Stopped-Short Sunday (9-9-12)

It stuck! I got some positive feedback, so I'll continue this meme for now. The only thing is...I need an image to go along with it. Anyone??? :)

Stopped-Short Sunday is where I pick a book that I couldn't finish, and explain the pros and cons of not liking it. That way, instead of a bad review or no review at all, it gives some perspective in an open minded way.

This week I'm picking Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.

I read this last November and from the first page, fell absolutely in love with it. The description pulled me right in, about some otherworldly mythology thing going on, and there wasn't mention of any romance so I figured this will be the next Divergent, (as far as new favorites go.)

For the first 200 pages, I seriously couldn't put it down. The writing is mysterious and the characters were totally strange and unique. Urban-fantasy at it's best.

Then the angel fell from the sky.

This is an angel book, my friends. How did I not know that coming in? If there is a genre I have to dislike the most, it would belong to the angels. It might have something to do with the usual relation to God it brings up, and as an atheist, that stuff doesn't really appeal to me; I don't get that connection to the story. And they're all the same. At least the 10 different ones I've put down were.

(The only two exceptions are Illuminate and the City of Bones series.)

Anyway, this got hugely popular, and I stumbled upon it by the ginormous cardboard display-rack thing in the bookstore; it was like a magnet. So I bought it.

I'm mentioning this book now, because in a couple months, Laini Taylor is going to be near me on tour for the second in the series. Now a handful of friends have said it's worth finishing, for me to give it another shot. Also, I just read her short story in Foretold which was ahhmazing! Really, her writing is completely awesome.

Final thoughts, I'm going to pick it up again soon, back track a couple chapters to get my bearings again, and finish it. I really really wanted to love this, so I think there is still a chance! (Even though it's sort of an angel book, because I think there's more mythology than being simply that.)

And I mean come on, the covers are great. ;)

-Jane

The Dark Unwinding: review

Title: The Dark Unwinding
Author: Sharon Cameron
Genres: Victorian era, almost-steampunk, coming-of-age, bunnies.
Rating: 4 stars!
Source: finished copy from the publisher, Scholastic Press
Summary: A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!

When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

I'm always cautious when reading a debut novel. Usually they're either horrible, or wonderful. The Dark Unwinding fell into the latter category, and I would definitely recommend it!

The story takes place outside of London in the mid 1800s, and the first thing I noticed was that the dialogue was good for the times. It felt naturally English and old fashioned, and not fake or stilted. 

Mainly, lots of the good dialogue comes from Katharine's crazy uncle (who nowadays would be characterized as highly-functioning autistic) because the paragraphs of nonsense is really well written. His condition is sad and at the same time hilarious if you think of it positively. A true genius inventor is often a bit crazy and the author captures that craziness unusually well.

Now the main character, Katharine, I have a few mixed feelings about. She isn't the usual kick-ass or even sort of tough character I look out for when choosing a book. Prone to the occasional painting spell and easily scared, she isn't used to the safely of her London home. But there's good development and for what she lacks in physical abilities, I really felt she is strong in spirit. Katharine is torn for most of the story between her own self-preservence and the saving of her uncle and his whole estate/town and the jobs of his people. So I liked her for that, and she's smart-though often proves to be too curious for her own good.

The supporting characters are delightfully present and rounded. I grew attached to all of them, even the rather annoying Miss Jefferies who determined to give Katherine the hardest time possible while visiting. 

On the other hand, the romance...was predictable. Not in the bad kind, I still liked it, but every new thing she discovered about the two possible angles of her triangle I had already guessed. But I will admit the way it turned out surprised me a little with an open ending. Honestly, there wasn't actual romance in it, because that's not what the plot centered around.

There's a nicely set pace with plenty going on to keep you guessing, its as much of a mystery as historical. But the climax turned out to be slightly confusing, lots happens at once, and it's disorienting with the commotion. Though the storytelling recovers toward the resolution of the book, when much of it is explained, so I understood what happened by the end.

The Dark Unwinding  is one of those books that would make a great movie, and it was nice to read a standalone rather than the beginning of a series debut. I look forward to reading more of the author's work in the future.

-Jane

**Thanks to the people at Scholastic Press for providing me with a finished copy to review. It did not effect my review in any way. I reviewed it honestly and without bias.**

Wishlist Wednesday 9-5-12

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Dani, at Pen to Paper, and it's a meme in which you can post a book that you've had on your wishlist for a while, but haven't found the time to actually read yet.

I choose Ironskin by Tina Connolly this week. It just came out a few days ago and I can't wait to get it from the library! Or, you know, I might just accidentally walk into a bookstore and buy it...it could happen.

Goodreads summary: Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. 

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin. 

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help. 

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey. 

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

Im having some serious cover-love here. Probably one of the prettiest I've seen in a while. I can't wait to see it in real life. I wonder what the spine looks like. Anyone have a chance to read this yet?

The genre of steampunk is a weakness for me, I'll admit. And the book I'm reading right now is pretty good, and vaguely steampunk, but Ironskin looks like something else entirely! It has faeries in it too, which doubles the intrigue. 

What's on your wishlist this week?

-Jane

Teaser Tuesday 9-3-12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Stop by there, to see other blogs participating as well! :)

The book I'm now starting, The Dark Unwinding, came out September 1st, only a couple days ago; here are a few teasers.

                  Add on Goodreads!

"It was her unspoken words that silenced me. That I could have no hope of future provision beyond the charity of my fat cousin, and had no invitations to keep me in London for the season, were far weaker places than her love of money, and she knew it."


"The color was an assault to the eyes almost as the silence seemed an attack on the ears."


"The birdcage had read five o'clock. All of them, every one of them had hands pointing to five..."






This has a great start, hopefully it'll keep up with the good descriptions...what are your teasers? Is The Dark Unwinding on your to-read shelf?

-Jane

Foretold (anthology) : review

Title: Foretold
Author: Carrie Ryan (editor) plus the fourteen authors listed below for the stories themselves.
Genres: ya prophetic anthology, short stories.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Richelle Mead, Lisa McMann, Michael Grant, Meg Cabot, Laini Taylor, and nine more of the hottest YA authors to hit the shelves explore the concepts of prophecy and prediction in this story collection edited byNYT bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan. 

Have you ever been tempted to look into the future? To challenge predictions? To question fate? It's human nature to wonder about life's twists and turns. But is the future already written—or do you have the power to alter it?

From fantastical prophecies to predictions of how the future will transpire, Foretold is a collection of stories about our universal fascination with life's unknowns and of what is yet to come as interpreted by 14 of young adult fiction's brightest stars.

I am pretty sure this is my first anthology. Or at least for YA fiction. I've read collections of essays, etc. But those don't really count. Anyway, I am very satisfied with this anthology, and I've split up my review to be a few sentences on each of the short stories.

(In order)

Laini Taylor - Gentlemen Send Phantoms
Loved it!! Wish it was expanded to a whole novel...but at the same time it was good short. Sweet and creative, makes me want to go back to finishing Daughter of Smoke and Bone...

Burned Bright -Diana Peterfreund
Since the pov is from the inside of a cult during the ending of the world...I took an immediate dislike but as soon as it doesn't all happen like it's supposed to, super exciting! haha. Great ending too, unexpected. Though, I still like her other short better. Across the Nameless Stars.

The Angriest Man - Lisa McMann
Eerie, made my skin crawl. Makes me think of picking up the only book I haven't read of hers, Cryer's Cross, because she sure has a way of getting into your head with the psychological thriller stuff.

Out of the Blue - Meg Cabot
Sci-fi. It was okay, but I'm not a fan of her writing style. Light, fun and easy.

One True Love - Melinda Lo
I haven't read anything by her before, and her writing was okay, but I didn't get pulled into the story so I skimmed just a bit...

This is a Mortal World - Michael Grant
Same for this one, except for I just skipped it after the second page.

Misery - Heather Brewer
First impression: an episode of The Twilight Zone. Immediately caught my interest and totally freaked me out at the same time. Probably my favorite story!!

The Mind is a Powerful Thing - Matt De La Pena
Little disturbing, not the best. Main character seemed crazy, but not the cool/interesting kind. The run away quickly kind. And the ending was weirdly abrupt, not going the way I expected.

The Chosen One - Saundra Mitchell
Sweet. Reads like a fairy-tale, in the classic sense. Good ending for once, too. Not so foreboding and almost funny.

Improbable Futures - Kami Garcia
Carnivals always wig me out. And this story was about a carnival gypsy. Well written and spooky!

Death for the Deathless - Margaret Stohl
It's a take on Nostradamus's predictions, saying what if some immortal beings were behind it all. Takes place in France so automatic points there, and the only thing is I didn't get the last few sentences, they just didn't make sense. Maybe worded funny or something?

Fate - Simone Elkeles
Uhh...what did that have to do with prophecy and prediction? Nothing. So it was overly mushy/sweet. Reminder of why I'm not a fan of her books. But it was okay I guess, just seemed like it was in the wrong anthology.

The Killing Garden - Carrie Ryan
Excellent story!! Rich and harsh, and totally unputdownable. Reminds me of a could-be dystopian setting, or just as easily fantasy. Almost my favorite in the book; I hadn't realized she had written more than the introduction/editing.

Homecoming - Rachael Mead
I started reading this with not much enthusiasm...then realized it was a sort of extention to her Vampire Academy series, so I put it down. Maybe if I ever do read those book, it'll be more interesting.

~

You'll notice I really didn't explain any of the stories. That's because there isn't any summary for them individually, so it's kind of nice just diving in knowing vaguely the genre of prophecies but nothing else. So I tried not to divulge too much, because I loved bring surprised.

I would definitely recommend Foretold to any fan of ya paranormal books!


The next anthology on my list is Shards & Ashes, for which I'm super excited to read!!!

-Jane

Stopped-Short Sunday (experimental?)

Alright, I'm going to be super creative here and start a meme thing for today. Maybe it'll stick, maybe it won't. I haven't seen one like this so far, and I want to rant. Just a little.

Now, every time I have to write a bad review I feel sorry to the author that I didn't like their book, and even though ranting is fun it can hurt feelings an bring down ratings. My totally brilliant plan to avoid that is when a book is sucking and I find myself skimming pages, I drop it. That way I can go on Goodreads with an average 3 star or lower, and say only a sentence: "I couldn't get into it, couldn't finish it." or something of the like.

But what I'm really doing in my head is listing the reasons why I didn't like it (to further judge books later), what small parts I did enjoy (but unfortunately weren't strong enough to outweigh the bad), and figure out why so many other people absolutely loved it. That way my thought process is sort of constructive criticism. Because the weird thing is, usually the books I drop are insanely popular and there are tons of 4-5 star reviews on why this book is so absolutely amazing. Why do I have such different views to the norm?

The book I'm going to use right now is Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi.

Before Shatter Me came out, I didn't really hear much about it. I even turned down the ARC because I thought the cover was funny looking. But I put it on hold at the library once it came out, and dropped just over halfway, on page 162. (I wrote it down.)

Oh I just found my Goodreads review from last year when I read it. Well, here were my initial thoughts then:

Started out pretty great. The writing style is very cool, and has lots of little distinguishable features which I really like. The protag herself though, annoys me, she is always talking about how much she wants to do these things to stand up for herself and to help, but really, she is all talk and wayy to naive for my liking. Sure, her 'powers' may be like the awesome Rogue from x-men, but unfortunately she isn't as likeable.

Too much mushy romantic moments too. Not enough concrete details, just a blanket of...what's the word? Figurative? Yeah. That part is good, but I don't think the author is living up to her potential. Weak.

Why I thought I might like it: It wasn't like I just randomly picked it up off the lame-books shelf. I took an honest try. It's dystopian ya, which is one of my favorite genres; has super powers in it, angry person on the cover, cool writing on the summary, and a catchy title.

Why I didn't like it: Honestly I did like it for the first...oh twenty pages or so? If that? Whenever until the boy showed up. Yes, the boy. There is always one of those. So from that point, it went downhill for me. From above I sort of explain why, with the overly figurative language and not actually enough happening for real.

What I did like: The off-beat writing style, visually. The crossing out lines that looked really hand-done and the main character's pov at being slightly...psychotic? No, maybe just sheltered for her whole life. I love a good crazy person story.

Why is it so popular?: At the moment the average rating-o-meter on Goodreads is 4.06 from about 17,000 people worth of rates. Overall that's quite excellent. I usually love books with that high of a rating. So I know it's not why don't I at all enjoy this über popular book but what makes this significantly better and stand out through the rest of the current ya dystopian? Why this one? It's the author's debut, so it's not like people were already expecting something great from a favorite author of theirs, and the cover kinda makes me go o.O (Why the hell is she in a wedding dress in isolation?) so perhaps it's the summary that gets people hooked. It's a pretty enticing summary, I'll admit. Because it did make me want to open it right up and start reading.

There's the dark and mysterious boy from her past who seems to know more than he's giving. And WHOA what are the odds, he is immune to her deadly touch or whatever. If I'm remembering correctly. Because that's original. And then she get's kidnapped for her powers by another equally hot (so they say) dude who is very important or something, and he is all creepy mastery like, and offputting, but she acts drawn to him. From my impression. So then there are some moments between the two past kid-friends where they declare their love after half an hour and plan to run away into the ruined world together, taking her super powers to be ever unuseful. (Why is that not a word according to my spellcheck?) Where's the interesting quirky and memorable characters? The moments of bravery? Significant plot-line?

That's kind of where I shut the book and never looked back, until now.

---

I'm not trying to give a bunch of bad news to the book, I just can't figure out why everyone's in love with it!!!

What are your thoughts? If you've read it, why did you like it/dislike it? Are you annoyed at my rantings on the book?

-Jane

In My Mailbox (9-1-12)

In my mailbox is a meme created by The Story Siren. :)

This is what's in my mailbox this week! I just got home from a long trip, and I found a few packages in my room...

Thanks to Scholastic Press, I received a finished copy of The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron, and I look forward to reviewing it soon because it comes out...er...tomorrow! I'll get on that, I promise.

And before I left, I bought Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass from TBD, and I especially ordered the U.K. edition because I liked the cover more. ;) I've heard endless awesome reviews about this, so I really can't wait to read it, but I am a little behind on Sept. review books due to my trip, so it will have to wait a little bit. :P


Get anything new this week? Comment below!

-Jane