Review - The Holders by Julianna Scott

The Holders by Julianna Scott
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Received for review from author

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 276
Publisher: Strange Chemistry (US and UK)

Summary: 17-year-old Becca has spent her whole life protecting her brother - from their father leaving and from the people who say the voices in his head are unnatural. When two strangers appear with apparent answers to Ryland's "problem" and details about a school in Ireland where Ryland will not only fit in, but prosper, Becca is up in arms. She reluctantly agrees to join Ryland on his journey and what they find at St. Brigid's is a world beyond their imagination. Little by little they piece together information about their family's heritage and the legend of the Holder race that decrees Ryland is the one they've been waiting for. But they are all, especially Becca, in for a surprise that will change what they thought they knew about themselves and their kind.

Thoughts: I have some mixed feelings about The Holders. There were some things I really enjoyed, but there was a lot that made me feel... iffy.

Let's start off with the good, though. The Holders has a Harry Potter-esque vibe to it that I could totally get behind. Talented, magical kids whisked off to the British Isles? Say no more. Perhaps that's a wee bit too referential for some, but I didn't mind. I also really liked the fact that the book centred around a brother-sister relationship (I'm a Supernatural fan - siblings give me feelings).

That said, The Holders felt very much like a debut novel: there was a lot of tell with absolutely no show. The book was a series of conversations and half of the drama came from people not having the right conversation at the right time. Um, hello? That's not drama, that's stupidity. And add to that, you're expecting me to believe that this girl will hop on a plane to Ireland with her brother and then wait weeks upon weeks to get all the info needed to make her final decision? Hell, even Harry Potter made sure to get all the juicy details out of Hagrid before he hopped on the Hogwarts Express. And he was eleven.

It was all just a bit too easy; it was all just a bit too simple. Maybe this book would have been better in the hands of a 12/13-year-old... someone who hasn't already read this particular story. Especially if that kid is a girl - because, despite the somewhat rocky beginning, Scott managed to take a rather icky, non-feminist Universe and spin it on its head. Without giving away any plot twists, I do have to give a shout-out to Scott for the old-fashion "girl power" she snuck into this book.

Bottom line? Not bad but not great - don't go in expecting anything too original.

Mini YA Reviews: Kelly Keaton, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovonoff

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
Goodreads / Librarything

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is. Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Thoughts: Everything about this book was rather great: the heroine (Ari) was believably tough; the love interest was mature and swoonable; the mythology was extremely well incorporated; and the setting, the weird-and-wonderful New 2, was everything I could want from a paranormal New Orleans. I liked that Ari actually had a believable reason for being so kick-ass (bail bonds woman!) and, despite spending the book on her own, actually had a good relationship with her parents... makes for a welcome change!

The reason I didn't love this book was the length. It was too short, offering an agonising hint of a book I could have adored. Kelly Keaton didn't give me enough time to properly connect with the characters or the verse. So, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I haven't run out to get the sequel.

That said, this book did have one excellent quote that I have saved for posterity:

"I'm not some 300 year old pervert who kisses teenage girls, okay?" 

Snap.  3.5 stars

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
Goodreads / Librarything

Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick--the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do" anything" to take the book and magic from Silla.

Thoughts: Even though I was impressed by Gratton's writing and uncensored approach to YA, Blood Magic did leave me with a rather bad taste in my mouth. Why? Well, there was a scene of rather horrible animal death that served absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Had this served some sort of narrative purpose, I might have been able to put the scene into context... but it didn't. All it did was serve to make me loathe the main character.

But could I be convinced to read something else by Tessa Gratton? Perhaps. She is an excellent writer, and is rather good at writing horror-ific novels... a bit too good, if creating disturbing scenes that make me want to put the book down in disgust was what she was going for, I suppose. 3 stars

The Replacement by Brenna Yovonoff
Goodreads / Librarything

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Thoughts: This debut novel actually did have some promise to it. The world was fantastically scary; that wonderfully scary cover is actually relevant to the plot of this book. So, I guess if you're looking for a good Halloween read, you should check this book out.

But in terms of actual character development, The Replacement was a complete dud. Mackie was just one big disconnect: all tell, no show. I never got a fix on his character... probably because he didn't seem to have one. And none of the other characters were any better. There's usually at least one in every book that I want to see more of, but not in this one. Had the book ended with everyone dying, I would have been completely unperturbed. 3 stars


Bottom line? Out of these authors, the only one whose work I am certainly going to read again is Kelly Keaton. I think that, perhaps, her adult work might be a bit more fleshed out. As for Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovonoff, I will only pick up their stuff again if I see super-stellar reviews from people I trust.

Review - Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe (Breathe #1) by Sarah Crossan
Goodreads / Librarything

Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction YA
Received from Bloomsbury for review

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 384
Publisher: Bloomsbury (UK) Greenwillow (US)

Summary: When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

Review: I really wanted to love Breathe. Really, I did. It had an extraordinary premise with an environmental message I fully approve of. I mean, how many YA books deal with deforestation and mass climate change?

The first half of Breathe was really rather good. Sarah Crossan bounced back and forth  between three well-developed characters - all teens, but all radically different. There's the cold resistance member who seems cold, but is really just trying to stay alive. The scholarship girl who is brilliant but will never get anywhere because of her birth. And the rich-but-mostly-kindhearted boy who doesn't stand up to the system, but doesn't lie down in front of it either. Three kids who are pretty much on their own, and who all learn to fight the status quo in their own way.

As I said, pretty good stuff - and while I wasn't over the moon about the characters, I could see myself starting to connect with them. But then, about half way through the book, things started going downhill. The chapters started getting shorter, yet covered twice as much action. Characters were introduced who were supposed to be leaders but were genuinely psychotic - but no one dealt with or acknowledged this. And badda-bang instalove! I was kinda shocked.

But it was about to get worse... bring in the bad science.

OK, I understand that most people are not scientists - but there were mistakes in this book that were the equivalent of writing, "the island of France" or "Earth's second moon". Things so blindly obvious, someone should have noticed them. I don't necessarily think Sarah Crossan should have been responsible for spotting her scientific faux-pas, but someone. Anyone.

*Minor Spoilers* For those of you who are doubting me, here's an example. Breathe describes a world where, as the oxygen levels decrease, people start dropping like flies. Suddenly, graveyards are full, mass burial sites aren't enough, so... people start burning the bodies.

*head desk* You cannot burn people in a low oxygen environment!! Flames need oxygen!! Human bodies are not super combustible! It's basic chemistry that we worked out in the stone age.

I told two people this specific example, and both of them spotted the mistake immediately. Why didn't an editor? I can only pray that that line did get cut from the final version... but doubt it.

*Even More Spoilery* Another thing that made no scientific sense whatsoever was the rebel's miraculous ability to breathe in a low oxygen atmosphere. It's true that people who live in high-altitude areas develop higher red blood cell counts and can cope in less oxygenated atmospheres... but not the 6% oxygen levels of Breathe. This becomes even more unbelievable when you find out that all the rebels had to do to breathe like this was practice and throw in a few meditation sessions.

What's sad is that science in Breathe didn't need to be bad science. If a one-line explanation had been tossed in saying that humanity had evolved genetically to require less oxygen, I could have bought this. It's science fiction, for goodness sakes! That Breathe masquerades as a scientifically sound novel is rather... off-putting. *END Spoilers*

So, after all that, am I going to read the sequel Resist? Most certainly. I know that Sarah Crossan is capable of writing a great book - there's half of one right here in Breathe.

A bit of promo: Sarah Crossan is touring the blogs of the UK right this very instance - check out her schedule on her Bloomsbury site.

Review - Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk

Magic in the Blood (Allie Beckstrom #2) by Devon Monk 
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Received for review from publishers

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 358
Publisher: Berkley UK

Summary: Working as a Hound-tracing illegal spells back to their casters-has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn't about to quit. Then the police's magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic.

Review: My memory of the first Allie Beckstorm novel is the following: Allie takes a lot of cabs, forgets things, and is in love with some guy who I wouldn't know from Adam. The book left me with a shrug and a vague feeling of disappointment. It wasn't bad - it was actually pretty well written - but it didn't make me want to run out and get the sequel. So when I received the sequel for review, I waited until my memory of the first book was well-aged so that I could give the series a fresh start. Alas, Magic in the Blood was more of the same.

The Allie Beckstorm series seems to be rather episodic: there's a crime, someone is called in, it must be sorted out. On top of that, there are a bunch of series arcs that play out: namely, Allie dealing with the aftermath of her father's death, and her "boyfriend"'s bizarre magical powers. You'd think that this developed backstory would give depth to the episodic story... but it just made it worse. Because it is hard to care about characters you find illogical, frustrating and underdeveloped.

My primary issues were with Allie's inability to look after herself and her "boyfriend" Zayvion. Let's start with Allie: the girl doesn't have a car and lives in a city without decent public transport. So, she takes cabs. That would be fine if she were living in New York City where there is a cab on every corner, but she's not. OK, so she can always call a cab, right? Wrong. Apparently cell phones break when she carries them due to... I dunno... magical interference or some such nonsense. Fine. (Except, no, really not fine - I've never seen such an obvious plot device in my life.) What all this boils down to is her taking cabs out to meet extremely dangerous people in isolated places without an escape route in place. Which just... NO! How on earth are we supposed to find this believable?

There are other examples I can give - namely, her insistance on using magic for mundane tasks even though she knows she'll get a horrendous magical "hangover". It defies logic and frustrates my belief in, well, humanity.

As for Zayvion... well, I'd say "the less time spent on him the better" but that seems to be the attitude the author has taken. It's been two books and I feel like we know nothing about him. As such, it makes any emotional relationship between him and Allie implausible. Add to that the fact that the few things we did learn about him in the first book Allie has forgotten and suddenly we're moving into the "that can't possibly be real" arena.

Now, let me repeat: this series is not bad. Nor is it terribly written (although I did spot some grammatical errors and a few typos in the UK edition, and an overabundance of "Holy Shit"s). But it is episodic and stars characters I either actively dislike or find peskily illogical/stupid. Had the writing not been as solid as it was, this book would have gotten a much lower rating.

Bottom line? This is the NCIS of the Urban Fantasy world. Not bad, but not a series I'll be continuing.

Review - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 352
Publisher: Quirk Books

Summary: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather - were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow - impossible though it seems - they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Thoughts: I've seen so many rave about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children... and after reading it, I can see why so many people loved it. I, however, am not one of those people.

Miss Peregrine (as I will be calling it from here on out) has a very unique selling point: it incorporates spooky, classic photography into the main plot. So, on one page a character describes a photo he is looking at and on the next page we see the actual photograph. It's pretty neat and the photos that are incorporated into the novel tell a story by themselves. The image on the cover, for example, is of a girl actually featured in the novel. As the photo so clearly demonstrates, she'd rather peculiar.

So while I enjoyed that aspect of the novel, it was not enough to make up for the book's main problem: the writing. Miss Peregrine felt like a student exercise - perhaps an A* student exercise, but not a professional job. Had Ransom Riggs not incorporated the photography into the book, I doubt it would have gotten very far. Ransom Riggs is just trying too hard. Miss Peregrine is supposed to be a creepy, suspenseful, disturbing novel - a book à la 1800s freak-show circus. Instead it is a mildly entertaining story about a boy who starts dating his grandfather's ex-girlfriend (which was just the wrong kind of disturbing).

And yet, I probably could have enjoyed lack-luster pacing and plot, if only the characters had been at all gripping - they weren't. It was as if they had been created solely to fit with the photographs Riggs had found. This was particularly disappointing, considering the fantastic original concept that created the characters.

Despite my apathy for Miss Peregrine, I can see why so many people enjoyed it. While I didn't find the book creepy or disturbing enough to merit its reputation, I think creepiness is a rather subjective test. Also, the photography, layout, and concept behind the novel are unique enough to warrant some investigation into the second book!

Bottom line? Miss Peregrine fell flat. Decent enough, but not worth the hype.

Review - Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse #5) by Charlaine Harris
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Urban Rural Fantasy

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 295

Summary: Sookie's got just a month, before the next full moon, to find out who wants her brother dead - and to stop the fiend! Sookie Stackhouse enjoys her life, mostly. She's a great cocktail waitress in a fun bar; she has a love life, albeit a bit complicated, and most people have come to terms with her telepathy. The problem is, Sookie wants a quiet life - but things just seem to happen to her and her friends. Now her brother Jason's eyes are starting to change: he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time.

She can deal with that, but her normal sisterly concern turns to cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population. She afraid not just because Jason's at risk, but because his new were-brethren suspect Jason may be the shooter. Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks - unless the killer decides to find her first.

Thoughts: I am an ex-True Blood fan. While I am grateful for the series as it got me to pick up the Sookie Stackhouse series, I don't watch it any more. It is brash and crass and just a bit too crazy - qualities that are fantastic in the short term, but painful after 4 long years.

But the Sookie books are nothing like True Blood - a fact that always comes to me as a shocking realisation whenever I pick up a new Sookie book. Dead as a Doornail is just like its predecessors: sweet, comforting and very Southern. If these books were food, they'd be a series of Red Velvet cupcakes... providing serious southern comfort while looking like blood.

Yup. Sookie Stackhouse novels = literary equivalent of Red Velvet.

So, of course, Dead as a Doornail was a pleasure to read. I curled up with it and was happy reading about both Sookie's car troubles and her weird paranormal problems. It was a sweet, escapist read - and I will certainly be reading more books in the series. But did it keep me on my toes? Nope. Did it have me dying to read the next page? Nope. Did I feel any of the emotional ups-and-downs of reading a good book? Not once.

Why is that? Well, Dead as a Doornail is a bog-standard mystery with vampires and werewolves thrown in. Problem was that this particular mystery had no bite to it. By the time of the big reveal, my sole reaction was "huh". Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Alongside the mystery was Sookie's ludicrous love life. She has FIVE men chasing after her in this book - three of whom she kisses in this short book. Oh, and as if those five weren't enough, Love Interest #6 makes his debut at the end of the novel. Seriously? I mean, if I were taking these books seriously (thank God I'm not) I would be quite pissed off by this flip-flopping.

Bottom line? This is an enjoyable series, but Dead as a Doornail is far from brilliant. If you don't take the plot too seriously, you'll probably enjoy it.

Review - 13 to Life by Shannon Delany

13 to Life by Shannon Delany
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 308

Summary: Everything about Jessie Gillmansen's life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she's about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he's a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie's small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can't avoid...

Thoughts: This book is... odd. Very odd. It is basically a book of disjointed scenes, held together by the fact that they all feature the same characters. The first half of this book is your typical teenage he-loves-she-loves love triangle saga - complete with a football game, a bizarre homecoming, a girl-fight, history classes, and a sweet best friend. And then, about half way through, that book ends. Now it is a book about the main character's epic tragedy, her best friend's evil under layer, and the hot new boy's mafioso family... Needless to say, I liked the "second book" better.

Besides the two-book divide, there are all sorts of bizarre plot holes in 13 to Life. For starters, the protagonist Jessie is supposed to be smart. And yet, when presented with extraordinary evidence proving that her crush is a serious ass, she remains in love with him. Huh? I can understand nursing a hopeless crush, but when said crush uses you to get back together with his girlfriend? Well, it's time to let it go. That Jessie doesn't "let it go" isn't really her fault, Shannon Delany just wanted to keep her and Pietr (the aforementioned hot new boy) from getting together for a little while longer.

Except it gets worse. Once I've accepted the fact that Jessie is stupidly in love with I-can't-even-remember-his-name, she promptly forgets about him. Oh, and starts making out with Pietr, who is now her creepy best friend's boyfriend. Huh? What? She pushes the guy she likes into the arms of another girl, only to turn him into a cheater? WTF?

The only vaguely reassuring thing about this love-square mess is that Shannon Delany is aware of how needlessly crazy she's made everything. And I quote:

"I was so stupid. As a writer, I knew if I’d been a character in a novel a good editor would have scrawled TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) on the manuscript pages. Well, maybe not too stupid to live, but definitely too stupid to date."
Chapter 14, 13 to Life by Shannon Delany

So even though I could overlook the bizarre romance business going on - despite it being the only thing going on for the first half of the book - there was one thing I could not overlook: the dogs. Or more specifically, how Jessie treats her dogs. She screams at them to shut up and calls them stupid. And in another event, where a German Shepherd acts out due to Pietr being a bloody werewolf, she screams about how the dog is crazy. When the dog clearly clearly isn't. Her behaviour, for me, was borderline animal abuse - if she had started hitting one of the dogs, I wouldn't have been surprised. I didn't like it one little bit and I couldn't help but think that Maya (from The Gathering) would never have treated her hounds that way.

So, by now you're thinking: why on Earth should I read this book? Excellent question. While there were times when I really wanted to take a red pen to the text, it did keep me engaged and entertained for 5 solid hours. Mostly due to Pietr and his brilliant Russian werewolf mafioso family. Pietr is a mix between Edward (Twilight) and Dmitri (Vampire Academy) - in other words, he's engaging, mysterious, and has an accent to die for. And his family? They are the werewolf version of the Cullens. I want to know more about them... I want to know everything about them! Even by the end of the book, we know next to nothing about Pietr's background. That might be enough for me to pick up the next novel.

That, and to see if Jessie grows a brain.

Bottom line? 13 to Life has decent writing, a needless complicated plot, and supremely frustrating characters. But there are Russians in it, so...

Review - Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Siren by Tricia Rayburn
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Received for review from Faber and Faber

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 377

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything—the dark, heights, the ocean—but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is, until Justine goes cliff-diving one night near the family’s vacation house in Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day.

Though her parents hope that they’ll be able to find closure back in Boston, Vanessa can’t help feeling that her sister’s death wasn’t an accident. After discovering that Justine was keeping a lot of secrets, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor, hoping that Justine’s boyfriend might know more. But Caleb has been missing since Justine’s death.

Soon, it’s not just Vanessa who’s afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes host to a string of fatal, water-related accidents in which all the victims are found, horrifically, grinning from ear to ear.

Vanessa turns to Caleb’s brother, Simon, for help, and begins to find herself drawn to him. As the pair try to understand the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance—and will change her life forever.

Thoughts: Siren is exactly what I expected: no more, no less. It is a YA novel with a paranormal heroine, a protective love-interest, inexplicably evil villains, a toothache-sweet best friend, and a bitchy-but-beautiful teenage competitor. I'd compare it to The Body Finder... except I actually liked Siren!

Siren had quite a few unexpected twists in it. For starters, we actually get to meet Vanessa's sister before she dies and see what happens in the immediate aftermath of her death. It made the loss all the more real, so it is actually believable when Vanessa goes to her vacation home looking for answers into her sister's death. Her relationship with Simon Carmichel was also extremely unusual for a YA book. There is none of the pining and hand-holding - they gradually grow to like each other, but the death of her sister and the disappearance of Simon's brother are the priority.

But my real problem? The writing. Not necessarily the words on the page, but the words that weren't on the page. Siren was just extremely confusing. The simple things - like who is driving the car, or what the weather is like - could not be followed. All of the sudden a character would be throwing a cup of coffee that had never been mentioned, besides a short line written paragraphs before vaguely that mentioned a convenience table.

And while we're at it, character relationships and their individual motivations were just... unintelligible. I felt like Tricia had a plot in mind, complete with 3D characters, she just couldn't get it onto paper! Although her one-dimensional, evil-for-the-sake-of-it villains? Yeah, I don't think Tricia had any motivation in mind for them.

Bottom line? Siren is enjoyable but flawed. Pick it up if you're looking for something a bit different in your paranormal YA, but don't go out of your way to get a copy.

Summer Shorts - Lightspeed Stories: Carrie Vaughn and Kat Howard

Welcome to Summer Shorts, a summer feature of short story/novella reviews, posted every Saturday of July and August, 2011. I am going to try to have a different theme every week - be it featuring a specific anthology, a particular genre, or a great author.

 Last week I reviewed two stories from the infamous anthology Zombies vs. Unicorns, but this week I'm reviewing stories from the fantastic on-line science fiction magazine Lightspeed.

One of the really cool things that Lightspeed offers is a podcast version of their stories.  In other words, audio-stories!  I am not an audiobook fan, but I loved being able to listen to these tales.  They are very well read and really made the stories even more enjoyable.

Amaryllis by Carrie Vaughn

(Standalone science fiction tale that can be read or heard here.)

Thoughts: Amaryllis is simply stunning.  It is everything you could possibly want from a science fiction tale.  It deals with new governments, new ways of thinking, and in this case, new ways of considering the environment.  Amaryllis is set in a world where moderation is key; one where the world had suffered enough from our desire to expand.  And while the control mechanisms placed on people seem outrageous to 21st century eyes, they aren't evil.  In fact, they are purely meant to help.

In terms of characters, Vaughn more than delivers.  The story is narrated by the captain of the Amaryllis ship, a woman who has suffered her whole life because of the thoughtlessness of her mother.  She's strong yet terrified of the establishment... I really grew to care for her, which is more than I can say for a lot of narrators!  The rest of the Amaryllis crew were equally as endearing - especially the sweet, innocent Nina who starts off seeming rather childish but grew on me before the end.

Amaryllis is one of four finalists for Best Short Story in the 2011 Hugo Awards.  Congrats to Vaughn - it is fantastic to see such a deserving story get some official recognition!

Bottom line? Amaryllis is a striking story set in a realistic, somewhat-heart-wrenching universe.  Adoration will ensue. 

Sweet Sixteen by Kat Howard

(Standalone science fiction tale that can be read or heard here.)

Thoughts: I can't say I was over-the-moon about Sweet Sixteen, but it was fairly enjoyable.  The story is set in a world where girls are divided into Tiffanys and Rosalinds and Elizabeths, and given all the characteristics that go along with those names.  Literally given those characteristics, injected with new DNA to make them the ideal Rosalind.

I liked the premise, but I wasn't too keen on the main character.  She was the type of teenager I loathe -whiny and self-centred.  I couldn't see past her to fully sympathise with her situation.  Had Sweet Sixteen been narrated by a different girl, one not so easy to dislike, I might have loved this story.  Alas, we'll never know.

Bottom line?  Kat Howard delivers an interesting universe narrated by a loathsome teenager.  Good but not great.

Check out Lightspeed Magazine for more great science fiction stories - and don't forget to subscribe!

Summer Shorts - Zombies vs. Unicorns

Welcome to Summer Shorts, a summer feature of short story/novella reviews, posted every Saturday of July and August, 2011. I am going to try to have a different theme every week - be it featuring a specific anthology, a particular genre, or a great author.

 Last week I reviewed some great Kelley Armstrong stories, and this week I've read and reviewed two stories from the infamous anthology Zombies vs. Unicorns.

The Highest Justice by Garth Nix

(standalone story featured in Zombies vs. Unicorns)

Thoughts: I feel as though I got the "wrong" thing out of The Highest Justice.  Nix was probably aiming to impress upon the reader how unicorns represent a higher, well, justice. Their purity of form being the physical manifestation of righteousness - dispensing out justice even when it is rather gruesome.  I have no idea where he was going with his zombie so, needless to say,  I didn't get it.

And while his unicorn idea is a great one, I can't say it carried me through this particular tale.  No matter how many invisible, violent unicorns appeared - nor how many flesh-eating members of the royal family tried to take a bite out of people - my overwhelming impression of the plot was one of "meh".

So what did I "get" out of The Highest Justice?  2,000 words of pure, unadulterated fantasy - complete with kings guards, royal betrayals and quite a bit of horseback riding.  Coming straight out of reading The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, I'd been wondering what high fantasy YA novelists were out there... apparently I need to start reading some Nix!

Bottom line? A refreshing bit of high fantasy - Garth Nix may be worth further investigation.

Favourite quotes:

Jess drew her sword and kicked her palfrey into a lurching charge. She caught the surviving bandit just before he managed to slip between two thorny bushes, and landed a solid blow on his head with the back of the blade. She hadn’t meant to be merciful, but the sword had turned in her sweaty grasp.

Purity Test by Naomi Novik

(standalone story featured in Zombies vs. Unicorns)

Thoughts: Oh my goodness, this was brilliant! Naomi Novik really needs to set up shop and teach other YA writers how to deliver a short story, because Purity Test?  It had everything I could possibly want from a tale!

First off, it was funny as hell. I was reminded of Shrek, only with unicorns instead of donkeys and, er, more awesomeness. If I had highlighted all the quotes I wanted to share, the entire story would have been life jacket-yellow.  As such, I managed to restrain myself:

“Where did you come from, anyway? Like, Fairyland or something?” The unicorn turned its head and gave her a blue-eyed glare. “Yes. Fairyland,” it said, dripping sarcasm. “Fairyland, where the fairies and the unicorns play, and never is heard a discouraging—”
-
The unicorn brightened, which Alison had to admit was something to see. “Are you a lesbian? I’m pretty sure that doesn’t count toward virginity.”

Don't you just want to read it right now? I sure would have after that!

Second reason for Purity Test's awesomeness? Pacing and editing. Introducing new characters, a new universe and describing the plot? It's a hard thing to do in only a few thousand words. A lot of novelists, quite frankly, can't do it. It doesn't make them bad writers, just bad story short writers. Naomi Novik, it turns out, is both a fantastic novelist AND an amazing short story writer. She throws us straight into the plot, a provides 3D characters and a hysterical universe to enjoy.  I was left wanting another story, but not a continuation of the one I'd just read.  Per-fect.

Bottom line? Novik had be at the first sentence and kept me enthralled until the very last line. Zombies vs. Unicorns is worth buying just for this story!

Summer Shorts - Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance: Jeaniene Frost and Jean Johnson

Welcome to the first Summer Shorts post for 2011!  I decided to revive this little feature, reviewing two short stories every Saturday of July and August, 2011.  I am going to try to feature different authors or anthologies every week, and this week I'm staring with... The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance

Pack by Jeaniene Frost

(Author of the Night Huntress Series - Goodreads) 

Thoughts: I was not at all a fan of Jeaniene's Night Huntress series - I know lots of people think it is the best thing since sliced bread, but all I could see when I open the pages was "Buffy Fanfiction" in bright, flashing letters. But I thought perhaps with different characters, I might might learn to enjoy her writing. And I am pleased to say that I did!

Pack isn't exactly fantastic. It's a short story written in as though it were a novel... rather like a mini-novella. That kind of style really does not work when you only have a couple thousand words to get through. And yet, in spite of the style, Jeannie still managed to create interesting 3D characters, a solid universe, and an almost believable were-romance.

Almost believable, you ask? Well, keep in mind this is a short story - a short story that takes place in "real time". So the were-romance does descend into the pits of the "we are mates and you are mine, growl" trope. But when that comes from a rather-sexy werewolf? I don't really mind.

Bottom line? Not bad at all. Worth the 20 minutes it will take you to read it.

How to Date a Superhero by Jean Johnson

(Author of the Sons of Destiny Series - Goodreads)

Thoughts: Wow, this story was terrible. The writing was depressingly amateur, the characters less-than-one dimensional and the plot non-existent. This is most certainly not a case of me disliking a story for its content - because there wasn't really a story for me to dislike. And in a way, that is far far worse.

So, what exactly was the problem? Well, first off, the plot was rather stupid: spandex-wearing superheroes are "out" and are minor celebrities in their own right. There's only so far a girl can suspend her disbelief... certainly not far enough to understand why people would wear spandex if they didn't need to.

Then there was the pacing - or lack thereof. The story starts with a meeting that takes up about half the word count and is - in the end - utterly pointless. It felt like the first chapter of a tedious novel; I honestly would have stopped reading if it hadn't been a short story. And finally, there was the "romance" angle - in which the two characters simply tell each other, "oh dear, I do rather fancy you", and then live happily ever after. What. The. Hell.

Bottom line? Just... don't.

Next week... Kelley Armstrong!

Review - Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow

Night Shift (Jill Kismet #1) by Lilith Saintcrow
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 416

Summary: Not everyone can take on the things that go bump in the night.

Not everyone tries.

But Jill Kismet is not just anyone.

She’s a Hunter, trained by the best – and in over her head.

Welcome to the night shift…

Thoughts: I picked up Night Shift on the strength of Lili's YA series, Strange Angels.  And while they are obviously written by the same author, I couldn't quite get a grip on her Jill Kismet series.

This is dark urban fantasy, reminding me on the early Anita Blake books: complete with sexual violence, psychological violence, demonic violence, and, er, violent violence.  Not at all cheery.  As far as I remember, there are no laugh breaks and no light moments - and they would have felt forced if they'd been included.  As for Jill, she's just as dark and twisty as the verse. She'll need about 100+ years of therapy before being allowed into regular society.  But Jill's also tough, kick-ass, and extremely independent; this is a woman who jumps straight into the fight.

Does any of this sound familiar?  Well, it should.  Night Shift is an a-typical Urban Fantasy book.  Almost every trope you've ever read is included... but the way it's been written makes it all seem rather new.  Let's be honest here, people.  As much as we like "a fresh take on urban fantasy", there's something to be said for a decent take on the bog-standard.  And, well, Night Shift is just that.

So, if I liked the tropes and the dark-twisty characters, why aren't I giving this book more stars?

The short answer: emotion.  The long answer: the lack of emotion. We spend the entire novel hearing about Jill's painful loss of her mentor Mikhail (who I thought was a total creep) and her terrible fear of Perry-the-demon (who wasn't all that scary) - all through her extremely snarky and self-deprecating inner-voice.  And despite this - or maybe because of this - absolutely none of her emotions seemed real.  I didn't "get" her, nor was I particularly keen to.

Bottom line?  Night Shift is a solid urban fantasy novel, but I'd only recommend it to die-hard fans.  That said, I'll probably continue the series as I think Jill just needs to grow on me!

Review - Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Rivers of London (Peter Grant #1) by Ben Aaronovitch
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 390

Summary: My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden . . . and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying. Which, I don't mind telling you, would involve a hell of a lot of paperwork.

Thoughts: Rivers of London was very nearly great. The quote on the gorgeous cover says "What would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz" and it is exactly that.  Our adult-HP-hero, Peter, has the same not-a-genius-but-rather-savvy way about him. He also has a fantastically dry, English sense of humour which constantly made me chuckle. Add to that the wonderful, spot-on London setting, and we should have had the makings for a fantastic book. And while there were times when I loved it, it did drag. But before I move on to that, I'd like to share a few fantastic lines from the book:

"On the minus side, Covent Garden had nearly burned down, but on the positive side there weren't any major bus routes or tube lines affected." - p. 337

"I have an idea," I said.
"This better not be a cunning plan" said Lesley.
Nightingale looked blank, but at least it got a chuckle from Dr Walid.
"It is, in fact," I said, "a cunning plan." - p.249

'It’s a myth that Londoners are oblivious to one another on the tube: we’re hyper-aware of each other and are constantly revising our what-if scenarios and counter strategies. What if that suavely handsome yet ethnic young man asks me for money? Do I give or refuse? If he makes a joke do I respond, and if so will it be a shy smile or a guffaw? If he’s been hurt in a fight does he need help? If I help him will I find myself drawn into a threatening situation, or an adventure, or a wild interracial romance? Will I miss supper? If he opens his jacket and yells ‘God is great’, will I make it down the other end of the carriage in time?

All the time most of us were devising friction-free strategies to promote peace in our time, our carriage and please God at least until I get home. It’s called, by people over sixty, common courtesy, and its purpose is to stop us from killing each other.' - p.244

So, as you can see, Aaronovitch knows how to deliver the funnies. Rivers of London is filled with snark, sarcasm and genuinely insightful humour. Aaronovitch also really understands London - the people, the streets, the transport, everything. His descriptions of the city kept me reading and really made me want to love the book.

But when it came to everything else - the plot, characters, the universe - the novel dragged. I mean it seriously dragged - picking it up every night required concerted effort on my part. I never grew attached to any of the characters, as I never actually got to know them. While I enjoyed Peter's snarky remarks, I couldn't quite work out what he was all about. Was he a damaged, traumatized kid-in-a-uniform? Or was he as confident as he snark made him seem? I never found out. And then there was the story, which had some 12 unrelated plot-strands floating through it without any obvious overlap. I never quite understood what was going on - and even when I did, nothing was work staying awake for.

Bottom line? Londoners should find Rivers of London amusing and rather touching - but non-Londoners won't be able to see past the faults. But I think Aaronovitch will improve with his next book, and am willing to stick around to find out.

P.S. Although the English cover is gorgeous, the US cover should be avoided like the plague.

Review - Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
2011 Debut Author!

Rating: 3 stars (verging on 2.5 stars)
Pages: 312

Summary: Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Thoughts: Ok, I know it's superficial and whatnot, but this cover is absolutely stunning.  Breathtakingly stunning.  The golden swirls around what appears to be a terrified girl clutching a... well, it's something gorgeous, whatever it is.  Not to mention, the special Waterstones version of this book has gold paper edges.  Fierce.

Unfortunately, the book itself is not so fierce.

Let's start off with the good stuff.  The beginning of the book is absolutely swoon-worthy.  The world and its characters are dark, mysterious, and gothic - rather like its cover.  It was like Florence and the Machine put into words.  We meet Donna and her (male) BFF heading to a party where she is far from welcome.  (Why said BFF would drag her to along to such an event is but one of the plot holes that will become evident soon enough.)  There, Donna meets the swoon-worthy Xan, and there's a spark - literally, a spark - between them.  It's not insta-romance, but it is insta-connection.  But I felt it through the pages, so I was not complaining.

But after that fabulous opening scene, the book starts to show its rather unfortunate flaws.  There are absolutely no explanations for anything in this book.  For example, the alchemists are seeking out eternal life at any cost.  Donna knows this.  Donna was taught this.  It's basically the bedrock of their alchemist community.  And yet, that never bothered her?

Then there are the wood elves - cast as the ultimate creepy villians.  And yet, we never find out why they are evil.  Why did they kill Donna's parents? What is supposed to be motivating them?  And if they're so bad, why is half-fey Xan such a sweetheart? And speaking of sweethearts, was there supposed to be some sort of romantic triangle going on here?  Because, if so, I missed that altogether.  This is just basic plot stuff that The Iron Witch just doesn't have.

Bottom line? If this book had been about 10x longer -  giving the characters, universe, and relationships the fleshing out they deserved - it would have been fantastic. This book is getting 3 stars for its potential, not for its content. Alas.

Review - Hexbound by Chloe Neill

Hexbound (Dark Elite, Book 2) by Chloe Neill
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal YA

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 256

Summary: They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turns out, even a little magic can turn you to the dark side. That’s why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolf-y secret, and fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago’s nastiest nightlife—including the tainted magic users known as Reapers.

Then Lily’s invited to a private meeting with Sebastian. He’s hot, powerful, and offering to help her harness the magic flowing in her veins in a way no one else can. He’s also a Reaper. Lily can’t hide her suspicions. But she’ll soon find out that the line between good and evil isn’t always clear…

Thoughts: After I read Firespell last year, I was practically salivating for more Dark Elite books. Seriously, after finishing the final chapter I immediately went online to find out when the next book would be released - only to discover I had to wait an entire year. God, it was painful. But I waited, and the longing grew rather distant, and by the time I actually got a copy of Hexbound I could only vaguely remember the consuming desire for moremoremore I'd had after Firespell.

But surely, I thought, since Firespell was so fantastic I'll have nothing to worry about. How wrong I was. The first 80 or so pages of this book are just such a disappointment - it felt like P.C. and Kristin Cast had taken over Chloe Neill's characters. Instead of facing down evil with a smirk, Scout and Lily were too wrapped up in their blah-crushes to focus on the real evil that was going down. Not only was this boring as hell, it was also slightly soul-crushing. I mean, where were the fierce BFF's from the first book? Who had swooped in and replaced them with these bobbesy twins?  I really considered putting this book down right then and there.

But I kept on, and I am glad I did. Because am soon as love interests Micheal and Jason were gone (yes, there is a God), Neill got down to the good stuff: what's going on with Lily's parents? Is Sebastian really evil? Is the Dark Elite even evil? Where should Lily's loyalties fall in all this mess?

In other words, the book started to have a, er, plot. Because the good guys being good while fighting the bad guys who are bad... it's kinda boring. It was Sebastian's apparent ability to straddle the line between good and evil that made this book worth the read. Especially as his advice and character began to effect Lily's own decisions.  Not to mention the guy is totally swoon-worthy.  If you're looking for another redeemable bad boy in YA, look no further.Only problem was... there wasn't enough of him!

Bottom line? Disappointing follow-up to Firespell, but there is still a whole bunch of potential in this series. I hope that the next book (Charmfall, 2012) will be better!

Dear publishers: When I shell out money for the hardcover, I expect someone to have editted the thing first. I'm pretty sure the characters meant to say "don't beat me" and NOT "don't bean me". Although I admit, the latter scenario is far more amusing.

Review - Captivate by Carrie Jones

Captivate by Carrie Jones
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 273

Summary: Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Thoughts: Captivate was a real disappointment.  All the bones where there – interesting characters, surprising plot, fantastic supernatural characters – but the emotion was missing.  I could remember loving these characters but, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember why.

While I was intrigued by the character development in this book (OMG she… oh, I can’t say anything) it was rather an intellectual appreciation.  There were a couple of climatic, emotionally intense scenes that left me rather... blank. Every character in Captivate - no exceptions - became a plot device.  Sure, they were servicing a really interesting plot, but that's not enough.

All of the emotional issues felt rather forced – all talk, no substance.  All the he-love-she-love tragedy became annoying instead of touching.  Not to mention Zara's sidekicks, Issie and Devyn, ended up really getting on my nerves.  I could barely believe this was the same author and the same characters who made my heart pitter-patter in Need!  The only character who kept me interested was Astley.  I have yet to figure him out, and I am rather looking forward to seeing more of him.

Bottom line? If I could only judge the series by Captivate, I'd say skip it. But I still have hope.  The bones are there for a spectacular series are there - Captivate just missed the mark.

Review - Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved (Immortal Beloved #1) by Cate Tiernan
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Received for review from Hodder & Stoughton

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 400

Summary: Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

Thoughts: Immortal Beloved is a difficult book to describe.  In a way, it felt like adult fiction.  The main character is 400+ years old, so needless to say, she's a grown-up.  And the trauma she's been through over those past 400 years? Not teenage stuff.

At its heart, Tiernan has written a book about a woman in rehab.  I absolutely loved the main character, Nastasya.  She has had an extraordinary, painful life and watching her deal with that was just stunning.  Nas is tough and self-confident, but is also uncertain about what her ultimate purpose in life is.  She has spent 400 years suppressing all emotion and she finally needs to just deal with it - and with the clever help of flashbacks, we get to go through it with her. I loved watching her transformation, and I actually really related to it.  But plot-wise, Immortal Beloved was a let down.

This is one of those extremely rare books where I loved the main character, but was let down by everything else.  Sure there was a over-arching mystical theme, a few supposedly-sinister characters - but both seemed to be thrown in last minute.  The real drama was Nas dealing with her memories - including an unbelievable-yet-immediate threat on her life was just an unwelcome distraction from the real substance.  I also really disliked Nas's love interest.  They had every reason to want to kill each other, and yet some sort of magical attraction conquered all.  Right.  Sure.  *stabs*  If he dropped dead for the next book, I would not mind at all.

As for the next book in the series... I do look forward to seeing more of Incy, who I found rather adorable in an evil, dark and twisty sort of way.  Is that wrong?  Perhaps.

Bottom line?  I'm not sure how much a teen reader would get out of this book, as some of the themes are rather adult.  But if you are looking for a main character to love, look no further.  Just don't go in expecting a paranormal romance or an action flick - this book is neither.

Review - Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal) - Debut Author 2010!

Summary: Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

Thoughts: Werewolves are the new it-boys of YA – it is the Jacob effect gone mad. But if you are looking for an it-girl, Claire de Lune will be what saves you from overdosing on all that alpha-male testosterone.

Let’s start off with what I enjoyed from Claire de Lune. The verse was a great twist on your typical paranormal story. Claire lives in a world where werewolves are known and feared – there are neighborhood watch groups and crazy gun-toting activists. And for the rather a-political Claire to discover that she is one of these “evil” creatures? It enlightened her to the dangers of those die-hards pretty darn quick.

I also adored her love interest, Matthew. He came complete with a developed social conscience – despite his father’s prejudicial ways – but without direction. One of those people who knows that something is wrong, but has no idea what to do with that information. While Claire questioned the status quo because she had to, Matthew does it because he is conscientious of suffering and injustice around him. He’s not an activist, but he has the potential for it. I knew I would love him the moment he started comparing werewolf treatment to his dislike of the death penalty!

But there were some structural things I had issues with. I worked out who the killer was the moment they were on the page. The plot was a bit too much of a set up – Claire was kept in the dark at times only so that her stupidity seemed less stupid, and so that her choices could forward the action.

Oh, did I mention my lack-of-love for Claire? She is a perfectly OK character – but her defining features go from zero-to-nothing. That is, other than being annoyingly incompetent for half of the book. It was almost as if she was being purposefully ignorant to her situation, making choices which were obviously badly thought out.

But by the end, though, Claire did start to show some gumption. She became a bit more kick-ass, taking matters into her own hands and embracing her new found werewolf-ism. I think that I will enjoy her far more in the next book of the series!

Bottom line? Good start to what could be a great series. Not the best in the paranormal YA genre, but certainly a very enjoyable book. And if you are a fellow werewolf fan, it is a must!

And check out Christine' Guest Post about Wolves and Werewolves, and enter the giveaway for some Claire de Lune goodies!