The Curse of the Lost Colony...

Expected Publication: September 4th, 2012

Blackwood

By: Gwenda Bond

Strange Chemistry (Imprint of Angry Robot)

ISBN-13: 9781908844071

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island's most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can't dodge is each other.

Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America's oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.

Review

   Miranda Blackwood has been an outcast all her life.  With a screwed up family life, a Father who's the town drunk and a golden retriever named Sidekick as her only friend, she can't wait to get out of Roanoke and start a life somewhere else.  Phillips Rawling is a juvenile delinquent, the son of Roanoke's sheriff and can talk to ghosts.  His parents sent him out of town after getting in trouble one too many times.  Now he's been called back because 114 people have disappeared from town without a trace - just like the original Roanoke disappearances in 1584.  When Miranda's Dad turns up murdered and then mysteriously comes back to life changed for the worse, it will be up to Miranda and Phillips to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing people, why her Dad is acting so strange and how the family curse has passed along to Miranda.  Can they save the town before it's too late?  I have always been fascinated with the mystery of Roanoke Island.  I have curiosity about it still, but so little fact remains that we'll probably never know what really happened.  It felt like the book dragged quite a bit, moving slowly towards the action.  At certain parts this was a good thing but at others it bored me.  Phillips and Miranda's romance was cute without making me gag and I liked the randomness of their adventures together.  They both had a complicated family history with the original Roanoake disappearances playing a part.  I enjoyed it up until alchemy became involved.  Yes, it meshed well with the 1584 events, but I honestly am bored practically to tears by the actualities of supposed 'alchemy.'  All in all, it wasn't a major part of the book until close to the end.   I liked the book, thought it was very original and would highly recommend it to fans of unsolved history mysteries and YA paranormal fiction. 

VERDICT:  3.85/5  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's expected publication date is September 4th, 2012.*

Lions, and Tigers and Gargoyles...OH MY!

Expected Publication: September 8th, 2012
Redemption (Hearts of Stone # 1)
By: Veronique Launier
Flux
ISBN-13: 9780738730745

Guillaume: For five hundred years I've existed as a gargoyle. Perched atop an old Montreal church, I've watched idly as humanity wanders by. With the witch Marguerite gone, there is no one left to protect, nothing to care about. I never planned to feel again. But then a girl released me from my stone restraints, allowing me to return as a seventeen-year-old human boy. I must find out all I can about this girl's power . . .

Aude: Getting attacked twice in as many days is strange in itself, but even stranger is the intriguing guy I keep running into. There's something so familiar about him, like a primal drum rhythm from my dreams. But spending time together only raises more questions--about my heritage, a native Mohawk prophecy . . . and an unearthly magic threatening our city...

Review

   Aude, called 'Odd' by her friends, thinks that she is abnormal to begin with.  All she wants is to stay in the background of life, except when she's on stage with her band Lucid Pill.  But then she is attacked twice in one week and her life begins to spiral out of control, shifting her priorities.  It might be important to finally find out who her Father was after all...and maybe puzzle out why she might have a connection to an ancient Mohawk prophecy that seems to fortell the apocalypse.  Guillame was a gargoyle for over five hundred years.  But only for the last seventy have he and his brothers been on top of a church in Montreal, forced to watch the world pass them by.  Once able to shift between human and gargoyle the end of the family line of their charge, witch Margeurite, put an end to that ability.    Marguerite's family had a bargain with Guillame's - protection in exchange for the essence that kept the gragoyles alive.  Then Aude is attacked near their church and chants some words, bringing them to life again.  But without a witch of Margeurite's line to give them essence, the boys will become gragoyles again soon.  Determined to find out why Aude was able to wake them, Guillame insinuates himself into Aude's life to get the answers.  But Aude is hearing tribal drums and having odd encounters that point to her involvement in a prophecy.  The gargoyles aren't the only ones interested in her and it will take some team work to make sure that they all make it out alive - starting with Aude and Guillame trusting each other.  I thought that I had read almost every type of supernatural fiction humanly possible.  Then I saw this book and the word GARGOYLES in the description and flipped out!!!  I was super excited to read something so out of the common way.  Plus, the connection to Mohawk culture completely sold me, because I love anything Native and always have.  Aude is stubborn, a little bit selfish but totally full of heart and love for her Mom and her friends.  Guillame has lived a long life with plenty of mistakes, but he still has something in him that is heroic and redeemable.  My main complaint would be the slow-build, but that is understandable considering it's the first in a series.  I liked the double point-of-view, because it let me see things from Aude AND Guillame's perspectives which fleshed out the story considerably.  The major conflict was with the Terra Cotta Man and it felt resolved too easily, but I can see the makings of a superb villain in Vincent.  It will be interesting to see where Launier goes with it.  The romance wasn't immediate which was a nice change from most YA paranormal books.  The shock of Aude's heritage was pretty interesting as well.  I should have seen it coming but didn't.  I am really excited and highly recommend this for anyone looking for something fresh and original.

VERDICT:  4/5

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is September 8th, 2012.*

Love As Cold As Ice

Published: August 15th, 2012
The Ice Princess (The Princes Trilogy # 4)
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Forever Yours
ASIN: B003VYBP8I

SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN

As the madam of Aphrodite’s Grotto, the most infamous brothel in London, Coral Smythe knows everything possible about men’s needs and desires. Yet she’s never experienced the love of a single man—not even that of Captain Isaac Wargate whose hawk-like eyes stare at her with both condemnation…and lust.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF ECSTASY

Captain Wargate heartily disapproves of the sensuous madam who always wears a golden mask. She lures his officers from both his ship and their duty. But when Coral herself is offered up as the prize in a game of chance, Wargate impulsively enters…and wins.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF LOVE

Now the puritanical navy captain has just seven nights to learn everything he can about the mysterious madam and what she knows of a man’s desires. But when Coral is threatened by the new owner of Aphrodite’s Grotto, will Wargate take a chance on the woman beneath the mask…and on love?

Review

   This is the story of Coral Smythe, a madam of the most famous brothel in London, Aphrodite's Grotto.  She has spent her entire adulthood pleasing men and being left feeling cold.  She's never been in love or felt any true pleasure for herself.  It amuses her that the upright Captain Wargate, who comes to collect his men occasionally, seems to disparage and lust after her at the same time.  However, when the new top shareholder of the brothel, a cruel man, offers Coral as the prize in a high stakes game of chance Captain Wargate enters on impulse.  After winning the rights to Coral, he is determined to spend their seven nights getting to know what's underneath the mask she wears.  In such a short amount of time, Issac manages to raise her opinion of men and treat her like a woman instead of a prostitue unlike all the others.  But can they build a lasting relationship on their time together?  I felt cheated at the end of this story.  Yes, I kept in mind the fact that it is a novella and not a full book.  But if she was going to attempt to give Coral a happy ending, it should have occured that it was going to take an entire book to be believable.  I did not believe in the romance pretty much at all.  Issac was practically Puritanical, not interested in lowering himself into the bed of a prostitute.  I also had a really hard time believeing that there was anything like real love between them.  And could Coral really resolve all her issues in only seven days?  No freaking way!  As much as I was interested by the plot, the premise and the execution it just didn't work for me on the same level as the rest of the series did.  I honestly don't approve of novellas as a way to establish complicated plots and resolve them as beautifully as the ideas deserve.  If you're going to tell a story that is slightly complicated but doesn't ride on a intricate completion, that's what a novella is for in my opinion.  Disappointing, but still not a complete waste of time.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This novella was published for the Kindle on June 1st, 2012.*

Wishing I Had A Duke

Expected Publication: July 31st, 2012
When You Wish Upon a Duke (Wylder Sisters # 1)
By: Isabella Bradford
Ballantine Books
ISBN-13: 9780345527295

In a sparkling new series filled with irresistible charm and sizzling romance, award-winning author Isabella Bradford introduces us to the eldest of three Wylder sisters—unruly country girls whose passion for life leaves their London suitors breathless.

Raised in the Dorset countryside, Lady Charlotte Wylder doesn’t care one bit about well-bred decorum. The dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty would rather ride a horse than attend a stuffy ball. So when Charlotte learns that she is to leave immediately for London to wed the Duke of Marchbourne, a perfect model of aristocratic propriety, she is less than enchanted with her arranged marriage.

But to her delight, their first encounters are brazenly flirtatious, and their wedding night burns with passion. March’s broad shoulders and dark countenance make Charlotte want to rip every button off his waistcoast. She may even be falling in love with her new husband. Yet whenever their desire boils over, March reluctantly pushes Charlotte away. Will past secrets and present misunderstandings mire their marriage in scandal, or serve to strengthen a bond that is destined to last a lifetime?

Review

   Charlotte Wylder is a lady - in theory at least.  Since the death of her Father, an Earl, her Mother has raised she and her sisters in the countryside.  Charlotte has been the bane of her poor Mother's existence, with her improper behavior and passionate spirit.  Now that she's of age, an arranged marriage that her Father put into place just after her birth comes to light.  The Duke of Marchbourne, known as March to his friends, has known of the union his entire life.  The purpose is to improve the name of his family, due to an extremely scandolous past.  Curious about the woman who is to be his wife, March arranges to meet her along the road to London without forewarning her.  The result is that he comes upon her climbing a tree to save her younger sister's rather naughty kitten.  He climbs the tree to 'save' her and though he ends the encounter with injuries, they are both highly attracted to one another.  After the wedding their passion in the bedroom is undeniable, but March pulls away after every encounter.  Can Charlotte figure out why before her heart is broken?  This book was a very breezy, easy-going romance.  It is not like others of its genre with a secondary storyline, a murder mystery or some such other complication.  The only real complication between Charlotte and March is both of their resistance to the passion they feel for each other.  While the seemingly endless tug-of-war became annoying closer to the end of the novel and it eliminated a lot of possible action from the plot, it was still quite a cute story.  Considering the lack of action, there really were no secondary characters in this novel.  While it worked for the first book in the series, if it becomes a habit I don't believe that any charm will be able to sustain in such dry circumstances for long.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  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's expected publication date is July 31st, 2012.*

I'm So Over It

Expected Publication: September 18th, 2012
Burn for Burn
By: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9781442440753

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

Review

   Lilllia has always been pretty, popular and has a great family life.  She manages things well until the night she has too much to drink at a party, and a boy goes to far even though she says 'no.'  Not to mention her younger sister seems to be having sleepovers with one of Lillia's guy friends (Alex Lind), lying and sneaking around.  She can't seem to count on her best friend Rennie, who seems more mean girl than friend lately.  So Lillia decides to get revenge on Alex herself - with the help of outcast Kat and not-so-new girl Mary.  Kat wants revenge on Rennie herself.  A long time ago they used to be best friends, until Rennie decided to ditch her and spread nasty rumors about her that ruined her seputation.  Now Kat is fed up and wants her to pay for what she's done.  Mary also wants revenge.  She came back to Jar Island specifically so that she could get back at one of the most popular boys in school, Reeve, who drove her to try committing suicide in the seventh grade and turned everyone against her.  Now she wants him to feel the pain that she's felt all of these years.  At first the girls are united under a drive for revenge and things run smoothly, just a little fun.  But when things get taken too far and someone ends up in the hospital, will the girls be able to live with themselves?  I thought the idea for the novel was intriguing and I loved Jenny Han's Summer series.  I'm not such a big fan of Siobhan Vivian, but I felt like with two writers it would easily overlooked.  I loved the narration for Lillia.  The poor girl was trying to please everyone in her life, while still keeping something for herself.  My main complaint would be that the rape was majorly glossed over.  It didn't affect Lillia nearly as much as I thought that it would.  Also, her entire 'revenge' issue could have been settled by simply freaking TALKING TO ALEX!  All the same, for me she was the most sympathetic.  With a horrible best friend like Rennie, sympathy is in order.  Second in my mind was Kat.  I identified with her ostracization, the rumors and the somewhat poor upbringing she had in comparison with her classmates.  I definitely understood her motivations for revenge and why Rennie was the target.  I mean, it wasn't enough to just ditch Alex she had to ruin her life as well, on the heels of the loss of her Mom.  The one character I didn't connect to AT ALL was Mary.  I felt like she was part of an after-school special, not a book.  She was very one-dimensional.  I never felt like I, as a reader, got much insight into her mind.  She was far more of a telling character than a 'showing' one.  The situation with Reeve felt very untrue and not very realistic (at least in my experience).  The plot was a little slow to unfold, but once it did it went really smoothly.  All except for a really abrupt and in my honest opinion, ridiculous ending.  Even if there is a sequel I don't forsee myself reading it.  The ending ruined any good feeling for the rest of the book on my part.  The hint of supernatural thrown in on the last few pages didn't fit in at all.  It was the Waldo of the 'Where Is Waldo' book series.  Not a book I will re-read or recommend.

VERDICT:  2.25/5  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 September 18th, 2012.*

American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee

Published: March 13th, 2012 (Paperback)
American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
By: Karen Abbott
Random House
ISBN-13:  9781400066919

America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free. But then, almost overnight, the Great Depression leveled everything. When the dust settled, Americans were primed for a star who could distract them from grim reality and excite them in new, unexpected ways. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a preternatural gift for delivering exactly what America needed.

With her superb narrative skills and eye for compelling detail, Karen Abbott brings to vivid life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy’s world, including her intensely dramatic triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who seduced men and women alike and literally killed to get her daughters on the stage.

American Rose chronicles their story, as well as the story of the four scrappy and savvy showbiz brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque. Modeling their shows after the glitzy, daring reviews staged in the theaters of Paris, the Minsky brothers relied on grit, determination, and a few tricks that fell just outside the law—and they would shape, and ultimately transform, the landscape of American entertainment.

With a supporting cast of such Jazz- and Depression-era heavyweights as Lucky Luciano, Harry Houdini, FDR, and Fanny Brice, Karen Abbott weaves a rich narrative of a woman who defied all odds to become a legend—and whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.

Review

   Gypsy Rose Lee was a stripper, a burlesque dancer during a time that alcohol was outlawed, underground speakeasies were King and flappers ran wild with gangsters.  She was able to distract the public from their weariness and the troubles the Great Depression had brought them.  A great deal of this biography is spent in Gypsy's complex relationships with her mother Rose and her sister June.  This was not my usual read by any stretch of the imagination.  I do love to learn more about history and biographies/memoirs are wonderful things to read if they're well done.  I did feel like the book was far more about the myth of Gypsy Rose Lee than the realities of her.  I enjoyed all of the ancedotes and the detail the author goes into.  I love the time period that was focused on, the Roaring Twenties onward through the wartorn Forties.  I loved the glamour and harshness of Prohibition and the unimaginable way it coexisted with the Great Depression.  It was easy to imagine being taken in by the beauty and mystery of a burlesque dancer and very big personality like Gypsy Rose Lee.  The book relies largely on imformation already in the public consiousness, interviews with Gypsy's sister June that give sometimes vague information, the words of actress June Havoc, and the recollections of her son Erik Preminger.  Who knows if we as curiosity seekers will ever get the truth behind the curtains?  Either way, it was a truly intriguing and fun book to read for one such as myself who had only heard Gypsy's name in passing and didn't really know anything about her.  Maybe not recommendable to true enthusiasts looking for new info, but for new readers who are meeting Gypsy for the first time.

VERDICT:  3/5  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 in paperback on March 13th, 2012.*

Dull As Stone...

Expected Publication:  August 28th, 2012
The Stone Girl
By: Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Random House Children's Books
ISBN-13: 9780375870804

She feels like a creature out of a fairy tale; a girl who discovers that her bones are really made out of stone, that her skin is really as thin as glass, that her hair is brittle as straw, that her tears have dried up so that she cries only salt. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t hurt when she presses hard enough to begin bleeding: it doesn’t hurt, because she’s not real anymore.

Sethie Weiss is hungry, a mean, angry kind of hunger that feels like a piece of glass in her belly. She’s managed to get down to 111 pounds and knows that with a little more hard work—a few more meals skipped, a few more snacks vomited away—she can force the number on the scale even lower. She will work on her body the same way she worked to get her perfect grades, to finish her college applications early, to get her first kiss from Shaw, the boy she loves, the boy who isn’t quite her boyfriend.

Sethie will not allow herself one slip, not one bad day, not one break in concentration. Her body is there for her to work on when everything and everyone else—her best friend, her schoolwork, and Shaw—are gone.

Review

   Sethie Weiss is in control of her body and the way it makes her feel.  She is in control of her grades, her friendships and the relationship she has with Shaw, even if he isn't exactly her boyfriend yet.  All she has to do is keep pleasing him, taking drugs with him and making sure to keep it low pressure.  Than he'll finally want her for more than just sex.  But when everything starts to disappear, leaving Sethie alone with her body the last thing she can control, will it be enough for her?  I could not STAND the format this book was written in.  It was third person, which normally speeds things along really well because it allows for great description and gives access to thoughts and actions both, of multiple characters (usually).  This time it was very clunky.  Every sentence was 'Sethie sees this' or 'Sethie does that.'  It was extremely boring and doesn't allow for any real character development to occur.  Everything was TOLD instead of being shown and I couldn't stand it.  Also, Sethie has pretty much no parental supervision, which is somewhat of an old-school YA standard (parents that are strict, not there, or try to hard to be cool).  But the fact that she was supposed to be a smart, straight-A student while doing marijuana and cocaine on a regular basis is just so totally unrealistic and laughable that I feel crazy even describing it.  Sethie is also hanging around with a guy who uses her for sex, probably deals drugs and will never value her in the slightest bit.  Even though she suffers from anorexia, that doesn't go hand-in-hand with such a lack of self-respect.  If anything due to the complex thought process of the disease, it's usually the opposite.  The way that Sethie comes to terms with her disorder and vows to end it so she can go to college (on the urging of her best friend Janey) was so highly insulting to me as a reader that if hadn't been an e-book it would have been tossed at the wall several dozen times.  This book had a good premise, that has worked well in the past.  Unfortunately, the author's research was shoddy and misinterpretive; it shows big time in the overall plot and resolution of the book.  If you want good books about eating disorders, you should read:

 VERDICT:  1/5  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's expected publication is August 28th, 2012.*