Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Fallen by Lauren Kate

First line: Around midnight, her eyes at last took shape. The look [...]

Initial thoughts: I saw the cover for Fallen on another blog a few days ago, so I was super surprised and excited when a UPS man showed up on my doorstep with an ARC (the cover of the ARC is not half so lovely as the cover in this post, but I’m concerned more with what’s inside).

After finishing Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, I’m anxious to see what else is being done with the fallen angel theme. Plus the description sounds positively addictive.

Book description:

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

*******From the Back of the Book******

What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

Daniel’s gaze caught hers, and her breath caught in her throat. She recognized him from somewhere. But she would have remembered meeting someone like him. She would have remembered feeling as absolutely shaken up as she did right now.

They were still locking eyes when Daniel flashed her a smile. A jet of warmth shot through her…but then he raised his hand in the air. And flipped her off. Luce gasped and dropped her eyes. Her momentary delirium vanished. What was that guy’s problem?

Just before she ducked into her first class, she dared to glance back. His face was blank, but there was no mistaking it–he was watching her go.

Book Details: 464 pages; Delacorte Press; Pub. December 8, 2009

Learn more:

• Official website
• Online excerpt (not easy on the eyes)
• Reviews
  • So Many Books, So Little Time
  • Once Upon a Book (mild spoilers)

Back Cover of Hush, Hush

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Three Quick Points About Hush, Hush

• Point 1: The best kind of bad. The smokin’ hot half-nekkid angel guy on the front cover barely does Patch justice.
• Point 2: Nora disappears in the story. I mean that figuratively, of course. Her personality disappears. Sometimes she felt like a shrinking violet. (Not altogether a bad thing.)
• Point 3: The names made me cross-eyed. OK, some of the character names were so far out there, I had to stop reading, process, shake my head, then continue.

Full Review of Hush, Hush

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

Hush, Hush Synopsis

One afternoon during biology lab, Nora Grey finds herself being paired up with the new kid, Patch. At first sight, Nora sees her good grades slipping through the cracks because the last thing that appears to be on his mind is schoolwork. But she quickly learns that she has far bigger problems.

Patch is the epitome of bad boy: always dressed from head to toe in black (except when wearing the occasional blue baseball cap), long black hair, black eyes, and hard body. She knows she should stay away from him, but there’s an electric attraction.

It’s not long before Nora suspects she’s being stalked and begins to hear voices in her head that aren’t her own and sees things that feel real, but aren’t. Nora’s world is falling apart all around her and her best friend Vee starts to think she’s a little crazy.

Then the physical attacks start. Someone smashes into her car while driving, people around her begin to get roughed up, and Nora can’t make any sense of it. But she knows who the prime suspect is: Patch.

Soon Nora realizes she’s at the center of a conspiracy of angelic proportions and has the make a sacrifice to save her life.

Final Thoughts On Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush is told from Nora’s first person point of view. The problem I see all too often with this is the narrator becoming too whiny or needy or haughty in the most disenchanting way. That wasn’t a problem here because Nora’s personality slipped into the background so the focus was on the story. The unfortunate side effect was that Nora wasn’t exactly rocking my world as far as characters go.

Vee, Nora’s best friend, and Patch, fallen angel. Now there are two well drawn characters. I found myself wondering what was wrong with Vee half the time and screaming at her to get some sense the other half. Patch was an enigma. A spicy enigma. (By the way, that was a pun. You’ll understand when you see where he works.)

I even loved the waitress and the bag lady who make an appearance in the story while Nora is doing some snooping in Portland. Though minor characters, their personalities were larger than life and each made me laugh. Unfortunately, the same treatment can’t be said for Elliot or Jules. They were all over the place and what made it worse was that both of them were somewhat major players in the story.

As for the story itself, it worked for the most part. In some areas, mainly when we’re getting an education about the angelic hierarchy and angel indiscretions, the story lags. It doesn’t lag for too long and the action picks back up.

There were a couple holes that made me raise an eyebrow and ask, “Why didn’t he/she just __________?” (filling in the blank would equal a spoiler) or “Ski mask, really?!?” (i.e. some of the things that happened were just weird—not creepy or mysterious or spooky weird—plain weird.) Luckily, those holes were relatively tiny and didn’t spoil the overall story for me.

And let’s not get me started on some of the character names…one or two weirdly named characters? No problem, but there has to be a limit.

Everything is eventually resolved and the questions (well, most of them) are wrapped up in the end. A few bits seemed like contrived afterthoughts bordering on cheesy, but again, not badly enough to ruin the story. While I won’t be pining over Patch for years to come, it was certainly an entertaining way to pass an afternoon.

(Oh yeah…that allusion to an “ancient battle” on the back cover? You won’t find anything too epic. No pitchforks or smiting swords or even angel on demon war action. I’m loathe to say it, but think of this more as Twilight with fallen angels instead of vampires.)

(Since I’m reviewing based on the ARC, I’ll snag a final copy sometime today and update if the ending is vastly different from the current version.)

UPDATE: I’ve had an opportunity to get out and about and spotted a copy of Hush, Hush at Sam’s Club. After comparing the ending of the ARC and the final release, I can say that not too much has changed. The final bit of dialog was tweaked and extended by a couple more paragraphs to ratchet up the heat factor and melt the (previous) cheese factor. So, with that said, the review still stands.

Rating: Worth every penny [TPB] [B] (?)

Back Cover of Hannah

Hannah wants to be normal, but she’s not. The sea calls to her, and she can see a delicate tracing of scales on her legs. Billowing waves soothe her, but flat land makes her sick. She knows there’s something wild in her that’s different, wrong–and deeply thrilling.

Only one person seems to know who–or what–Hannah is. He’s a guest in the house where she works as a scullery girl, and his fascinated gaze follows her. She doesn’t understand his terrifying allure, or her longing. But even as the mystery deepens, Hannah is sure of one thing. A sea change is coming.

Three Quick Points About Hannah

• Point 1: Deus ex machinas abound! Hannah’s problems were all too easily resolved.
• Point 2: The intended audience must be precocious children or idyllic teens. In general, too superficial for an audience over 12 with words too laborious for an audience under 15.
• Point 3: It’s the book equivalent of Chinese food.

Full Review of Hannah

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

Hannah Synopsis

This entire book could easily be summarized in one sentence: Hannah Albury, a 15 year old orphan who is drawn to the sea, becomes a scullery made for a prominent Bostonian family and while summering with them on the Maine coast, discovers that she’s a mermaid.

That’s pretty much it.

Final Thoughts On Hannah

Eager was I to read this book. I polished it off in an afternoon. It was rather enjoyable, but I had trouble deciphering the intended audience.

The story was overly simplified—think Saturday morning cartoons where we see that the evildoer is defeated by a laser beam and the hero exclaims, “Haha! I have defeated the evildoer with my laser beam!” and then the evildoer cries out, “Oh no, I’ve been defeated by a laser beam!”

In the first two chapters, Hannah explains that she feels ill if she even thinks about moving away from the sea, then to reinforce the image, she’s sent to Kansas by the headmistress of the orphanage, becomes deathly ill, and is sent back to Boston. When she arrives back in Boston, the headmistress is mysteriously gone and replaced with a sweetheart who sees Hannah’s potential and sets her up with a prominent Bostonian family. Anyone over the age of twelve would have recognized that deus ex machina, cementing my belief the book was intended for young readers.

What gave me pause was the audacious use of vocabulary—words such as lugubrious, conflagration, chiaroscuro, and gewgaw to name only a few. These are words one is more likely to find handed out to high school sophomores and juniors. It felt incongruous with the simple storyline.

I’d have believed the older teen/young adult target audience if the story had more depth of emotion and more developed sub-plots. For instance, the profound affection that Hannah and Stannish Wheeler have for one another stretches the imagination when all they’ve shared were a few flirtatious glances and a couple ambiguous discussions. It hinted that Hannah and Stannish were possibly connected in another life together, but it was never elaborated in the story and resulted in the emotional impact falling flat.

Another thread that seemed frayed was Lila Hawley, the eldest daughter, and her macabre connection to Jade, evil kitty minion. I loved the development there. Lila and her cat were effectively creepy and actually, I found myself wanting to know more about Lila than Hannah. But by the end of the story, I wondered what her purpose was in the overall story, other than to antagonize Hannah (and when she became too problematic, Lila was shipped away). I get the feeling we’ll see more of her in a later book, but it’s not a certainty.

This is a trend I’ve been seeing more of lately—books withholding logical closure or keeping the key relationships superficial in order to promote future installments of a series. A trend possibly due to the success of Harry Potter, Twilight, Percy Jackson, and others.

With those particular series, however, each book is a fully self-contained story where there is a strong plot set up, climax, and conclusion with a lead in to the next story designed to pique curiosity. I didn’t get that with Hannah. Barring her self-discovery at the end (which most people going into the story already know), nothing of substantial consequence happened—no strong plot set up, climax, or conclusion.

Hannah is not overtly bad—the writing is good, it presented a great overview of nineteenth century American aristocratic life, and breezed along nicely—but it was the book equivalent of Chinese food—tastes good going down, but an hour later, you’re hungry again.

Rating: Get it used [B-/C+] (?)

Hannah (Daughters of the Sea, Book 1) available on Amazon

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here are the latest arrivals: The Hollow by Jessica Verday and Ash by Malinda Lo

The Hollow

544 pages; Simon Pulse; Pub. Sept. 1, 2009

First line: It was funny. At a time like this, I wasn’t supposed to be thinking […] *

Description:

When Abbey’s best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead?and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen’s funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey’s life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he’s the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again…but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen’s betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Ash

272 pages; Brown Young Readers; Pub. Sept. 1, 2009

First line: Aisling’s mother died at midsummer.

Description:

Pushed into indentured servitude for her stepmother in the City to pay off her father’s debts, Ash is consumed with grief. She misses her family and her happy life at the edge of the Wood where old magic used to linger in the air like fairy breath. Her only joy comes from the brief, stolen walks in the woods with the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean. Ash’s single, unspoken hope is that someday he might steal her away, as fairies are said to do.

But on the day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, from Kaisa she learns the art of the hunt, how to ride and track. Their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, but it grows and changes, and with it, Ash reawakens her capacity for love—and her desire to live.

Entrancing and romantic, Ash is an empowering retelling of Cinderella about choosing life and love over solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

I was so excited when these books arrived (both on the same day no less) because it means I have a couple more books to add to the RIP IV reading pool. The Hollow immediately went on my Want List^™ when I first read about it during a Waiting on Wednesday round. Plus, Ash will be my first foray into (contemporary) GLBT reading (I think…I can’t recall any other title off the top of my head, but I may have read something in high school) and I’m anxious to see how it’s done.

* I’m trying something new with the first line; rather than printing only the first full sentence, I’m only going to include the first line as printed in the book.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

First line: Phoebe.

Beautiful Phoebe.

Through the glass watch Phoebe leave bus walk to house phoebe green skirt green eyes skirt trailing hair flowing black and shiny in the sun.

Initial thoughts: OK, so reading the first line (or few lines really) to create this post nearly made me cry. For those of you who haven’t read Generation Dead, this is a spoiler.

Adam died at the end of that book and came back as a differently biotic person (aka zombie). This book, obviously, opens with what’s actually going through his mind and seeing his loose, choppy train of thought hit me like a sledgehammer.

In Generation Dead, the characters were so well developed that I actually cared what happened to them and I was a bit distraught when Adam died, especially under the circumstances and before he could say the three little words that he carried around in his heart for the special girl next door.

I can’t deny that I’m looking forward to reading Kiss of Life, even if it’s bittersweet.

Book description:

The phenomenon that’s been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakvale have banded together in a group they’re calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.

Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie — her Homecoming date Tommy Williams — her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can’t seem to live without.

From the back cover:

"You didn’t move, Tommy! He pointed the gun right at me, and you didn’t do anything!"

"I…"

"All you had…had to do was…move," she said; "it wouldn’t have hurt if he shot you. But you just stood there, and…and Adam’s dead! He’s dead, Tommy!"

She looked at him, her eyes blurry with tears. He’d stopped trying to talk, and the mask of concern had fallen away from his face as he stood there.

Just stood there.

"He’d be alive if it wasn’t for you, Tommy," she said, whispering so all of the gawkers wouldn’t hear.

He’d be alive, she thought, and you and I would be together.

Book Details: 416 pages; Hyperion Book CH; Pub. May 12, 2009

Learn more:

• Daniel Waters’s Website
• Thomas Williams’s blog
• Reviews
  • Karin Librarian
  • Readergirl Reviews
  • {Insert Book Title Here}

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

First line: Phoebe and her friends held their breath as the dead girl in the plaid skirt walked past their table in the lunchroom.

Initial thoughts: I learned about Generation Dead when I found Karin Librarian’s Say It Again Saturday post. After going back to read her review, I fell in love with the idea and simply had to have the book. With phrases like “differently biotic” or “living impaired”, how could I not? The description alone promised this book would be a hoot.

Book description:

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He’s strong and silent…and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren’t staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn’t want them.

The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the “differently biotic.” But the students don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the “living impaired” from the people who want them to disappear–for good.

When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

Book Details: 416 pages; Hyperion Book CH; Pub. May 2008

Learn more:

• Daniel Waters’s website
• Tommy Williams’s blog
• Read an excerpt
• Reviews
  • Karin Librarian
  • Teen Book Review
  • Confessions of a Bibliovore
  • The Compulsive Reader

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

First line: Elizabeth Bennet’s wedding morning was one of soft mists and mellow sunshine.*

Initial thoughts: After discovering the awesomeness that is Pride & Prejudice, I was hooked. Since reading it that first time, I went back and read it again.

Noticing the early signs of an addict, I decided to set Austen aside and read other books, mainly with supernatural characters such as vampires and werewolves and such.

But then I see this title–Mr. Darcy, Vampyre–how could I possibly deny myself such pleasure? I’m not completely falling off the wagon, am I? Even if I am, I fully intend to enjoy myself on the way down.

Book description:

A married man in possession of a dark fortune must be in want of an eternal wife…

December 1802

My hand is trembling as I write this letter. My nerves are in tatters and I am so altered that I believe you would not recognize me. The past two months have been a nightmarish whirl of strange and disturbing circumstances, and the future…

I am afraid.

If anything happens to me, remember that I love you and that my spirit will always be with you, though we may never see each other again. The world is a cold and frightening place where nothing is as it seems.

Book Details: 320 pages; Sourcebooks Landmark; Pub. August 1, 2009

Learn more:

• Mr. Darcy, Vampyre blog
• Reviews
  • Romance B(u)y the Book review
  • Becky’s Book Reviews
  • Sia McKye’s thoughts…

* First line taken from Chapter 1, not the prologue.

From the back cover of Wake

She is floating. Not the falling dream again, she thinks. She is sick to death of the falling dream.

The scene changes immediately. Now Janie is outside. It’s dark. She’s alone, behind a shed, but she can hear muffled voices. She’s never been alone before, and she doesn’t know how people can have dreams that they are not in. She is curious. She watches nervously, hoping this isn’t somebody’s nightmare about to explode through the wall of the shed, or from behind the bushes…

Three quick points about Wake

• Point 1: It’s rather short. With abrupt, sometimes awkward, sentence structures.
• Point 2: This is either a ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ book, yet somehow I managed to be squarely in the middle, loving some aspects, craving more definition, and hating others.
• Point 3: The characters remind me of Bella Swan and Eward Cullen in their inexplicable love that just somehow seems to work for the story.

The full review of Wake

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

Wake Synopsis

The story, penned by Lisa McMann, is about a young girl named Janie Hanagan who has a special ability: she inexplicably plunges into the dreams of others.

She first discovered this unique ability when she was eight, but she didn’t fully understand it until much later. As she aged, she had more episodes and through her interactions, she discovered the hopes, fears, and desires of those around her.

Then, while driving one day, she tumbles into a nightmare. Over time she discovers who the recurring nightmare belongs to and they form a relationship. He, Cabel, helps Janie come to terms with her ability and Janie helps him come to terms with his own twisted history.

Both of these main characters, Janie and Cabel, have disturbed childhoods–Janie’s mother is an alcoholic who couldn’t care less about what her daughter is up to (rather convenient) and Cabel’s abusive father died (plus, he’s legally old enough to live alone which is also rather convenient for the story progression); his mother is purportedly living somewhere in Florida.

Their budding relationship suffers some setbacks when Janie allows the rumors she hears about Cabel to overrule her own judgment, what she’s seen in his actions, and what he’s told her. Eventually, Cabel’s secret is revealed, Janie learns the truth, and all is once again right in their world.

Final Thoughts on Wake

Rarely do I say this about a book, but it needs to be longer. It’s convoluted in places, well conceived in others, and simply anemic overall. Otherwise it would have rated as one of the better books I’ve read recently.

Wake falls into the category of well conceived, but questionably executed. The format of the date and time for sections was a nice touch. The description of the dreams, the terseness of the sentences, and the vague descriptions all contributed to the dreamlike quality of the book.

What didn’t work well for the story, however, was the lack of details, back story, and transitions. The development of the relationship between Janie and Cabel was suspect. (It’s difficult to give an example without giving away the spoilers.) And the cat and mouse game they played while Cabel was withholding information from Janie, leaving her with nothing to go on except rumors and conjecture, seemed trite. And let’s not even get started on the big reveal of Cabel’s secret, or the secret itself. That entire section, which came at the end and changed the tone, style, and tempo. Suddenly, what made the book a unique and exciting read dissipated into thin air and it became yet another commercial novel.

McMann has an excellent and unique story idea, but its evolution is too unsophisticated to be fully palatable. Other readers might love it for its simplicity, but for me, it was overly simple. So simple that the complete story seemed disjointed. The end was more like an afterthought, added for a bit of action, than a deliberate thread in the story. There’s another novel due out in February 2009 which is said to complete the Janie/Cabel story, but frankly, the story shouldn’t have been broken into two books. Or, the current story should have been slightly more rounded out.

All in all, it was a quick and easy read. The premise and story was good (the concept of someone who falls into other peoples’ dreams). And the style worked for about 80-90% of the story, so I don’t regret the purchase, but I’m wishing I’d checked it out at the library first or grabbed it used.

Rating: Get it used (?)

Note for parents or sensitive readers: This book is targeted to young adults (girls in general), but it does have some coarse language and underage alcohol/drug use. It’s probably along the lines of what young people face today. While it’s not hardcore, or even condoning its use, I thought I should go ahead and mention it.

Wake by Lisa McMann at Amazon