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.  

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 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.  

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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.   

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Waiting on Wednesday #79

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spines. This is a cool way to spotlight a upcoming release that you're anxious about, as well as checking out what other book lovers are anticipating as well. So, check out my WoW for this week:

Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly #3)
by Shannon Dermott

Release date: July 27th 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Synopsis via Goodreads:

In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a roaring—and addictive—gothic world,” Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus...all before it’s too late.

Susan Dennard will leave readers breathless and forever changed in the concluding pages of this riveting ride.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
by April 22nd 2014

Release date: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synopsis via Goodreads:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. 

As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Why I'm Waiting

I've probably featured these books already on WoW but that's how excited I am about their releases. I can't wait to conclude Susan's series. The story really made an impact on me. As for the new Jenny Han book, I liked Burn for Burn and am interesting in reading the authors individual works.

What are you waiting for?

L'été où je suis devenue jolie de Jenny Han

"Etait-il possible de prendre la douleur de quelqu’un avec un baiser ?"

C'est une tradition dans la famille de Belly, tous les étés, ils vont au même endroit pour les vacances, dans la maison sur la plage de la meilleure amie de sa mère. Tous les ans Conrad, Jeremiah, Belly et son frère Steven se retrouvent pour deux mois d'amusement et ce depuis qu'ils sont enfants. Mais cette année est différente, cette année Belly a grandi et son corps a évolué avec elle, elle devient une femme. Mais au delà de sa nouvelle apparence, il y a ce sentiment, cet amour qu'elle ressent pour Conrad depuis ses 11 ans, mais maintenant qu'elle est différente, peut-être qu'il l'aimera davantage ou peut-être devra-t-elle tourner la page sur cet amour qui semble impossible... En tout cas, ce qui est sûr c'est que cet été, l'été où elle est devenue jolie sera l'été qui changera sa vie à tout jamais.

   Titre Original : The Summer I Turned Pretty

   Éditeur : Éditions Albin Michel / Wiz

   Nombre de pages : 357 pages

J'ai tellement entendu parlé de ce livre ! Il y a énormément d'échos positifs que quand je l'ai vu à la bibliothèque de ma nouvelle ville je n'ai pas pu résister !
La nouvelle couverture est plus jolie que l'ancienne, mais je dois avouer que comme je ne suis pas fan des personnages sur la couverture, je ne suis pas entièrement séduite par cette couverture... Même si les trio représenté sur la couverture est assez fidèle à la description des personnages faites dans le livre...
L'histoire est celle de Belly, une jeune fille de 16 ans qui se découvre une nouvelle vie, une nouvelle vie car cet été elle n'est plus la gamine qu'elle était auparavant, elle a a présent un corps de femme et ça change tout. Prête à faire le deuil de son amour pour Conrad, Belly est bien décidée cet été de profiter de ses vacances au maximum, de s'amuser sans qu'on la prive de quoi que ce soit. 
J'ai adoré le personnage de Jeremiah qui est tellement touchant ! J'avais juste envie de le prendre dans mes bras de temps en temps ! Puis Conrad est colérique certes mais adorable ! Mais la meilleure est Suzannah qui est de toute évidence une femme exceptionnelle. En gros un petit coup de coeur pour toute la famille de Suzannah, j'ai beaucoup aimé chaque personnage mais c'est ceux-là qui m'ont le plus marqués et touchés.
Pour ma part j'avais deviné la fin, mais cette lecture était très plaisante et je pense vraiment lire la suite. La lecture était trop courte et j'aurai voulu rester plus longtemps avec les personnages. Je comprends pourquoi autant de personnes ont aimé ce livre, il est juste très beau !

En résumé, une romance magnifiquement touchante que je ne regrette pas d'avoir lu, je lirai la suite à coup sûr !

Chroniques de mes partenaires : Je suis Livrivore