Me on The Story of Owen

Title: The Story of Owen
Author: E.K. Johnston
Release Date: March 1, 2014
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

Listen! For I sing of Owen Thorskard: valiant of heart, hopeless at algebra, last in a long line of legendary dragon slayers. Though he had few years and was not built for football, he stood between the town of Trondheim and creatures that threatened its survival. There have always been dragons. As far back as history is told, men and women have fought them, loyally defending their villages. Dragon slaying was a proud tradition. But dragons and humans have one thing in common: an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. From the moment Henry Ford hired his first dragon slayer, no small town was safe. Dragon slayers flocked to cities, leaving more remote areas unprotected. Such was Trondheim's fate until Owen Thorskard arrived. At sixteen, with dragons advancing and his grades plummeting, Owen faced impossible odds armed only with a sword, his legacy, and the classmate who agreed to be his bard. Listen! I am Siobhan McQuaid. I alone know the story of Owen, the story that changes everything. Listen!

The Story of Owen is entertaining, unique, and Canadian to the core. The dragons may come flying out of fantasy but this book is very present and relevant in a real world setting, a small down with real and intelligent people trying to protect it, a group of characters that can't help but make you laugh and cry and listen intently to the tales of their heroism.

Owen and Siobhan are both interesting in their own ways, Owen and his dragon slaying, his knowing that he will be a dragon slayer like his parents and his aunt before him, his acceptance and strength, and Siobhan with her understanding, her support, her attitude. It's a curious friendship they have, one that began because of proximity and continued through tutoring and her acceptance to become a bard. To tell the tales of Owen and his dragon slaying.

This story is told in such a compelling way, in a style befitting a bard. I couldn't turn away from this book, it was almost as if I could hear Siobhan recounting the tales of Owen and his father and aunt as she saw them, calling out to the good people of the town and sharing tales of bravery and fortitude. Or about how he was failing algebra and she was brought in to tutor him. Siobhan also provides historical backstories on the dragons, the men and woman that slay them, and the countries that try to protect their people and carbon emissions.

Because of the dragons, history as we know it has been altered, tweaked and played with. Dragons are seamlessly woven into our world until it becomes Siobhan and Owen's world. A world where dragons set barns and houses alight so they can feed off of the charred remains. A world where dragon slayers are recruited to do battle for their country, to face off against sharp teeth and burning flames.

While I knew this would take place in a small town, I didn't expect to get so involved in Trondheim and the politics of dragon slaying in a small town. It lead to the comparison of small towns and large cities, how both are important but the towns are often overlooked because of the needs of the cities. But it doesn't mean those small towns aren't important.

This book is so Canadian when it comes to humour and character, a little easy-going but practical and thoughtful. Almost every Canadian or Southern Ontario reference made me laugh, including the mental image of a dragon flying straight into Toronto during a hockey game. It's certainly an intriguing look at what it's like in a small Canadian town when everyone comes together to protect it, protect their homes. It's so Canadian, with the small-town hero and the people around him, and the one to tell his story (while being involved herself). I want more of this town, more of these characters, and more from this author. What an adventure.

(I received an e-galley of this title from the author through NetGalley.)

Me on Tin Star

Title: Tin Star
Author: Cecil Castellucci
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan imprint)

Beaten and left for dead, Tula finds herself abandoned on a remote space station with aliens she must work to understand. One of the aliens, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station. When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind.

Tin Star is a story of survival and strength. What does it mean to be human? What will it take to survive, to keep on living when you have nothing? In the depths of outer space, on a station filled with different aliens and you're the only human, who will you give your trust to?

Tula was abandoned and beaten by someone she thought she could trust. Now, alone and forgotten, she's left to somehow survive on a space station where she's the only Human, a species that most aliens couldn't care less about. Trapped in a bleak situation, Tula somehow finds the strength to come back, to keep on living when most would give up and waste away. She does what she must over the years, but as much as the aliens on Yertina Feray have helped her to survive, she has one mission she cannot ignore. She must find Brother Blue and kill him for what he did to her.

After spending years on the station without any human contact, with only different aliens and their customs, habits, and rituals, her world tilts once more when Humans appear in her life again. But the differences between them are so distinctive. What does that make Tula? Is she still Human? Or is she more alien now?

For Tula, alone and not cared about, survival is crucial. She doesn't know anyone on the station, she can't find anyone willing to take her back to Earth or to her family for no money. She has nothing. But she's not willing to give up. Perhaps an alien or two help her out in the beginning, but it's her decision to continue on trading and pushing to survive on the lower decks. It's the hidden strength inside her that keeps her alive.

This is such a curious book. The space station was a rather interesting setting, but I never felt trapped or enclosed. Perhaps it was the vast openness of space that the station sits in, slowly orbiting a dead planet. I was so enthralled with Tula's journey, with her sort of coming of age, with her growth as a character. She starts off alone, afraid, and angry. I'm so glad that there will be a second book, but I'm not looking forward to the wait.

(I received an advance copy of this title from Raincoast Books.)

Me on My Date From Hell

Title: My Date From Hell
Author: Tellulah Darling
Release Date: October 31, 2013
Publisher: TeDa Media

Sophie's junior year has been a bit of a train wreck. After the world's greatest kiss re-awakened her true identity as Persephone, she fought her dragon-lady guidance counselor to the death, navigated a mean girl's bitchy trouble-making, and dealt with the betrayal of her backstabbing ex. You'd think a girl could catch a break. Yeah, right. With Zeus stepping things up, it's vital that Sophie retrieve Persephone's memories and discover the location of the ritual to stop Zeus and Hades. So when Aphrodite strikes a deal that can unlock Sophie's past, what choice does the teen goddess have but to accept? The mission: stop media mogul Hermes from turning Bethany into a global mega-celebrity. The catch? Aphrodite partners Sophie and Kai to work together and to treat the suicide mission as a date, which could work out for Sophie's plan to force Kai to admit his feelings for her. If she doesn't kill him first. Add to that the fact that her BFF's love life and other BFF's actual life are in Sophie's hands, and suddenly being a teenager, even a godlike one, seems a bit like, well, hell. Whatever happened to dinner and a movie?

My Date From Hell is a fast-paced, exciting, dangerous mission towards the truth and stopping the end of the world.

Sophie's stuck in a bad situation. She's pushed by Zeus to find the memories of Persephone hidden away in her mind, pushed to work with Kai when she'd rather avoid and/or hate him, pushed to be around Bethany when she'd rather kick her off a cliff. Her life sucks in different ways for different reasons, but that doesn't stop her from pushing back, through snark and wit and also an inner strength.

I've said before in previous reviews how retellings of the Persephone myth are multiplying and making me lose interest. This tries to set itself apart in that it's not Hades that Sophie's attracted to but his son Kai. And there's a deeper, darker situation looming overhead. One that could end in the destruction of everything. It's not necessarily new and unique (see The Goddess Test and Everneath), but the author's own interpretation of the gods and goddess, their different personalities, is what's key.

It was the banter that did it for me, that kept me entertained and reading. All of the snark and sass and jabs at everyone and everything. Sarcasm mixed with seriousness, appearing at both the best and worst times. And it wasn't just Sophie, although she is the queen of snark. There were multiple characters with the ability to toss in a quick one-liner, it was like a funny little surprise every time it happened.

But as much as the banter kept me reading, Sophie's "war" with Bethany made me bored. Bethany seems to be the quintessential popular mean girl that every fiction high school has. I understand that she's not supposed to be likable, and did she ever do her job as coming across as extremely unlikable, but I was almost at the point of skipping the parts she was in.

I was slightly lost at the beginning, I haven't read the first book and it took me a little to get into the story, but I kept going. There were moments were the action and drama were hyped up to the point where it was almost too much for me (just about every time Bethany was around). In some ways I liked this book and in some ways I didn't. Maybe there was a bit too much drama for me, but it was still a fun, exciting read. I really want to know how it ends.

(I received a copy of this book to review from the author.)

Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

Product details:
Publisher: St Martin's Press.
Hardcover, 448 pages.
Release date: September 10th 2013.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Source: Purchased.

In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Twin sisters Cath and Wren - Magicath and Wrenegade to the online legions who read their Harry-Potter-alike Simon Snow fan fiction – have always operated as two sides of the same coin. Painfully shy Cath is a homebody who likes to stay in and write, while Wren, well, she likes to party hard. The girls share a name split in two – it was seemingly beyond their absent mother’s capabilities to think of second name when she discovered she was pregnant with twins – but now, with the advent of college, the girls’ lives are diverging too. Wren has moved on from her fan fiction past, and it looks as though she’s also moving on from Cath; informing her sister that she doesn’t want to room together at college. It’s up to Cath to navigate this scary new world on her own; and as she meets her exuberant roommate Reagan, Reagan’s always-hanging-around close friend and maybe-boyfriend Levi ‘of the receding hairline’ and tries to figure out just where on earth the cafeteria is, Cath decides it might just be easier to snack up on protein bars and lose herself in her fan fiction world.

But life has other things in store for Cath…

Rainbow Rowell had quite a year in 2013.  Eleanor and Park and Fangirlreceived numerous awards, starred reviews aplenty and I’m pretty sure both of those books appeared on the ‘2013 Best Of’ lists of practically every blogger I know.  It’s taken me a while to get around to reading Rowell – I am generally wary of the kind of hype that surrounds these books – and while I was impressed in part by Fangirl, and in particular the depth of Rowell’s characterizations and her use of dialogue, I can’t say I was bowled over by this book to the same extent as so many others.

First off, I like that Rowell grounds her characters in realism, I do. There are no perfect size zero blondes here, no dark and brooding bad boys either. And isn’t that refreshing? Well, yes it is.  The problem is, while the characters in this book are realistic, some of them, just as in real life, really are an acquired taste. I thought I would find more to identify with in the two sisters. Cath is shy, she’s insecure and socially anxious. She’s also a big reader. But boy, does Cath have her quirks and then some. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I found Cath a little too kooky for my taste.  Let’s just say that Cath has a lot of hang ups. This is the girl that doesn’t leave her room for a month because she’s afraid to ask for directions to the cafeteria. I mean, who does that? And I get being shy. But, really? I guess being abandoned by her selfish sister doesn’t help. If it wasn’t for Reagan – possibly my favourite character in the book- I reckon Cath wouldn’t have survived until Thanksgiving.

Cath’s character too affected the pace of the story for me.  Basically Cath doesn’t really leave her room a whole lot – so there’s not a whole lot of plot to this book- It’s a pretty simple coming-of-age story, sweet and funny in parts, with moments of family drama, but it mostly takes place in Cath’s room where she spends hours upon hours writing her fan fiction.

Which we get to read.

Now, I’ve never read fan fiction before and truth be told, I could have done without the fan fiction parts of this book – they just didn’t add anything to the story for me. In hindsight, I realize that I could have skipped the fan fiction parts of the book without affecting the main storyline whatsoever, and maybe I should have just done that.  The most interesting aspect of Cath’s fan fiction crusade for me was when she’s accused by a college professor of plagiarism after she hands her fan fiction in as part of an assignment. This serves as a wake up call for Cath who lives in her fan fiction bubble of escape and puts it before pretty much everything else in her life.

Including boys.

Oh yes, though Cath tries to avoid them, there are boys in her life. In fact, when she starts college, Cath has a boyfriend. Only he’s not really a boyfriend at all – just a friend she calls her boyfriend for security-blanket reasons…or something. But there are other boys. I can’t say the romance in this book totally worked for me – sorry, Cath is just too much on the wrong side of quirky for me – but it might work for you. Cath’s story is sweet, in its innocence.

A coming-of-age story with wit and insight, I enjoyed Fangirl mostly for Rowell’s writing, which is engaging and accessible and her spry use of dialogue and multitude pop-culture references which kept the story interesting even when the plot was slow. Fangirlhasn’t made my ‘favourites’ list and it hasn’t made me a Rainbow Rowell fan girl, but it has piqued my interest just enough that I’ll be checking out Eleanor and Park, which has been sitting patiently on my eReader for around about a year now.

 

Me on Fates

Title: Fates
Author: Lanie Bross
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House imprint)

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything. She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home. But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again, this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

Fates is a tale of two people searching, attempting to change fate and return to what once was. It is a journey steeped in fantasy and bound together by different threads. Can fate be altered? What will it take to change the future? Can a decision be reversed? If so, what will become of the world?

Corinthe has been cast aside from those she once knew and cared about. For good reason, mind you. There were rules in place, and she broke a very important one, but that doesn't stop her from wanting. Wanting to take it back. Wanting to return. Wanting to do whatever it takes to be brought back into the fold in Pyralis. Even if it means killing someone she's never met. But will she? Will she do what she's been told, complete this one last mission? She's caught between her mission and her growing attraction to Lucas.

Lucas's motivation for almost everything he does, almost every action he takes, is his sister. Sort of. He wants things to be the way they were before their mother left, when everything made sense and they were a normal, well-adjusted family. But things change, people change. Every step of his journey through the different worlds is taken for his sister. He has to keep her safe, keep her alive, he has to save her. But Corinthe both stands in his way and confuses him.

Both of their stories are told through the third person point of view. It was welcome, seeing both sides, their different needs and wants. There was no need to speculate or be overwhelmed by one character's angst. It provided another dimension to the story; a situation like this cannot be told from one side. As different as their purposes are, what motivates them is the same: home, a return to how things used to be. A return to safety, familiarity, and contentment. And neither is willing to give up.

Perhaps this was because I read this on an e-reader, but it felt like the beginning progressed almost too fast. It felt like I was rushing down a hill towards an early climax, but then things changed, then they both found ways to continue the journey, to prolong it (not in a bad way). I also wasn't totally sold on their romantic relationship. It felt a bit too quick to develop, a bit rushed at times.

As I read, I got the sense that Corinthe and Lucas were heading towards something, an event that would ripple through all the worlds, that would alter fate and change what was thought to be unchangeable, and that would be the end. What I discovered was a rather obvious set-up for a series. There is an ending, but it's an ending accompanied with a bomb being dropped. In a way, I understand the reasoning behind an ending like this. I just hope it wasn't done for shock value. That being said, I'm curious if the next book will start with a moment just as surprising.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Random House through NetGalley.)

Reviewed by Arianne: Salvage by Keren David.

Product details:
Publisher: Atom.
Hardcover, 320 pages.
Release date: January 16th 2014.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ages: YA
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Arianne.

Aidan Jones was my brother. But I couldn't really remember his face. I couldn't remember talking to him or playing with him. He was just a gap, an absence, a missing person.

Before she was adopted by a loving family and raised in a leafy Home Counties town, Cass Montgomery was Cass Jones. Her memories of her birth family disappeared with her name. But when her adopted family starts to break down, a way out comes in the form of a message from her lost brother, Aidan. Having Aidan back in her life is both everything she needs and nothing she expected. Who is this boy who calls himself her brother? And why is he so haunted?

I glance at the paper. There's a big picture on the front page. A girl with dark red hair. A girl with eyes that might have been green or they might have been grey. I sit down and stare at Cass, and it is her, it is. My stolen sister.

Aidan's a survivor. He's survived an abusive step-father and an uncaring mother. He's survived crowded foster homes and empty bedsits. His survived to find Cass. If only he can make her understand what it means to be part of his family. . .

I wish I could say otherwise, but I’m just not very good at writing glowing reviews. I've given a trickle of starred ratings in the past, but Salvage is one of those rare books that convinced me to part with a fully-fledged constellation, and for that, I cannot thank the author enough. Keren David has written the kind of book you don’t ever want to forget. It's better than chocolate, and I just did not want to put it down. 

Aidan Jones hasn’t seen his sister since she was four years old. For all he knows, she could have completely wiped his existence from her memory - whisked away into a life of safety and privilege while he was left to fend for himself in a system that barely even gave him a chance. He doesn’t resent Cass; he just misses her. He’s moved on from foster care, got himself a girlfriend, a job and a place to live. He’s finally on the right track – okay, he drinks too much and his past keeps dragging him down, but he's a good guy, really. Isn't he?

For Cass Montgomery, her derailment is only just beginning. She's smart but what's more she's hard-working, dreaming of Oxford and the degree in history that awaits her there - but ever since her politician father shacked up with his intern and shattered family life as she knew it into a million pieces, she’s been stumbling around in the dark. Defensive and unforgiving, she tries to hold it together for her mother and younger brother Ben, but she knows she won’t be able to keep it up for long. Then her other brother Aidan – the one she thought long lost to her – contacts her out of the blue, and suddenly, there’s a whole new world open to her. It’s risky, it’s nothing like she’s ever seen before; a world of single mothers and secret meetings with siblings in London parks, but what if it’s exactly what she needs? What if the collapse of her own family means she can finally discover another one?

Salvage is a fantastically well-written book. The description is unobtrusive but searing; it plays out like a movie, somehow grainy, gritty and glossy at the same time. Told in alternating double chapters, the narrative voices of Aidan and Cass are so different they set the other all asunder; but it works.  It feels important that we’re hearing from both characters, who even at the moment their paths cross are living very different lives. The dialogue is eye-catching and entertaining, hurtling along in a flurry of biting remarks and flashes of humour.

One thing Aidan and Cass have in common is the influence of outside forces on the direction their lives have taken. These people have shaped the route our heroes have travelled, presenting a whole host of complications and challenges and leaving them with little personal say in the matter. They're flawed kids, scratched, dented and broken by their upbringing. They earn the reader’s alliance immediately. 

Their stories are littered with scenes of utter desolation, bitter fury, deep hurt and above all, fierce hope. The complex breakdown of Cass’s adopted family is met with stellar handling. Her parents’ split has been splashed across the headlines and the impact it has on everyone involved is monumental. 

I loved that Cass was angry and bitter. All too often young adult heroines embroiled in family drama are encouraged to simply feel confused, bewildered and in need of constant reassurance, but Cass? She takes control of her emotions and makes her own decisions, whether they end up being good decisions of not. That’s the beauty of this book – Keren David allows her characters to make mistakes. They’re human; human enough to find courage, and human enough to have to deal with consequences.

I was surprised at how much I loved Aidan's interaction with his long-term girlfriend Holly - because on the surface this is a book about long-lost siblings, but it is in fact an exploration of family in all its forms. There are characters here who are connected by blood and experiences, love and hate. From Aidan’s sense of duty, responsibility and affection for Holly’s son Finn - who’s become just as much a part of his life as Holly has - to the harsh realities of life without the guidance of parents or good role models, the depth and care with which Keren approaches her themes is astonishing. It's clear that Aidan in particular has a lot of personal issues he needs to resolve, but you never stop rooting for him as he struggles to find a way through.

Even minor characters have their own troubles and triumphs throughout the book. The cast is diverse but sports a number of stand-out roles. Will doesn’t just serve as a romantic experiment for Cass, he’s also helping her brother Ben to make friends in his new school. He’s artistic, out there and totally cool. He’s the antithesis of Cass, who’s barely begun to discovery her own sense of identity. He knows who he is and where he wants to go, but he’s prepared to take a few detours to get there. Likewise, Rich isn’t just Aidan’s friend, he’s a young man struggling with depression. If only he was about to meet a certain future love interest. Here’s looking at you, Brendan from Walthamstow…

In short: Reading Salvage was an experience I lack comparison for. It’s an extraordinary novel about messy, complicated kinds of love. It’s about admitting your brokenness and finding your own path. It’s about family, forgiveness and forging on, for yourself, for the people who matter and even for the people who don’t. It’s completely full of heart; utterly absorbing and engaging. Cass and Aidan are fighters, and warmth shines out from every page. It's not bound by the traditional drawbacks of any one category - it's a story like none I’ve ever read before, and one I’ll never forget.

 

--Arianne.

Release Day REVIEW : Sugar Kisses by Addison Moore

Sugar Kisses by Addison Moore
*3 AM Kisses : Book 3*


Roxy Capwell couldn’t be more miserable. She just had her heart stomped on by her cheating boyfriend, and the last thing she’s looking for is love. She hates men.

Cole Brighton couldn’t be happier. He’s a player of the highest order, there’s not a girl at Whitney Briggs University that he can’t tag and bag. He loves the ladies.

Roxy’s dream is to own and operate her own bakery one day, but with no oven in her dorm, and a lucrative baking competition on the horizon, she agrees to move in with her best friend’s brother, the obnoxious, womanizing, Cole Brighton.

Between the heavenly scent of baked goods, and Roxy’s perfect body strutting around the apartment, Cole can’t think straight. So when Roxy’s ex starts sniffing around again, Cole volunteers to play the part of her new boy-toy and things get heated both in and out of the kitchen.

Roxy discovers she might not hate every man on the planet, and Cole discovers nothing tastes better than Roxy and her late night SUGAR KISSES.

Roxy is ball of stress and anger.

Cole is all ego and sex.

Their attraction is unstoppable.

And when their bodies collide—its combustible.

Sugar Kisses on AMAZON

Where can you find the AMAZING Addison Moore? 

Blogger | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Other books by Addison...
*New Adult* 
3 AM Kisses
Winter Kisses
Sugar Kisses

Someone To Love
Someone Like You

*Young Adult*
Celestra Series *8 Books*
The Countenance Trilogy

And more...


Review: 


WOW! Addison brings it with Sugar Kisses... Sassy, Sexy and Sweet all rolled into one. I have to say I have yet to read 3 AM Kisses or Winter Kisses but I didn't feel lost, which is always a plus (although I AM SO going to read those)!

Roxy is our main gal and she is such a kick ass girl! I knew from page one I was gonna love her. She is Sassy as all get out,. She isn't a lay down and let someone walk all over you kinda girl... With her quick wit and the amazing head on her shoulders Roxy has it goin on. Is she completely together? Hell no...  Crazy ex, family, and she is taking college classes. Trying to bake up a storm....with flour and sugar flying in a room with a sexy guy ... what else could you want?

OH! I know... Cole Brighton!!! 

 

Ok so I couldn't decide which I wanted to be "my" Cole LOL... When he is introduced I was all YUMM.... then I got the whole... Well aren't you a man whore ;) College is just right for Cole, he is living it up and living the college dream! Laying every girl he sees. He doesn't know what to do with Roxy at first. She doesn't want to be a notch on his wall. Cole is Amazing! and with his sexy attitude and super sweet side he is a ball of Awesome! I love when he calls Roxy cupcake... <3 p="">

You don't want to miss this sweet and sexy book! It is a MUST read go get it today!! It's out NOW!

xoxo 

Heather aka SupaGurl

Book Review: The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman.

Product details:
Publisher: Penguin.
Paperback, 477 pages.
Release date: February13th 2014.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: Adult
Source: Received from publisher for review.

'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.

Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

Hannah Beckerman gives an unforgettable exploration of love and loss in her first novel, The Dead Wife's Handbook.

Thirty-something Rachel’s life was perfect. A good job and a happy home with her wonderful husband and beautiful daughter, she had it all.  And then, suddenly Rachel died.

The Dead Wife’s Handbook, Hannah Beckerman’s debut, narrates Rachel’s life from beyond the grave as she dips in and out of the lives of the family and friends she has left behind; seeing them move on with their lives and loves while she is stuck in a hazy afterlife while she processes her own grief for the life she to which she never got to say goodbye. Though the subject matter of The Dead Wife’s Handbook could easily verge on bleak, even depressing, it never does. Instead, Rachel’s story is one beautifully told with dashes of wit to lighten the load

We catch up with Rachel, her husband Max and her seven-year-old daughter Ellie on the first anniversary of her death.  Max is still lost in his grief, Ellie too, and yet, it is around this time that friends and family start suggesting that Max should start moving on with his life.  Rachel’s best friend Harriet even suggests that Max should try internet dating. Rachel doesn’t know what on earth Harriet is thinking, and she’s thankful that Max balks at the idea too. After all, it’s much too soon for him to even think about dating someone new. As far as Rachel’s concerned if Max never dated again, it would too soon.  But she knows she can trust Max to respect her memory. And she knows Max. She knows that it’s far too soon for him to start dating again.

Or is it?

The next time Rachel happens upon Max from her cloudy afterlife, he’s sitting in a bar. And he’s waiting for a woman. The date, with a dour vet called Dodie, doesn’t go well, but Rachel is appalled that Max ever considered such a thing. I mean, she’s only been dead just over a year.  Is she so easily replaceable?

Things are about to get far worse for Rachel. When, a little later, she happens on Max in a restaurant he’s on another date. And this date isn’t awkward. This date is no dour Dodie. This date is Eve. This is the first of many dates with Eve. This is the beginning of something new for Max; something good.  And it’s also the first time that Rachel has to witness her husband kiss another woman.

Can Rachel be happy that Max has found someone new? Someone who will love and cherish the family she left behind. Or will her afterlife forever be tinged with bitterness and regret? As Rachel moves through the stages of grief from shock to denial to depression, will she ever reach acceptance?

The Dead Wife’s Handbook will evoke emotions and provoke strong reactions, and it will be interesting to see from different readers what those reactions are. For me, though Rachel is dead, I was on her side from the start. I too thought it too soon for Max to start dating. I mean, a year, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. Here, though, we’re mostly getting Rachel’s point of view. I had to stop, take a second, and put myself in Max’s shoes: he lost his wife in the blink of an eye; so now, he most probably feels like life is for the taking, not for the wasting. Still, Max is not perfect. He does his best, but he makes mistakes, and when embarking on his new relationship with Eve, he makes certain decisions that even surprise Rachel, the woman who thought she knew him best. Not to worry though, Max has Ellie to keep him in check.

Ah, Ellie. Welcoming another woman into the life that she still sees as her mother’s is not on the cards for Ellie. This little girl clings steadfastly to her mother’s memory. Mature beyond her years and with more memories of her mum than I thought possible for one so young, it is Ellie who questions everything,  who keeps her mum’s spirit alive, whose love for her mum is evident in every heart beat, on every page.

It is Ellie who will make your heart crack, in the end.

The Dead Wife’s Handbook is a touching tale of love, loss and learning to love again. It teaches a lesson too in the art of letting go, moving on, and being thankful for what you have in this life.

 

Me on Landry Park

Title: Landry Park
Author: Bethany Hagen
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Dial (Penguin imprint)

In a fragmented future United States ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum and her domineering father won't allow that. Madeline must marry, like a good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty, her family and the estate she loves dearly, and desire.

Landry Park is a curious look into a future where the class structure is alive and well and one privileged girl could discover a truth that could bring the life she knows to an end. Old-fashioned rules and ideas thrive here, where a person is judged on his family's wealth, status, and property owned. Where duty to family rules Madeline's life and she's forced to choose between that family and what her heart craves for her future.

Madeline is trapped by birth, family, and duty. She's not perfect, not conventionally attractive, which is good, she's not a paragon of virtue stuck up on a pedestal, but for all her intelligence and determination to go to university a fair portion of her time is spent complaining about what she can't have. As an only child she is her father's heir, she will one day be mistress of Landry Park, control her family's wealth and properties. Something her father never lets her forget. While I applauded her focus on her future, her desire to continue her education, I felt it was pushed aside every time she spotted David. In those moments, her attraction towards him took control and she forgot about what was seemingly important to her. Of course, the heart can be pulled in multiple directions, so I cannot necessarily fault her for that.

The class system has taken hold, turning the US into a country where money and property increase your standing in society, where a lower class of near slaves are forced to work in horrific conditions because of their birth. It's a biased system where the rich and powerful are cheered for and the Rootless, those without property, are treated like trash. Like they're less than human. It's an intriguing comparison to modern day struggles, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and sicker. The ignorance of the gentry and the suffering of the Rootless are terrible.

As I read this book, questions arose in my mind surrounding certain things. A mystery only sometimes discussed. Hidden family secrets. I'm curious to see if those are explored more in the next book. There has to be more hidden in Madeline's family's past than what was revealed here.

I've seen this book described as a futuristic Downton Abbey meets The Selection. I've not seen or read either, but from what I know of both the drama and the book I'd have to agree. It also, in it's own way, reminded me of From Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea. I do feel that Madeline was lacking in agency every so often. She's willing to argue with her father over going to university before getting married immediately, but she won't leave or take drastic measures. In her world, she would have nothing if she left. I also feel that some of the actions she took were only because of her attraction to David. I am still interested in the next book, but I'm more curious as to what else could be revealed as Madeline looks deeper into her family's past.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Canada.)

Me on Blues for Zoey

Title: Blues for Zoey
Author: Robert Paul Weston
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill Canada (Penguin Canada imprint)

Kaz Barrett isn't saving for college. Every penny he earns working at the sketchy Sit'N'Spin Laundromat is for his mother. He plans to send her to a top-notch (and very expensive) sleep clinic in New York. His mother suffers from an extremely rare neurological disorder that causes her to fall asleep for days at a time. Both he and his kid sister, Nomi, worry that one day, maybe tomorrow, their mother will fall asleep and never wake up. At the start of summer, everything seems on track. Come September, Kaz will have earned all he needs and more. However, when anarchic, pink-haired Zoey walks past the laundromat's window, Kaz's ordered life begins spinning out of control. Smart, mysterious, and full of music, Zoey is unlike anyone Kaz has met, but there's another side to her that he can’t quite figure out. When he goes looking for answers, he finds a whirlwind of lies, half-truths, and violence. And in the eye of the storm, he'll discover that you really can't con an honest man.

Blues for Zoey is a window into what becomes a complicated summer. This book is honest and real, at times harsh and painful, but that's life, as Kaz knows and learns. Different characters, different motives, different ways of life, they all come together here in this one glimpse into one teen's life to tell an amazing story.

Kaz is quite possibly the nicest guy going through the hardest time. He's trying to keep it all together, raise the money for his mom to go to an expensive clinic. He's putting family first while still making time for his friends. He's rather average, to tell you the truth. Sure he drinks at parties, sure he let his grades slip, but it's not like he's selling drugs or stealing cars. He's working hard for the money for his mom's treatment. Doing the right, honest thing.. But then comes Zoey, then she walks past, and she's like a magnet for his eyes and good-guy sensibilities.

What highlights Kaz's honesty and personality is the author's writing. Between the covers of this book is prose that reveals a narrator without guile, without artifice. I'm not saying Kaz would give anyone the shirt off his back if they asked for it, but when he gets involved in something and starts to care, starts to want to help, he'll do anything. Which I think is why he's first attracted to Zoey. She's so bizarre, so different, and looking like she needs a hand. So he offers it. But life is like a seesaw. We go up when we try to help and we get knocked right back down when someone lies.

As much as the book is about Kaz, it also seems to be about truth and lies. What we know as true, what we think is true, and how we know someone is lying to us. It makes the world a minefield at times too dangerous to cross, especially for a guy like Kaz. He's not an idiot, and it's not that he blindly trusts everyone he meets. He just doesn't see why some people would lie about certain things. He's a good guy, working hard, trying to figure out the world, and it's unfortunate that he ends up in a sticky and slightly dangerous situation.

This book screams Canadian literature. Maybe it's not set in Canada, what with the mention of $1 bills, but it feels so Canadian. The downtown city setting, the different personalities making up a vast cast of characters, the melting pot of culture, race, and ethnicity, the journey/struggle of one man trying to understand life. As we go through life we encounter the moments that make us who we are, the moments that define us, teach us, show us the truth about the world. Here are some of Kaz's moments.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Canada.)

Reviewed by Arianne: The Elites by Natasha Ngan.

Product details:
Publisher: Hot Key Books.
Paperback, 368 pages.
Release date: September 5th 2013.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Purchased.
Reviewed by: Arianne.

‘There is a rumour that the Elites don’t bleed.’

Hundreds of years into the future, wars, riots, resource crises and rising sea-levels have destroyed the old civilisations. Only one city has survived: Neo-Babel, a city full of cultures – and racial tension.

Fifteen-year-old Silver is an Elite, a citizen of Neo-Babel chosen to guard the city due to her superior DNA. She’d never dream of leaving – but then she fails to prevent the assassination of Neo Babel’s president, setting off a chain of events more shocking and devastating than she could ever have imagined. Forced to flee the city with her best friend Butterfly (a boy with genetically-enhanced wings), Silver will have to fight to find her family, uncover the truth about Neo-Babel and come to terms with her complicated feelings for Butterfly.

Packed full of adventure, romance, exoticism and the power of friendship, The Elites is a highly compelling and beautifully written novel from a supremely talented debut author.

All you have to do is look at my Twitter feed to know how excited I was to read this book. It took months to track it down in a bookshop, but as far as little post-Christmas treats are concerned, it doesn't get much better than finally finding one of your most anticipated reads of the year! 

Silver is an Elite - or at least, an Elite in training. Plucked from the gene pool at a young age and earmarked for a life as one of her city's most important protectors, she's been surrounded by danger and privilege for as long as she can remember. But far from being revered, she's despised by most of her fellow Elites. Silver is a Red - an ethnic Chinese - and to many, she has no right to a place in Neo-Babel, let alone among the Elites.

On premise alone, I can't fault this book. Dystopia isn't seen as being typical UKYA, making this a great addition to its shelf. I admire the strength and tenacity with which Ngan builds her story: you can really feel how much she loves her characters with every word she writes. The book is told in third person, but switches viewpoints in a technique reminiscent of Rick Riordan's action-packed omnipresent style.

We find Silver mid-training, with sparse details on her background and even less on her future, building the suspense. We meet her cruel, vindictive mentor and the strangely suspicious Elite leaders. We meet Silver's peers and contemporaries. We even briefly encounter Neo-Babel's President Tanaka! It's Butterfly, Silver's best friend, however, who I grew to love most. Sweet, unselfconscious and loyal to the last, you can tell there's a romance waiting to blossom between these two.

Standing in the way of a blissful romance, of course, is the plot. From the opening scene - there is a rumour that Elites don't bleed - it's apparent that this is one author who isn't afraid to pile on the gore and death to give her world some edge. Unfortunately, so many characters die that the deaths begin to feel a little gratuitous. I don't want to spoil, but unless you manage to establish the connection with these characters that sadly evaded me, their losses will feel like little more than a drop in the ocean of YA violence.

Worse still, the writing within The Elites doesn't even read like YA. It's entirely middle-grade. The description is the fantastic, but the sentence structure, stylistic choices and the directness of the paragraphing cast a shadow of simplicity over the book that just doesn't belong. Everything's so easy for Silver and Butterfly. They don't make mistakes, the world does; they run into handy allies and escape clauses at every turn. The best thing about dystopian YA is the potential for unpredictability, but The Elites reads as if the concept raising the stakes has never even crossed the author's mind. If it weren't for the violence and a certain waterfall scene, I'd put this book straight onto the children's shelf; because on a children's shelf it would be awesome, but in a YA stack it seems tame.

That said one advantage of this innocent, straightforward storytelling is the emphasis on values. The need to feel like part of a family and the importance of independent choice feature heavily in Silver's thoughts, and often extend to driving her actions. While I didn't feel it was necessary to introduce so many lost family members (seriously, does everyone in Neo-Babel have secret/long-dead/reincarnated relatives they didn't know were alive?) I could see the intent behind these moral reflections. If only the attempt to explore racial discrimination hadn't been so one-dimensional. Silver is frequently called a 'Red', because she is descended from the 'Red Nations' of Asia, but apart from some cat-calling and grudge-holding, she doesn't suffer much more than anyone else in the novel. Neo-Babel's society is brilliantly multi-cultural, something we need to see more of, particularly in dystopia, but singling out one race in a sea of many for making 'planes fall out of the sky'? I just didn't buy it.

There's definite potential for more from this world and from this author, though - especially if Ngan ever tries her luck in the children's market. Her books would do phenomenally there, although I wouldn't rule out picking up her YA follow-ups, either.

In short: this book gets 4 stars because while I was a little let down by The Elites, I generally liked the focus on story and the book at all times felt as if it was moving forward, lending itself to an enjoyable, one-sitting read.

 

--Arianne.

Me on Alienated

Title: Alienated
Author: Melissa Landers
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. Handpicked to host the first-ever L'eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L'eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara's blog following is about to skyrocket. Still, Cara isn't sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L'eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn't seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking. But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, school suddenly isn't safe anymore. Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn't just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life, not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Alienated is entertaining, fun, and a quick read. As exciting as this book is, I also found it to be a curious look at fear hatred, love, and the other. Aliens are coming to Earth, to learn and to live, and not everyone is pleased at the news, but some learn to accept them and will have to stand up for them when others try to stop them.

Cara is intelligent, opinionated, and passionate, and she's a bit unsure about the exchange program. She sees the pros and cons, how it means she could essentially pick any college she wanted to attend, but she's not sure about having a stranger in her house, an alien from another planet with no emotions. But Cara's one of the most open-minded characters. After a rocky start she genuinely wants to know more about the L'eihrs and their planet, their customs. She doesn't understand why the hatred that's slowly grown in parts of the human population exist.

Aelyx is extremely intelligent and extremely distant. He's reserved, rather emotionless, but he's an alien. His world is not Earth, it's muted in terms of colour and emotion. He doesn't really want to be on Earth, neither do any of his friends, his fellow L'eihr exchange students, and so they have a plan to leave as quickly as possible. But when he sees Cara's circle of friends dwindle to nothing he's there to support her, even if it feels strange to him. And he's been keeping some secrets from her that could destroy their growing relationship.

This book seems to have two sides, the exchange student Cara and Aelyx side and the fear of the other side. There's a slowly growing group in this book that are vehemently against the L'eihr and anything to do with them. They fear them, hate them, because they are different, because they assume the L'eihr are going to take over Earth and make it their own. This group assumes the worst and responds the same way, with hatred, abuse, bullying, and violence. Those moments left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I found this to be a fun, quick, entertaining read, science fiction with some real world contemporary issues. At times it reminded me of Adaptation by Malinda Lo. As fun as it was there's a darker side, a dangerous side, that can't be overlooked. It adds weight to the book, makes it so it's not just a simple exchange student romance kind of story. I hope the second book doesn't have what I don't like that appears in most second books, because I really like this first book.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Disney Book Group through NetGalley.)

Book Reviews: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia, Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian & Eternity by Elizabeth Miles.

 When twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart storm into her life with tales of vengeful spirits and secret societies, Kennedy Waters is really not all that interested. After all, her mother, the only person who has ever really been there for her, has just died. Kennedy is all alone in her grief - and that’s exactly the way she wants it to be. But Jared and Lukas won’t take no for an answer. According to them, Kennedy’s life is in danger. According to them, a vengeful spirit killed Kennedy’s mom, and, if she’s not careful, Kennedy might be next.         

The first in a new series from Beautiful Creaturesauthor Kami Garcia, Unbreakable may be fast paced, and it may be creepy good fun at times but, though it is heavily blurbed and obviously loved by a wealth of best-selling authors, (Richelle Mead, Rachael Caine, Ally Condie et al.) Unbreakablefailed to hit the mark for me. This was due, at least in part, to the break-neck speed at which the story moves which meant that I never really got to connect with the characters or their plight as they battled with paranormal ghouls. Also, I had a problem with the love story. By which I mean the, ahem, love triangle. But first, I have to mention the insta-love: because this book has possibly the worst case of insta-love that I have ever encountered in a book EVER. Both Jared and Lukas fall head over heels for Kennedy and seriously their fascination with her comes out of nowhere. I didn’t get it. And I never bought it.

While I haven’t read Beautiful Creatures, I have heard a lot of good things, and so I was expecting more –a whole lot more – from Unbreakable. I can’t say that I ever really connect with or cared about the characters, and so my journey with Kennedy and the love struck Lockhart brothers ends here. I’ll leave them fight it out amongst themselves.

In short: Read it only if you live for insta-love.

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia. Series: Legion #1 Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.  Released: October 2013. Ages: 12+.   Rating:  2½ out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

********

 

 

 An eye for an eye – and someone must die.

So, we’re back with our not-so-favourite girls, Lilia, Kat and Mary as they continue their twisted ‘revengenda’ against Mary’s obsession former star-quarterback Reeve. And if their motivations for targeting Reeve in the first book were clear; here they are less so. OK, the guy gave Mary a hard time when they were kids; but now the girls have pretty much ruined his promising football career due to their revenge hi-jinks in Burn for Burn. Think they might leave it at that? No chance. Reeve is nursing a broken leg thanks to the girls, so why not go one better and just break his heart. Phase Two of the ultimate plan for revenge is underway…

But why? Why do Lilia and Kat want to help out scary Mary? That’s why I don’t get. And Mary is pretty scary. She was a little strange in Burn for Burn, but here she’s really rocking the Carrievibe and is a whole lot of weird. Just what is her story? Well, Fire with Fire takes its sweet time in getting where it wants to go (seriously, this book is over five hundred pages long), but when it finally does get to the reveal, all I can say is, WOW! I almost gave up on this book a couple times, but I’m glad I stuck with it. I really, really liked its twisted ending, and now I can’t wait to see how things turn out when Ashes to Ashes the third and final book in this trilogy releases next year.

p.s: Major props to Lindy for being one of these sweetest guys in YA. I hope he gets his happy ending with Lilia, because he is so into her. You know what they say, though: nice guys finish last; and in a romantic twist of fate, Lilia may just have her eye on one hell of a bad boy!

In short: This book is too long; but it does have one hell of a killer ending.

Fire With Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Series: Burn for Burn #2. Other Books in Series: Burn for Burn. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.  Released: September 2013. Ages: 14+.   Rating:  3 out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.  

********

 

Picking up in the immediate aftermath of events in Envy (Fury #2) – which said goodbye to Drea, saw Skyler scarred for life, and left JD as lovelorn as ever – the Furies are back for one last hurrah in Eternityand, if you hadn’t guessed it, they’re planning on revenge.

Oh, those Furies. They are full of their fun. Or maybe not. Despite having enjoyed the first two books in this series, this time, I wasn’t really feeling it. It’s been quite a while since I read Envy (and the recapping isn’t quite there with this one) so that may have detracted from my enjoyment a little, but, I dunno, from start to finish I felt totally disconnected from the characters here.  Case in point: Em. Her life is at stake. I mean, the Furies are literally threatening to take over her life; heart and soul. But I never really felt it. I never felt like the stakes were all that high in this book at all. Em and Crow half-heartedly search for a solution to the Fury problem (and go nowhere fast) while JD, who for the most part, is totally clueless to what is going on around him, finds the answer without ever really looking at all. The characters – you have to remember that JD and Em are in (unrequited) love - barely interact here – at least not until the final act. And Crow, the mysterious bad boy of Envy, well he now acts as the (permanently inebriated) third-wheel in a rather lackluster attempt at a late-inclusion love triangle.

This trilogy, though, was never really about love. Rather, it’s all about revenge. The Furies, so menacing in the first two books, pretty much exist as pretty props here. They don’t do very much at all, and rather than galloping towards it’s promised gripping conclusion, Eternity (very slowly, because this is a book where not a whole lot happens) limps towards the finish line.  Readers will have to wait until the final chapters of the book for a little action to kick off, and while the conclusion is pretty satisfactory, in that certain questions get answered, it’s not enough to raise this book above ‘pretty forgettable’ status.

In short: Did they call it Eternity because it takes SO LONG for anything to happen?!

Eternity by Elizabeth Miles. Series: Fury #3. Other Books in Series: Fury, Envy. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.  Released: October 2013. Ages: 14+.   Rating:  2½ out of 5. Overall Series Rating: 3 out of 5.    Source: Received from publisher for review.   

********

Me on Cress

Title: Cress
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: February 4, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)

After escaping prison and discovering some new allies in France, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

Cress is entertaining and thrilling, a brilliant continuation to this series of fairy tale retellings set in a distant future. New characters are introduced as familiar ones return to face new dangers and carry out new missions as they all share one goal: to protect the Earth from the Queen. But it won't be easy, it never is easy, it's dangerous and painful, secrets will be revealed as truth, but it must be done.

Cress is trapped on all fronts. Trapped up in space in a satellite, trapped between following her Mistress's orders and helping Cinder, trapped between doing what she must to survive and doing what's right. And then all hell breaks loose and she's not as trapped as she used to be. But that doesn't mean she's out of danger.

Cinder and her rag-tag team return and their mission continues, but all she really has are questions. How will she stop the Queen? What will her plan of attack be? And what will she do now, with her team in pieces? Cinder is constantly pushed, to be their leader, to come up with their next plan, to take control, but how can she take charge when she's so unsure? When she's afraid of being caught?

Making difficult decisions is hard. Each character has to do it, and each decision they make will impact more than just themselves. They're inching closer and closer to a war, a war where their odds of winning aren't so good, but it has to be fought. For freedom from oppressors. For the chance to one day live a better life, a life no longer on the run or filled with pain, suffering, and even death.

The overall journey of the series has been filled with twists and turns, trust and betrayal, revelations, rescues and failures, wins and losses. It's been thrilling and fast-paced, the stakes are the highest they could ever be now. Knowing there's only one book left, one book remaining to bring it all together, is exciting, but the wait for it will be painful.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Macmillan through Raincoast Books.)

Book Review: Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young.

Product details:
Publisher: Penguin.
Paperback, 464 pages.
Release date: January 14th 2013.
Rating: 4½ out of 5.
Ages: Adult.
Series: On Dublin Street #3.
Other Books in Series: On Dublin Street, Down London Road.
Source: Purchased.

One simple lesson in seduction between two friends can turn into so much more…

Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left broken-hearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever…

Sassy, funny and outwardly confident, Liv loves her new life and the new group of friends she’s made in Edinburgh. There’s just one problem: men, or rather the lack thereof.  It’s not that Liv doesn’t attract male attention –it’s that she just doesn’t know what to do with it when it comes her way; and she most definitely does not seek it out. Instead she dresses down and likes to be seen as one of the guys.  In her heart, though, Liv is a romantic, and she wants love in her life. The problem is she just doesn’t know how to do relationships. Heck, Liv can’t even talk to the guy she likes –a sexy postgrad who frequents the library where she works – without breaking out in a cold sweat. Around her, Liv sees her new friends moving forward with their lives: Cam and Jo are totally loved up, while Braden and Joss are planning a wedding. But, Liv, well, she’s on her own.  And while her life is fulfilling and fun, she wants more.

Liv spends most of her evenings hanging out with best friend Nate, Cam’s ridiculously good-looking friend last seen playing video games in Down London Road. Nate is the ultimate player. And he never, ever lets anyone into his heart. Liv knows the truth about Nate, the secret hidden in his past that has made him the man he is today. And Liv gets it. She’s experienced the pain of loss, and she knows that sometimes it’s impossible to let go of the past. So Nate lives in the moment, he lives in the now, and he never loses his heart to anyone, because that way, he can’t get hurt. Not again.

Things with Nate are great, and Liv wonders why she can’t be as relaxed around her crush as she is around her friend. When she gets horrendously drunk and Braden and Joss’s wedding, Liv confesses all of her relationship woes to Nate. And so a plan is born; a plan to rid Liv of all her sexual insecurities, an extremely sexy plan of teacher and pupil where the ultimate goal is to get Liv laid.

Hot. That is my one word description of these books for anyone who asks, but there is so much more to them too. Sure, the On Dublin Streetbooks are very sexy romps, but they are also warm and heartfelt, while the characters Samantha Young has created ring so true. Liv, for example is a character you can really root for. She is insecure, but also level-headed, she is funny, smart, able to tell and take a joke, and overall just so relatable. I definitely related to Liv more than Joss (who I liked but didn’t really relate to) or Jo (who I had a hard time connecting with). So, I worried for Liv when she hooked up with Nate as part of her ‘education.’ He’s a total player. Would Liv get hurt? Would he break her heart? And would their friendship be ruined in the end?

Just like On Dublin Street and Down London Road, Before Jamaica Placeis a truly great read. I always read these books when I know I have time to get really stuck in, because once I pick these Samantha Young’s books up, I generally don’t put them down until I am done. Young has a great way with words and she is a supreme storyteller. I love how well-developed her characters are and I love how she always weaves characters from past books into each of her new books in this series. I also absolutely adored the by now well established family dinners where everyone comes together. I love catching up with Joss and Braden especially and also Hannah, who I have always loved for her reading habits and special bond with Jo. I was very excited then when I discovered that the next book in this series Fall From India Placewill focus on Hannah and her crush Marco. While I was reading Before Jamaica Place, I pictured Jesse Williams as moody Marco (those eyes!) so I can’t wait to find out more about him.

But back to Liv and Nate. What can I say?  Those two are made for each other and their sexy game is all kinds of hot. But will it all end in tears? Will Liv end up with the hot post grad? Or will Nate come to his senses in time, let go of his past, and move on to a fantastic future with his best friend?

You’ll have to read Before Jamaica Lane to find out – and I strongly recommend that you do!

-----

Want more Joss and Braden? Then read Castle Hill...

We are treated to snippets of Joss and Braden's wedding in Before Jamaica Lane, but if you want to experience the full glorious day, then check out Castle Hill. This novella (On Dublin Street #2.5) encompasses a lot of exciting times in Joss and Braden's life including Braden's romantic proposal, the aforementioned wedding, and of course, the Honeymoon (split into two parts), and believe me when I say what happens at the airport is all kinds of hot! You'll also find out what comes next for my favourite hot-blooded couple...

Just like all the other books in the series, Castle Hill is a novella is well worth checking out!