Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult

Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 352
Publisher: Hatchette Children's Books (UK), Hyperion (US)

Summary:  Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is . . . the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

Thoughts: After the success of Heist Society, I really wasn't sure how Ally Carter could continue with Katarina's story. Turns out, Katarina wasn't sure either.

Unlike Heist Society, which set out to establish the verse and introduce all the fantastic characters (all while carrying out a heist, of course), Uncommon Criminals starts off with characters without a purpose. Kat and her crew have peaked as teenagers: if you've just carried out the greatest heist of your career... what do you do next?

That's not a question anyone wants to answer, but it's what Kat ends up spending the whole book working out. She also gets knocked down a few pegs: it is rather easy to develop an ego when you really are the smartest person in the room (no matter how nice you may be). And along with all this character development, there is con after con, heist after heist - all of them as clever and entertaining as I've come to expect from Carter.

I was also happy that the entire team was reunited. I knew they would be, I knew that they would become a team out of their experience in Heist Society - but it was lovely to see how it was done. I was also overjoyed to see Nick back with the team - I heart Nick the way most people love Hale. He was one of the few characters who wasn't really welcomed by the gang (other than Kat), so fitting him into the book required a rather ingenious stretch of imagination.

The only thing I wasn't quite in love with? Hale's storyline. To be perfectly frank, I've never been his biggest fan (don't shoot me people) as I never really understood why he was there in the first place. So having him sulk about in Uncommon Criminals was just rather tedious. Enough to drag down the rest of the book, to be completely honest.

Bottom line? Great follow-up to the excellent Heist Society, but it didn't blow me away the way the first book did.

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.

Review - Quantum Drop by Saci Lloyd

Quantum Drop by Saci Lloyd
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Futuristic/Sci-fi(ish) Young Adult
Received for review from publishers

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 276
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (UK)

Summary: Anthony Griffin is an ordinary kid caught up in a dangerous world. The boundaries between real and virtual are more and more blurred, and when Anthony’s girlfriend is taken out in a gang hit, he has to venture into the underground world of the Drop to flush out her killer and bring him to justice.

Thoughts: Let me just start off that Quantum Drop was exactly what I want in a YA novel. Saci Lloyd doesn't shy away from real-life issues, she doesn't consider the status quo sacred, and she sure as hell isn't afraid of calling out our species for, well, sucking. I love that, because she's so right, but no one ever seems to want to say it. The fact that she not only does, but puts it into a kick-ass book? Brilliant.

But, I have to admit that Quantum Drop is probably not the book for everyone. If you aren't in the mood for a book that needs your brain to be "on" the whole time (which I totally get, by the way), then wait for a while before you pick up Quantum Drop. Otherwise you just won't enjoy it as much.

Now, apart from Saci Lloyd's oh-so-accurate insights into humanity, I also really enjoyed the setting of Quantum Drop. Anyone who has been round the East End will recognize the familiar-yet-futuristic "Debtbelt". Saci Lloyd has kept the verse just post-modern enough to be recognizable - so much so, I barely felt the sci-element of the book. That said, the characters spend a huge part of the novel in a virtual world known as "the drop" (which, if I had to describe it, I'd liken to The Matrix). Super futuristic stuff that, for some reason, felt totally normal.

The characters in Quantum Drop were complete stand-outs. They aren't the middle-class, worried-about-prom lot that we typically see in YA - instead, they have grown up with the odds stacked against them, and they know it. They are swimming against the tide, trying to do what is right while staying afloat. The main character, Anthony, wants justice for his girlfriend, but he also has a legitimate fear for his life and the life of his family. It's easy to just give up - so when many of the characters do, it's also easy to forgive them. This made Anthony's struggles all the more impressive.

Bottom line? Quantum Drop is one of those books that makes you think (about life, the universe and everything) while telling a hell of a tale along the way. Pick it up if you are looking for something different in your YA.

Review - Heist Society by Ally Carter

Heist Society by Ally Carter
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 352
Publisher: Hatchette Children's Books (UK), Hyperion (US)

Summary: When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre... to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria... to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Great for fans of: Leverage (TV) and White Collar (TV).

Thoughts: Even though this is the first Ally Carter book I've ever read, I've been a fan of hers for eons. I like her blog, her twitter and, just, the fact that she went out and pitched "I've got a book about teenage thieves a-la-Ocean's-Eleven, but with a proper gender distribution" to a publisher. And then I loved the fact that people went out and bought it.

So, when I picked up Heist Society, I knew I would enjoy it. What I did not expect was the four-hour reading marathon that would ensue as soon as I picked it up.

I didn't just "like" it. I loved it.

Ally Carter has a writing style that is deceptively simple. She jumps from country to country, character to character, scene to scene, with the skill of a professional storyteller. She manages to weave in the main character's complex back story (complete with heists, a dead parent and billionaire BFFs) into an already-tricky heist plot. Ally Carter shows and doesn't tell. Colour me impressed.

As for her characters, all I can say is: L-O-V-E. I was skeptical at first that there would be any emotional depth to this book... but there is. Lots of it. The main character is a tough, smart, savvy girl, but she is still damaged in a way that you can relate to. She's not perfect, but she's is trying really damn hard. I absolutely adored her.

Of course, the most important part of this novel is the heist. It had to be superb; it had to be believable; and it had to be pulled off by teenagers. A tall order, but one that Ally Carter met with flying colours. I won't give anything away, but suffice to say that she succeeded!

Bottom line? Heist Society is a smart, slick, and surprisingly-moving novel. Pick it up!

Note about the UK edition: There were a number of unfortunate typos in my copy. Usually this really pisses me off, but I was too distracted by the genius of the writing to fuss too much. Hopefully this will be something that's cleared up in the next printing.

Review: Last Chance by Sarah Dessen

Last Chance by Sarah Dessen
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult

Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 246
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (UK)

Summary: Colie expects the worst when she's sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an outcast-first for being fat and then for being "easy" - Colie has no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Café and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along.

Thoughts: Sarah Dessen is one of those authors I've heard a lot of rave things about; she's considered one of the very best Contemporary YA writers. And though I was not over-the-moon for Last Chance, I was certainly hooked on its author.

Last Chance is a novel about overcoming one of the toughest things in life: the terrible perception you have of yourself. The main character, Colie, has had a life of bad experiences - and she's learnt to expect more of them to come. But while I really loved what Dessen did with Colie over the course of the novel, I can't say I ever came to love her. She was fine, but I never really "got" who she was. Her main role was as the "doormat", but taking that away seemed to leave a blank slate.

Which, now that I think of it, might have been what Dessen was going for. I guess Colie was still working out who she was - as a "work in progress", I guess a blank slate would be just what she wanted. Hmm...

Anyhow, the real standouts of Last Chance are Colie's supporting cast of characters. There's Isabel, the bitchy, so-truthful-it-hurts, supermodel-look-a-like waitress who starts off as the main antagonist but slowly becomes the greatest friend you can have (and my favourite character in the novel, to boot). Morgan, the soft-hearted waitress with hearts in her eyes and a quick temper. Mira, the eccentric artist-turned-card-writer who sees a good side to everything - even the most broken of appliances. And Norman, the boy who is written off as an "artist hippie type" but turns out to be the most observant of the lot.

Gorgeous, gorgeous characters. I am going to miss them. And are they worth picking up the book for? In a word: yes.

Bottom line: Overall, a great introduction to Dessen's writing. While I wish the main character had had a bit more character, her friends more than made up for her.

Review - Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3) by Simone Elkeles
Goodreads / Librarything

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult

Rating: 2.5 stars
Pages: 308
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (UK) Walker Books for Young Readers (US)

Summary: Like his brothers, Luis Fuentes is a risk taker; whether he's scaling the Rocky Mountains or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis is always looking for the next thrill. Nikki Cruz lives her life by certain rules -, don't trust a boy who says "I love you", boys lie to get their own way and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Then she meets Luis at his brother Alex's wedding and suddenly she's tempted to break all her rules. Getting Nikki to give him a chance is Luis's biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by the head of the gang that nearly destroyed his brothers' lives. Will Luis's feelings for Nikki be enough to stop him from entering a dark and violent world that could prove to be the ultimate risk?

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the first books in this trilogy, Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction - they were extremely readable books that starred some surprisingly fleshed out characters. And while Chain Reaction was certainly readable, it's characters were some of the most one-dimensional I've read in a long while. In fandom, we would have called this book "crack" - the kind of story that is just so unbelievably terrible, and is yet extremely addictive. The one where Spock is pregnant with Uhura's lovechild and decides to run away on the TARDIS. This was that kind of story.

None of the new characters in this book made a lick of sense: Luis is a "good boy", but spend the last 50 or so pages oscillating between crazy and crazy with love of violence. While Nikki... ick. I don't even want to get into her. This girl had zero character and was completely defined by a traumatic experience. While I kinda "get" why Elkeles might want to traumatize her characters, you've got to give me more than just that if you want me to actually like them. *stabs them both*

Seriously, if it hadn't been such a fan of Rules of Attraction, I would never have finished this thing.

Bottom line? Disappointing ending to an otherwise entertaining series; Perfect Chemistry's is the Breaking Dawn, if you will.

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 - Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6) by Rachel Vincent
Goodreads / Librarything

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 346
Publisher: MIRA (UK) HarlequinTeen (US)

Summary: Spoilers for previous books! Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend.

But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life….

Review: Before I Wake was just an absolute treat. We're six books into the Soul Screamers series now, and I can firmly state that none of the characters we met in the first book are the same - Kaylee most of all.

And thank God for that! Kaylee is one of those characters that has rather frustrated me over the years. She always feels pathologically responsible for the decisions of others - which leads to books and books of guilt, guilt, guilt. It's been frustrating beyond belief.

But her death in If I Die and her break up with Nash have, well, made Kaylee grow up. This is rather sad, in a way. A lot of reviewers have commented on how they felt sorry for Kaylee in this book, that she was so depressed and that it was sad to see her that way. I understand where they are coming from. After all, she died. She can't just "get over" that. But I happen to think that overcoming her death made her grow as a person - even if she's not the same (happier?) girl we met in the first book. Bad things happen and they suck - but that's part of growing up and sometimes people can come out the better because of them.

Gosh, that was maudlin.

Anyhow, I also loved what Vincent did with everyone else in this book. I very nearly felt sorry for Nash in this book (an absolute first for me, devoted anti-Nash fan that I am), and I certainly felt for Sabine (who I've always liked despite her insanity). Both Sabine and Nash have to deal with their own fallout from Kaylee getting together with Tod, not to mention Nash's never-ending addiction problems. I am so glad I am not reading a book from their POV, because that would be epically woeful.

Vincent also went all out plot-wise. The ending of Before I Wake was an absolute shocker and all I could think was, "wow". Love that this series can still surprise - considering all the bombs Vincent has dropped in this series, you'd think we'd see it all coming! But no... she's still got us on tenterhooks.

Best for last: Tod. He remains one of my favourite characters ever and fortunately there is plenty of him in this book! I don't want to give a single thing away, so all I will say is this: every word out of that boy's mouth was a bloody gift.

Bottom line? While not quite as stellar as stellar as If I Die, but up there. I cannot wait for the seventh and final book in this series: With All My Soul.

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 - Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

Darkness Falls (Immortal Beloved #2) by Cate Tiernan
Librarything / Goodreads

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

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 392
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (UK) Poppy Books (US)

Summary: Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason it never seems to get any easier. She's left behind her days of debauchery to find peace and forgiveness at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There she's uncovered her family's epic history, reclaimed her magickal powers, and met Reyn, whom she dubs "the Viking god. " Just as she settles into her new life, Nastasya learns that her old friends might be in town....

Reuniting with her gorgeous and dangerous ex-best-friend, Innocencio, Nas wonders if she'll ever be truly free of her dark legacy. Is Incy dangerous, power-hungry, and wicked? Or is he the only one who truly understands Nas's darkness? Either way, Nas is desperate to find out who she really is-even if the answer kills her.

Review: I am really rather surprised by how much I enjoyed Darkness Falls. The first book in the series, Immortal Beloved, was... OK. The overarching plot of the book was a bit of a washout, but I remembered rather enjoying the main character, Nas, who was a tough cookie who had finally managed to check her damaged self into rehab. Her love interest Reyne, on the other hand, I would have paid good money to have killed.

Darkness Falls managed to keep the Nas I had enjoyed in the previous book, while also fixing the things I didn't like! It was rather miraculous. Though I will never be swooning over Reyne, nor will I ever completely understand the draw between him and Nas, I did end this book with a much better understanding of his character. Considering the bounties I'd been putting on his head, that's pretty amazing!

Tiernan added a lot of context to the background stories she introduced in Immortal Beloved and, to my surprise, they actually worked. Reyne was still the "Butcher of Winter" from the first book, but he was also the nice guy who helped out on the farm. Tiernan showed that the two identities could coexist, but cleverly she did it through another character (who I actually liked to start off with).

Also, as if by request, Darkness Falls featured a lot of Nas' former-BFF Incy... who was just fabulous. He certainly lived up to be dark, unhinged party boy Tiernan had described. But like all her characters, he wasn't completely past redemption. While I doubt we will see it in the final book, I really hope that Incy and Nas manage to reconnect at some point in the future. Sure, they were overly codependent for almost a century, but I don't think they were altogether terrible for each other.

But I have to warn you, the book does begin with some of the terrible premises that were in Immortal Beloved. A couple of lines at the start turned my stomach, as Nas practically swooned "you murderer! I want you!". But stick it out. It gets better and less rape-apologetic, I promise.

Bottom line? Darkness Falls has a tough heroine, a murderous villain, a brilliant betrayal, a bunch of unanswered questions... the works. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Review - River Marked by Patricia Briggs

River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6) by Patricia Briggs
Goodreads / Librarything

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 326
Publisher: Orbit (UK) Ace (US)

Summary: Being a different breed of shapeshifter - a walker - Mercy Thompson can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long-gone father has never visited her. Until now, on her honeymoon with the Alpha werewolf Adam. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil...

Review: This book has confirmed what I long thought to be true: Patricia Briggs is incapable of writing books I don't like.

I was in a real reading slump when I picked up River Marked. Almost every book I picked up left me with a desire to send letter bombs in the mail - and there seemed to be no cure in sight. I thought: "If Briggs can't get me out of this funk, no one can." And sure enough, she did.

River Marked was absolutely stellar. It was really different to the previous Mercy books, as Mercy and Adam spent 90% of the time away from home with strangers. I adored this for two reasons: 1) it was a chance for us to see how Mercy and Adam's relationship would work outside of their comfort zone. 2) it was a completely natural, realistic thing for a couple to do. Too often authors will stick to a particular group of characters or a certain location, because that's what people want to read. Not Briggs. She'll take two of your favourite characters, toss them somewhere brand new, and make you love her for it.

That said, though most of the book was spent on the road, Briggs did sneak in a few fan favourites: Bran, Stefan and Jesse all put in some rather solid appearances. Thank God, as I really needed to check in on them after Silver Borne.

So, along with the fantastic exploration of Mercy and Adam's relationship, River Marked also introduced a bunch of Native American mythology... which I loved. I read stories about Coyote and Raven when I was a girl, so seeing their stories incorporated into River Marked was a dream. Without giving away too many details... I also really liked how Briggs dealt with Mercy's family history. Maybe other readers will find it a bit iffy, but I thought she handled it all very well.

You can also see the beginnings of a bunch of new plot lines in River Marked; I am positively twitching with impatience with the need to find out what Briggs has planned! I was starting to worry that she was wrapping up the Mercy series, but I can picture at least 5 more books worth of content she can cover after this.

Bottom line? A stellar - albeit, very different - instalment in the Mercy series. If you are looking for a UF series that can hold up six books in, look no further.

Cover Note: I've used the US cover for this post as I absolutely loathe the new UK covers. The covers are actually what kept me from reading this book for so long - I just couldn't stand the idea of buying the UK version! Only reason I bought it in the end was because I spotted it at Oxfam. Will need to get the US cover on bookdepository one of these days...

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 - Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Received for review from publishers

Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Summary: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.


Thoughts:
Things I liked about Cinder:

• It was only loosely based on Cinderella. Cinder wasn’t a “sit back and wait for my fairy godmother” character and actively rebelled against her family.
• The universe had fantastic potential. It was very futuristic – complete with cyborgs, flying vehicles, and aliens on the moon – and yet it also seemed quite historic – with a royal family, a hideous plague, and terrible human rights.
• Prince Kai. I have never been one to swoon over a prince, but this prince? He was everything you could possibly want from a monarch: reluctant to rule but feels obligated to do the best job he can, genuinely cares about his subjects, and has no real prejudices towards people of lower classes. I wholeheartedly approve.

Things that made me roll my eyes:

• The big “mystery”. Mystery… hah! Within about 10 pages I had worked out the book’s big secret – so I spent the rest of the book hoping that someone would wise up and just say it out loud before I killed them all for their stupidity. Unfortunately, is wasn’t revealed until the end of the book – and revealed with dramatic flair it did not deserve.
• Cinder. While she did have quite a bit of gumption, I found her self-loathing for her cyborg nature to be extremely tiresome. I wanted to just slap her and say “I get it, you’ve had a hard knock life, but just accept the fact that you don’t deserve it and DO something about it!” In a way, it was rather like a slave believing that they are property… something I cannot possibly accept in a protagonist, although I am sure it is possible in real life.
• The lunar queen. If one-dimensional were a country, she would be its queen. And, hell, I think she’d enjoy it. Queen Levana was a simple “Big Bad” and absolutely nothing else. Instead of finding her scary, I found her rather cartoonish.
• And, again, the “mystery”. Seriously, this really bugged me. I mean, I get that this book was aimed at teenagers but it wasn’t aimed at oblivious idiots. I mean, c’mon…

In short, Cinder is good. Quite good indeed. But it isn’t the miraculous novel that some reviews have made it out to be. It has significant flaws and is clearly a debut novel. I just hope that Meyer does a better job with the sequel…

Bottom line? Cinder is an enjoyable sci-fi novel with a well-incorporated fairy-tale at its heart. But is it the best thing since sliced bread? No, it is not.

Review - Killbox by Ann Aguirre

Killbox (Sirantha Jax #4) by Ann Aguirre
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 353
Publisher: Ace Books

Summary: Sirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. With no tolerance for political diplomacy, she quits her ambassador post so she can get back to saving the universe the way she does best—by mouthing off and kicking butt.

And her tactics are needed more than ever. Flesh-eating aliens are attacking stations on the outskirts of space, and for many people, the Conglomerate’s forces are arriving too late to serve and protect them.

Now, Jax must take matters into her own hands by recruiting a militia to defend the frontiers—out of the worst criminals, mercenaries, and raiders that ever traveled through grimspace…

Thoughts: Killbox was… different. More than any of the previous books, Killbox was a war book. March, Jax, Vel, Dina, Constance, Doc – hell, everyone – is at war and there is no time for them to sit about thinking about what they want out of life. There’s a galactic threat on the horizon and selfishness is not the word of the day.

In other words, there was a lot of killing, training and marching in uniforms. Great stuff, in the plotty sense, but I felt as though it was a bit rushed. Months would pass in a couple of sentences and, as a result, it seemed as though Jax wasn’t interacting with certain characters. *cough* Vel. *cough* I know it was necessary in order to cover the various plotlines Aguirre had set out, but that didn’t make it all that enjoyable.

Also, I had issue with the Morgot. For the first 3 books, I considered them rather like Reevers (from Firefly) – pure, unadultered evil with no redeemable qualities. But there is one scene in the book that made me pause and consider think: hey, maybe these guys are open to parlay? And then suddenly the scene was over and my idea was never followed up on. Will it be covered in other books? I doubt it… but I hope so. I can handle pure evil, but I am not OK with simple assumptions about a species!

But on to my real issue with Killbox: March. March. God, I remember the days when he and Jax had me in tears – when just the word “March” made me whimper. Now, when I try to access those feelings… I find I have nothing to give. To be honest, I have grown sick of his man-angst. I am sick of his constant, “Oh Jax, I love you! But now I have to leave you as the fate of the world is in my hands (or so I think).” I get that he is a good guy. I get that he is a good soldier. I still care about him, but I really just want to hit him over the head and tell him to get over himself. Because this misery he insists on putting himself through? It is not good for Jax anymore. He isn’t good for Jax anymore.

Vel, on the other hand? He hasn’t waivered. He stayed true to himself and developed as a character – just as March did – and yet he has never abandoned Jax. Aguirre acknowledges this and, yes, she is clearly a fan of the Vel/Jax relationship… and yet there was a terrible lack of Vel in Killbox. Why, Aguirre, why? *sobs silently*

Bottom line? Killbox is the weakest book in the Jax series – although maybe if all the Jax/March misery had been written out of it, I may have enjoyed it more.

Review - Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre

Doubleblind (Sirantha Jax #3) by Ann Aguirre
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 310
Publisher: Ace Books

Summary: Sirantha Jax isn’t known for diplomatic finesse. As a “Jumper” who navigates ships through grimspace, she’s used to kicking ass first and taking names later—much later. Not exactly the obvious choice to sell the Conglomerate to the Ithtorians, a people whose opinions of humans are as hard as their exoskeletons.

And Ithiss-Tor council meetings aren’t the only place where Ambassador Jax needs to maneuver carefully. Her lover, March, is frozen in permanent “kill” mode, and his hair-trigger threatens to sabotage the talks—not to mention their relationship.

But Jax won’t give up on the man or the mission. With the Outskirts beleaguered by raiders, pirates, and the flesh-eating Morgut, an alliance with Ithiss-Tor may be humanity’s only hope. Which has Jax wondering why a notorious troublemaker like her was given the job…

Thoughts: There were so many things I loved about Doubleblind, I hardly know where to start. While this was an unmistakably Jax book, it was extremely different Aguirre’s previous books. There was less action and a lot more talking. And while that may sound anticlimactic, it was, if anything, even more nerve-wracking than guns-blazing action. Why, you ask? Because it was all politics – old-school, world-saving negotiations with assassination attempts and violent demonstrations. It was The West Wing on crack in space. It was glorious.

And to top it all off, all this glorious political action took place on Ithiss-Tor. When I first read Grimspace, I was rather floored by the entire book… but Vel just knocked my socks off. He only appears in the last, say, 50(?) pages of the book and in that time became one of my very favourite characters. So getting to visit the home-world he left behind? Well, nothing could have made me happier.

In Doubleblind, Aguirre reveals a lot about the Ithiss-Tor, Ithorian culture, and – best of all – Vel’s past. If I hadn’t loved Vel before, Doubleblind would have sealed the deal. He is such a noble, loyal, brilliant individual – and his relationship with Jax is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. He cares about her so deeply, in a way that completely defies traditional values. He’s an alien – an insect-like, long-living, practically Vulcan alien. And yet, I adore him. You will too.

Doubleblind also includes an extremely traumatised March. This is not at all the man we met in Grimspace: he’s senselessly violent and pretty much soulless. Aguirre handled his changed interaction with Jax spectacularly – although, I admit, my attachment to the two of them together began to wane in this book… I’ll just leave it at that.

Bottom line? Best book since Grimspace. Pick up this series if you love 3D characters and complex plots.

Review - If I Die by Rachel Vincent

If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) by Rachel Vincent
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Received for review from publishers 

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 342
Publisher: MIRA Books

Summary: The entire school’s talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr Beck. That is, everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee’s no ordinary high-school junior. She’s a banshee — she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah — it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee’s going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine — her boyfriend’s needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human, either.

But Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life. Anything.

Thoughts: If I Die was my favourite Soul Screamers novel, hands down. Rachel Vincent resolved all my complaints, "beat my head against the wall" feelings, and shoot-Nash-in-the-face desires in one tidy little novel. How? Well, she gave Kaylee a gigantic wake-up call in the form of imminent death. *grins* Oh, the joy.

OK, I realise that makes me sound rather evil. But let me put it this way: when a character literally has no reason to hold herself back, she has the chance to let out her true self. And the "true" Kaylee? She's rather brilliant. You see, finding out she is about to die frees Kaylee... it frees her from Nash, from her father, from her schoolmates, and - most importantly - from herself. So when I say "finding out she is about to die is the best thing that ever happened to Kaylee", I really do mean it in the very best of ways.

Now, other than telling you that open-eyes!Kaylee is featured in If I Die, I can't really say much more without spoiling the book for you. In short: the villain was horrifically genius, Tod was swoon-worthily brilliant, Nash was ludicrously screwed-up, Kaylee's Dad was adorably protective, and Sabine was, well... Sabine. *sighs happily*

Bottom line? It is worth reading the first 4 books of the Soul Screamers series just to read If I Die. Seriously. Hell, just consider the first 4 books a very, very long prologue.

Finished the book already? Check out my interview with author Rachel Vincent for her thoughts on the series post-If I Die. She gave me some fantastic answers - read it if you are longing for something to tide you over until the next book!