Review: Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George

Title: Princess of the Silver Woods
Author: Jessica Day George
Genre: fantasy, young-adult, fairy-tale retellings
Series: Princess #3
Pages: 336 (Nook ARC edition)
Published: expected December 11 2012
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2.5/5

When Petunia, the youngest of King Gregor’s twelve dancing daughters, is invited to visit an elderly friend in the neighboring country of Westfalin, she welcomes the change of scenery. But in order to reach Westfalin, Petunia must pass through a forest where strange two-legged wolves are rumored to exist. Wolves intent on redistributing the wealth of the noble citizens who have entered their territory. But the bandit-wolves prove more rakishly handsome than truly dangerous, and it’s not until Petunia reaches her destination that she realizes the kindly grandmother she has been summoned to visit is really an enemy bent on restoring an age-old curse.

The stories of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood get a twist as Petunia and her many sisters take on bandits, grannies, and the new King Under Stone to end their family curse once and for all.

This is a review for the third and final novel in the series about Twelve Dancing Princesses, but what I say here about Princess of the Silver Woods holds true for all of the books. I so wanted to love these - I had heard great things and excitedly requested this as an ARC, even without reading the first two. Sadly, I was confused, bored, uninvolved from the very start, so I DNF'd 50 pages in. A week or so later, the first two went on sale for ebooks for less than $2 each. I thought I would give it another try - this time with the benefit of reading the series in order. I read the first two... and it wasn't pretty. They aren't the worst books I've ever read, but I am hard-pressed to remember a series as lackluster and unengaging as this was for me. 

Each novel tackles a different fairytale, and occasionally Day George would create a new twist or idea that worked well for her books. I liked the spin on Red Riding Hood meets Robin Hood, but it's hard to recall a lot about these novels. What didn't work well, ever, were her characters. Galen, Rose, Poppy, Christian, and here in book three, Petunia and Oliver all come across as wooden and flat for the duration. Their actions are contrived, their dialogue laughable or vague, their magic and abilities too convenient or too unexplained.I wanted to like them, but their trials, tribulations and eventual coupledom were all too expected and very predictable.

Also working against the books is the worldbuilding. Or rather, the lack of any substantial effort to create a real, vibrant setting for these characters to operate upon. The thinly veiled countries that represent a more magical Europe (Breton = Britain, Spania = Spain, Russaka = Russia, so on and so forth) left a lot to be desired in terms of backdrop. It's all too simple and easy across the board - the relationships, the magic, the world itself. I wanted more from Jessica Day George, and what is provided leaves a lot to be desired.At several points in each novel, I would think that these books and characters came across as much more MG than YA in tone and characterization.

This series is too simple and predictable to be memorable. I read all three in a four day span, and I doubt I will remember anything about any of them in a week's time. All in all: third verse, same as the first. Too simple, too easy, too predictable, too short to pack a punch. The magic is too vague, or too silly (the whole knitting aspect just makes me laugh, every time), and once again, none of the characters really stood out as remarkable, or even really three-dimensional. This series is just not for me, though I can see why others are drawn to it and enjoy it.

Book Buying Binge!

I went a little nuts in Barnes and Noble today. I had to return a novel I bough that I already own (this is what happens when people rush me in a bookstore!), and so, $12 in hand, I proceeded to buy five more. And then, my lovely boyfriend, bought me a sixth book I really wanted but had put back on the shelf, in the interest of saving some money for, y'know, food for the next few days. I had to promise this was my last spree for 2012, so here are my purchases!

Two of the books I got,I had already read as ARCs, and wanted finished copies for my library. Those two are:

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

I love love love this book --- and this cover. It's gorgeous, and Hannah Harrington grabbed me with this in a way her first novel, Saving June, failed to do.  

and

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts - Dark Inside #1

 

Since the beginning of mankind, civilizations have fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs...and now us. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening: An ancient evil has been unleashed, and it's turning everyday people into hunters, killers, and crazies. This is the world Mason, Aries, Clementine, and Michael are living in--or rather, trying to survive. Each is fleeing unspeakable horror, from murderous chaos to brutal natural disasters, and each is traveling the same road in a world gone mad. 

Amid the throes of the apocalypse and clinging to love and meaning wherever it can be found, these four teens are on a journey into the heart of darkness--and to find each other and a place of safety.

I read this back in 2011 as an ARC from Simon&Schuster, and I've been on the lookout for a copy since then. Creepy, fun, and my first real "zombie"-ish novel, I had a great time with this suspenseful novel. Now I just need a paperback edition of Rage Within to come out!

Totally new books:

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.

This is my story.

A letter from nowhere.

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

Again, another novel I have heard such good things about. Tackling such a difficult subject matter, I am interested to see how Christopher executes her novel.  

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

 

On remote Rollrock Island, men go to sea to make their livings—and to catch their wives.

The witch Misskaella knows the way of drawing a girl from the heart of a seal, of luring the beauty out of the beast. And for a price a man may buy himself a lovely sea-wife. He may have and hold and keep her. And he will tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she. He will be equally ensnared. And the witch will have her true payment.

Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire, despair, and transformation. With devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also unspoken love.

Margo Lanagan has quite the following and a lot of hype. I have Tender Morsels waiting to be read, but the reviews for this one made it impossible for me not to pick up.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

I love this cover - and I love the idea for this story. Peter Pan before Wendy? And I've always thought Tiger Lily deserved more time and attention than either the book or movies have given her. Countless good reviews combined with all that to make me want this one very very much.

Break My Heart 1,000 Times by Daniel Waters

Living in the aftermath of the Event means that seeing the dead is now a part of life, but Veronica wishes that the ghosts would just move on. Instead, the ghosts aren’t disappearing—they’re gaining power.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a more sinister plot than they ever could have imagined. One of Veronica’s high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost, and he’s haunted by the possibility that she’s waiting to reappear within a fresh body. Veronica seems like the perfect host. And even if he’s wrong, what’s the harm in creating one more ghost?

From critically acclaimed Generation Dead author Daniel Waters, comes a delectably creepy and suspenseful thriller. Break My Heart 1,000 Times will leave readers with the chills. Or is that a ghost reading over the page?

Oooh, this sounds creepy and inventive AND was just optioned for a film version.I'm interested in the movie, so clearly I had to read it first.  

I'm pretty excited for all of these - rereads and new buys! I just have to find time to read them all.....

Review: The Lady Most Willing by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway

Title: The Lady Most Willing
Authors: Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway
Genre: romance novel
Series: Lady Most #2
Pages: 384 (ARC edition)
Published: expected December 26 2012
Source: publishers via edelweiss
Rating: 4/5

Step into the glittering world of Regency and prepare to have your hearts warmed by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway...

During their annual Christmas pilgrimage to Scotland to visit their aged uncle in his decrepit castle, the Comte de Rocheforte and his cousin, Earl of Oakley, are presented with unique gifts: their uncle has raided an English lord's Christmas party and kidnapped four lovely would-be brides for his heirs to choose from ...as well as one very angry duke, Lord Bretton. As snow isolates the castle, and as hours grow into days, the most honourable intentions give away to temptations as surprising as they are irresistible.

Reviewed by Danielle.

I was absolutely thrilled when The Lady Most Willing’s ARC showed up on edelweiss, because I have a massive soft spot for it’s predecessor, The Lady Most Likely. Likely was the first real “romance novel” I read, and that coupled with its unique anthology style stuck with me, so I was highly anticipating a return to the three authors.

Not a traditional sequel, Willing features an all new cast of characters in an entirely different country. What ties it back to the original is the structure. Again, each author will write a third of the novel, detailing a romantic connection between two characters as a group of Scottish and English gentry are stuck together during a snowstorm. <SPOILER>Quinn starts us off with Catriona and John, the Duke of Bretton; James takes Fiona and Byron, the Earl of Oakley; and Brockway winds us up with Lady Cecily and Robin, Comte de Rocheforte. <SPOILERR The fact that they were brought together by a kidnapping by Byron and Robin’s uncle, well that’s what brings a freshness to Willing.

Taran Ferguson has a dilemma. The Scottish Laird is a widower with no heir and his sisters had the nerve to marry an Englishman and a Frenchman, each giving him a half-Scot nephew. Taran does not feel these nephews are up to snuff, as neither of them are showing the proper Scottish attitude to inherit Finovair Castle, particularly in the matrimony department. Having drunk a bit too much, Taran hatches an ingenious scheme. He’ll raid a ball at a nearby castle and kidnap several eligible young ladies, forcing his nephews to choose one.

Unfortunately, as most schemes hatched at the bottom of a scotch bottle, Taran doesn’t quite end up with what he bargained for. He does kidnap three heiresses, (although one of them is ruined and not marriage material,) but he also ends up with Miss Catriona Burns, lovely but poor and untitled, and the Duke of Bretton. One was scooped up in all the excitement, the other was sleeping in his carriage. I’ll leave you to imagine which is which. The octet is quickly trapped in the castle by a massive snowstorm, forcing everyone together into a great big orgasmic lovefest.

As with Likely, Quinn is hamstrung by going first and again her couple falls in love and agrees to wed in about the span of an afternoon. I really must pick up some of her longer books to see if she’s able to build tension when given more than 24 hours. This time there is external conflict carried through the entire novel, which greatly elevates everyone’s plotting, but the major conflict remains societal expectations and class. This section is no exception, dealing mostly with the heroine's feelings of unworth when compared to her intended. I thought her hero did the best at reassuring the H and I felt their connection most strongly.

James continues to be my least favorite of the trio with a can’t miss plot involving feuding sisters, Jane Austen, and a man who fell to his death trying to commit rape. And what does the plot resort to? Jealous alpha males compromising women and magical virginity detecting penises. I will say Fiona was my favorite of the three heroines and I really liked her chapter by herself in the barn. Shame about her hero. I enjoyed the novella more than James’ previous.

Brockway closes with a flatly ridiculous confection that is nonetheless humorous and charming, Her characters can lack depth, but they’re endearing and work well together. I don’t feel like we learn enough about Cecily to root for her specifically, as her characterization is the only one that feels like it was written by a different author. Her hero blends seamlessly with the rest of the book, making me think it’s not a mark against Brockway so much as an oversight when working with multiple personalities.

The end is typical full-blown fantasy, with a massive, multi-person wedding ending just as the pass opens and everyone’s father comes streaming in, out for blood. Of course, one look at how happy their daughters are, all is forgiven and no one’s reputation suffers. 9 months later, there are a gaggle of babies for everyone to coo over and silly things, like the fact that someone’s inheritance just got totally knackered, are forgotten. The end.

An easy, enjoyable read, the book mostly focuses on romantic love and less on the erotic. There is one steamy love scene, personally marred for me by the aforementioned virginity detecting peen, and a few fade to black moments. For the most part, everyone is satisfied with kisses and vows of undying love. There is no resolution to the conflict: once the person is beaten, they magically turn nice and get a happy ending too. The Lady Most Willing is sugar and spice and everything nice, a bubbly Christmas Regency without the overt holly and ivy. Bright and fun, but probably not destined to stick with me forever. 4 out of 5 stars. 

Book Tour Review: The Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy L. O'Brien

Title: The Lincoln Conspiracy 
Author: Timothy L. O'Brien
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 353 (hardcover edition)
Published: September 2012
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review
Rating: 3/5

A nation shattered by its president’s murder. Two diaries that reveal the true scope of an American conspiracy. A detective determined to bring the truth to light, no matter what it costs him

From award-winning journalist Timothy L. O’Brien comes a gripping historical thriller that poses a provocative question: What if the plot to assassinate President Lincoln was wider and more sinister than we ever imagined?

In late spring of 1865, as America mourns the death of its leader, Washington, D.C., police detective Temple McFadden makes a startling discovery. Strapped to the body of a dead man at the B&O Railroad station are two diaries, two documents that together reveal the true depth of the Lincoln conspiracy. Securing the diaries will put Temple’s life in jeopardy—and will endanger the fragile peace of a nation still torn by war.

Temple’s quest to bring the conspirators to justice takes him on a perilous journey through the gaslit streets of the Civil War–era capital, into bawdy houses and back alleys where ruthless enemies await him in every shadowed corner. Aided by an underground network of friends—and by his wife, Fiona, a nurse who possesses a formidable arsenal of medicinal potions—Temple must stay one step ahead of Lafayette Baker, head of the Union Army’s spy service. Along the way, he’ll run from or rely on Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s fearsome secretary of war; the legendary Scottish spymaster Allan Pinkerton; abolitionist Sojourner Truth; the photographer Alexander Gardner; and many others.

Bristling with twists and building to a climax that will leave readers gasping, The Lincoln Conspiracy offers a riveting new account of what truly motivated the assassination of one of America’s most beloved presidents—and who participated in the plot to derail the train of liberty that Lincoln set in motion.

Historical fiction set in post-Civil War America is far from my forte or an time period I read much about, but when I was offered a chance to read The Lincoln Conspiracy as part of a blog tour, I couldn't resist. From the title to the cover to the blurb, this is a book that seemed right up my alley. Lincoln is one of those Presidents that will always intrigue and interest me and I was curious to see what type of individual spin O'Brien would use for his version of the events around the assassination. Timothy O'Brien proves himself a more than able storyteller in his easy-to-envision version of Lincoln's American. This wasn't a perfect read for me, but I was impressed enough with the author's style and imagination to be more than willing to read another book of his down the road. His obvious enthusiasm for American history and this particular time period shine through the narrative, and is one of the most compelling components to a well-constructed novel. 

Though I was interested in both the plot and the protagonist of Temple McFadden, the novel started off slowly for me. There's action and adventure and gunfights from the first chapter, but I wasn't fully involved in the plot being unwound until about halfway through the novel, and had a hard time being fully engaged in the story. I think that the introduction is so frenetic and fast-paced, I was left without a firm impression on who the key players were and what their motivations were towards the diaries. The suspense was not as heavy or all encompassing as I would have expected for a thriller novel about uncovering an assassination conspiracy; again I believe that is the result of breakneck speed at which everything happens in Temple's dogged and dangerous investigation. That isn't to say that I wasn't eventually caught up in the plot and reveals, but that it just took a while longer than I would have liked. Once The Lincoln Conspiracy starts hitting on all cylinders, it is an entertaining and vivid look at the fallout from one of America's most shocking events.

Coinciding with O'Brien's obvious knowledge and love for the time/area shown, it's easy to get a good feel for postbellum Washington, D.C. The scenery and the various aspects of the city are always described and so easy to imagine. Such detail is worked into the narrative easily, and doesn't distract from the main focus of the momentum that O'Brien started off with. Appearances from well-known historical personages - from Pinkerton to Lafayette Baker to Mary and Robert Todd Lincoln - are fun additions while adding to the overall benefit of the story. The main characters can come across as slightly blasé and flat, but for the most part, they are wildly disparate and well-rounded people with unique motivations and personalities. I thought the secondary and tertiary characters were great additions - and ones that often stole the show from Temple and his various antagonists.

I did have some issues with dialogue and vocabulary of the novel. Sometimes the interactions between characters and how they talked felt just off to me, but it was an intermittent problem and so small of a one that didn't distract me too much from the story itself. I also felt very uncomfortable with how many times the n-word was used - authentic or not. While that may be how the populace talked and addressed other races at the time, I will never be okay with reading it. A personal issue, to be quite honest, and one I don't begrudge the author for using. O'Brien is authentic to history in so many ways over the course of the novel, and my personal attitudes didn't drastically impact my reaction to the novel. Just be warned, it is used frequently.

The twist at the end is a good one, if not a wholly unexpected turn of events. Those familiar with conspiracies about Lincoln's death will half-expect how things turn out with the conspiracy, but O'Brien is more than capable of  managing to manipulate a different ending than the one I assumed it would be. If The Lincoln Conspiracy ends with less solid resolution than I think it deserved, it is still a rewarding, engaging and creative novel about an interesting time, peopled with well-drawn characters.

Don't miss the other stops in store for this fast-paced thriller! 


Tuesday, November 13
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Review & Giveaway at Always With a Book

Wednesday, November 14
Review at The Relentless Reader

Thursday, November 15
Review & Giveaway at The Novel Life
Author Interview & Giveaway at The Relentless Reader

Friday, November 16
Author Interview at The Novel Life

Monday, November 19
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Review at Lit Addicted Brit
Author Interview at Tribute Books

Tuesday, November 20
Review at The Bookworm
Feature & Giveaway at Historical Tapestry

Wednesday, November 21
Review at Crystal Book Reviews
Author Guest Post at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Friday, November 23
Review at Sir Read A Lot

Monday, November 26
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Review & Giveaway at Words and Peace

Tuesday, November 27
Review at A Bookish Affair
Author Interview & Giveaway at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Wednesday, November 28
Review at Book Journey
Review at My Reading Room
Author Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Thursday, November 29
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Author Interview at My Reading Room

Friday, November 30
Review at Impressions in Ink

Monday, December 3
Review at Bibliophilic Book Blog
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Giveaway at A Writer's Life: Working with the Muse

Tuesday, December 4
Review at Paperback Princess
Review at Cheryl's Book Nook

Wednesday, December 5
Review at Luxury Reading
Review at Stiletto Storytime
Author Guest Post & Giveaway at Paperback Princess

Thursday, December 6
Review at One Book at a Time
Review & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Review: Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks

Title: Wards of Faerie
Author: Terry Brooks
Genre: fantasy
Series: The Dark Legacy of Shannara
Pages: 384 (Nook ARC edition)
Published: August 2012
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2/5

When the world was young, and its name was Faerie, the power of magic ruled—and the Elfstones warded the race of Elves and their lands, keeping evil at bay. But when an Elven girl fell hopelessly in love with a Darkling boy of the Void, he carried away more than her heart.

Thousands of years later, tumultuous times are upon the world now known as the Four Lands. Users of magic are in conflict with proponents of science. Elves have distanced their society from the other races. The dwindling Druid order and its teachings are threatened with extinction. A sinister politician has used treachery and murder to rise as prime minister of the mighty Federation. Meanwhile, poring through a long-forgotten diary, the young Druid Aphenglow Elessedil has stumbled upon the secret account of an Elven girl’s heartbreak and the shocking truth about the vanished Elfstones. But never has a little knowledge been so very dangerous—as Aphenglow quickly learns when she’s set upon by assassins.

Yet there can be no turning back from the road to which fate has steered her. For whoever captures the Elfstones and their untold powers will surely hold the advantage in the devastating clash to come. But Aphenglow and her allies—Druids, Elves, and humans alike—remember the monstrous history of the Demon War, and they know that the Four Lands will never survive another reign of darkness. But whether they themselves can survive the attempt to stem that tide is another question entirely.

This was a struggle for me, from beginning to end. Of the twenty+ Shannara serues novels Brooks has published to date, I've read fourteen and never have I had as hard a time finishing as I did here with Wards of Faerie. A novel nearly four hundred pages in length should feel and read more than as filler and introductory information. While there is a conflict and climax, both are minimal, predictable, and reminiscent of many other Shannara novels. A disappointment from a well-known author, Terry Brooks can and has done better than this latest effort.  Almost uniformly flat and uninvolving, fans of this long-running (and soon to be adapted to tv series) will do better to stick to Brooks' earlier, and much better executed, Shannara novels.

While my enthusiasm for Shannara books has waned with each new novel and my exposure to more creative examples of fantasy, Brooks usually at least manages to entertain with his incredibly fleshed-out world and usually interesting and well-rounded characters. Not so is the case with Wards of Faerie. Once again, an Elessedil heir is searching for a set of Elfstones (as seen in Elfstones of Shannara), while wrestling with foes from the Federation (as seen in nearly every Shannara novel written.) Once again an Ohmsford descendant is required to save the world (again, as seen in _every_Shannah_novel_ever), no matter that the popular family tree has whittled down to two heirs (sound familiar?). Brooks clearly has a pattern for these books, and a little invention or deviation from the known path would have done much to save this anticlimactic and formulaic fantasy novel.

This novel is a lot of time invested for very little payoff. It's not rewarding to read those three hundred eighty four pages because the entire novel reeks of set-up and introduction. New characters (even if set on predictable paths) fail to engage, the plot feels extremely recycled and old-hat. There's so little to recommend about this novel - it's really a shame that 35 years after this world was created, it has so little to offer new and old readers. Brooks is comfortable in his ironclad paths of writing, but a little more imagination in Wards of Faerie would have made for a much better, more original novel. It might be written passably well - Brooks definitely has a vibrant setting to work with - but the lack of action, the lack of advancement is a major player in why this novel is such a miss. 

Sadly for a sometimes/used to be major fan, I found this to be a vastly unsatisfying latest effort from a fantasy juggernaut. In the plainest terms, Brooks' latest effort is a typical, very predictable, slowly paced, usually frustrating 2/5. Some credit is due for the richly imagined world (though that owes more to the multitude of novels before this that helped to fashion it). Far from the best to offer out of the series, Wards of Faerie could use some work - tightening, plotting, and pacing.

Review: Doomed by Tracy Deebs

Title: Doomed
Author: Tracy Deebs/Tracy Wolffe
Genre: young-adult, sci fi, postapocalytpic
Series: N/A
Pages: 484 (Nook ARC edition)
Published: expected January 8 2013
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.75/5

 Beat the game. Save the world.

Pandora’s just your average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father, her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.

Doomed is a lot of fun, that can't be denied. More gory and horrific than I had assumed before starting, I was immediately caught up in the story that Deebs spins so easily. I had a great time reading this when I reminded myself not to think too much or to analyze everything that was said and done by its main characters. I was nearly always entertained for nearly five hundred pages; I was deeply invested in the lives of the characters and the odd mix of the plot......but, there were numerous issues with Doomed that keep it from a higher rating. Nevertheless, I am glad I read this, for all that it could use some tightening and editing. At it's best, this is a fun, creative and light read.

With the first person POV used, it's easy to get into main character and narrator Pandora Walker's jumbled, hormone-filled head. With Doomed being an unlikely mix of modern Pandora myth retelling with scifi/virtual elements added on (don't worry - it really works!), it's fairly easy to predict her actions before they occur - at least in the opening few chapters. Once the ball gets rolling and Pandora is on the run - with two sexy, though angsty stepbrothers - she really comes into her own. That isn't to say I didn't wish Pandora would grow up often through the novel, but I readily admit that she is a more than serviceable narrator. My main issue with her lies in the unthinking things she repeatedly does when her life and Eli and Theo's lives are in danger. For instance? Blatantly and purposefully leaving behind a gun that LITERALLY just saved the three of them from a raping, pillaging biker gang. In that situation, prudence trumps overwrought moralizing over the use of guns, dear.  Especially in a world about to end due to nuclear holocaust, but you know, whatevs.

Small quibbles aside, this novel has a lot to offer. Yes, there is a love-triangle which made me grit my teeth and roll my eyes, but it is used minimally.  It isn't the most subtle - I could see it coming from the moment the brothers are introduced - but then again, it's not the worse one I've ever read either. More important to the story, and thankfully to Pandora herself, are the attempts to save the world and figure out how a popular video game with a hidden agenda can either save the world or end it. On the run from the FBI, the NSA, and anyone else with a far-reaching grasp, the action is high, and often and executed well. Pandora isn't an unbelievable martial artist, but a girl who uses her wits, as well as her friends, to save her skin. Theo are Eli are good foils to one another. Neither love interest is entirely black or white in their presentation, and while I definitely had a favorite between the two, it wasn't a game of total opposites over who could win a damsel in distress.

This is a really fast read, with quick pacing - especially for how many pages it is. Deeb's skilled hand at fight/actions scenes has a lot to do with that. (Though going from having a character shot, bleeding and nearly unconscious to carrying a 6' tall girl while running is more than a bit of a stretch of imagination.) Both darker and more gruesome than I had anticipated before starting, this novel can be bleak but it's broken up by Pandora's charm and humor (and Supernatural references!), which more than help to keep it from being a taxing read. Deebs paints a vivid, if dark, picture. The end might've lacked the oomph I was hoping for, and provide answers that are just a hair too simplistic, but overall, Doomed is a rewarding, and very involving, read.

New Additions to the TBR!

I went on a spree again this week. Hey, it's almost my [redacted]th birthday - so I refuse to feel bad about buying more books when I have hundreds bought that I have yet to read. They were on sale - so it makes sense, right? RIGHT? Ahem.

Anyway:

Tor Teen was kind enough to send me a physical ARC of Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J.A. Souders

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

I bought Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio - I got the Nookbook because it was the Daily Find for $2.99

Seattle, 1933. Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and reluctantly leaves for work. She hates the night-shift, but it’s the only way she can earn enough to keep destitution at bay. In the morning—even though it’s the second of May—a heavy snow is falling. Vera rushes to wake Daniel, but his bed is empty. His teddy bear lies outside in the snow.

Seattle, present day. On the second of May, Seattle Times reporter, Claire Aldridge, awakens to another late-season snowstorm. Assigned to cover this “blackberry winter” and its predecessor decades earlier, Claire learns of Daniel’s unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth—only to discover that she and Vera are linked in unexpected ways.

and Better World Books was having a 50% off if you buy five sale.... so, naturally, I bought 8 books.

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

 
 

Tender Morsels is a dark and vivid story, set in two worlds and worrying at the border between them. Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, a world given to her in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters grow up in this soft place, protected from the violence that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever—magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga’s refuge. Now, having known Heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

 

Welcome to 66 Star Street . . . In the top-floor flat lives music exec Katie. She spends her days fighting off has-been rock stars and wondering how much cheesecake you'd need to eat yourself to death. Below her, a pair of muscular Poles share with a streetwise cabbie named Lydia, who has a sharp tongue, an even sharper brain but some unexpected soft spots. On the first floor is Fionn - a gardener who prefers the company of parsnips to people. But he looks like a fairy-tale prince and when he's offered his own television show, he's suddenly thrust into the limelight. And at the bottom of the house live Matt and Maeve, who are Very Much In Love and who stave off despair by doing random acts of kindness. But a mysterious visitor has just landed at 66 Star Street, bringing love, friendship and heartbreak, and a new-found optimism. Old secrets are working their way to the surface and all their lives are about to change in the most unexpected of ways . . .

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

At his coming-of-age party, Matteo Alacrán asks El Patrón's bodyguard, "How old am I? ... I know I don't have a birthday like humans, but I was born."

"You were harvested," Tam Lin reminds him. "You were grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you were cut out of her."

To most people around him, Matt is not a boy, but a beast. But for El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium--a strip of poppy field lying between the U.S. and what was once called Mexico--Matt is a guarantee of eternal life. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, for Matt is himself. They share identical DNA.

As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister, grasping cast of characters, including El Patrón's power-hungry family. He is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards and by the mindless slaves of Opium, brain-deadened 'eejits' who toil in the poppy fields.

Escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect. Around every turn in this vivid, futuristic adventure is a new, heart-stopping surprise.

A College of Magics (A College of Magics #1) by Caroline Stevermere

 

Teenager Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the small northern dukedom of Galazon. Too young still to claim her title, her despotic Uncle Brinker has ruled in her place. Now he demands she be sent to Greenlaw College. For her benefit he insists. To keep me out of the way, more like it!

But Greenlaw is not just any school-as Faris and her new best friend Jane discover. At Greenlaw students major in . . . magic.

But it's not all fun and games. When Faris makes an enemy of classmate Menary of Aravill, life could get downright . . . deadly.

 Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy #1) by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts

Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan. Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni. While in the opulent Imperial courts, assassins and spymasters plot cunning and devious intrigues against the rightful heir.

Now Mara, a young, untested Ruling Lady, is called upon to lead her people in a heroic struggle for survival. But first she must rally an army of rebel warriors, form a pact with the alien cho-ja, and marry the son of a hated enemy. Only then can Mara face her most dangerous foe of all -- in his own impregnable stronghold.

Curse of the Mistwraith (Wars of Light and Shadow #1) by Janny Wurts

 

The world of Athera lives in eternal fog, its skies obscured by the malevolent Mistwraith. Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith's stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow, and Lysaer, Lord of Light. Arithon and Lysaer soon find that they are inescapably bound to a series of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. 

Yet as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well, there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith: between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world—its harmony and its future—in their hands.

The Ships of Merior (The Wars of Light and Shadow #2) by Janny Wurts

 

Janny Wurts’s epic tale of two half-brothers cursed to life-long enmity continues in this spectacular second volume, now re-released with a striking new cover. The half-brothers Arithon, Master of Shadow, and Lysaer, Lord of Light, have defeated the Mistwraith and dispersed the fogs that smothered Athera’s skies. 

But their victory comes at a high price: the Mistwraith has set them at odds under a powerful curse of vengeance. The two princes are locked in deadly enmity, with the fates of nations and the balance of the world’s mystical powers entangled in their feud. Arithon, forced out of hiding, finds himself hounded by Lysaer and his mighty army. He must take to his natural element – the seas – in order to evade pursuit and steal the initiative. However, his efforts are impeded by outside magical factions, not to mention a drunken prophet sent to safeguard his life, but who seems determined to wreck his cause by misadventure.

Did you buy any new books this week? I seem to be in a fantasy kind of mood, so a lot of my buys were in that genre. It's been a while since I've dived head first into my favorite genre, so I am looking forward to my reads!