Book Review: Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm going to give Spellbound a good review simply because I enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't the most original plot and many of the characters felt very formulaic, but the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading. I wanted to know if Brendan and Emma were able to break the curse or not. I won't spoil this book by answering that question, but I will let you know there is to be a sequel. I personally don't think there needs to be a sequel (and I probably won't be reading it) because this book is fine as a stand-alone novel.

The thing I liked about the story is how the insta-love didn't seem so instant for both characters, even though you find out later on that it really was. I also enjoyed how you never know (during the story and maybe even after) if they will be able to break the curse. I found myself turning the page more so in hopes of finding out if they succeeded or failed than for any other reason.

I do have to say the characters were not necessarily my favorite. Right from the get-go, I was confused about the living arrangement...living with an aunt and a best-friend/younger cousin but then come to find out the cousin doesn't live with that aunt but rather another aunt in the same building or nearby...I'm still not exactly sure where the cousin lives. Maybe it was explained well and I just read over it, but I did find myself scratching my head in puzzlement a few times. Also, I'm so tired of reading Young Adult books that feel they have to conform to the common cast of the dumb jock, mean blonde, gothic witch, hottie boyfriend, and so-so main-female character. Oh, and let's not forget the gay guy. If you've read any of my previous reviews, you know how I feel about that being thrown in just to fill the quota.

Also, near the end of the story, it felt like the editing of the book was maybe a little rushed.

All in all, this was an enjoyable, quick read. It provided a little paranormal to an otherwise typical high-school misadventure in romance. I would recommend you borrow this one rather than buy it though.


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Book Review: A Need so Beautiful by Suzanne Young

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Let me start by saying I really wanted to give this book 5 stars, but couldn't for some reasons which I'll discuss in a moment.

Suzanne Young can really write. It's the WOW kind of writing I felt when I read Hunger Games, or Before I Fall, or Night World. Just beautiful. Suzanne tells Charlotte's story in a way that make you believe it's real...or could be. The character development is simply amazing. Each character has its own distinct voice and you can almost see them, even those you only meet for a few paragraphs. Also, Suzanne give you just enough information, just enough stuff happens, to keep you begging for more to find out the final outcome. Even until the very end, you aren't 100% sure what Charlotte will do. I know there is a sequel to this book and I will definitely get it out from the library.

So, why didn't I give it 5 stars? The writing is stellar. The characters are solid. The plot is paced perfectly. So why not the full 5 stars?

Well, I'm going to try my best to explain. This book is written for teens. I know teens experiment with everything from sex to alcohol to drugs and more. I know they see these things on t.v., in the tabloids, in school, and in books. It's all there, so why try to hide it and pretend it's not?

Because not everything needs to glorify or normalize those behaviors. I really hoped and expected this book to have more of a moral compass than it did. I mean, the girl is supposed to be love and light and goodness embodied. She's supposed to choose good things. And yet she has premarital sex, her best friend is involved in sexual acts and alcohol abuse, and her brother and another character are openly gay. Now, please, I'm not a gay hater BUT I don't think books which are geared toward our impressionable youth need to be so mainstream and try to 'fit' the modern media-produced image of what's acceptable for teens. The same goes with the sex stuff. By putting all of these behaviors in a book about choosing what is right over wrong, or light over darkness, it makes these actions acceptable and okay. It even kind of glorifies them.

See, I truly don't think this story would be any less beautiful without the sex stuff. In fact, it would've been maybe more beautiful because I could've shared the story with my daughter. And the gay characters were given that character trait unnecessarily. They would be no less appreciated, no less loved, if they'd been straight instead. Their issues/problems would still have been real and hard to deal with. It is just an attempt at being mainstream which really just made the story less beautiful in my eyes.

The drug and alcohol abuse shown in the story was done in a way that made it known to be a negative choice. A junkie mother was going to lose her daughter. The teen drinking alcohol becomes seriously ill and loses her freedoms, friends, and even the school she was going to. Negative consequences for negative choices and for that, I was okay with it being in this book.

So, as I've said, the writing is amazing, the story unique, and the characters fleshed out and believeable. I only wish the story was a little cleaner so I could let my children read it. I definitely plan to read the next book A Want So Wicked and anything else Suzanne Young writes.



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Book Review: Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the fourth book by Maggie Stiefvater I've read. The first two were from the Shiver trilogy (I haven't gotten Forever out yet) and then The Scorpio Races. All three were actually audiobooks, so this is the first one my eyes actually read.

I was a little disappointed.

I liked Shiver and Linger well enough...some of the characters' traits were annoying, but then we can't like everyone we meet. I LOVED The Scorpio Races. I think that is her best book I've 'read' yet.

So, what did I like about Lament? I liked how some fairy myths were woven into the story. It helped it feel more solid and realistic (even though we're talking fairies here). I liked how the ending is happy but not too happy (even though I really didn't like how the ending came to be). And, I liked the occasional bits of humor Luke or James offered. Other than that, I don't know.

I really wanted to like Lament more. I kept hoping something would happen to make me love it...what that something was, I don't know and it never happened. I really didn't care for how much description was given to all the music stuff. I understand that music is integral to the fairy-lore (even though this isn't really discussed much), heavily sought after by the fairies, and extreme musical talents are (apparently) signs/symptoms of supernatural abilities. But why did I have to hear so much about the flow/sound/feel of the music? I really didn't care and found myself skimming the paragraphs a bit.

The thing I disliked most about this story is that it had too many things appear/happen to make the plot advance and seem plausible but felt forced and sudden. And I really didn't like how Dee became so smitten with Luke and just went with the crazy he brought at the start. Like Shiver, the insta-love (or semi-insta-love) between the main character and her beau is kind of...annoying. And the best friend who is in love with her but she's oblivious or pretends to be and he confesses just before tragedy strikes...so not original. And this story had the potential to be original. It just wasn't.

I was going to give it 2 stars but since I do plan to read the sequel, I must've liked it more than just okay but definitely not a "really liked" book.

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Audiobook Review: The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Roark Dowell

The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Roark Dowell

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Status update from Goodreads: I got to disc 4 and my copy is corrupt. I'll have to go to the library once it's open again and get their copy to finish this story. (Dec26th, 2011)

Well, nearly 1 month later and I finally finished listening to the audio presentation of The Secret Language of Girls. As it turns out, I had only 5 tracks left to listen to before the story ended. I'm glad I finished listening, but the ending didn't really leave me feeling any better about this story.

I am (obviously) NOT the target audience of this book, but my daughter is. In fact, it was she who initially requested the audiobook after a friend read the print version and the only reason I listened to it was because she had. I like to know what my kids are reading/listening to/watching, so I try to read/listen to/watch the same things they like. It helps me get to know them better by giving us something with which to open a conversation. When my daughter finished listening to the (we now know corrupted) audio on her mp3 player, I asked what she thought of it. Her response was that it was good at first, but it lost her toward the middle and she felt unsatisfied by the end. Of course, the end she heard wasn't the real end, but (in my opinion) it might as well have been.

I really have no idea what this story is about. If I had to describe the story, I guess I'd say it's about two girls whose childhood friendship undergoes the strain and stress of growing up. This was not a plot driven story, but a story surrounding a plot idea. I frequently found myself bored by the lack of action. Also, I was not wild about the changes in perspective from one girl to the next. I didn't think the voices of the girls (not the physical voice of the reader nor the literary voice of the character) were defined and unique enough to make it self-evident as to whom the story was being seen through as soon as the switch took place.

Overall, I'm not thrilled with this book and will not be listening to it again. And my daughter had no interest in listening to the end either, once we figured out the initial problem. That being said, I think female readers as young as 4th grade and up to 6th grade may understand and commiserate with the characters in this story, but it definitely didn't speak to me.


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Book Review: Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First off, I think it's awesome that the author created the zombie's blog around the time the book was original released and it's still up and running. I looked it up just to see and clicked around a little, trying not to read much there because I didn't want to ruin any of the story for myself. Unfortunately, my eyeballs found one tidbit of information I wish they hadn't and it really ruined the surprise at the end for me. Even knowing what was going to happen, it still saddened me.

I think the idea for this book is fascinating. Zombies. Living among us(trads). Going to school with us. Maybe dating us or even loving us, but at the very least befriending us. I loved really only one character in this book though and am now thoroughly a fan of Adam. I'm a sucker for nice guys sometimes, when their complex and not overly nice. I wish Phoebe hadn't been so blind by the newness and uniqueness of Tommy to completely miss what she had right next door, but if her eyes had been open I guess the story wouldn't have been half as interesting. And Tommy. I liked him...at first, until he became a manipulative user...or at least that's what he comes off as at the end.

As I stated in my updates while I was reading, the whole play-by-play of the sports stuff really threw me and almost made me lose interest in the story. I know guy readers will be able to follow the plays but I just skimmed to the end of it. Just not a sporty-girl and have never been a big fan of football either. That aside, the story held my attention and didn't seem to have many if any scenes bogging down the pace unnecessarily. I do wish the story had moved a little faster, but the insight into the characters did help understand their motivations better. At first, I was totally lost as to why we were hearing the story through Pete's perspective at all, but halfway through the book, it made sense.

My biggest complaint is that the Zombies existence to begin with just doesn't make sense. Some but not all kids come back. And only teens. And only in the US...well, a few reports of instances in the northern lands, but still. Why? And how are they alive? The characters even ask the same questions...repeatedly...but a definitive answer is never given. I know there are more books in this series and it's likely that those questions will be answered in the later books, but for this one, it felt like a problem the writer just didn't have an answer for yet.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and, while references to sex are made (especially by Pete) and swear words do appear on a few pages, the story is fairly clean. I don't think I'll let my 11-year-old daughter read it any time soon, but maybe when she's a few years older. I will be getting the sequel out eventually, but I have other things on my plate to tackle first.



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A Christmas Memory I'll Never Have

Christmas time is a time for making memories. Yesterday, my family made a memory without me.

See, my 3rd grade son made a gift for me at school and brought it home last Friday. He was so excited about it, but didn't want to give it to me in the form in which it came home. So, he asked his Dad to help him.

I was promptly told to leave the house so they could 'work'. I took advantage of the time and went Christmas shopping. On the last Sunday before Christmas. It was quite overwhelming.

But not as overwhelming as what my husband experienced.

The project took place in the kitchen, a foriegn, forbidding land for my husband. It brings to mind the chef from Ratatouille.

Maybe anyone can cook, but not everyone is successful.

While I was out, I got a call asking how to cream butter. This, to me, is a given...like how to make a bowl of cereal or boil water. It took a while for me to think about and then walk my husband through the steps, including locating the correct handmixer and beaters.

While trying to park my van in the overly-crowded Target parking lot, I listened to the commotion in the background. As I pulled into the parking spot, I heard the mixer turn on, my husband yelp, and the phone clatter to the ground.

My daughter picked up the phone and sounded frightened as she checked to see if I was still there. Afraid my shopping excursion was over before I'd even begun, I asked if her Dad still had all his fingers. Her voice shook with uncertainty as she said, "Yeah, I think so. But I have to go now." And she hung up. The entire time I was out, I kept wondering and worrying about what was going on in my kitchen.

I kind of wish I'd been 'a fly on the wall' to witness the catastrophy in progress. Three sticks of butter and one volcanic explosion of flour (which was "amazing" to witness) later, the project was complete. It took all five kids to help clean up. But, when I got home, my kitchen was clean and

a lovely tray full of M&M's and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies awaited my taste test. My son waited expectantly as I bit into the perfectly golden cookie. It was surprisingly tasty. He then explained to me that the project at school was to make a gift which would require me to bake the cookies. He didn't want to make me have to work in the kitchen, so he wanted to make the cookies for me.

His thoughtfulness was even sweeter than cookies.

Oh, and my husband did not remove his fingers in the mixer, but we still aren't sure if he broke something or not.

Check It Out: New L.J. Kentowski Book & Giveaway

L.J. Kentowski's Guardian of Fate is out now! My cyber-friend and fellow writer's book is now available, and to celebrate the release of the first book in her Fate series, she's giving away 3 copies. I am so excited for her and look forward to reading her book. In fact, I'm trying to win one of those copies. Read the blurb below and click the link at the end to enter the contest. Don't forget to add Guardian of Fate to your Goodreads To-Be-Read list. Oh, and the first chapter is online too. Check it out!

Guardian Of Fate (Fate Series Book #1)

by L.J. Kentowski (Goodreads Author)

Guardian Of Fate (Fate Series Book #1)     

Fear of death is all too common. Visions of it chill the bones and skip heartbeats. Seeing it coming and knowing only you can rescue the soul of the victim from the fiery bowels of hell…that’s downright life-altering.

Cassandra Cosgrove’s life was altered at the age of sixteen when she found out that it was her responsibility to save the lives, and ultimately th...morBlurb:

Fear of death is all too common. Visions of it chill the bones and skip heartbeats. Seeing it coming and knowing only you can rescue the soul of the victim from the fiery bowels of hell…that’s downright life-altering.

Cassandra Cosgrove’s life was altered at the age of sixteen when she found out that it was her responsibility to save the lives, and ultimately the souls, of innocent victims targeted by Hell’s demons. As impossible as it seemed at first, she was able to live a fairly normal life, while secretly fulfilling her obligation as a Guardian of Fate.

But years later Fate has its own plan when her visions begin drastically changing at the same time two mysterious men appear in her life. Cassandra suddenly finds herself caught in a battle between good and evil, with her own soul on the line. When it seems everyone in her life has a secret they’ve been hiding from her, who can she trust to be the Guardian of her Fate?

To enter the contest, click the link below and fill out the form. Good luck!

Guardian of Fate Giveaway