Lisa's Bookshelf

Initial thoughts (8/21/2012):
Absolutely fantastic. Great characters, satisfying ending, beautiful writing. I can't wait to read about Frank's story next.

Full review to come later (hopefully).

P.S. Tana French, please revisit Rob's story so I can have closure. Pretty please with sugar on top.


Full Review (10/25/2012):
Once again Tana French has blown me away with this second installment of her Dublin Murder Squad series. Like its predecessor In the Woods, The Likeness seems to defy genres. It could be categorized as a mystery or a psychological thriller, but unlike most other books in those genres, the suspense is very subdued, and French spends more time exploring the characters and their relationships than solving crimes or catching killers. The plot does not race by at breakneck speeds, yet I still found myself turning the pages eagerly to read more.

French proves with this novel that she is a master at creating a dark melancholic atmosphere reminiscent of famous nineteenth century gothic fiction. The beautiful imagery and detailed descriptions made it easy to become immersed in the story and characters. Whitehorn House is both idyllic and creepy, a place too perfect to be real, filled with dark secrets, waiting to be unlocked.

All of the characters are well developed and have the sort of nuances and quicks that make them seem like real people. The relationships between the characters are equally interesting. Cassie was a wonderful narrator and I was happy to see that her voice differed significantly from the first novel's narrator, Rob. Cassie is a strong, intelligent, capable female character, though not without her flaws. At times, she frustrated me with her lies and lack of communication with Frank and Sam, but I found her behavior to be believable for her character and mental state. Frank was a great addition to the cast of recurring characters and I predict he'll make an excellent narrator in the next book. Sam is still likable, and logically I know he's the kind of man Cassie deserves, but I still found myself mourning the loss of her friendship with Rob and the chemistry between them despite the destructiveness of their relationship.

Although I loved this book, there were some believability issues that took me out of the story on occasion. The premise itself is implausible, and all of the characters seemed to have unbelievably good memories. They were able to recall specific dialogue from events that happened long before, which was helpful to the storytelling, but not at all realistic. Also, there were times when French's beautiful descriptions were overdone or awkwardly placed. Several times they were inserted in the middle of action sequences which diffused some of the tension and suspense. Still, these were small detractions in an otherwise wonderful novel. There's no doubt I'll be reading the rest of the novels in this series.

Seraphina was one of the books I was most looking forward to reading this year. In addition to having nearly universal positive reviews from all of my friends, being a New York Times bestseller, and having an interesting premise, I also really enjoy Rachel Hartman's reviews, comments, and blogposts. After finishing this book, I can understand why it has earned so much praise, but in the end it just didn't resonate with me.

Seraphina has an intellectual quality to it that isn't often found in young adult literature. The world is well-realized, the book tackles serious issues such as prejudice and self-mutilation, and the protagonist is very introspective and reflective. I really appreciated how richly developed the world was in terms of history, culture, and religion, which is a prominent part of society instead of an afterthought. The dragon mythology is unique, and it presented some interesting questions about reason and emotion.

Several of the characters were likable. Orma, Seraphina's uncle and teacher, was hilarious without meaning to be, and his descent into dragon insanity developing emotion was done very well. Words cannot express how much I loved his character. I also enjoyed Princess Glisselda. For once, the female rival in a love triangle wasn't presented as an evil bitch, who hates the heroine for no discernible reason. Glisselda was a strong female character with the sort of qualities one would look for in a friend and future queen.

Unfortunately, I liked Seraphina and her love interest, Lucian Kiggs, considerably less than some of the other characters. While there was nothing overtly wrong with Seraphina in the beginning—she's intelligent, strong, and nuanced—I simply failed to connect with her, and I didn't get the appeal of Kiggs. Their romance made very little sense because there was almost no build up. The relationship also reflected badly on both their characters because Kiggs is engaged to Seraphina's friend and supporter, Glisselda. I might not have faulted the characters as much if they had felt the proper amount of guilt, but neither of them seemed all that concerned for Glisselda. Their conversation in the end where they agree to love each other behind Glisselda's back was particularly distasteful.

Outside of the romance, I also took issue with the pacing. The plot moves very slowly, and there wasn't very much action. Chapters would go by with very little plot development. Much of the story is devoted to Seraphina's thoughts and feelings about human prejudice towards dragons, and her struggle for self acceptance amidst this prejudice. Although Seraphina's self-hatred was well-presented, her overall journey towards self-acceptance was undermined by the fact that everyone Seraphina loves and cares about accepts her once they find out about her true nature. It made her fears over being discovered and losing her loved ones seem irrational. I also thought the story took an overly simplistic view of prejudice by making all of the evil characters be intolerant and extremely bigoted, while all of the good characters were mostly open-minded and accepting.

To end on a positive note, the writing was superb in terms of grammar, sentence structure, and word choice. Hartman's vocabulary is simply impressive, and the sentences flowed nicely. I appreciated the eloquence of the writing. I'll definitely check out Hartman's work outside of this series.

In the Woods is a very unique novel, and an excellent debut by Irish author, Tana French. I was completely enthralled by the story, the writing, and the characters. Classifying this book as a mystery is a bit of misnomer, because while there are a couple mysteries, it is so much more than that. It is also a character study of a deeply disturbed individual.

One of the strongest aspects of this book is the writing. French is able to craft wonderfully atmospheric sentences not often found in the mystery/thriller/crime fiction genre. Her descriptions are simply beautiful, and the dark melancholic tone was effectively conveyed through the prose. The suspense in this novel is not of the in-your-face variety, but rather a subtle feeling that slowly builds as the story progresses.

The characters and their relationships with each other were also beautifully drawn. Rob Ryan is your text book unreliable narrator and he tells the reader so from the very first chapter with this quote: "What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this—two things: I crave truth. And I lie." Despite this warning, I found myself falling for his delusions and fabrications. Cassie Maddox, Rob's partner, was also well written. She's a tough, intelligent female character with just the right amount of vulnerability and softness to be believable.

But even more compelling than either of their individual characters, is the relationship between them. Their chemistry is phenomenal. The synchronicity between them, their shared understanding, and the building sexual tension were extremely well done. I found myself mourning the loss of their friendship after their relationship went south In addition to the main characters, I also enjoyed the side characters. They each had their quirks and idiosyncrasies that made them believable, and their relationships with the main duo were also intriguing.

Both the mystery of the murdered twelve year old girl, and the mystery of Rob's past were engaging, although I figured out the answer to one of them pretty early on. Cassie's dislike for Rosalind and her assessment of her as psychopath aroused my suspicions, but I was sure that she and Damien were the killers after she and Jessica confirmed his story about the guy in the tracksuit. Still, this didn't ruin my enjoyment because the other mystery kept me intrigued and because I was invested in the characters.

This would have been a five star read if not for the ending, which was extremely unsatisfying. It was simply cruel of French not to solve the mystery of what happened to Rob and his friends in 1984. Honestly, I wonder if she even knows the answer. Although my main grievance with the ending, and the story as a whole, is contained in the spoiler above, I was also disappointed by the lack of resolution for Rob's character. I hope that one of the sequels will provide a satisfying conclusion to both.

Other than the ending, the only other issue that stood out was my skepticism about the police being ignorant of Rob's past. Do police officers in Ireland not have to undergo extensive background checks like they do in the United States? Rob's past identity and involvement in a missing persons case surely would have come up even in a cursory investigation. Perhaps this is one of this differences between the U.S. and Ireland, but it really affected the believability of the story for me.

Just as In the Woods defies genres, it also defies any sort of book rating system. Although I rated this book four stars, I seriously considered rating it one star and could have easily rated it five stars. In fact, I could justify rating it two stars or three as well. It is simultaneously wonderful, tortuous, frustrating, and engrossing. I whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, crime fiction, beautiful writing, and compelling characters, but be prepared to be left dissatisfied at the end.

I have very mixed feelings about The Thief, which was recommended to me years ago by another fan of Tamora Pierce. It wasn't a bad read, but it wasn't amazing either. The strongest aspects were the writing and characterization. Gen's voice came across clearly through the text because he takes the same arrogant attitude with the reader that he does with the other characters. Turner also manages to keep the reader at arms length despite writing in first person, which is a testament to her skill as a writer. I also appreciated the ambiguity and nuances of Gen's companions, and the relationships between them.

But strong characterization and writing were not enough to make me love this book when the plot was so slow moving, even during action sequences. There were times that reading this book felt like a chore because the story seemed to lack the necessary tension and suspense to keep me engaged. If it weren't for my inability to quit a novel in the middle and my desire to know if I was correct about the twist (I was), I probably wouldn't have finished it.

Knowing that there was a twist at the end was a double edged sword. While it would have made the ending more enjoyable had I not figured out the twist beforehand, it was one of the reasons I kept on reading. It was the dangling carrot that kept me trudging on through the slow parts and I had fun trying to guess what it was. Although I figured it out pretty early on, I did have some fun guesses during the first couple chapters that turned out to be completely incorrect.

I probably wouldn't read on in the series except that most reviewers tend to agree that the subsequent novels are much better and worth the read, so I'm planning on checking them out.

Shadow and Bone is a very difficult book for me to review because even as I was reading it, I kept thinking "I should love this but I don't." There was nothing overtly offensive about this novel. In fact, on its surface it's quite lovely. The world that Bardugo has created is unique and there was no obvious world building errors, the protagonist was not mind-numbingly stupid or irritatingly arrogant, her love interest wasn't an abusive jerk, and I fell in love with Bardugo's writing style. The prose flow smoothly and the descriptions are rich and beautiful, so beautiful in fact that I didn't even mind that there was a little too much telling and not enough showing because everything is told in such a pretty way.

The problem for me was that while Shadow and Bone is quite a beautiful book, I found that it was lacking in substance. The world, the characters, the relationships, and the plot were very shallow in their construction. Ravka is vast and unique but Bardugo only scratches the surface in terms of religion, politics, and culture. While there is some commentary on the inequality between the wealthy and the poor, this book never delves into the deeper social issues that plague the world, nor is the reader given much insight into the role of religion in society. Although the main character spends a majority of the book at court, there is no real discussion of the political climate or the courtly politics.

Instead the plot revolves around a high school-like atmosphere with mean girl cliques, a love triangle including a not-so-plain average girl and two good looking guys, and parties where the heroine is paraded around in beautiful clothing while everyone marvels at her. Does any of this sound familiar? If you frequent the YA section of bookstores, then it should because these plot points are found in a majority of the YA novels published these days. Shadow and Bone even includes a "slutty" beautiful rival who hates the heroine because she's jealous.

I also found the characterization to be entirely too shallow, which made it hard for me to connect with any of the characters. Alina is your typical plain jane who is really a special snowflake. Her character was severely lacking in both strength and initiative. Mal fills the role of the noble protective love interest without any real flaws, while the Darkling is the dark brooding bad boy. Of these three, only the Darkling shows any spark of complexity but there wasn't enough insight given into his motivation and history to truly call him a complex character.

Overall, I enjoyed this book mainly because of the writing, which often dazzled me into forgetting about the novel's shortcomings. I'll probably check out the sequel if only so I can devour more of Bardugo's writing.

I had a lot of trepidation starting this book despite all of the glowing reviews from my Goodreads friends (and people I follow). Let's face it. My track record with YA paranormal books has been less than stellar, and my experience with male characters written by female authors has been even worse. But I was desperate to read a good YA paranormal story and this one was one of the highest rated among my friends. I'm so glad I put my reservations aside because White Cat was a fantastic read.

The novel takes place in an alternate reality where some people (known as Curseworkers) are born with special abilities that allow them to influence emotions, manipulate memories, control dreams, change luck, transform objects and people, and kill, all with a single touch. Cassel, the protagonist, feels like an outsider both in his family, because he's the only non-worker, and at his boarding school due to his family's involvement with organized crime. His attempts at fitting in at school are foiled when he begins having strange dreams about a white cat, which leads him to investigate the murder of his best friend, Lila, which he committed three years earlier.

There are a lot of things to praise about White Cat from the dark, timeless atmosphere, to the male-sounding protagonist, to Black's handling of issues of prejudice, to the three dimensional and varied characterization, to the romance, which was full of suspense and not completely obvious. It's also clear that Black did her research on organized crime and antisocial behavior. Either that or she was a con artist in a former life. I could spend pages gushing about all of these things, but instead I'll focus on what stood out for me most about this series, the magic system. I applaud Holly Black for creating consequences for using magic, and for making the severity of the consequences proportional to the magnitude of power and the frequency of use. This creates a realism that other stories with magic lack, and it avoids the world building issue faced by other authors of why the supernatural beings are marginalized.

I was really impressed by nearly ever aspect of this novel including world building, characterization, and plot. This is a series I'll definitely continue on with.

After hearing so many positive things (prior to publication) about Throne of Glass, I was expecting a lot from the first prequel, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, and boy was I disappointed. I typically have little to say about short stories and novellas—just read my embarrassing attempts at writing a review for the various short-story collections I've read—but there is a lot to say about this one and none of it is positive.

This story was a miss in terms of writing and characterization. The novella was filled with grammatical errors and awkward sentences that were hard to follow even when they were grammatically correct. The dialogue was unrealistic and often times cheesy. This was a classic example of telling instead of showing. Not only was there a lot of telling, much of what is told is actually contradicted by what is shown. For example, we're told Celaena is a good liar but throughout the story she constantly casts suspicion on herself by her failure to disguise her true feelings. Overall, the writing was very juvenile even for young adult literature.

Even more problematic was the characterization. We're supposed to believe that the protagonist, Celaena, is the most fearsome assassin in the world, yet she doesn't actually kill anyone in the novella despite having ample opportunity and no shortage of enemies. Instead she renders her opponents unconscious by hitting them on the head with the pommel of her dagger (because she's "an assassin not a murderer"—her explanation not mine). She admits to killing people for adultery but finds it morally questionable to kill slave traders, which makes absolutely no sense. She doesn't even kill the main villain despite the fact that he has zero redeeming qualities and he gives her no reason to spare him. In addition to her failure to kill anyone, I found Celaena to be very unlikable. She is bratty, vain, smug, and foolish. Her personality made it even more difficult to believe she was a skilled assassin.

After reading this novella, I am no longer excited to read Throne of Glass. My only hope is that these issues were improved upon by more careful editing in the novel.

I really enjoyed reading A Game of Thrones. I first heard of the book back in high school around the time the second book was begin published (yep, I'm that old), but I hesitated to read it because I was intimidated by the length. In retrospect I'm glad I waited because my high school self probably would have hated it; too much description and not enough romance. Fast forward ten years and HBO makes a show out of the series. I watched one episode and was hooked and two seasons later I decided to read the book.

A Game of Thrones is a fantasy novel that is very loosely based on the medieval English Wars of the Roses, and I mean loosely based. The political motivations that fueled the actual Wars of the Roses are very different from those that fuel the political strife in the Seven Kingdoms. Martin's universe also differs from ours in that it has dragons, decade long springs and winters, zombies, and a whole lot more incest. The world is rich, imaginative, and thoroughly constructed except with regard to religion, which plays a surprisingly small role in society and everyday life.

The book is told from the view point of multiple characters, a device that I typically don't enjoy, but worked in this novel. It didn't feel abrupt or disjointed, and each character's point of view was distinct from the others despite being written in third person. Most of the characters were interesting to read about, some more than others, and their viewpoints provided necessary insights into the story.

Character development is light but sufficient for a story that relies mostly on political intrigue and larger mysteries to move the plot forward. The novel is filled with morally ambiguous characters with hidden motivations, which keep the reader guessing until the very end. There are no wholly good or perfect characters, though there are several that would probably score high on a psychopathy scale. Martin is also not afraid to take off the kid gloves when handling his characters. He turns strengths into weaknesses, punishes good deeds, rewards bad ones, and breaks taboos. There is the sense that no character, no matter their importance, power, or likability, is truly safe.

Despite its length, A Game of Thrones is fast paced and engaging. The prose are not overly dense despite being packed with information, and the writing style is easy to read. Martin for the most part avoids unnecessarily long info dumps, instead revealing history, backstory, and other details throughout the novel. While there were a few grammatical errors, in particular with regards to tense, the story is generally well written, and there were only a few instances of over description. The book is long because a lot happens to a lot of characters, not because of gratuitous details.

A Game of Thrones was a fantastic read and would probably have been even better had I not been spoiled by the television show, which is also entertaining. The television show does improve on the book in some ways (e.g. aging up the characters) so it is possible to like one and not the other. Although I loved the book, I realize it's not for everyone. Martin has constructed a very brutal and misogynistic world that will not appeal to all people. Also, those looking for profound character development or tons of romance should stay far far away. But for those interested in dangerous court games, moderately complex characters, and large sweeping fantasy stories with unexpected twists and turns, I'd recommend checking this one out.

Cinder is a Cinderella story set in futuristic China that relies heavily on the story of Sailor Moon. There is a Moon Kingdom, a lost lunar princess sent to earth, a wicked stepmother, a wicked stepsister, a royal ball, a prince, and the cyborg equivalent of a glass slipper. Some of the more original elements include a deadly plague, cyborg and android characters, and a strong competent protagonist.

Cinder is written in third person and told from the perspective of both Cinder, our Cinderella, and Prince Kai, the love interest. Both characters are likable and they have good chemistry together. Although there is instant attraction, there is no instalove. The relationship develops over time as the characters get to know each, which made the relationship compelling. Also compelling was the friendship between Cinder and the android, Iko, one of my favorite characters. Meyer does a good job of showing the love these two characters have for each other. The scene where Cinder finds Iko dismantled was heartbreaking. The relationship between Peony and Cinder is less developed but still moving.

Meyer also has a very readable style of prose. They flow well and are fast moving, in part because the plot moves fairly quickly. There are no flowery sentences or beautiful descriptive passages, but neither is the tone dull or the character's voices absent. Although written in third person, there was some distinction between the way Cinder's chapters were written as opposed to Prince Kai's.

Although I enjoyed the action and the fast moving plot, I feel that this was also one of the book's major flaws because the world needed more development. Earth has undergone significant changes since our present time but other than some vague references to two world wars, there isn't much of an explanation given. It's also difficult to get a sense of New Beijing where the story is set. There is surprisingly little Asian influence in the culture or setting despite taking place in China. It's also unclear if the characters are even ethnically Asian. Very little detail is given about the character's physical appearance and at one point Cinder's stepsister is described as having auburn hair, which is not typically Asian. The lack of details in this area have led to some confusion about Cinder's own ethnicity. Although I pictured Cinder as Asian, it's revealed that she's from Luna and all of the characters on the moon are described as Caucasian, including Cinder's only known biological relative. At the very least she's a mixed racial decent but you would never know that by the lack of description.

The other issue with Cinder is plot predictability, not that it follows the story of Cinderella (I knew that going into it), but that Cinder's backstory, which is supposed to be a mystery until the end, is mind numbingly obvious from very early on in the story. It's another case of an otherwise intelligent character not seeing what's right in front of her face.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and characters, and I anxiously await the sequel. I look forward to seeing how the plot unfolds.

If I could sum up Die For Me in one word it would be cliché.

• The book features a plain jane heroine who reads a lot. Despite supposedly being plain, several guys, including the love interest, constantly declare how beautiful she is. She, of course, has a tragic past that doesn't quite interfere in her life enough to really ring true, but gives her an excellent excuse to be angsty. And she's also a loner because YA heroines can't have real friends.

• There's a handsome love interest who stalks the heroine. He's an immortal creature and except for one tragic love story during his human life, he has never loved any other girl except for the heroine. Among those of his kind, he is the hottest and has the most self-control and is basically the best at everything. No explanation is given for his super skills.

• The heroine and love interest are instantly attracted to each other and again we have another case of instalove. Other than their physical attraction to each other—shown through endless descriptions of how hot he is, and his incessant need to tell her how hot she is—we're given no reason for why these two people feel so strongly towards each other. Within weeks of dating, they're professing their love and the heroine is willing to risk her own life and the life of her sister to save his life.

• The parents and caregivers are unbelievably absent. In this case, the parents are dead and the grandparents, who are supposedly taking care of the heroine and her sister, are neglectful plot devices, there solely to show how special our heroine is. Most of their conversations included at least a few lines of a dialogue about how the heroine is somehow better than her sister. Also, they let her stay overnight with her boyfriend at his house without even meeting him.

• School. What school? The heroine hardly ever mentions school or doing schoolwork except for reading a book or two for English since she's such an avid reader. She even chooses to miss school to be with her boyfriend with the permission of her grandmother.

So why the extra half-star and the bump up to two stars? Mainly this was due to the original mythology. I like the idea of the revenants and I would have liked to know more about them. Also, the death of the heroine's parents plays a larger role in her life than is typical for the genre, though it still came across as inauthentic. Another plus, the love interest isn't an abusive jerk and he doesn't play mind games with the heroine.

Overall, not the worst YA PNR I've read but still boring and predictable.

Shadows on the Moon was a disappointing read. I had every expectation of liking it. I love Japanese culture, history, and food. I watch anime. I even took three years of Japanese in high school. I'm also a sucker for Cinderella stories so the idea of a Japanese-inspired Cinderella intrigued me. There were many good ideas in Shadows on the Moon but unfortunately they were poorly executed.

Hoshima Suzume leads a tragic life. Shortly after the death of her father and cousin, her beautiful but cold mother marries her father's wealthy friend, Terayama Ryoichi in order to avoid poverty and ruin. It quickly becomes apparent that Terayama-san is a cruel and selfish man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Forced to flee from her stepfather, Suzume assumes the identity of Rin, the kitchen servant, and later Yue, the courtesan, in order to take revenge on Terayama-san for the injuries he's inflicted on her. Along the way Suzume falls in love with Otieno, a handsome foreigner, and is mentored by Youta, a servant, and Akira, an ex-courtesan, who help her develop her power of illusion called shadow-weaving.

I hate to give points to a book simply because of ethnic diversity—I shouldn't have to because it shouldn't be a rare occurrence—but unfortunately in the current YA market I must praise Shadows on the Moon for not only having a Japanese-inspired setting (the Moonlit Land), but also for having a love interest from an African-inspired culture. It's nice to see an author attempt to write a story from a non-western perspective even if in many ways the author's own culture comes through in the text.

My main problem with Shadows on the Moon is that, although the Moonlit Land borrows heavily from historic Japan including language, customs, food, and clothing, the characters were very modern and western in their thoughts and actions. For example, there seemed to be a distinct lack of respect for authority, and the importance of honor is absent. Most of the characters, including Suzume, are very individualist rather than collectivist. In contrast, their customs are based on a non-western collectivist belief system, which begs the question of how these cultural practices came to be.

Further, the main character idealizes Otieno's culture, which is open and expressive, two very western concepts. This was problematic in two ways. One, because it assumes that expressiveness and openness are better than the alternative, and two, because there was no explanation of where Suzume had learned her appreciation for foreign culture. It's also interesting to note that I thought the characters, including those from the Moonlit Land, were shown to be fairly expressive, though we're told that they aren't.

The second biggest issue I had with this book was the writing. It was overly simplistic for the targeted age group. Although it improves towards the end, the first two-thirds were filled with short choppy sentences and lacked sentence variability. Additionally, the author chose to throw in random Japanese words throughout the text, which were distracting. The words were not used consistently and there were some instances where the words weren't defined, which could be problematic for those not familiar with the Japanese language. On top of this, using Japanese words simply didn't make sense because the story didn't take place in Japan. Presumably the characters were speaking in their own made-up language which was then translated into English because a) no one would be able to understand it, and b) because most authors are not as brilliant as Tolkein and lack the skills needed to develop their own language. Given this assumption, it makes no sense to include Japanese words when English words would have sufficed.

In addition to the cultural issues and simplistic writing, I found that the pacing and characters to be problematic. Several times over the course of the novel, I was very bored because of how slowly the plot moves. Too much time is spent on mundane tasks, such as the kitchen tasks during the Rin portion of the book, and courtesan training in the Yue portion. There is surprisingly little action in this story for how long it is.

Additionally, I didn't find the characters to be very compelling. Many of them were unlikable, others were underdeveloped, and Suzume is inconsistent. She also frustrated me quite a bit because a lot of her unhappiness was due to her own actions—or inaction—which made it hard to sympathize with her. Suzume's love interest was far too underdeveloped for me to feel anything for him, and their love was unbelievable since there was no basis for it. It was another case of instalove as acknowledged by the love interest himself. Neither their personalities nor their backgrounds seemed to be very compatible. The only thing they had in common was magic.

In short, this book at its heart wasn't very Japanese, the writing was weak, and the plot and characters weren't very compelling. I would recommend that readers looking for a good Asian-inspired fantasy story check out Eon: Dragoneye Reborn and its sequel Eona by Alison Goodman, which are better written and have a much more developed plot, romance, and mythology.

While reading Deadlocked, the latest novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series, I was reminded of a quote by Stephen King from On Writing:

"If I don’t write every day, the characters begin to stale off in my mind — they begin to seem like characters instead of real people. The tale’s narrative cutting edge starts to rust and I begin to lose my hold on the story’s plot and pace. Worst of all, the excitement of spinning something new begins to fade. The work starts to feel like work, and for most writers that is the smooch of death."

This is what I imagine happened to Charlaine Harris while writing the last few books in this series. The characters have become stale, and the pacing and plot are all over the place. I don't get the sense that Harris got any enjoyment out of writing Deadlocked and I certainly didn't get much enjoyment out of reading it. The plot was almost nonexistent. I honestly don't think that Harris had enough story to fill three additional book when she signed that final book deal. As a result, this book is packed with a lot of boring filler about mundane tasks like filling out IRS tax forms and checking email. Harris also spends an entire paragraph talking about the installation of employee lockers at Merlotte's, I kid you not. The fairy storyline continues to bore me. The only positive thing I can say about the plot is that it looks like the fairies may be gone for good this time so I won't have to read about them too much in the next book, although I won't be surprised if they make an appearance.

The characters also feel like flat cardboard cutouts, completely unrecognizable from how they were at the beginning of the series. Sookie spends an extraordinary amount of time being angry and pitying herself. Harris continues to trash Eric's character in order to justify Sookie ending up with someone else Sam. Even Bill, who I never liked, seems to have lost what little spark he had. He spends all of his time pining over Sookie and creepily showing up at her house randomly. Alcide continues to be unlikable, and pretty much every female character who catches the attention of one of Sookie's many love interests (both current and former) turns out to be evil in some way.

It's sad to see what has become of this once entertaining series. I will be reading the next installment but only because it's the last in the series and I hate to leave things unfinished when I'm this close to the end.

This book was better than its predecessor. While I really liked Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, I enjoyed Eona so much more. The pacing was much more consistent, the characters were more compelling, and the story was much less predictable. I had a hard time putting this one down and I lost a fair amount of sleep while trying to finish it.

The romance in this book was well done. Eona and Kygo had amazing chemistry and I had no trouble believing their attraction to each other. I also loved the development of their relationship over the course of the novel. Eona's attraction to Lord Ido was unhealthy but never presented as anything else. I also enjoyed the relationship between Lady Dela and Ryko. It's great to see a non-traditional relationship (one between an eunuch and a woman trapped in a man's body) represented well.

The plot in this book was fast paced and action-packed. There was also a twist at the end that I didn't see coming, a stark contrast to Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, which suffered from plot predictability.

The biggest weakness of this novel, and the reason I removed half a star from the rating, is that I still found Eona to be an unlikable character. I was infuriated by her anger over not being trusted when a) she hadn't earned their trust after having deceived them for weeks (lies that caused great harm), and b) she continued to lie to them, giving them even more reason not to trust her. Eona also fails to trust the very same people who she's angry with for not trusting her even though many of them, such as Lady Dela, never gave her reason not to trust them. Her hypocrisy bothered me, especially because it was never addressed during the course of the story.

Despite my frustration with Eona, the fast moving plot, interesting setting, and likable side characters made this an enjoyable read. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes YA fantasy novels.

Eon is definitely one of the better YA Fantasy novels I've read in the past year. The story reminded me of one of my all time favorite books, Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. They both feature a strong female character who poses as a boy in a royal court, befriends the crown prince, and makes an enemy of an attractive and powerful villain. Eon, however, was written for an older audience and deals with much more complex themes including gender identity, gender roles, rape, and abuse. The Empire of the Celestial Dragon, the setting for the story, is well-developed with a rich and complex mythology. It is clear that Goodman has done a lot of research into various eastern cultures, in particular Chinese culture.

These is also a fantastic cast of secondary characters including a woman trapped in a man's body who lives as a woman and a sword-fighting eunuch. While I do think Eona's characterization could have been stronger, I did appreciate her development over the course of the story. She learns from her mistakes and I liked how Goodman wasn't afraid to let her make morally questionable decisions for the sake of self-preservation.

There were two main reasons this novel was not a five-star read. The first and most egregious problem was Eona's frustrating inability to figure out her dragon's name even though the answer was obvious to me and should have been obvious to her. Flannery's review has a great chart that illustrates my feelings on the subject. The second problem I had with the novel was the pacing. Parts of the novel flew by while others dragged on due to over-description of the setting and info dumping about the mythology.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Tamora Pierce's writing, in particular the Song of the Lioness Quartet. Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Under the Never Sky was in one word uninspiring. It was so painfully boring that I almost didn't finish it (if I didn't have the chronic need to finish every book I start I wouldn't have finished this one), yet objectively there was nothing so terrible as to justify a one star rating. There were no glorified abusive relationships, the world building was certainly original—although grossly under explained—and the writing wasn't terrible, but there wasn't anything wonderful about it either.

The story takes place sometime in Earth's distant future, where the world has become largely uninhabitable due to a mysterious substance called Aether, which creates storms that wreak havoc on the land. Humanity has been divided into Dwellers, who live in virtual reality pods, safe from the hazardous Aether, and Outsiders, who live in primitive tribes, fighting for survival. The story follows Aria, an exiled Dweller, and Perry, an exiled Outsider, as they fight to survive in the wild while searching for their lost family members.

The weakest aspect of the story was the characters. They were mostly bland, flat, and unmemorable. Roar was the only character I liked and he wasn't featured enough to make the story enjoyable. Liv had potential but she didn't make any appearances at all. Aria lacked a personality, or any sort of depth. She didn't really have any flaws or standout characteristics, and her naiveté about the outside world seemed unrealistic considering her vast knowledge and her experiences in virtual reality. Perry was also a lackluster character, although he bothered me less than Aria. I failed to connect with either of them.

Because I didn't care about the characters, I also couldn't get on board with the love story. I didn't find Perry at all attractive, and I couldn't understand his interest in Aria. To make things worse, the author muddles their relationship by adding in the idea of rendering, taking away any free will the characters had. It seemed like a cheap ploy to speed up the relationship between Aria and Perry which already had ample time to develop.

The world building, while original, left a lot to be desired. By the end of the novel there were too many unanswered questions. The Aether is never properly explained, which was problematic given how prominently it was featured. Also, I didn't get a clear picture of how much time had past since our present time. All of the evolutionary changes and the technological advances would have required centuries, if not millennia to develop, yet the only history mentioned comes from our present time and before.

It also struck me as unbelievable that humans could have evolved to smell feelings or hear thoughts based on our current understanding of the brain. Although I could buy that humans had evolved to read minds or sense feelings, I couldn't buy that these abilities evolved as an extension of our five basic senses without some sort of explanation. Thoughts don't make sound and feelings, which are a combination of thoughts and physiological changes, don't give off an odor.

There were quite a few other scientific impossibilities and inaccuracies in this story. For example, the wolves in one scene have blue eyes even though adult wolves never have blue eyes. This sort of inaccuracy in a novel, especially in science fiction, needs to be explained or serve some purpose, which in this case it did not. If no explanation is given, I'm going to assume it was an error on the author's part and think less of the book.

Also, menstrual blood does not smell like violets, nor does a person's body odor.

Lastly, the pacing of the first half was slow, and the ending was very abrupt. Instead of coming to a natural conclusion, the book ends in the middle of the story with two new characters being introduced in the second to last chapter.

Overall, I was not impressed, however, many of my friends were as evidenced by the overwhelming number of four and five star ratings. This book just missed the mark with me.

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty was a quick read and for the most part enjoyable but there are much better books out there in this genre. The story is unfolded through the diary entries of Jessica Darling, a sophomore in high school, whose best friend, Hope, has moved away in the middle of the school year. Despite being a great student, being involved in many extracurricular activities, having tons of friends, and being liked by one of the popular jocks, Jessica feels alone, depressed, and misunderstood. It isn't until she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Marcus Flutie, the resident bad boy, that she begins to find her place in life, school, and in her family.

My main problem with this novel is that I found Jessica unlikable, only marginally funny, and unrelatable. She spends most of the novel complaining about her life and looking down on everyone around her. I felt that a lot of her misery was self imposed. She doesn't like her friends yet instead of finding new ones she chooses to complain about them. While some of her complaints were valid, a lot of them had more to do with the fact that she and her friends had different interests. Most of the characters remain two dimensional cardboard cutouts for the entire novel. Jessica's mother and Bridget get some fleshing out in the end but not enough to make me see them as real people. The only character other than Jessica that has any depth is Marcus, the love interest, and he just didn't do it for me.

I would recommend skipping this book and instead reading the Ruby Oliver series by E. Lockhart, which deals with similar themes, but stars a character who is likable, relatable, and laugh out loud funny.