Book Review

Review: Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

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Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Title: Something Like Normal
Author:Trish Doller
Genre: Contemporary, War, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens (26th October 2012)
Blurb:

I just came home from Afghanistan.

My parents are splitting up.

My brother has stolen my girlfriend.

(He also stole my car).

And I’m haunted by the ghost of my best friend.

Then I run into Harper.

(Technically, her fist runs into my face).

She’s beautiful, smart, funny . . .

. . . and wants nothing to with the messed-up Marine who ruined her life.

Sometimes the best thing you can hope for is something like normal.

Sometimes what you get might be even better.

Rating: *****(5 stars)
Review:

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while, ever since I saw the blurb in a Waiting on Wednesday post. There were a couple of reasons I wanted to get my hands on Something Like Normal. The first was that I thought that the blurb sounded interesting, and the second one was because of the topic. War isn’t an easy or a nice subject, but it’s something I wish was covered more in literature – both Adult and Young Adult.

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Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

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A Yelena Zaltana Novel Cover

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Poison Study (The Study Trilogy – Book 1)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Swords and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira (22nd December 2011)
Blurb:

CHOOSE:

A QUICK DEATH
OR SLOW POISON . . .

Yelena has a choice – be executed for murder, or become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. She leaps at the chance for survival, but her relief may be short-lived.

Life in the palace is full of hazards and secrets. Wily and smart, Yelena must learn to identify poisons before they kill her, recognise whom she can trust and how to spy on those she can’t. And who is the mysterious Southern sorceress who can reach into her head?

When Yelena realises she has extraordinary magical powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

I picked up Poison Study on a whim. I’d seen it around the blogsphere, but not really paid a lot of attention to it.  To be honest, I wasn’t totally sure it would be my kind of book. But, I thought I’d give it a go, especially as it seems to straddle the Adult/ Young Adult market.

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Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, UK edition cover

Title: Unspoken (Book One of The Lynburn Legacy)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (13th September 2012)
Blurb:

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. Having an imaginary friend has made fitting in hard – but that’s never bothered Kami. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is just the way she likes it.

But all that changes when the mysterious Lynburn family returns to Kami’s village, along with teenagers, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami . . .

As life as she knows it begins to unravel, Kami is determined to get to the bottom of every mystery. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him?

And can she trust him?

Rating: ****(4 stars)
Review:

I really loved Sarah Rees Brennan’s (SRB) The Demon’s Lexicon Trilogy; she has a way with words, so when I heard about this book I wanted to get my hands on it. Gothic novels aren’t generally to my taste, and in many ways Unspoken can be seen as a” modern Gothic” novel I really enjoyed reading it.

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Review: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

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UK cover of Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, UK edition cover.

Title: Seraphina (Seraphina #1)
Author: Rachel Hartman
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Doubleday (19th July 2012)
Blurb:

A fragile peace has been achieved in the realm of Goredd, and dragons and humans live together in harmony.

But the truce is shattered when a royal prince is brutally murdered – could dragons be to blame?

Seraphina, a talented court musician harbouring secrets of her own, is drawn into the investigation and uncovers a darker plot, one that threatens the very existence of the kingdom. And soon her own life is in terrible danger as she fights to hide the secret behind her amazing gift . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

I am a fan of a good sword and sorcery fantasy with a strong female lead. The fact that Seraphina also has dragons, and is recommended by several of my favourite writers, sold this book to me. I had to give it a try, even if I wasn’t a fan of the UK cover.

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Review: Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye by Alison Goodman

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Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye by Alison Goodman

Title: Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye (Eon #1)
Author: Alison Goodman
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: David Fickling Books (1st January 2010)
Blurb:

Two swords, angled for slicing, came whirring towards my chest. My block was simple: a step of the back leg, a shift os weight, my right sword joining the left in front of me, cutting side slanted down. His blades hit mine. The impact resonated through my arm bones.

Does young Eon have the power to become a Dragoneye? Now the years of gruelling training, under a ruthlessly ambitious master, will be put to the test: it’s time for the terrifying Rat Dragon to choose his next apprentice.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Reading this book reminded me of why I like the sword and sorcery/high fantasy genre so much. It has everything a girl could ask for: sword fighting, dragons, magic and crossdressing. Eon also takes a slightly different slant to what you’d expect in those kinds of books.

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Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

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Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel (Crewel World #1)
Author: Gennifer Albin
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: faber and faber (18th October 2012)
Blurb:

TONIGHT THEY’LL COME FOR ME

AN EXTRAORDINARY GIRL
Sixteen-year-old Adelice is a Spinster. She can weave time and matter. But no one knows just how talented she is.

DANGEROUS LOVE
Guild Ambassador Cormac Patton has taken a shine to her. The Guild demands loyalty . . . even in love. So Adelice’s handsome, mysterious valet poses a dangerous threat to her place at the Coventry.

A DEADLY SECRET
Everyone at the Guild has their secrets. But Adelice is about to unravel the deadliest one of all, a sinister truth that could destroy reality as she knows it . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

This book reminded me why, every now and then, I try a dystopian. Crewel had everything that I love in a good dystopian and nothing to knock me out of the story.

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Review: Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz

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Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Wolf Pact (Wolf Pact I-IV)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (25th September 2012)
Blurb:

Once enslaved in the darkest pits of the underworld, Lawson and his pack were destined to become the Hounds of Hell. Escaping to earth bought them a little time, but their old masters soon catch up with them and take away the one thing Lawson is desperate to keep hold of – the girl he loves.

Now, Lawson needs to hunt the beasts he was running from if there’s any chance to seeing her again.

When Bliss, a mysterious ex-vampire, turns up on her own to search for the Hounds it seems she might hold information that will help. But will she be able to trust this insolent, dangerously good-looking boy when she knows that he has a wolf’s soul?

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Wolf Pact is a spin-off novel from Melissa de la Cruz’s brilliant Blue Blood series, which is why I picked it up. It is also contains a character from her Witches of the East book, though there doesn’t appear to be a direct link between the stories. Wolf Pact is a brilliant read, and does not read at all like an adjunct to Blue Bloods, once I started reading I was quickly engulfed in the world and before I knew it I’d reached the end.

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Review: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

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Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Title: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Authors: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (5th October 2012)
Blurb:

I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the self, please.

At the urge of her lucky-in-love brother, sixteen-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of dares on her favourite bookshop shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept.

Curious, snarky Dash isn’t one to back down from a challenge – and the Book of Dares is the perfect thing to keep him occupied this Christmas.

As they send each other on a snowbound scavenger hunt across Manhattan, they’re falling for each other on paper. But finding out if their real selves share their on-page chemistry could be their biggest dare yet.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

I picked this book up in my local bookstore on a whim. I’d heard over the blogosphere that this book is the perfect book to get you in the mood for Christmas, and whilst I was somewhat dubious about these claims I thought I’d give it a go. Instead of a book full of Christmas cheer, I found a charming, unputdownable contemporary romance that stole my heart a little.

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Review: UnderWorld by Meg Cabot

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UnderWorld by Meg Cabot

Title: UnderWorld (Abandon Trilogy #2)
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (27th September 2012)
Blurb:

PIERCE ISN’T DEAD. NOT YET.

But John Hayden, lord of the Underworld, has taken her to the place where the spirits of the deceased gather. He says it’s for her safety, to protect her from the vengeful Furies. But could he have other reasons for keeping her close?

Pierce might be safe in the Underworld, but she soon learns that the people she loves back on earth are not. Can she convince John to release her in order to save her family – or will the price he asks her to pay be too high?

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

UnderWorld is the second book in Meg Cabot’s Abandon Trilogy, the series re-imagines the Persephone myth in the modern day. I really loved the first book Abandon in the trilogy (you can find my review here) so I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this book.

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Review: Defiance by C. J. Redwine

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Defiance by C. J. Redwine

Title: Defiance (Courier’s Daughter Trilogy #1)
Author: C. J. Redwine
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (6th September 2012)
Blurb:

RACHEL’S WORLD IS CONFINED to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.

When Rachel’s father foes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.

Her only chance for escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice and now her sole protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

In the autumn Defiance seemed to be the book to read on the blogsphere. I wasn’t too sure about the blurb, but I loved the cover. So, when I saw it in a local bookstore I decided to give the book a go.

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