mini mini reviews!

Today, I have some mini mini-reviews on some books I've recently read from a colorful assortment of genres. These are for the books which I don't have enough to say to warrant an entire review, hence the extra mini, but I do have something to comment on (as should be expected from me, giving my opinion even when no one asks is one of my talents.) The three books I will be reviewing--if you can even call it that--are all unique in their own ways, and I highly recommend each and every one of them.


Title: My Lady Jane
Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Publication date: June 7, 2016
Genre: Historical fiction

The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane is about to become the Queen of England. -Goodreads

January Mini-Reviews

Title: Since You've Been Gone
Author: Mary Jennifer Payne
Publication Date: February 17, 2015
Genre: Contemporary

Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school she's in a different country.

Sydney promises her that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them.

Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she ll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life.

Mini-Reviews: Haze & Daughter of Chaos

Title: Haze (The Rephaim #2)
Author: Paula Weston
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Genre: Fantasy

Gaby Winters’ nightmares have stopped but she still can’t remember her old life. Still can’t quite believe she is one of the Rephaim—the wingless half-angels who can shift from place to place, country to country, in the blink of an eye. That she was once the Rephaim’s best fighter. That demons exist. That Rafa has stayed.

But most of all, she can’t quite believe that her twin brother, Jude, might be alive.

And Gaby can’t explain the hesitancy that sidetracks the search for him, infuriates Rafa, and sends them, again, into the darkest danger. -Goodreads

4.5 Stars

Thank you Tundra Books for sending me this copy for review!

Review: On the Fence, by Kasie West

Title: On the Fence
Author: Kasie West
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Genre: Contemporary

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high. -Goodreads

2 Stars

You could say that I am "on the fence" about this novel.

IT HAD TO BE SAID.

Meme creds: me.

Fellow pun lovers, were those perfect, or were they perfect? *snorts* Anyway.

Mini-Reviews: Of Beast and Beauty & What Happened to Goodbye

Title: Of Beast and Beauty
Author: Stacey Jay
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Genre: Fantasy

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love. -Goodreads

4 Stars

Oh, how refreshing it is to read a YA fantasy novel that is not part of a series.

How invigorating it is to read of a fairytale that stays faithful to the original while deviating from the standard to create a world that is incomparable in characters and prose.

Mini-Reviews: Trouble and Delirium

Title: Trouble

Author: Non Pratt

Genre: Contemporary

Publication Date: March 6, 2014

In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father.

When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”

Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love. -Goodreads

Meh. That's what I thought of this book. It wasn't amazing and it wasn't terrible, just meh.

3.5 Stars

The first half of Trouble I loved! The storyline was interesting, the characters were realistic and so were their problems and then suddenly all of that seemed to change. The storyline got sort of boring, the characters started to really annoy me and the whole book seemed to be exactly like the sort of gossip you read on bathroom walls.

Mini-Reviews: If You Find Me, and The Diamond Thief

Title: If You Find Me
Author: Emily Murdoch
Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: March 26, 2013

There are some things you can’t leave behind…
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down. -Goodreads

3 Stars

I hadn't anticipated the depth and power of If You Find Me when I first acquired it. I didn't expect it to be such a dark, deep novel. It tells the story of a girl who has lived in the woods her entire life, along with her sister and drug-addicted mother. She is completely disconnected from society, and has trouble adjusting into the life of a normal teenager.

DNF Reviews: This Is What Happy Looks Like, The Queen's Choice, and The Long Way

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.
Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? -Goodreads

2 Stars

If I were to summarize the main reason why I DNF'ed this in one word, it would be: immaturity.

Don't get me wrong; I'm a pretty immature/random person myself, but this isn't a case of the pot and the kettle. I'm talking about the shallow-ness of this book; it feels like pure fluff with no real point to it. It's not enjoyable fluff, either; nor can it be possibly categorized as "guilty pleasure". This book is pretty much the reason why I tend to stay away from contemporary fiction altogether. 

Mini-Reviews: A Northern Light, Perfect Ruin, and A Darkness Strange and Lovely

Title: A Northern Light
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: Historical fiction
Pub. Date: September 1, 2004

Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has a word for everything, and big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. She collects words, stores them up as a way of fending off the hard truths of her life, the truths that she can't write down in stories. The fresh pain of her mother's death. The burden of raising her sisters while her father struggles over his brokeback farm. And the secret dreams that keep her going--visions of finishing high school, going to college in New York City, becoming a writer. Set in 1906 in the Adirondack Mountains, against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, this Printz Honor-winning coming-of-age novel effortlessly weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, and real, and wholly original.

5 stars! I don't know when the last time was that I've given a book the ultimate glory of being

Mini Reviews (1): If I Should Die & Something Strange and Deadly

Title: If I Should Die (Die For Me, #3)
Author: Amy Plum
Genre: YA Paranormal
Pub. Date: May 7, 2013

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me? -Goodreads

My Rating: 3 stars

Truthfully? I'm unsure why I continued this series. With the first two books full of cheesy love declarations, an immature plot, and a protagonist that can almost be called a Mary Sue, the last book was bound to be as disappointing as the first two. But, peculiarly, it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

It's obvious Amy Plum has grew as an author. Her writing improved greatly, she expanded on the nature of Revenants, and she added in subplots to make the overall plot more complicated. If you look at book 1 and compare it to book 3, the improvements are astonishing.

But, not everything was answered in this last book. There was no epilogue, leaving the reader feeling a bit unsatisfied due to the lack of closure. However, if you're willing to put yourself through the pain of the first two books to read this somewhat good book, then go ahead. If I'm being honest with myself, it really wasn't worth it.

Title: Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)
Author: Susan Dennard
Genre: YA Steampunk/ Paranormal

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance. -Goodreads

My Rating: 4 stars

Both these books, If I Should Die and Something Strange and Deadly, deal with zombie-like creatures. Undoubtedly, this book handles the topic much better than the former. 

The complicated story-line was confusing at the beginning, but gradually, it became easier to understand. At times I felt that the author was trying to shove too much into one book, though I did enjoy it. The author used the steam-punk setting to her advantage to give the story a very distinct and vivid setting, which is easily my favorite part of the novel. I loved all the characters, namely Eleanor. She's not overly strong, nor too "beautiful", she's flawed and I liked that.

This is probably the most creative paranormal I have read in a while, and it most certainly stands out amidst the abundant cookie-cutter paranormals. It is obvious this novel is setting up for something more coming in future novels, which I can't wait to begin reading.