Crash Into Someone Else Please, You Creep Me Out!

Expected Publication:  January 8th, 2013
Crash (Visions # 1)
By: Lisa McMann
Simon Pulse
ISBN-13:  9781442403918


If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

Review

 

     Jules doesn't mind driving the food truck to school most of the time - even with the meatballs on top.  Sure, it doesn't increase her popularity but that's not what she cares about.  The only thing that really bothers her is being ignored by Sawyer Andretti, her ex-friend and son of her family's greatest rivals.  Sawyer's family stole her Grandpa's family recipe and caused him to kill himself.  Their success has only damaged her family even more, with her Dad stuck in a crippling depression (although there is more to that story than what Jules knows) and addiction to hoarding. When Jules begins to see visions of a fiery explosion at the Andretti family restaurant in all the reflective surfaces around her.  The truly scary part happens to be the nine body bags in the snow, one of which holds Sawyer.  Pretty sure she's going crazy, Jules enlists the help of her siblings anyway and begins to try and prevent the accident from happening.  But with the Andrettis unwilling to listen to her, even Sawyer, what can Jules do that will keep people from dying and maybe even cause the feud to simmer down a little bit?  Will she succeed, or will one of the body bags hold Jules herself?  So, my major problem with this book was the problem I've had with most of Lisa McMann's YA stuff so far - not much character development beyond the superficial.  The only book where I really connected and looked past this was Cryer's Cross.  Even before her visions, Jules is sort of annoying and selfish, only thinking of her own feelings when it comes to her obsession with Sawyer.  I can see why he was creeped out when he began to figure out she was following him.  And I never really bought their sudden romance near the end of the book.  I did like the revelations to do with why her Dad was so depressed and stuck inside of himself.  Her brother and sister were amusing, but with how alone Jules normally is, they were kind of superfluous to me without any real chance to shine.  By the time it ended (rather predictable and disappointingly, for me anyways) I still hadn't connected.  When the cliffhanged came, I just didn't care one way or the other.  So I probably won't be reading the next one.  Overall, a very mediocre read that I'd recommend skipping.  But then again, not everyone is as picky about character development as I am.

 

VERDICT:  2.75/5  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. It will be available for purchase on January 8th, 2013.**

Somewhere In Time...

Published:  October 30th, 2012

Midnight In Your Arms

By: Morgan Kelly

Avon Impulse

ISBN-13:  9780062242600

When psychic Laura Dearborn inherits Stonecross Hall in 1926, she has no idea she's inheriting a love story too - one that she's lived again and again. But as Alaric Storm III, the handsome owner of the mansion from sixty years earlier, starts to haunt her waking dreams, Laura discovers her heart's true home has always been within Stonecross's walls.

Tormented by memories of war, Alaric Storm III is used to spirits-just not ones from the future. Set on fire by Laura's ghostly affections, Alaric is forced to choose: follow his heart and grasp Laura's hand through time, or surrender to the call of duty and live without love.

As All Hallows' Eve draws near, Alaric and Laura must find a way to hold on to each other forever-or risk repeating their tragic romance until the end of time.

Review

     Laura Dearborn has been without a true home for most of her life, since her parents died when she was a child.  Then her brother died fighting in the Great War and she had no one left to call family.  Then out of the blue in 1926, on her 28th birthday, a lawyer comes knocking on her door and informs her that she has inherited a house called Stonecross Manor.  It was left to her in the will of the last owner, Alaric Storm III - ten years before she was even born.  Knowing it's the house that has haunted her dreams for years, Laura shuts up her flat and goes on a trip to Stonecross to try and solve the mystery.  What she doesn't expect is that she will be able to make contact with a still living Alaric, who is in 1866, through a rip in time.  With All Hallow's Eve approaching the time is coming for Laura and Alaric, now deeply in love, to decide if they will defy time to be with one another or let each other go.  And if so, will she stay in his time or will he stay in hers?  I was creeped out by the beginning of this book.  I didn't even realize it was an Avon romance at first and for the most part the quality stayed consistent throughout the novel.  It was my Halloween read this year, with spirits, psychic visions and time travel.  At first I thought the house was possessed, with the way it was described.  But really it was just a rip in time that gave the effect.  It still made me freaked out and had me imagining that Stephen King story Rose Red!  It was lighter than I expected, but I did like that he was a war veteran.  It gave Alaric an extra depth that I don't believe he otherwise would have had.  I felt like Laura was extremely blase about the whole time/inter-dimensional travel thing, but then again she was also a psychic and had been her entire life just about.  I can imagine that would be somewhat desensitizing.  Alaric on the other hand, also accepted it far too easily for a man of 'reason.'  I felt like he pretended resistance at first, but really didn't put up a fight to the idea at all.  The romance was sweet, Tess the kitchen maid's involvement was amusing and touching alternately.  It had all the right ingredients for a good, fluffy read.  I liked the ending, as it did surprise me what time period they ended up staying in; it was entirely unexpected.  Overall, a fun read that fit in with the season and it filled my longing for semi-decent time travel fiction.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published October 30th, 2012.*

Struck By You

Published: May 8th, 2012
Struck (Struck # 1)
By: Jennifer Bosworth
Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR
ISBN-13: 9780374372835

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Review

   Mia Price is trying to keep her family from falling apart in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that ravage her city, Los Angeles.  If she could survive being struck by lightning so many times, she could make it through anything right?  But now she's addicted to the feeling of the electricity coursing through her veins.  Then a mysterious group approaches her at school about joining them in trying to stop Rance Ridley Prophet, a religious extremist (basically a cult leader), from destroying the city even more with his prophecies of doom.  But are they just using Mia for the 'Spark' she possesses?  Are they just another cult like the one Prophet is in charge of?  Trying to protect her brother Parker, her Mom who has been drawn into Prophet's web AND figure out the motives of the Seekers and Prophet's followers, plus the weird but hot guy that's been following her around, can Mia make it out of this situation alive?  Or will she be the sacrifice that saves the city from the end of days?  This was definitely one of the more original books that I've read so far this year.  With a girl who is addicted to lightning and the complications of the possible apocalypse, I was riveted for most of the book.  Prophet and his ability to ensnare people was truly creepy!  I understood the fragility of Mia's Mom after being traumatized during the quake, but man how awful to watch your parent brainwash themself into obedience with a cult mentality.  I felt like Mia's younger brother Parker was just there for the author to use as a plot device.  He was the reason for a lot of Mia's actions, but has no real discernible personality or motive for his actions.  It was slightly annoying after awhile.  The Seekers and their connection to the abilities that are brought on by lightning was an interesting inclusion into the plot.  But their motives were still slightly unclear at the end of the novel.  And I truly could NOT STAND Katrina, who gets her way through manipulation every time that Mia tells her no.  Plus she's just a smug bitch for most of the book.  I liked Jeremy, who had a difficult upbringing (can't say anymore for fear of spoilers!) and overcame it to do what he believed to be right.  My main problem is that Mia gave in and began to start a relationship with him so easily after she found out that he was going to murder her originally!!!  YEAH RIGHT!  I can't imagine doing anything other than sticking his knife where the sun don't shine, no matter how hot he supposedly is!  Overall, the plot and the characters came together to create an interesting and fresh book.  It was unlike anything else I've read recently and I would definitely recommend it to fans of apocalyptic and dystopian YA fiction.

VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

The Beast Is Kissing Me

Published: March 15th, 2012
Hickey of the Beast
By: Isabel Kunkle
Candlemark & Gleam
ISBN-13: 9781936460229


Connie thought freshman year might suck. She never thought it'd be literal.

Bad dreams? No big deal. After all, Connie Perez is starting her first year in the prep school her mom runs. Anyone would be a little stressed, right? When she starts dreaming about strange creatures and places that don't make sense, she doesn't think much about it: there's other stuff on her mind. Then she starts noticing that the people she dreams about get sick right afterwards.
Then everything gets weird.

There's something bad on the campus of Springden Academy. Something that feeds on students and warps their minds. And, as Connie and her friends try to figure out what's going on, it starts to look like she's the only one who can stop it.

Freshman year was hard enough without having to fight evil after class.

Hickey of the Beast is a hilarious look at coming of age in a school where there are no secrets, but plenty of mysteries, and where supernatural studies take on a whole new meaning. It's a story about all the things that make growing up hell: boys, history class, annoying little brothers, and saving the world from evil. When the supernatural comes to school, it's no field day - and that's before you factor in homework.

Review

   Connie has been looking forward to her freshman year and dreading it at the same time.  After all, having her Mom as the principal of the prep school she'll be attending automatically singles her out as a faculty brat, not trustworthy.  Then Connie starts having what seem to be psychic dreams.  She sees girls getting sick and then next thing you know, in real life they're having breakdowns and leaving school.  Connie doesn't take it seriously at first, but then she realizes that she might be the only one who can stop whatever is sucking the energy from her classmates.  She goes on a quest to discover what it going on and her friends support her all the way.  But the answer just might be closer to home than she thinks.  Will she be able to triumph over evil or will Connie just be the latest victim?  This was an interesting book.  The whole thing is a gigantic letter to one of Connie's friends from summer camp about this unbelievable thing that she wants to share with her.  It was an original take on the draining of energy by 'psychic vampires.'  I really liked Connie, she was an interesting heroine and she kept me laughing and wondering what she would do next.  The book held up really well for having originally been in serialized format.  I am glad I got the chance to read it and although the ending wasn't completely unpredictable, it wasn't what I thought it would be either.  I would look forward to reading more about Connie in the future and I will be keeping an eye out for Isable Kunkle's future writings.  Recommended for a fun, different-than-your-average-bear story.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publisher, via LibraryThing. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published March 15th, 2012.*