Hallowed By Cynthia Hand - Unearthly #2 Book Review

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to Unearthly, Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

I read Unearthly earlier this month, and while I wasn’t completely floored by it, it was definitely one of the better reading experiences I’ve had lately, and it’s second only to Laini Taylor’s books in the angel subgenre. I knew I had to read the sequel (for reasons including, but not limited to, that GORGEOUS cover), and I’m glad I did.

There’s a lot to really like in Hallowed.  A lot of our questions are answered, some seriously awesome new characters are introduced, and some old characters get some great character development.  The pacing, while not lightning-fast, is fantastic, and results in the same kind of immersive read Unearthly gave us.   There are also a few game-changing surprises in Hallowed that promise for an epic read with Boundless.

And there’s also one of the saddest chapters I’ve recently read in paranormal YA.  I won’t get into it beyond that, but seriously.  Keep those tissues handy.

It’s enough to say that fans of Unearthly won’t be disappointed by Hallowed a bit. But the same lack of that undefinable quickness so many YA books have and the inclusion of yet another paranormal love triangle that fails to be any less cliché just because Cynthia Hands throws a few jabs at the very YA clichés her books boast probably won’t convert any critics of the first book to the Unearthly bandwagon.

I wouldn’t say I liked Hallowed better than Unearthly, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed by it. I’m excited to see how this trilogy ends.

Hallowed - 4 out of 5 stars

Bloodfever By Karen Marie Moning - Fever # 2 Book Review

I used to be your average, everyday girl but all that changed one night in Dublin when I saw my first Fae, and got dragged into a world of deadly immortals and ancient secrets. . . .

In her fight to stay alive, MacKayla must find the Sinsar Dubh—a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over the worlds of both the Fae and Man. Pursued by assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she can’t trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and powerful men: V’lane, the immortal Fae Prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man as irresistible as he is dangerous.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.

I wasn’t thrilled with the first book in this series, Darkfever, so I went into Bloodfever expecting more of the same; annoying main character, annoying Seelie prince death-by-sex fae, frustratingly mysterious Jerricho Barrons, ambiguous evil book, underwhelming character development; all the things that made Darkfever so unsatisfying. But I ended up not only liking Bloodfever, but loving it. It’s like Karen Marie Moning took all the things that didn’t work in Darkfever, fine-tuned them, and tur...moreI wasn’t thrilled with the first book in this series, Darkfever, so I went into Bloodfever expecting more of the same; annoying main character, annoying Seelie prince death-by-sex fae, frustratingly mysterious Jerricho Barrons, ambiguous evil book, underwhelming character development; all the things that made Darkfever so unsatisfying. But I ended up not only liking Bloodfever, but loving it. It’s like Karen Marie Moning took all the things that didn’t work in Darkfever, fine-tuned them, and turned them into some of the best things about Bloodfever. The biggest two shifts, I think, were Mac herself, and V’lane. I didn’t hate Mac in Darkfever, but I didn’t exactly like her, either. But she shows so much character growth in Bloodfever that by the end, it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same character – but in a good way, not a rushed way. V’lane…he was my biggest issue with Darkfever. I couldn’t stand him. He seemed like a glorified, immortal, homicidal rapist. Which is why even I’m finding it hard to believe that I’m saying…I like him now. Sure, he’s still got his bad sides, you’re still left unsure whether or not you can trust him, but we see some depth to him, some hidden – dare I say it – chivalry, that was just absent in the last book. Whereas he was the reason I almost didn’t start Bloodfever, he’s one of the reasons I want to get my hands so badly on Faefever. Jericho Barrons…ah, Barrons. I am filled with just as much burning curiosity about him as I was at the end of Darkfever, maybe more. And I love it. I love him. His interactions with Mac in this one are amazing, especially toward the end, and cause for some great development for both characters. I’m even starting to like the idea of the Sinsar Dubh more, to be bothered by its lack of real backstory less. That’s not to say Bloodfever didn’t have any problems, though. A lot of chapters, especially the earlier ones, have an annoying habit of wrapping Mac’s current adventure up nice and neatly, until the last one-or-two-sentence paragraph contradicts it. “…Just when I was starting to feel almost happy and good about myself, my life went to hell again.” and things in that vein. For every question answered, there were three more asked, which began to get a tad irritating. Overall, though, Bloodfever was infinitely better than Darkfever, eliminating all doubts in my mind that I’ll be seeing this series and its characters through to the end. Bloodfever - 4 out of 5 stars

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Steven Chbosky - Book Review

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

I think what makes Perks so likable is the fact that almost everyone can relate to Charlie on some level, whether it's personally or because he reminds you of someone close to you. We all know the kid who gets taken in by a group of older kids. The awkward kid who just wants to fit in at the end of the day. Maybe you were that kid. Or maybe you know someone who only wants to help those he loves. Someone who cries just because his friend is. Someone who sees the world through this wonderful, naive lens of beauty and love, of sadness and insecurity.

For me, Charlie was my brother. Whenever I’d read about something bad happening to him, I’d get this sisterly protective surge of emotion that made it hard to remember it’s just a book. Whenever I’d read about him doing something bad, like smoking or drinking or…harder stuff, I’d want to yell at him to never be so stupid, to treat himself and his body better and to never, ever think he can’t say no just because everyone else is doing it (even though I’ve done a lot of that stuff not long ago myself; ah, the hypocrisy of protectiveness). See, my brother is a bit…stunted. Not majorly, but enough to color some of his actions, to keep that naïve lens over his eyes a bit longer than is normal. As a teenager, it would take him a bit longer to grasp certain things, both social and academic.

Which brings me to the reason this is only a 3.5-star book. Charlie is fifteen. He’s an exceptional student, very smart and, at times, astute. He has these flashes of brilliance throughout the book that contrast glaringly with his social ineptitude. He’s also a fifteen year old boy, with no diagnosed disorders, who cries All. The. Time. Even my brother, who does have that slight mental hindrance, learned to control his water-works by the time he was fifteen. It just didn’t feel believable to me, that Charlie could possess that level of naivety and emotional sensitivity when his intelligence was so advanced for his age. Also, he reads a lot. Even without much of a social life, you pick up a lot through books. He has a brother who is in college, with posters of half-naked girls in his room and a pretty normal dating history, yet Charlie doesn’t even know what masturbation is until he finally discovers it on page 21. I’m not implying that his brother’s sexual knowledge should have anything to do with Charlie’s, but clearly, they didn’t grow up in a strict, puritan-like household. I seriously had to close the book for a minute and take a deep breath when I came to that, because the ludicrousness of it is just off the charts.

I think Perks would have worked a lot better if Charlie had either been a few years younger, a bit less socially awkward, or did suffer from some mild mental disorder (though, as a friend pointed out to me when I brought this up to her, you can’t know if maybe he does have one that he just doesn’t know about yet; Perks is a very ambiguous book in a lot of ways). You grow to understand him a lot better by the end, but not quite enough to excuse some of his more extreme naivety. Still, though, it’s easy to grow attached to Charlie and his friends, and feel this sense of nostalgia when you finish the book that very few novels can evoke.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Reckoning By Kelley Armstrong - Darkest Powers # 3 Book Review

Chloe Saunders is fifteen and would love to be normal. Unfortunately, Chloe happens to be a genetically engineered necromancer who can raise the dead without even trying. She and her equally gifted (or should that be 'cursed'?) friends are now running for their lives from the evil corporation that created them.

As if that's not enough, Chloe is struggling with her feelings for Simon, a sweet-tempered sorcerer, and his brother Derek, a not so sweet-tempered werewolf. And she has a horrible feeling she's leaning towards the werewolf...

Definitely not normal.



The Darkest Powers trilogy is definitely a trilogy for readers who are willing to overlook some flaws for great characterization. A watered-down plot is stretched over three books, and while the characters grow and develop and steer blessedly clear of so many YA clichés, the plot is simple and, quite honestly, not enough to sustain an entire trilogy.

The Reckoning begins right where The Awakening left off, with Chloe and her friends in the supernatural safe house. It almost feels like the beginning of a chapter rather than the beginning of a book, which makes sense since The Awakening’s end felt like the end of a chapter rather than the end of a book. The young supernaturals coming into their genetically altered powers continue trying to find a way to fight the placating murderers of Lyle House, with the help of a friend of Derek’s and Simon’s father and a few other suspicious adult supernaturals. They battle their unpredictable powers, and Chloe battles her feelings for Derek and Simon’s feelings for her. Let me just state that I absolutely adore the romance in The Darkest Powers trilogy. Derek is an amazing character. He’s troubled, dangerous, and so not the pretty boy that Simon is. But despite his gruffness and frustrating temper, he’s fiercely protective and loyal and some of the exchanges between him and Chloe are just downright sweet. And the romance unfolds slowly, believably, without all the mushy declarations of undying love and floating hearts and promises of eternity and blah blah blah that never happen outside of Twilight-esque YA and cheap romance novels. I have to admit, I got in touch with my inner high school fangirl during a few of their scenes together. Though I like all the characters, Derek is my favorite. By a landslide.

Unfortunately, though, the good characterization and amazing romance don’t quite make up for the simplicity of the plot or the open-endedness of the conclusion. Finding a way to put an end to the big bad Lyle House, with absolutely no non-romantic subplots, is just not enough to fill three novels that are almost 400 pages each, especially when you don’t even tie up all the loose ends. You definitely do feel the paper-thinness of the story, even though The Reckoning is more plot-driven than The Awakening.

I also feel the need to add that I was wishing, the entire trilogy, that Chloe would stop making her necromancy a hindrance and use it as a weapon a little more. I was hoping for her to grow into her powers and to be flinging re-animated dead guys at her enemies by the end of The Reckoning, but she’s still the vulnerable, scared-of-her-powers girl she’s been throughout. Every time they were in a fight and she was lamenting her uselessness, I kept screaming at her to put some souls into some corpses and help her friends out, but nope. The most she offered by way of necromantic bad-assery was having poltergeist Liz scout areas and hit a few people with sticks. I get the moral implications of shoving souls into rotting bodies, but come on. If you’re going to do it so often by accident, why not use it to your advantage here and there?

Still, though this trilogy is more forgettable than it would be with just a little more depth to the story, I really liked it. The best of all three books is the first one, The Summoning. That kind of sucks because I would have loved to uncover more awesomeness as the books went on, but the whole trilogy is more than worth reading, and offered me a few pretty entertaining afternoons.

The Reckoning - 3.5 out of 5 stars