zero help.

There’s a strong scent of a love triangle here, and I can’t say that I found either Mr. Kent or Mr. Braddock particularly intriguing. Mr. Kent is quite the wit and Mr. Braddock quite the brooder, but like most of the characters in this book, there’s not much more to them than a singular, defining personality trait. I definitely wanted to know the history between Evelyn and Mr. Kent, as they already seem very well acquainted in their first scene together on the page. I never felt that those details were satisfactorily filled in, though. While I thought that Mr. Braddock was a slightly better developed character than Mr. Kent because at least we get some backstory for Braddock, it’s still not quite enough to make him seem like a fully fleshed out character.

The world-building felt similarly light and didn’t create the immersive experience that reading, say, Gail Carriger’s Victorian steampunk novels does. These Vicious Masks is also a bit light on the plot elements; Evelyn is on a mission to find her sister, and that pretty much sums up the book. The superhero aspect was a letdown, too; I picked this book up specifically because of the combination of the superpowers plus the historical period, but these characters and their abilities could have been transplanted to any era. Nothing made them unique to this one.

Unfortunately, I was not the right reader for These Vicious Masks. There are plenty of other readers who did find it to be their cup of tea, though. It might be yours as well, but it just wasn’t mine.

All in All: More of a sense of being in Victorian England and more character/plot complexity were what I was looking for here. There are some very clever lines of dialogue to be sure, but the book’s wit couldn’t quite make up for what it lacked in other aspects.

Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Vicious (Vicious #1)
By V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books
Format: Paperback
Source: Gift from Micheline of Lunar Rainbows Reviews ♥

To Sum It Up: College friends Victor and Eli are both extremely intelligent and extremely driven. Their academic research has them studying the possibility of ExtraOrdinaries, people with superhuman abilities, and what causes such abilities to develop. Victor and Eli take their experimentation to extremes, and the fallout sees Victor end up imprisoned for ten years while Eli takes it upon himself to eliminate EOs, whom he’s come to view as unnatural. Eli is about to find himself facing his former friend again, though, after Victor escapes from prison, all of his focus set on getting revenge against Eli.

Review: Holy morally ambiguous characters! Oh Vicious—what a deliciously twisted read you were, and what a storytelling tour de force from Victoria Schwab! I was already madly in love with her Shades of Magic series before reading this, but now I’m even more in awe of her prodigious talent because Vicious is a novel of staggering ingenuity.

Vicious is NOT your average superhero story. Oh no. Although it deals with the type of special abilities that might be associated with characters like the X-Men, Victor Vale and Eli Ever (originally Eli Cardale, but once you develop a superpower, an alliterative name is the only way to go) are neither your average heroes nor your average villains. There are no clear-cut good or bad guys here; instead you’re presented with a set of characters and their words, thoughts, and actions, and it’s up to you to form your own opinions of them. Me, I absolutely LOVE characters who walk a tightrope between good and bad, who refuse to be neatly classified as one or the other. I like my characters very, very complicated, not cookie-cutter, and Victor and Eli are about as complex as you can get, from their individual characters to their relationship with each other.

Going back to the X-Men, I definitely felt like Victor and Eli had a Professor X/Magneto dynamic going on at times. Victor and Eli are drawn to each other’s genius and there’s a mutual respect for each other’s brilliance, but that respect is also undercut by rivalry and jealousy. One-upmanship eventually leads to the destruction of their friendship and has repercussions beyond just the two of them. After Victor and Eli perform some insane experiments using themselves as the test subjects (!) to discover what causes some people to develop superhuman abilities and become ExtraOrdinary, everything just goes to hell. Victor gets locked up for the next ten years while Eli, convinced that Victor is damning proof that EOs shouldn’t exist although Eli’s an EO himself, goes hunting them down. Eli’s unwavering belief that he’s doing good by killing EOs and therefore protecting the innocent from them is absolutely chilling. And then there’s Victor, who has his fair share of blood on his hands, too, but who doesn’t share Eli’s ideology. So would Victor be somewhat of a hero for taking out Eli, as he intends to? But Victor is more than prepared to kill to get to Eli. These are the questions that you’ll turn over and over and over again in your head as you read Vicious.

The science behind EOs is really well done here. That kind of stuff can really be hit or miss with me, typically miss. Vicious, however, hits the sweet spot when getting technical. There’s just the right amount of explanation, neither too broad nor too overwhelming in detail. The existence of EOs feels entirely plausible, as does the science that produces them.

As if there wasn’t already a multitude of things to gush about with this book, I must add its narrative structure to that lengthy list. Vicious jumps back and forth between Victor and Eli’s college days in the past and their impending showdown in the present, with a few important stops along the way. It’s extremely effective in building up the suspense and tension as you wait for these two former friends turned adversaries to face each other once again. It’s that anticipation, the absolute need for this clash to happen, that produced some frenzied page-turning.

My brain is still reeling from reading this. Vicious challenges the notions of good and evil in every possible way with characters who defy moral categorization. And I savored every single page of it! Vicious was precisely my type of tale—dark, unconventional, witty, and its characters teeming with every shade of gray imaginable.

All in All: What a perfect way to kick off the second half of 2016! Vicious is easily one of my favorite books of the year, and one I won’t be forgetting about for quite a while yet.

Review: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4)
By Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Gansey’s quest to find a Welsh king has begun to leave more questions than answers, but he has found a set of friends more than willing to help him complete his quest. Finding Glendower is becoming more of an urgent matter as the year begins to slip by and the promise of death and loss looms over the group. Gansey, Blue, Ronan, Adam, and Noah are starting to become desperate as the threats begin to multiply, but their loyalty to each other proves to be a force of great power, perhaps even equal to that of Henrietta's ley line.

Since The Raven King is such a special book, it's getting a bit of special treatment today, with reviews from both Melissa and me! We warn you now: there's not so much reviewing ahead as unabashed fangirling!

Lee's Review: Three years ago, I read a book called The Raven Boys that completely enchanted me with its magical story of a girl, four boys, and a sleeping king. I loved this book immensely, and yet, somehow, each successive novel in the series found still more to love about these characters and everything about them: their lives, their fears, their flaws. Now, four books later, we’ve reached the last chapter for Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah, and what a magnificent swan song it is.

I knew—knew—that The Raven King would crush me heart and soul, but anticipating a thing and experiencing it are very often two different beasts. My mind is a storm of thoughts. My heart still beats irregularly when I reread certain passages. I don’t label books “life-changing” lightly, but this book and this series permanently own a piece of my heart. My brain refuses to compute that I’ve just read the final installment in a series that is perfection defined.

To discuss The Raven King in depth is to spoil it for those who haven’t read it, so please pardon my vagueness. Believe me—I am DYING to talk about EVERYTHING that made this book an absolute feast for anyone who loves words. Maggie Stiefvater’s prose is magic transformed into words on a page. Her Wolves of Mercy Falls series imbued winter with a life of its own. Here she literally gives sentience to the otherworldly forest of Cabeswater; the imagery Stiefvater employs in the Cabeswater scenes never fails to transport you to that magical place where every sight and sound is so real, you can’t help feeling like you, too, are standing in its wondrous midst. And when Cabeswater is threatened, you, too fear for it.

The Raven King finds Blue, Gansey, Ronan, and Adam running out of time to find and wake the legendary sleeping king Owen Glendower, which means that they’re also running out of time to save Gansey’s life. My heart ached and fractured for my beloved Gansey over and over again while reading this because he fully realizes that he may not be able to fight fate, but he wants to live oh so much. He’s devoted most of his life to this quest for his king, and the countless painstaking hours of research and global travel may have all been in vain. Gansey’s search isn’t just about actually locating Glendower and requesting a favor; it’s also about finding validation, that the life he was given back after a deadly hornet attack has had a purpose.

Foreboding and urgency dominate The Raven King; the characters constantly dance on the edge of a precipice, one minute misstep away from tipping over. Dreams and nightmares, which have been important to the series from the beginning, become so entwined with reality here that the distinction between them blurs at times. With ominous happenings and shadowy people descending on Henrietta, Blue and her Raven Boys are hyperaware that their journey together must reach its crescendo very soon. They’re totally conscious of what’s at stake, including the lives of both Gansey and Cabeswater.

Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah are the lifeblood of this series, and observing their character development over the span of four novels has been one of the most incredible reading experiences I’ve ever known. I absolutely savored each of these last precious, exquisite moments with them, these friends whom no force, of this world or a magical one, could ever tear apart. Loyalty, sacrifice and love—so much love—define this group, and God, what I wouldn’t give to be even a tangential part of it.

I think I’ve written more of a sobbing, gushy farewell to the series than an actual review of the final book in said series, but this is all I’m ever going to be capable of. I also believe this marks the first time I’ve ever NOT wanted to finish writing a review, because then that means The Raven Cycle is well and truly complete. But if I must say goodbye, first I’d like to declare once again how much I’m going to miss the following: Blue Sargent, Richard Campbell Gansey III, Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, Noah Czerny, Chainsaw, the amazing ladies of 300 Fox Way (Maura, Calla, Persephone, Jimi, Orla), the Gray Man, Matthew Lynch, Henry Cheng and RoboBee, the Pig, the Barns, and the ethereal wonder that will always be Cabeswater.

All in All: Five billion stars and then some. It’s very likely I’ll read additional five star books this year, but The Raven King will still be my favorite book of 2016. Gansey—you will forever be king of this girl’s heart. I miss you and your friends so much already.

Melissa's Review: Finally! It seems like I’ve waited an eternity for the last installment in The Raven Cycle. The Raven King has been a wonderful way to start the summer. I actually picked up my copy of the book at my college bookstore while I was returning my textbooks. Having not read any YA in months, The Raven King was the perfect book to start my summer reading frenzy. I’ll warn you in advance, this is going to be more gushing than actual reviewing.

I hardly even know where to begin! The Raven King was mind-blowing. Pure magic, I tell you! Well, to be honest the entire Raven Cycle series is spectacular, but The Raven King ties everything together beautifully. While readers definitely got the answers they wanted/needed, The Raven King makes it very difficult to let go of the series. (I’ve been in a book depression for over a week. I guess the only solution is to reread the series. Oh darn.)

Don’t even get me started on Stiefvater’s writing. I barely have words for it. I can honestly say that I am incredibly jealous of her ability to craft such wonderful characters and write so cleverly. This is the type of series where you become so invested in the characters, it hurts you when the final book ends. I’m still in awe over how much I have come to love all of these characters and how very real they seem. Although the gang is in pursuit of Glendower, the book revolves more around their relationship with each other than the actual adventure. I don’t know if that sounds weird, but it really works. Since the series is so character driven, it has really become something far beyond what some other YA books could ever hope to be. If I could steal her bitching writing powers, I totally would. If you haven’t read any of her work yet, you are missing out big time.

Again, I’m sorry this isn’t much in the way of a review. I am too worried about saying anything about anything in fear of spoiling something by accident. So much goes down in this book, you really must experience it for yourself. I guess what I’m really trying to say is that The Raven King was so phenomenal that I couldn’t even write a cohesive review for it.

All in All: You must read The Raven Cycle! Hopefully my gushy babbling has convinced you of its awesomeness in lieu of a more traditional review.

ARC Review: The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1)
By Alison Goodman
Publisher: Viking
Format: Print ARC
Source: YALLFest
Publication Date: January 26, 2015

To Sum It Up: Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is about to be presented at the court of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Despite her rank, however, her marriage prospects are somewhat questionable because of the rumors surrounding her mother’s reputation, whispers that go so far as to label Lady Catherine a traitor to England. But Helen’s concerns become far more serious after one of the maids in her aunt and uncle’s household disappears, and Helen’s own inquiries into the matter lead her into a shadowy world that she had no idea existed. Helen also finds herself under the unwelcome scrutiny of Lord Carlston, an earl with a highly disreputable character of his own but who may be the only person who can explain why Helen is so keenly perceptive and what secrets her mother may have hidden.

Review: I am still swooning hard over this book.

Like Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices, and Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle novels, The Dark Days Club brilliantly pairs a specific time period in English history with the paranormal. While those other series are set in Victorian England, The Dark Days Club takes place during the Regency. If you love Jane Austen’s novels and ever wondered what they would be like with a supernatural element to them, this book is one thousand percent for you. In case you couldn’t tell already, this is going to be a gushy review.

Not only am I still swooning over this novel as a whole, but I’m still utterly in awe over Alison Goodman’s superb recreation of Regency England. I’m not an expert or anything on the time period, but the descriptions of the clothing, the food, the dances, the specific places in London—they all feel so incredibly authentic. As a huge fan of Jane Austen’s works, I inhaled every detail here. Some readers may find the painstaking attention to the world a bit much, but I absolutely loved the fully immersive reading experience. Whenever I had to put the book down, I did not want to leave the Regency!

Lady Helen is a fantastic protagonist, all thanks to Goodman’s exceptional writing. I instantly appreciated Helen’s sharp wit; in that way, she reminds me of Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. While very mindful of the behavior expected from a lady of her rank, Helen also isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of propriety when deemed necessary, like becoming personally involved in investigating the disappearance of a maid in her aunt and uncle’s employ. By Helen’s side is her steadfastly loyal lady’s maid, Darby, and despite the upstairs/downstairs social divide à la Downton Abbey, there is genuine friendship between the two young women.

It’s also refreshing to see Helen struggle to come to terms with the truth about who she is and why she possesses an uncanny knack for reading people’s faces. I don’t want to give too much away here because the gradual unveiling of the book’s paranormal aspects is a key part of its compulsive readability. I’ll just say that Helen has to choose between the life she’s been raised for (marrying well and managing a household, attending balls and other high society events) or helping defend England against a supernatural threat that most of its denizens know nothing about. Unlike some other heroines who discover that they have otherworldly talents, Helen isn’t clamoring to enlist in the fight against evil. She’s truly torn, and some of her hesitation can be attributed to being uncertain of whether or not she can trust the person who introduces her to that other, terrifying world: William Standfield, Earl of Carlston.

His lordship is a most enigmatic figure, with a very bad reputation to boot. Goodman certainly gives the reader a workout trying to figure out the earl’s character. Even Helen, with her acute perception, finds reading Lord Carlston extremely difficult. My intuition tells me that the gossip is untrue and that there’s a tragic past lurking somewhere. I just don’t believe that he’s on the same level as some of the book’s shadier characters. I must admit—the earl intrigues me very, very, very much, and in spite of her misgivings, he intrigues Helen, too. There is palpable tension between the pair straightaway, and with both of them being such strong personality types, many of their interactions result in some highly entertaining verbal sparring that I loved. I suspect another character of villainy, and therefore I stand by Lord Carlston!

The sole itty bitty quibble I had with The Dark Days Club was that the ending felt a bit rushed, but this is one of those instances where I’m looking the other way. When I consider the novel as a whole, I cannot give it anything less than five stars, and that’s just for the two scenes that brought to mind Lizzy and Darcy’s dance at the Netherfield ball in Pride and Prejudice. The novel also fully delivers on the “dark” part of its title; I cannot blame Lady Helen for thinking twice about signing up for this particular club. Do not think twice, however, about picking up this amazing book if you love all things Regency like I do. If I could jump back into that world this very second, I’d be there.

All in All: Be forewarned: this is the book I’m pushing on everyone this year because it deserves all the love with its beautiful prose, outstanding portrayal of its historical period, and complex protagonist. And yes, I think Lord Carlston deserves some love, too.

ARC Review: Entwined by Cherie Colyer

Entwined (Embrace #3)
By Cherie Colyer
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher

To Sum It Up: Having made a contract with a demon to save her brother’s life, Madison now finds herself at Caden’s beck and call whenever he requires a witch’s assistance. This arrangement puts a strain on Madison’s relationship with her boyfriend, Isaac, and Caden only seems to enjoy fueling the tension. But the more time Madison spends with the demon, the more she questions whether Caden is completely evil, even as she helps him search for a dangerous magical object.

Review: Cherie Colyer’s Embrace series continues to be an excellent paranormal read. Its strength is in finely balancing the supernatural elements with the non-paranormal; protagonist Madison is a witch, but she’s also a high school student trying to juggle family, friends, and school. Despite Madison possessing magical powers and being in a coven with her boyfriend and two closest friends, she remains well grounded.

The previous book in the series, Hold Tight, brought fae into the mix, and Entwined puts the focus on demons. A demon named Caden, specifically, who was first introduced in Hold Tight. While the consequences of Madison’s bargain with Caden in Hold Tight form the heart of Entwined, her troubles with the fae in the second book are referenced here, which adds a nice touch of continuity. Another kind of paranormal creature also makes an appearance in Entwined, the unintended result of a spell cast by Madison’s best friend, Kaylee. The actual reveal is best left to the book because the mystery surrounding what Madison and Kaylee are dealing with is quite absorbing. It’s also humorous at times, as well as a bit poignant.

Caden the demon really steals the show in Entwined. I love characters who walk the line between good and evil, and Caden is one morally gray demon. His help always comes at a price, but he just doesn’t come across as soulless and heartless. Sure, he reads Madison’s mind, calls on her whenever it suits his schedule, and is always ready with a biting comeback, but I’m unable to dislike him just for that. Rather the opposite, actually—I loved his snark and was dying to know the details of his backstory because I found him very intriguing. There’s also no denying the chemistry between him and Madison, which causes some waves between her and Isaac. The potential love triangle was the one aspect of the novel that I wasn’t too keen on, just because I’m not a fan of love geometry in general.

Overall, I thought that Entwined was another solid entry in the series. Caden is largely responsible for that, and I vote that he gets his own novel in the future because it definitely sounds like he has many more stories to tell.

All in All: I’ve really enjoyed Cherie Colyer’s take on the paranormal throughout this series, and Entwined (and Caden) did not disappoint here.

Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3)
By Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Blue and her Raven Boys are as close as they've ever been to finding Glendower, yet the sleeping Welsh king still seems out of reach. Blue also worries about what’s happening to her missing mother, as her family at 300 Fox Way has become inextricably tied to her friends’ quest, too. Everyone has invested too much in this search to back down now, even as Cabeswater continues to change Adam and another dangerous visitor has been drawn to Henrietta.

Review: I can’t even I can’t even. I. Can’t. Even. I’ve never felt more incapable of writing a review for a book than I do at this moment for Blue Lily, Lily Blue. Because when a book is so utterly flawless, me writing about it is just so lame.

We’ve still got a little bit of time left in 2014, but I can’t imagine another book overtaking Blue Lily, Lily Blue as my favorite book of the year. That’s not to say that I won’t love any other books until the end of December, but this book exists on its own plane of perfection. I’m not exaggerating about its perfection, either. Story progression: perfect. Character development: perfect. Prose: so perfect, it makes me wish it had a human form so I could be best friends with it.

I’d waited, for the most part most impatiently, for a year to hold this book in my hands, and once I started reading, being apart from it was almost unbearable. Squeezing in reading time on weeknights can be tough sometimes, but dammit, I found time for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, even at the expense of sleep. I hated putting the book down for the night; there was never a good place to stop because every single page was magnificent.

Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah have all become permanent residents in my heart, and the bond between them has never been stronger. It’s beyond friendship now; they’re really their own family, and though like any family they have their occasional squabbles, there is nothing they wouldn’t do for one another. Nothing. I’ll never forget that moment in The Raven Boys when Ronan turns his car around to go back and help Adam, and there’s a scene in Blue Lily, Lily Blue that left me similarly awestruck (and nearly crying) by the magnitude of its emotional depth. These characters may be enveloped in myth and the paranormal, but oh my God, do they seem so real, especially when they take a wrecking ball to your heart. And you should steel yourself for heartbreak here.

I’ve loved Blue from the outset, but she’s phenomenal in Blue Lily, Lily Blue, which only seems fitting with that title. She knows she can rely on her Raven Boys for anything, but without sacrificing an ounce of her fiery independence. I love that she’s a badass who carries a pink switchblade, but I love her gentle side, too. I also need to mention her bravery in the face of the disappearance of her mother, Maura, and in having to deal with some things alone because she’s the only one who can do them.

I know I haven’t shut up about the characters yet, but they truly, truly do make this series. All four boys yanked at my heart in this book, so much so that I couldn’t even tell you who was the most responsible for all of the fissures it now has. Ronan is as acerbic as ever (and that’s why I love him), Adam is as complex as ever thanks to his bargain with Cabeswater, and Noah is as Noah as ever but even more poignantly so. My dear, dear Gansey is as Gansey as ever, determined to find his king, fiercely protective of his friends, and finding it more and more difficult to ignore the whisperings of his heart.

OK, still not done gushing about the characters. I have to mention Calla and Persephone, my two favorite psychics at 300 Fox Way. Calla’s abrasiveness, even when directed at my Gansey, is hilarious. I also just want to say how freaking awesome the Gray Man is. I love this guy!

I’ve read some amazing sequels this year, but returning to Henrietta with Blue and the Raven Boys was the sweetest reunion imaginable. Blue Lily, Lily Blue, like its predecessors, is genius in its purest form. I wish I could write like Maggie Stiefvater. I wish I were Blue Sargent. I wish I could meet the Raven Boys and help them with their quest. I wish I could go for a ride in the Pig. I wish I could pet the Dog. I get Gansey’s obsession with Glendower because I’m just as obsessed with Gansey’s obsession with Glendower and everything to do with Gansey and the gang. I have no clue how I’m going to survive the wait until the next, and final, book. *Sobs*

All in All: Read. This. NOW.

Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2)
By Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press

To Sum It Up: With the ley line now awoken, the search for Glendower, the sleeping Welsh king of legend, continues. The supernatural power that’s surging through Henrietta, Virginia is not going unnoticed by Henrietta’s residents, and it’s attracting attention from some keenly interested—and possibly dangerous—outsiders as well. At the same time, Ronan’s dreams, including the more nightmarish ones, are increasingly seeping their way into reality. Ronan’s talent isn’t as hidden as he thinks it is, and it’s about to impact not only him but Blue, Gansey, Adam, and Noah, too.

Review: It’s time for another gushy, rambling review! I seriously cannot cope with the masterpiece that is The Dream Thieves. I kind of just want to say, “Maggie Stiefvater is astoundingly brilliant” and call this review done because I really don’t have anything else useful to add. Barring any last minute surprises, I’m almost positive that The Dream Thieves is going to be my favorite read of 2013, and believe me, there’s some heavy competition for that title. That is how superb this book is.

When the first page of the prologue makes you feel giddy, you immediately know that the book you’re reading is special. The Dream Thieves is extraordinary. Maggie Stiefvater’s prose should be framed and displayed in museums everywhere. The perfection doesn’t stop with the writing, either. Sometimes I would pause from reading for a few seconds to marvel at the depth of this story and its characters and also at how the paranormal element is so intricately spun. You never doubt that it’s possible to take objects from dreams and bring them into the real world. You also don’t question the appearance of a new character known only as the Gray Man. He simply shows up as if he’s always belonged there, with zero interruption in the flow of the established story line. I trust Stiefvater implicitly with her storytelling; there’s a purpose to every character she adds and every word she writes, and it’s a thrill to wait and see how they all end up fitting together.

Although the search for Glendower is a core part of the plot, the characters and the complicated relationships between them are what drive this series. I find the lives of Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah absolutely absorbing, and that is why The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves have worked for me so entirely. Reading about this group again was like seeing old friends; I’ve grown ridiculously attached to them and cannot read enough about them. It’s really difficult to explain exactly why this quintet compels me to extreme fangirling. They’re smart, they’re funny, they break my heart sometimes. I would give anything to be Blue, even for an hour, because 1) she’s so cool and 2) I’d get to hang out with the Raven Boys!

While Gansey unquestionably remains my favorite Raven Boy, I adored Ronan in this book. He really takes center stage here, and I loved getting to know a lot more about him and his family. Of course, there’s also Chainsaw, the raven Ronan took straight from his dreams, and the bond those two have is so sweet. I chuckled for a good while at the scene in which Ronan, Gansey, and Noah take advantage of the “Pets Welcome” policy at a local dollar store and bring Chainsaw with them. Just writing about this scene has made me smile all over again.

I feel like this “review” consists of nothing but babble, and that would be an accurate picture of my reaction to The Dream Thieves. Its awesomeness left me incoherent, and apparently, I still can’t scrape together a comprehensible review of it. So, I’m going to stop here and encourage you to read other five star reviews that make a lot more sense than mine does.

All in All: I have an astronomical amount of love for this book and this series. I savored every word of The Dream Thieves, and it’s going to be an extremely painful wait until I can read about Blue and the boys again.

Review: Gravity by Abigail Boyd

Gravity (Gravity #1)
By Abigail Boyd
Publisher: Abigail Boyd

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

Ariel Donovan has been doing her best to move on with her life since her best friend, Jenna, disappeared one night. The beginning of Ariel’s sophomore year of high school means a fresh start, and it brings new people into her life: Theo, with whom Ariel strikes up a friendship, and Henry, the enigmatic newcomer to Hawthorne High. Ariel can’t stop wondering what happened to Jenna, though, especially when she begins dreaming about Jenna and the town’s abandoned, creepy orphanage. Ariel becomes determined to find the connection between the two and to discover what else lies hidden in her hometown.

Review:

When a book takes place in a town called Hell, like Gravity does, my attention is instantly grabbed. The residents of Hell like playing up the name, too, going all out for Halloween to live up to its moniker. Hell is also home to the abandoned Dexter Orphanage, which has a shady history and is to be turned into a haunted house attraction. While Gravity boasts an eerie atmosphere that holds the promise of a chilling tale, flat characterizations and a plot that doesn’t quite come together overshadowed everything else about the book.

I never got a good sense of what kind of character Ariel, the protagonist, was, other than she was on the bottom rung of the social ladder at school. I found her narrative voice rather dull, like she was just relaying her observations of what was going on around her instead of sounding like she was an active part of anything. Ariel’s friend, Theo, was much more interesting to read about; she had personality and depth and stuck by Ariel’s side. In contrast, I couldn’t get much of a read on Ariel, which made reading from her perspective frustrating at times.

Ariel’s love interest, Henry, was even tougher to figure out. I’m all for guys with an air of mystery to them, but Henry was a roller coaster of moods. First he’d act all charming around Ariel, even volunteering to tutor her in math. Then he’d appear to be on super friendly terms with Lainey, the school’s resident mean girl. Then Henry would appear to be very interested in Ariel again. Their relationship was like watching a tennis ball bounce back and forth over a net. Even when Henry was in Pay Attention to Ariel mode, though, I just couldn’t find any chemistry between the two.

The pacing made this a long read for me. There were a lot of hints that something creepy was underfoot, but they never amounted to anything significant. I kept waiting for things like the reluctance of Ariel’s parents to talk about her grandmother and the suspicious behavior of her school’s principal to be explained, but I waited in vain. I also couldn’t buy the villain’s identity; it was definitely a surprise, but I didn’t feel like there were enough links to tie this person to the deeds in a way that was logical to me. There isn’t much offered in the way of a motive for this character’s actions, either, which left me pretty puzzled over the whole matter.

Overall, I thought there was a great deal of potential here for a chiller of a novel, but after finishing the book, I felt like nothing had really happened. I would have loved to have read more about the spooky orphanage as well as seen it utilized more in the story. Most of all, though, I wish that I’d been able to connect with Ariel.

All in All:

I don’t expect a series to spill all of its plot details in the first book, but I do assume that each individual book in the series will have a definite beginning, middle, and end. Gravity read like a prolonged exposition to me, and that just didn’t work for me.

Review: Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Inferno (Chronicles of Nick #4)
By Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

To Sum It Up:

After finding out that his girlfriend is on a mission to kill him, Nick Gautier doesn’t know who he can trust anymore. His now ex-girlfriend Kody is the least of his worries, though. Someone else is working very hard to get Nick to embrace the part of him that’s a demon with the potential to destroy the world. Nick is trying equally hard to avoid this future, but it’s not easy when everyone seems to be plotting against him.

Review:

Since reading Infamous, the previous installment in the Chronicles of Nick series, I’ve read some of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s adult Dark-Hunter novels, from which Chronicles of Nick was spun off. I was amused to see that adult Nick is just as much of a wiseacre as teenage Nick is. In addition to becoming reacquainted with the wit of the younger version of Mr. Gautier, I was looking forward to reading Inferno to see which Dark-Hunter characters made appearances here.

Nick is now sixteen, and there’s a darker, more grown-up tone to Inferno. I’ve never been big on the subplots revolving around some kind of drama at Nick’s school, and I was glad to discover that there wasn’t one this time. Instead, Inferno focuses on a plot to get Nick to come into his full demon powers and ensure the apocalypse. Things have been slowly building to this point since the first book, Infinity, but with Nick well on his way to adulthood, there’s a greater urgency than ever to preventing him from going all evil.

The length of the book was somewhat of an issue for me. There are quite a few pages devoted to Nick’s self-doubts. Despite how far he’s come from eking out an existence, he fears that all the good others see in him won’t be enough to stop him from becoming a monster. I thought some of these internal monologues could have been trimmed. They felt repetitive after a while and slowed the flow of the story.

Something that I think Kenyon does very well is make you reconsider your initial opinion of a character, typically for the better. Just when you’re set to write someone off as a complete villain, she supplies you with that character’s utterly gut-wrenching backstory. I’ve always been wary of Caleb Malphas, a demon who serves, albeit reluctantly, Nick’s nefarious father, Adarian. Caleb poses as a human student at Nick’s school, and Nick, though he knows what Caleb really is, regards him as a friend. It turns out that Caleb has a rather tragic past; I felt quite sorry for him. Gaining some insight into his character in Inferno also convinced me that Caleb really does want to help Nick. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Kenyon will have the character make a turnaround, thus making me take back everything complimentary I’ve just said about Caleb.

While Inferno represents some steps forward in the series in terms of character development and sticking to the main plotline, the story does drag in some places. The humor that I love so much about these books is as funny as ever, though, so I was still very entertained by this. And there’s a scene in which my favorite zombie hunters, Bubba and Mark, have flamethrowers. Enough said.

All in All:

I really enjoy this series, but I think the story in Inferno could have been told in fewer chapters. Otherwise, this is another solid entry in the Chronicles of Nick series with an ending that I’m dying to see resolved in the next book. Seriously—I can’t wait to find out how the story picks up from here.

Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Burn for Burn (Burn for Burn #1)
By Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

To Sum It Up:

Kat, Lillia, and Mary are unlikely allies, but they unite when they realize they share a common goal: revenge. Each girl has a different target and a different reason for seeking vengeance. The trio make a pact to see their plans through to the end—no one can bail on the other two once her phase of the scheme is over. The girls’ designs get off to a smooth start, but some unanticipated developments make them realize that payback may not be the solution.

Review:

Burn for Burn is a tale of three teenage girls out for revenge, and it is a compulsively readable one at that. I’ll admit right now that my morbid curiosity about how the trio would exact retribution propelled me through the pages of this book. I’m not saying that I approve of the girls’ actions, the goal of which was public humiliation more than anything—never physical harm. I must concede, though, that their plotting made for some riveting reading.

Lillia is a model student and daughter whose traumatic experience over the summer makes her extremely protective of her younger sister, Nadia. When Lillia fears that Nadia is being taken advantage of by an older boy, Lillia wants to teach him a lesson. Kat used to be best friends with another girl named Rennie until Lillia came along and Rennie saw better social opportunities being by Lillia’s side instead of Kat’s. Now Rennie delights in spreading vicious rumors about Kat, whose quick temper always causes her to rise to Rennie’s baiting. The third member of the future alliance is Mary, a recent returnee to Jar Island. She’s come back to show how much she’s changed to a single person—Reeve, the star of the school football team.

At first glance, all three girls make convincing cases for pursuing vengeance. I found Rennie instantly unlikable; she’s your archetypal mean girl, and not just to Kat. Rennie is also selfish and shallow, and really, I looked forward to seeing her get her comeuppance. Tied with Rennie in that department is Reeve. The details of what happened between Mary and him aren’t revealed until toward the end of the book, but they’re perhaps the most startling and repugnant, especially in light of the aftermath. As for Alex, the object of Lillia’s revenge, I never truly believed that he was capable of the behavior that she suspected him of. He’s not perfect, but he certainly isn’t in the same category as Reeve and Rennie.

Burn for Burn reads like a contemporary novel except in a few spots where there’s this very oddly placed paranormal element. I think it’s supposed to be subtle, but it’s not very well integrated into the story at all, thus making it stick out like a sore thumb. To me, the book stood fine as a contemporary. I wonder where the authors plan to go with the supernatural thing in the next book; it definitely needs to be fleshed out better.

This was a quick read for me, mostly because I wanted to see how the trio’s plans played out. (So very wrong of me, I know, but then I’ve always been a grudge holder and could relate to the girls to an extent.) The writing and the characterizations are on the ordinary side; the plot is what makes this worth a read.

All in All:

If revenge stories interest you, Burn for Burn fits the bill. I am a little curious about the direction the story will take in the upcoming sequel, Fire with Fire, which I’ll probably get around to checking out; it’s not a high priority read, though.

Review: Prophecy Girl by Faith McKay

Prophecy Girl (Lacuna Valley #1)
By Faith McKay

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

Lacuna Valley is the latest in the string of places Samantha Winthrop has called home. Stuck seemingly in the middle of nowhere, Sam figures that it won’t be long before her mother decides to uproot the family yet again. Sam soon learns, though, that there’s a reason why her mother chose to relocate to Lacuna Valley, and it just might have something to do with the uncanny way in which the prayers of Sam’s younger sister, Violet, seem to come true. When Sam discovers that the valley is not the quiet, unassuming place she thought it was and that she, too, possesses an otherworldly gift, it’s up to her to protect both her sister and the magical orb that influences just about every aspect of life in Lacuna Valley.

Lee's Review:

Prophecy Girl got off to a solid start. Thanks to some vivid imagery, I immediately had the sense that Lacuna Valley was a desolate locale and probably one of the last places a teenage girl would want to live in. Sam’s unhappiness not only with her new home but with yet another move was also palpable from the outset. We’re soon introduced to Sam’s little sister, Violet, and her ability to seemingly have her prayers become reality. The exposition had me intrigued, but unfortunately, I ended up with a stack of questions about the plot that sometimes went unanswered.

I never connected enough with the main character, Sam, to really form an opinion of her. It was kind of like meeting someone for the first time, hanging out with her for a bit, then realizing that you didn’t have much in common to ever go beyond being acquaintances. I thought that Violet was a better developed character; I liked her plucky spirit. I also liked Nick, Sam’s sunglasses-obsessed classmate, and how he came to her defense when she was being harassed on the school bus. The chemistry between Sam and Nick was nicely done and was one of the highlights of the book.

My main issue with Prophecy Girl was the trickling pace at which the plot details were revealed. Sam asks plenty of questions but either receives vague responses or none at all for the longest time. I found this rather frustrating. Also, the answers to the questions that popped into my head while reading didn’t always sate my curiosity. For instance, Sam’s abusive monster of a mother, Danielle, whom I despised, seeks the magical orb that controls Lacuna Valley’s weather and the types of residents who are drawn to live there. She wants its power, but what, exactly, does she plan to use that power for? I’d hoped that the novel’s climax would fill in the specifics, but it didn’t, and the next thing I knew, I’d reached the last page. I understand that this is only the first book in the series and that not all of the cards can be thrown down on the table. I do, however, think that a bit more explanation here and there would have made this a smoother read because there were times when I struggled to piece together the various threads of the story.

There are some interesting ideas here, such as Violet’s ability and the seasonals, mysterious, supernatural beings who live in the valley, but they weren’t fleshed out enough to make this an especially compelling read. I didn’t become very attached to Sam as a protagonist, either, which also kept me from really getting into the book. Although the beginning was promising, in the end, this just wasn’t for me.

All in All:

While Prophecy Girl’s take on the supernatural is creative, I feel like I spent most of the book filling in details on my own because they weren’t revealed quickly enough for me, and in some cases, not thoroughly enough. That was just my experience, though, so if this book sounds like something that appeals to you, then by all means, try it out for yourself.

Ally's Review:

Prophecy Girl is probably one of the toughest books I’ve read. I knew going into the book that there was an undertone of harsher themes, but that wasn’t even what put a damper on the book for me; I had several other issues with it.

The characters, Sam and Nick, were the typical interpretation of troubled teenagers. As the reader, I pretty much knew four things about them: 1) They share a love of the same bands, 2) Nick likes sunglasses and Sam hates her mother, 3) They both dearly love their younger siblings, and 4) Both of them are connected to the supernatural. Nick and Sam were both pretty boring. I have nothing against them, but that’s the thing! I didn’t care about them—at all.

The villains in the story weren’t any more plausible. Sam’s abusive mother and passive father are the worst parents in the history of the universe. Okay, I can deal with that, but why?! Why did they decide to have children if they couldn’t care less about them?! Why do they send them to school and buy them things if they are only using Sam and Violet for their abilities?! Why does the father stay with his controlling and abusive wife?! Where did the father even go for the last half of the book?! And how does the mother even have friends to gossip with on the telephone?! The mother was one-dimensionally evil; she had no clear motives. Nothing of substance happened with the conflict until nearly the end of the book. All I was left with was a pile of questions.

Violet, Sam’s younger sister, was the light at the end of the tunnel for both Sam and me. She was such a cutie, and on top of that, she was interesting! Violet is a puppetmaster, meaning that she can pretty much control everything. If she wants something to happen, all she has to do is wish for it. It was amusing to see her wish for childish things like all-day recess and rain. The kid really brought the best out of the book. She made me wish that I knew more about Sam’s powers, which are prophetic dreams. I think having more insight into Sam’s supernatural powers would have helped to move the story along.

The seasonals were another interesting element of the book. They were majorly cool and kind of bad-arse. I kind of wished they would have rained down on the insignificant humans, specifically Sam’s mother, instead of letting the unprepared teenagers handle the conflict. It was disappointing because the seasonals were barely in the book at all. I was left waiting in suspense for their appearance, and the whole meet-and-greet lasted for a little over three pages.

Prophecy Girl is such a promising book, but the execution just isn’t there. The elements of the story that were up to par were not nearly as focused on as much as they should have been. I think that was one of the biggest problems I had with the book.

All in All:

Like I said before, Prophecy Girl was a tough read. I’m sure some will enjoy it and others won’t. It’s a matter of opinion, and everybody has a different one.