Let Me Choose My Fate

Published:  February 11th, 2014

Fates (Fates #1)

By: Lanie Bross

Delacorte Press

ISBN-13:  9780385742825

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 tinge 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?

Review

     Why the FREAKING HECK do I do this to myself???  I took one look at this book, and knew from the start that barring a miracle, it wouldn't be higher than a three star rating for me.  But being the eternal optimist, I went ahead with it anyways.  Predictably, it was a complete and total mess of a book.  Let's see what I can unravel for you in this "review" of mine.  The book centers around Corinthe, who was one of the Fates in a place called Pyralis Terra.  She sorted the Fates of the world, until she committed a horrible mistake in the name of curiosity.  Exiled to Earth, for the last ten years Corinthe has been trying to earn her way home by carring out the will of the Universe.  Or at least that's what she's been told by her "guardian", Miranda.  In reality, Miranda has been using Corinthe for her own purposes for the last decade and is an enemy of the Fates.  She tells Corinthe that her last assignment is to kill a boy named Lucas Kaller.  It will set off a chain reaction of events, that will bring Pyralis Terra crumbling down.  Then the Radicals (Miranda's faction of beings) can take over everything.  But when things spiral out of control, and Luc ends up on a quest to save his sister alongside Corinthe, the fate of her world hangs in the balance.  Can they do the right thing and still save their hearts?

     From what I managed to gather, there are a bunch of different realms and the way in is through the crossroads.  I was completely unsurprised by any of the "major" plot twists in this book (Miranda being evil, Luc's sister being kidnapped, picking the magical flower they need equaling death, etc.).  The whole thing was entirely confusing with terms like Radicals, Unseen Ones, Fates, and Executors being used with no real explanation ever given.  I guess she was expecting the plot to explain them.  Well, it freaking DIDN'T!  More than half of the book was spent in our world with Corinthe drifting around, closing out fates (getting people killed in accidents, breaking up couples, etc.), and whining about how much she wants to go home again.  I was able to empathize a bit more with Luc, who has a home life similar to my own growing up.  Alcoholic father, out of control younger sibling, and absent mother (mine was just emotionally absent).  It puts the pressure on, to get as much done as possible, bring in money, and save everyone around you.  

     I get that Luc's intrigued by the crazy looking chick (Corinthe) when he first sees her, in the midst of a car-wreck.  But you don't go directly from curiosity, to hatred, and to dreamy, unexplainable insta-love!  The romance in this mad absolutely ZERO SENSE!  Honestly the more intriguing romance was the star-crossed one between Miranda and Rhys.  I adored the whole matching compass thing with the archer and the ballerina.  Their love kind of made me want to cry.  That said, their love story and the reasons they were apart were confusing as well, because what they were (Radicals) was never really explained.  Why do they do the things they do Lanie?  I WANNA KNOW!!!  The entire conflict with the blood nymphs, Luc's sister Jasmine being kidnapped and given to them, and the gnome who almost kidnaps Corinthe for good, felt like they belonged in a completely different book.  They were high fantasy/mythology, when the rest of this book was boring, slow-moving, contemporary insta-love.  Overall, this book was a gigantic mess.  The ending was a poorly done cliffhanger and I am definitely NOT reading the next one!  I don't recommend it unless you like being extremely confused and pissed off by badly plotted story, riddled with holes.

VERDICT:  1.5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published February 11th, 2014.*

Summoning Forces Beyond Your Control

Expected Publication:  June 24th, 2014

Summoned (Redemption's Heir #1)

By: Anne M. Pillsworth

Tor Teen

ISBN-13:  9780765335890

When the Elder Gods extend an invitation, be wary of the strings attached.

While browsing in a rare book store in Arkham, Sean finds an occult book with an ad seeking an apprentice sorcerer, from a newspaper dated March 21, 1895.  Even more intriguing, the ad specifically requests that applicants reply by email.

Sean's always been interested in magic, particularly the Lovecraftian dark mythology.  Against his best friend Edna's ("call-me-Eddy-or-else") advice, he decides to answer the ad, figuring it's a clever hoax, but hoping that it won't be.  The advertiser, Reverend Redemption Orne, claims to be a master of the occult born more than 300 years ago.  To prove his legitimacy, Orne gives Sean instructions to summon a harmless by useful familiar -- but Sean's ceremony takes a dark turn, and instead he accidentally beckons a bloodthirsty servant to the Cthulhu Mythos god Nyarlathotep.  The ritual is preemptively broken, and now Sean must find and bind the servitor, before it grows too strong to contain.  But strange things are already happening in the town of Arkham.....

Review

     I thought that the premise of this one sounded pretty cool.  A boy answers an ad for a wizard's apprentice, to find out the secret behind the authentically aged piece of newspaper containing it.  The mystery is there, because the ad mentions email which was not invented until over 100 years after the ad was taken out!  I thought to myself, okay, here we go.  A book with some humor and mostly about a modern teenage boy training to become a wizard's apprentice.  I even speculated that it involved time travel (that interesting me slightly more than just a wizard character who is centuries old), which would have been spectacular.  I was unfamiliar with the term "Cthulhu Mythos god" and was sincerely hoping that I would have it explained to my satisfaction, or be so minor to the plot that it didn't matter what it was.  None of my expectations were met in a way that I wanted them to be.

     Being that I am not really a horror aficionado, I can't really compare the mythology in this book to that in the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.  But I can tell that the author draws heavily from him, on the basis that in her book's world, Lovecraft was part of a secret society in the know and just writing the truth.  That is a cool concept and I would have loved it - had I already been a Lovecraft fan, and been in on the history.  The whole plot of this book relies on prior knowledge of terminology and ideas from a mythology that I was not the least bit familiar with (at least in my opinion and reading experience)  and it wasn't really fleshed out in the novel.  I felt like it assumed prior knowledge, and because of that the terminology was vague to me - something that I was never really able to picture all that well in my mind.  Something that might have made this book a better experience for me would have been highly developed and sound characters.  I love characters that are so real they could walk off the page and share a drink with me at the local coffee shop.  That, or a plot that surpasses my need for intimate connections with the main characters (it takes an extremely special kind of book to accomplish this feat).  Keeping that in mind, me being on the outskirts of this very plot driven novel, with characters whose whole lives seem to revolve around the plot, it never really connected.  

     Eddie was only there to scold Sean for contacting some "creep" on the Internet and to annoy the heck out of him.  To be the one-dimensional best friend (although their strong bond is showcased when later on she knows exactly where to find him when he's missing).  I believe the friendship, but it does nothing for me.  Sean's Dad is the "concerned single parent" who also restores stained glass windows.  That's about all there is to him, other than him being a widower who doesn't date and a skeptic of all things magic/supernatural.  His role is parent and skeptic: check mark.  Most of the other characters are fleeting, just there to move along the plot.  Redemption Orne, arguably the most important character other than Sean, is nothing more than an Internet presence, of someone who might be a mentally deluded weirdo just playacting.  Sean is the typical hero, just goofing off and doing things out of curiosity - until it gets him into real trouble and the shit hits the fan.  I never really got to know him as a character though, outside of his mission to bind the servitor, find out the truth about Redemption and become "serious" in regards to messing with the supernatural.  The message of this book seems to be, don't play with fire unless you're ready to be burned.  And it's not a subtle message, with the very serious consequences of Sean's actions on a pet-killing spree across the neighborhood and sucking his own blood.  The action was spotty, the plot dragged in it's odd pacing and the novel was mostly set up for a series.  The disappearing pharmacy and its quirky pharmacist felt like they belonged in a different novel altogether, the one I had initially thought I was going to read (and its not a coincidence they were my favorite part/little fantasy quirk).

     That said, a lot of people would probably adore this book beyond belief.  I am not by any means stating that this book was bad, or does not have its audience somewhere out there.  Hell, Pillsworth probably has a built in curiosity audience in all the Lovecraft fans lurking out there, waiting for a book like this.  It's modern, approachable for a younger audience and has a very dark, science fiction edge to it.  But as someone who self-proclaimedly prefers fantasy to science fiction it just wasn't the book for me.  I thought it was a fantasy book and was highly disappointed.  But I did finish the book and was interested in the resolution of the whole issue Sean caused, so Pillsworth did manage to draw me in regardless of my slight boredom.  Overall, a decent book but not my thing.  Lovecraftians take notice and add to your to-reads.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is June 24th, 2014.*

In A Land Far, Far Away

Published:  June 11th, 2013

Far, Far Away

By: Tom McNeal

Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9780375849725

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since.

After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm.

Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion.

And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings...

Review

 

     Jeremy Johnson Johnson lives in the small town of Never Better.  But things have definitely been better for him, with only his agoraphobic Dad left to take care of him and a Mom that ran off years ago.  Oh, and there's also the fact that he can hear ghosts.  Jeremy's constant companion is Jacob Grimm, one of the famous Brothers Grimm, who didn't pass on when he died.  Instead he's spent all the time since then looking for his brother Wilhelm.  But there is evil lurking in the town of Never Better, the kind only thought to exist in fairy tales.  With the help of Ginger, the girl Jeremy likes, and Jacob Grimm, can Jeremy find a way to defeat evil, win the money to save his family's bookstore and their house - all while staying alive?

     As a bit of a slow starter, I wasn't really all that invested in things at first.  I felt like it took forever for anything to actually happen.  But when it did, it was definitely an interesting ride!  I do like the narrator being Jacob Grimm.  It gave the story an interesting, somewhat outside perspective from Jeremy, Ginger and the other main characters of the novel.  That said, when a story isn't being told in a first person perspective of the main character (for whom you're supposed to be feeling everything and getting attached to) or in third-person omniscient (which allows you to get the emotions in many characters heads, with an overall deeper view) it can cause a serious disconnect from the outcome of what will happen to the characters in the end.  And unfortunately I felt that to a pretty large extent while reading this book.  One of the things that saved it for me was probably that I kept hearing Jim Dale's voice in my head when Grimm was narrating.  The whole quirky, small town with secrets thing drew a Pushing Daisies comparison - in a really awesome way!

     Jeremy to me was the basic, run of the mill, everyman or the stock orphan character.  I did like the fact that he could talk to ghosts and further into the novel I did feel like I got to know him better.  But I still feel like he was a pretty bland character in general.  Ginger was more interesting, because she made her own fun, pulling pranks and overall running amuck through the town.  She reminded me more of a normal teen than Jeremy but she was still fairly clichéd as a character type.  I would say just for lack of character depth or development that this book belongs as a middle grade novel.  But the main plot and the identity of the evil person in Never Better alone make this far too dark to be middle grade.  It definitely falls into YA territory when it comes to that!  All I will say is that while the MCs are starving to death in a hidden room of the person's house, I was still getting over their identity.  Looking back there was foreshadowing, but I kind of passed right over it.  That twist is what made this that much more like a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

     Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.  I liked what McNeal tried to do with the concept and I feel like he succeeded pretty well.  I can even get past the detached narration, because it makes sense when you think of Jacob Grimm being the ultimate storyteller who is detached himself.  At least until the very end, when he realizes what Jeremy means to him personally and his own journey.  Recommended for younger teens, late middle school or early high school aged.  Or anyone who just likes twisted fairy tales for that matter!

 

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

 



**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Too Much Cake Isn't Good For You

Published:  September 15th, 2013

Cake

By: Lauren Dane

Harlequin

ASIN:  B00D45018E

She won’t be satisfied with just one bite...

Art student-slash-bike messenger Wren Davis pursues what she wants. And what she wants now is Gregori Ivanov, rock star of the Seattle art scene. With his tattoos, piercings and sensual sneer, Gregori is the ultimate bad boy. Wren’s gotten to know the man beneath the body art, too—and it only makes her crave him more.

But Gregori loves women like he loves cake and champagne—intensely, but only for the moment. And after Wren experiences just how scorching sex with Gregori is, she’s determined to show him that just one taste won’t be enough...

Review

     Wren Davis has been working as a bike messenger just to make some extra cash while she's in art school.  While on her rounds she meets and becomes friends with famous artist Gregori Ivanov, who has a bit of  a reputation.  Wren decides she wants nothing else more than Gregori, but first she needs to get him to leave behind all the women who burned him in the past - namely his crazy ex-wife who always comes crawling back again.  Can Wren get Gregori to give a relationship with her a chance, or will all they ever shared just amount to tea times and fond memories?

     I honestly never saw the attraction of Gregori in this book.  He's got tattoos, piercings and a mohawk.  He's oh-so misunderstood.  Give me a break!  I did like Wren who seemed very self-assured, but after awhile her inhuman confidence got on my nerves.  It seemed a little like she never had any doubts about herself.  Gregori was the opposite and despite being a famous artist had zero confidence in his relationships.  I would have liked to see more interaction between Wren and her roommates/friends Kelsey & Lindsey.  I felt like their relationship was more interesting to me than the "romance" between Gregori and Wren.  To me the whole famous artist and student dynamic came off different from anything I've read before, but only because Wren wasn't the cliched bubbly ingenue.  I don't know, something about this novella just felt really forced to me and the third person narrative was used in a way that kept the characters at a distance from me as a reader.  I just didn't connect and though it was well-written for a novella, it still wasn't the best I've ever read.  Overall, I wouldn't even recommend it to anyone honestly because I wasn't a very big fan of the story and over $3 is a bit much for a novella that isn't even 100 pages.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published September 15th, 2013.*