Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Unspoken
Series: The Lynburn Legacy, Book 1
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy
Rating: Teen (some sensuality, mild violence and gore)

Summary: Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. 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? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Writing: It started really well, lost some momentum halfway, but mostly picked back up for the rest. While Sarah's style could be a little hard to follow at times, she was pretty good at keeping me reading without a break.
World: While it was supposed to feel very narrow, being set in a tiny English town, it felt a little more narrow than expected for me. The power angle was pretty basic, but it had its points of originality.
Story: For a YA book it felt more like an MG book, which made any romance feel childish and cheesy. I've read Sarah before and she can do excellent older teen, so I have no idea what went wrong here. The emotions were constantly all over the place, making the story hard to follow past the 1/4th point. And around the middle it started feeling choppy, like we were missing bits here and there - stepping in and out of scenes and missing important stuff in between. After a while I just gave up trying to understand anything at all (not a good thing in my opinion). To top it all off, it was 3rd Person Present Tense, which is fine except for the rare moment (in the middle of a chapter) when she would suddenly switch from Kami to Jared's POV without any warning. This caused moments of confusion that were not pleasant and required me to read several paragraphs twice.
Characters: Kami was a good enough main character, although every time she investigated anything she sounded (and acted) like a grade-school Nancy Drew. Jared was probably my favorite, but only because he was so obsessively attached to Kami (I have a thing for that in stories ;). I despised Ash from the beginning so no love lost there. Actually, Angela was probably my favorite - her and her brother, Rusty. And Holly was pretty awesome. Ergo the sidekicks rocked, the heroes not so much.

Conclusion: I finished it. That says something with me right now. I didn't particularly care when it ended, but I'll give the next book a try, just to see where Sarah takes this.

Recommend?: I guess.

out of 4 Paws Up

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Spell Bound
Series: Hex Hall Series, Book 3
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Paranormal
Rating: Teen (violence, scary situations, sensuality)

Summary: Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. With her powers locked inside her, Sopie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies - the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that's what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn't so sure.

The only known spell that can help Sophie regain her magic is at Hex Hall - the place where it all began, and now the headquarters of the evil Casnoffs. Together with her best friend, the vampire Jenna; her boyfriend, Archer; her fiance, Cal (yeah, her love life is complicated); and a ghost for a sidekick, Sophie must battle an army of demons. But even with her friends at her side, the fate of all Prodigium rests on her shoulders alone. Can she get her powers back before it's too late?

Writing: Simple and easy. I breezed through it like the first two.
World: A "secret magical world hidden in the real world" scenerio. Always intriguing enough, and this one proved extremely un-complicated, which I always appreciate.
Story: Classic "only the girl can save the day if she can get there in time," but entertaining enough to keep my interest. There are a few instances where the story pushes against the limits of "coincidence," where momentum stalls so something game-changing just "happens" to occur, but they are easy enough to let go.
Characters: A relatable main character - Sophie is powerful but flawed and unsure. I actually secretly rooted for Cal until the end - Archer just never seemed the right fit to me. And I liked the new Brannick additions, especially the two younger girls.

Cover: There was another black cat on the cover - AND THERE WAS NO CAT IN THE BOOK. Not even a cat shapeshifter. And at one point, Sophie's hair was described as "a halo of tight curls," which is definitely not what the model on the cover has. My mind crashed at that point and it took a while to recover.

Series End: A happyish ending - everything wraps up nicely and relatively everyone ends up contented. Well, except for the bad guys, but you know.

Conclusion: I recommend the whole series for a magical, easy read.

 out of 4 Paws Up

Black Heart by Holly Black

Title: Black Heart
Series: Curseworkers, Book 3
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult Alternate Urban Fantasy
Rating: Older Teen (some language, sensuality, scary situations)

Summary: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves taking her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

Writing: Fast-paced and a quick read. It can be a little choppy in some spots, but this is part of the character's voice.
Story: As with Red Glove, the plot can be a bit all over the place (see my review of Curseworkers, Book 2 here). But ultimately, this story is character driven, so it's best to just let the story unfold as it may. This can prove a little confusing at times, but so is real life, and this book strikes as close as it can get.
Characters: Cassel is on his game as usual, and no matter how bad she gets, Lila is always a delight. What's left of his family and friends are endearing in their own ways, although I didn't like the path his close friends took (the whole brother triangle just made me sad - bad Cassel, bad!).

Series End: I wasn't completely satisfied, definitely not impressed, but it wasn't horrible so I have accepted it.

Cover Art: I despise the new cover art. They were trying to appeal more to girls, which is stupid because girls will read just about anything. It's the boys you have to appeal to (they can be very picky readers), and in my opinion pulling away from them was the wrong move. I truly do not understand the flowery new covers in connection with the gritty-ish series, and think they are boring and don't show what the books are about AT ALL. I think they did Holly Black's amazing series a horrific disservice.

Conclusion: Although the books aren't perfect, Holly does such an amazing job with the characters and world of this series that even extremely-picky me is able to ignore most everything else and simply enjoy the story. I will definitely read this series again soon, and highly recommend it.

out of 4 Paws Up

Restless Reading Syndrome

I have been absent for some time, dear readership, and wish to explain why. You see, I have Restless Reading Syndrome.

Restless Reading Syndrome (RRS) is a horrible affliction that makes it near impossible to finish any book you start - if you can even find a book worth starting. I've gotten RRS every summer since my mid-teens (which made summer reading programs a pain to complete), and now it has become a year-round ailment I can't seem to shake. This may sound a bit like a joke, but it has become very serious for me. I am an avid reader, and not being able to simply sit down and read whatever looks good without getting bored in under ten minutes is extremely frustrating.

I have also become extremely critical of books, and when I read to review even more so. I have been trying to remedy this somewhat by reading simply for pleasure - although it hasn't freed me that much at all. This has left me without book reviews, and therefore nothing to post.

I am still a firm believer that reviewing books is good for my writing, however, and plan to start demanding one review a month from myself (it's a miracle if I finish a single book in an entire month anyway). Hopefully once I get back into the hang of it, my posts will pick back up.

For now, please be patient with me.

Yotsuba&! Volume 10 by Kiyohiko Azuma

I adore the Yotsuba&! series and always look forward to a new volume.

Summary: The story follows young Yotsuba, a little girl who goes on all sorts of wacky yet everyday adventures. In this volume she makes pancakes, goes to the electronics store, learns about lying, and meets up with an old robot friend.

Reality Check: The art is cute and funny, as is the story and the characters. It's a bit off-the-wall at times, but it's so much fun reading about Yotsuba's exploits. She is an odd child to see the world through, but that makes the story enjoyable.

Conclusion: Give all the volumes a try. You don't necessarily have to read them in order, but it helps you understand who she's met and how the relationships have progressed.

 out of 4 Paws Up

Genre: All Ages Child Fiction

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Book 2 in the Hex Hall Series. Book 1 (Hex Hall) was a pretty good read, so I was more than willing to give Book 2 a try.

Summary: Sophie Mercer travels to England with her father, the head of the Prodigium Council, with every intention of going through the Removal of her demon powers. But when her new housemates turn out to be demons as well, she becomes entangled in a dark plan to raise demons as soldiers in the coming war. And as she begins to come into her own and unravel the secrets of her "friends," and herself, Sophie learns that trust shouldn't always be placed with the obvious.

Reality Check: As with the first book, this is a nice, easy read that isn't anything too special but for the most part I enjoyed my time with it. There were a few scenes that made me set it down - surprisingly, the big flashy ones - but I picked it back up and continued right to the end.

The book does end on a weird "hope when the world is ending" moment that felt a little forced, but it was only the last page or so.

Pet Peeve: There is a black cat on the cover. Again. And was there a cat in the book? NO. Cover Designer: YOU LET ME DOWN AGAIN. Once more and I complain to the publisher. False cover advertising is a crime against readers everywhere!

Conclusion: I definitely recommend the series, and will be picking up (what I assume will be the last) Book 3.

 out of 4 Paws Up

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Eat-Man Volume 1 by Akihito Yoshitomi

Found this on the shelf at the library and was intrigued. I usually don’t go near "classic" manga, but I thought it might be worth a try.

Summary: Bolt Clank is an Explorer able to ingest a weapon or object and subsequently transform the flesh of his arm into it. With the help of many beautiful women he goes in search of rare items – for a price, of course. With the exception of a two-parter, each chapter is a stand-alone story.

Reality Check: This is a very original and fun story that I quite enjoyed. As a classic old manga, the art is classic old-school in my opinion – simple yet detailed – but not rough on the eyes.

Conclusion: I definitely recommend it as a light, fun read, and would love to get my hands on more volumes someday.

out of 4 Paws Up

Genre: Young Adult Adventure