Cuddlebuggery Book Blog

I've been disappointed by too many "mermaid" books. I hope this one delivers.

Want a chance to win an ARC of Altered? Check out a section of the first chapter and enter for a chance to win on Cuddlebuggery!

Do you remember that Taylor Swift song about Romeo and Juliet, Love Story?

It's lyrics go something like this:

I'm a pretty little girl who knows nothing about literature
So I sing a song about starcrossed lovers
Whose only problem is that Daddy doesn't approve
But it's all good because we get married anyway.
Just like that cliffnote's story about Romeo and Juliet!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyy!



We have a tendency with YA literature today, to have stories with the super duper happiest of happy endings where everything works out and true love's only real complications are external difficulties, and self-esteem issues for the girl.

I'm trying to think of the perfect example here and because this review is full of cheap shots at easy targets I'm going to go with...








TWILIGHT!

Come on down, Bella and Edward!



Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with happy endings and butterflies and rainbows and kittens. They're lovely, lovely things and in the hands of an accomplished author, they do well. There's also nothing wrong with having a relationship that's troubled by only external forces. Once again, in the right hands it's fine. I'm not being a miserly old Grinch here. Okay, maybe a little bit, but moving on!

The problem is that in real life, relationships are usually impacted by internal factors. So when you base your story on perfection that can only be tainted by evil people trying to destroy your true love, and twist the story to finally reach that happily ever after, then what you sacrifice is often the very real, almost-tangible, relatable emotions that a more realistic, thoughtful storyline could bring.

And also, Romeo and Juliet is a TRAGEDY, Taylor Swift.




Thank you, Kieran Culkan. You're a fresh breeze amongst the stagnant world of apathetic performers.

Now what I love about Laini Taylor, other than everything, is that this woman is made of fairytales. I swear she's like woven together by sweet kisses and dewdrops. She's been sung into being by blind minstrels bathed in moonlight. She's wrapped in gossamer and shrived in pure white swan feathers. You know, all that magical shit. She's that. The woman is magic and she writes magic. If anyone could take Romeo and Juliet, mate it with a YA paranormal romance and produce a love child that people don't want to drown at birth - then it would be Laini Taylor.

This book is powerful, emotive, heart breaking, anguishing!

What I'm saying...the point I'm trying to make here...the truth is... Laini Taylor kicked my heart in the ass.

And I LIKED it!




This review can also be found on my blog, Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

I started reading this book and a curious thing happened. Suddenly my house was sparkling clean, my bills were filed away, I started playing Farm Story and reached level 13 in one day, I did my tax, I spent two hours chatting to the chatbott, Jabberwocky...Anything, and I mean ANYTHING to avoid the boredom of reading Shiver. Shiver, the story of a girl drastically into beastiality, only to find out her wolf lover was really a boy. As I read this book I had the strange urge to lock up my German sheppard should Grace ever decide to visit my home because she really does fall in love with a dog... for YEARS before she ever finds out it's a boy or that things like werewolves exist. I can't even begin to express how creepy her obsession with a wolf is.

I get the whole eternal love thing. Perhaps Stiefvater was trying to show that Sam and Grace's connection transcends all the things love actually isn't supposed to transcend. Maybe I'm just weird and completely unromantic, but I've never looked at Fido and found a kindred spirit. I never passed a dog down the street and found that I couldn't be attracted to men because they just weren't going to cut it for me anymore.

So, other than the fact that this book disturbed the fucking hell out of me, bored me to death and dragged on like a visit to the old folk's home, it was also poorly edited. The writing wasn't TOO bad. Some of the poems were down right rubbish, and some of the others were alright.

Grace and Sam's voices were near identical. Oh, and another thing, Sam was annoyingly chaste for way too long. Where were all of these careful, thoughtful boys when I was in high school? It's a disturbing trend, really. Edward Cullen, Sam Roth, Daniel Gregori... they all came pre-pussy whipped and I'm kind of wondering what the attraction is.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for bad boys. Maybe I like boys that I COULDN'T imagine comfortably playing bridge with my 80 year old grandma (not to mention enjoying it!) What is with the sudden need to keep us women in line? If I read one more paranormal, male hunk refuse the supposed love of his life, who is literally flinging her naked body onto him, then I think I'm going to start a convention... a Ball Replacement Convention.

C'mon, Stiefvater! Give the boy his balls back, please! He complained that a jacket made him look bulky! He wrote a poem about a leaking womb! What teenage boy doesn't shudder at the thought of menstrual blood? What next? Chipped nail, PMS cramps? Is he going to stamp his foot and mutter, "Drat! I can't believe Jennifer is wearing the same dress as me! I think I might just die!"

Look, I know I'm being incredibly sexist. After all, it was kind of nice to read about a "stoic" female character and an emotional, gentle male character. But Sam felt and read far too much like a middle aged woman and not like a teenage boy. I didn't feel like he was well characterized or fleshed out enough.

So all in all, I can't muster the energy to rant about this book. It was REALLY boring. It was average on the writing scale. It's secondary characterization was pretty good but the main characters didn't do it for me. The plot was SLOW.

Her parents were stupid. I could complain that they were unrealistic - but I've met some fucked up parents over my life, so I'll buy that they really could be that moronic. What I will complain about is where they get this amazing and varied social life in a small town. It never explains why Sam's fate is mysteriously different to Jack's. Maybe I'm just stupid... No. I don't buy that. Was it because he was out in the freezing cold so it kept his temperature reasonable? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of giving him a crazy-ass fever? Was it actually because he processed it as a wolf? Well that doesn't make sense because Grace never changed.

And what's with the dramatic ending? Really? He gets cured and goes home and gets dressed and reads a few books, checks his mail, gives himself a mani and a pedi, goes on a diet, waits for his skin to clear up, buys the perfect set of shoes and THEN tracks down the love of his life who he thought he'd never see again? I DON'T FUCKING THINK SO! How about stumbling through the forest naked and desperately arriving in Grace's backyard because he can't believe the complete miracle of his cure and can't wait to have the love of his life back in his arms? Yeah, that ending makes so much more sense.

I don't get why this is popular. But then, I don't get why Fallen is popular either. It's just all beyond me. Now I'm off to see if I can cram the word "balls" into this review anymore.

Balls, balls, balls. Oh my goodness she fell in love with a dog! Balls.

Balls

 

This review can also be found on my blog, Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

"In this lifetime you're nothing more than you appear to be: a stupid, selfish, ignorant, spoiled little girl who thinks the world lives or dies on whether she gets to go out with some good-looking boy at school. Even if your death wouldn't accomplish something so long-awaited, glorious, and grand, I'd still relish this moment, killing you."

I'm sorry, was I supposed to agree with absolutely everything the evil villain said and wait, with baited breath, for her to kill Lucinda Price painfully on my behalf?

This review has spoilers, by the way.

I have a list of rules for authors. Kind of like a checklist to ensure that their novel is going to be good. This book breaks them all. For posterity I'm going to list exactly which ones and why.

1. Don’t assume that your audience isn’t as smart as you.

Statistically speaking, you’re probably sitting on a fat, old average like the rest of us. Try to flex our grey matter. Please.

Lauren Kate thinks we're idiots. She really, really does. The prologue basically immediately informs the reader that Lucinda Price has been reincarnated and that black shadows follow her around ready to engulf her and take her away. The title of the book is Fallen, and at page 51 Daniel's last name is revealed to be Grigori. Anyone with half a brain already knows the gist of this story. That Daniel is a fallen angel and the Lucinda Price is his loved one reincarnated. yet 389 pages later, Lauren Kate pulls this out like it's some kind of massive reveal. No. Fuck no. Having your main character come to a conclusion almost four hundred pages after the reader is just an insult. You never learn more than this by the way. Other than a vague explanation as to the true function of the shadows - that is it. *Kat's attempts to pierce her own eyes a la Jocasta*

2. Don’t cover up bad writing and plot with a sexy, smoldering character.

Chances are they won’t be nearly sexy, or smoldering enough. It is painful to read badly written literature so just get it right the first time, please.

The writing in this novel is terrible, by the way. The editing is even worse. Perhaps the copy-editor had a hard time focusing on the text while her brain hemorrhaged as well. The sentences were choppy, they flowed poorly and the word choices were sometimes just plain weird.

5. Characterization is everything.

This doesn’t mean that your characters have to be likable at all times – or likable at all. But they have to be interesting, worth reading and fleshed out. They have to react to situations within their character or in relation to their personal growth and they have to reflect the plot and the changes in your story.

Characterization... where do I even start. *sighs* okay. Here we go, but this is going to be painful and filled with profanities.

Lucinda Price - If I ever saw this girl in the street, I would probably punch her in the face. I have never read such a useless, pathetic, tragically stupid female protagonist IN MY LIFE.

Luce's first encounter with Daniel results in him flipping her off. After that he ignores her, rejects her, accuses her of stalking him, ditches her, suggests that she is annoying, accuses her of being an intruder... the list goes on. GET A HINT, WOMAN! HE DOESN'T LIKE YOU! Only he does, and why they fall in love or want anything to do with each other is probably the only fucking mystery in this whole book. No wait, I scratch that. They DO belong together. They're both prats. I wouldn't wish them on anybody else.

She's a useless, stupid idiot and he's a selfish, moronic asshole. It must be true love. Daniel treats Luce like shit. Luce accepts Daniel's treatment of her (the fact that she does this causes ME to agree with Daniel's assessment), internalizes it, agonizes over it and still goes back for more. Again and again. The ONE time. I mean it. ONE FUCKING TIME that Luce sticks up to Daniel and tells him not to treat her like an idiot (the idiot that she is) he kisses her (probably just to shut her up - for which I'm eternally grateful) then she immediately stops requesting that he treat her like an adult and an equal and he goes right back to muttering cryptic things without explaining them because her puny female mind couldn't possibly comprehend them.

Oh. And ANOTHER thing! She obsessively stalks him, against all odds seeks him out again and again. Finally, when he DOES tell her the truth, what does she do? She runs away. That's right. Like a big fucking pansy, it turns out that her puny female mind really CAN'T handle information. I feel like muttering that scene out of anchorman where Ron Burgundy says:

"I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am. You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science."

Daniel is crap. Need I say more? Crappity crap crap CRAP! "Oh dear, I love this girl, but if I kiss her she's going to DIE!"

Well here's a fucking idea, dickhead, DON'T KISS HER! (Or don't kiss her on the lips *winks* at least not the ones on her face! *Chuckles evilly*) when she shows up, as she inevitably will, run away. Go to a club and pick up a chick and take her home for "coffee" or to show her your special angel wings. Whatever floats your boat. Don't stick around and interact with her and torture yourself by getting close.

Other characters in this book are two-dimensional. If there were such a concept as one-dimensional, I'm sure Kate would have striven to achieve that instead. They are stand in cardboard cut outs and easily forgettable and inconsequential.

6. Your story needs to have an actual story.

It needs to have conflict, resolution; climax, dénouement; beginning and an end. They don’t always need to occur in the standard order, but something needs to happen.

Can you read that, Lauren Kate? Something needs to fucking happen! Not just 401 pages of stalking! That's not a fucking story!

7. Research.

Know what the hell you’re writing about and put the work and research into your story. Nothing is more annoying then reading a book about an Anglican Preacher in the seventeenth century burning witches, when you know perfectly well how very historically inaccurate that is.

This author knows nothing about angels. Or the Bible. Or religion. She shows no concept for the Biblical nature of angels, their real function, how they differ from humans. It's. Just. So. Fail. Kill me now. I felt like putting on my sexy librarian outfit, pulling out my cain (hyuk hyuk) and giving a very interesting instruction about the Bible in both its modern context and the times in which it is historically acknowledged to be written as well as the spiritual nature or angels and demons and heaven. Probably would have been a lot more fun than reading this book because I look very sexy in my outfits and I give great feedback to my students!

And finally - the last rule that this story broke:

8. Consider what message your story is telling.

Remember that usually, and historically, stories don’t usually exist just for the hell of it. Stories have messages and meaning. They teach us and give us a perspective on life. Storytelling carries a great responsibility because there are few things more emotive to people than stories.

My husband and I have been together for seven years now and I can confidently say I love him. I love him. I think about him. I know him. Most of all, I know WHY I love him and I know WHY he's perfect for me and why nobody else on this planet would ever do.

Fallen seems to think it has something to say about Love. Albeit, I wonder if even it knows what its opinion on love is. Maybe that love conquers all? No, not really since in the book it doesn't. Maybe that love is eternal? Well, yeah maybe. An eternal pain-in-the-ass is the theme it really seems to be going for.

However, I hate the version of love in this book. It's some mystical, unexplainable tie in this book. Something that just is without any further information provided. I can't help but compare Daniel's alleged "sacrifice" in losing Luce over and over again because he keeps selfishly kissing her (when he kisses her she dies apparently) with real love. If he really loved her then he'd leave as soon as he caught a glimpse of her. He'd move across the country. He'd keep running from her until the end of time for her own good.

When I compare it to how completely unselfish my husband is with his love, I can never excuse either Daniel or Luce for their actions.

The relationship in this book is so unbalanced. There is SO much information that Daniel never gives her because she just needs to trust him and apparently her fragile little female mind won't be able to handle it. Then of course, there is the complete and utter power imbalance in their relationship. This book is almost an argument against feminism. To make the boy love you, you must accept his treatment and patiently wait out his scorn and derision. You're supposed to obsess over the boy of your dreams and imagine who he is in complete contradiction to the person he's shown you to be. Somehow this is supposed to be romantic. This is supposed to be real love.

Well, I live real love. I live it every day in its very boring, mundane existence. I live with my soulmate and we go day from day. This book is nothing like love. This book knows obsession, hormones and drama. It knows nothing about love. It is devoid of respect, attention, tenderness and the freely giving love that I know to be real.

The back of the book has a teaser for the next book stating:

"Can you bear the... TORMENT

The next book in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate"

The answer is: No. I really, really can't bear it. I'll leave it to people who don't mind having their braincells sucked into a black hole of anti-feminist propaganda.

This review can also be found on my blog, Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

How To Write Popular YA Supernatural Literature AND Defile Your Spirit!

Based on the popular YA novel, Evermore, and aided by countless more like it, I have compiled an easy to read and follow list of rules for writing a popular series and being able to sell out your soul at the same time. Does that sound too convenient? Well, it's unbelievably easy to do if you follow my quick and easy program!

1. Create an 'Outcast' Heroine.

It's important that your primarily female teenage audience can relate to your main character. So whilst you can't have your main character associate herself with being cool, it still has to be obvious to your audience that she totally is. Now, Meyer's approach of the goose-turned Swan-but was really still a goose, Bella, associated herself as 'different' and a 'loner' only to arrive at her new school and be immediately popular and accepted by almost everyone. Noel's method is different yet in a similar spirit. Her protagonist, Ever, was incredibly popular at her old school and has decided to be an outcast because she feels that she can't be accepted due to her psychic gift. She also has the ability to perceive someone's personality through the colours that define them. So instead of aligning herself with the shallow, mean and popular crowd, she aligns herself with the shallow and mean loners.

It’s very important for your protagonists to be 'different' because today's youth despise the sheep mentality and so they all strive to be unique. Since they're all different in almost the exact same way, it is relatively easy to emulate this, with as little effort put into characterization as possible, in your female protagonist.

Just imagine they're all Miley Cyrus on a bad day

As long as she shows no regard for her clothing, appearance or any kind of interest in giving a shit about anyone but herself she will easily pass with young audiences. It will be her ewniqueness that eventually draws the Perfect Hero to her as opposed to any of the usual elements such as: looks, hygiene, personality or determinable interest in the world outside their own arse.

Please also remember that she probably should be a reader, preferably of Wuthering Heights or Romeo and Juliet and that she should consider everyone around her to have inferior intelligence despite the fact that her reading repertoire extends to only a couple of books.

A noticeably absent family is necessary and a completely dead family makes for a better story because then she actually has a perceived reason to be a moody, antisocial, self-absorbed little bitch. Do this even though, in all likelihood, she would be all of the above with a perfectly normal family.

2. Create a perfect hero.

It is VERY important that your hero be perfect in almost every regard. Unlike the female protagonist who can disregard her appearance, he must not only be more attractive than a GQ model without any of the effort put into his appearance, but he must also be thoughtful, intelligent and mysterious.

In no way is he to reflect almost every teenage boy to have ever existed and he must have no desire to find a partner for himself who is in anyway comparable in looks, kindness, intelligence or perfection.

Just imagine they're all Ian Somerhalder on a good day

If he is a vampire or some such immortal then he must be ridiculously wealthy. If he is a werewolf then he is allowed to be poor but must make up for it with incredible bedroom skills.

He needn’t have a personality that extends beyond mysterious, sexy and in love with the female protagonist. Naturally, in this respect, Meyers, Mead, Marr and Stiefvater are something like overachievers - but if Noel, Saintcrow, Clare, Kate and Fitzpatrick are any indication, then we need know little more about the hero other than the fact that he’s gorgeous, has a secret and is in love. History, friends, likes, dislikes, family, passions, interests, hobbies and personality flaws are all negligible information that is taking up precious space in your novel. Especially when you could be injecting more drooling from the female protagonist in place of any kind of characterization for your hero.

Your book will sell better if the hero stalks, follows, obsesses over and actively pursues the heroine beyond any realm of believability. You could triple your audience just by having him watch her sleep.

3. Create useless friends.

It’s important to reiterate to the young adult generation that nobody other than the hero is important. Since domestic abuse begins with one partner manoeuvring the other to have limited contact with anyone else, we must strive to normalize this in literature. Thus the female protagonist shouldn’t have anyone close enough to her that she can’t break contact or eventually forget about them. It’s very important that her full focus, socialization and all of her needs are eventually devoted or met by the male protagonist.

To aid this, her friends must be selfish, vain, crazy, slutty, uncaring or in other ways undeserving of the heroine’s attentions and affections. It’s very important that she never call them on their poor, damaging and graceless friendship but must lovingly worry about them for the minimal amount of time acceptable to the reader before once again completely focusing on the mysterious hero.

4. Mix in a twisted, convoluted plot designed entirely to provide dramatic and sexy subplot.

It’s important that the plot, no matter how unlikely, must revolve around the hero saving the heroine. The villains do not necessarily need to have realistic or conceivable motivations for their actions. As long as the hero gets to save the day at least three or four times then your book will be profitable!

Please remember that the actual plot of your story needn’t truly begin until at least 350 pages into your story. The longer you can stall any interesting event occuring, the less thinking you will actually need to do.

Plus - FOR FREE - extras to help 'improve' your novel, the bottom line of your sales, and the expedient destruction of your soul.

-How to create a senseless mythology.

Mythology is more of a concept rather than something that needs to be respected or honoured. Vampires don’t need to refrain from daylight and angels no longer need to “fall” for good they can now be redeemed like us! The good news is that creating your own mythology, disregarding anything written before, allows you to twist and bastardize the plot beyond any recognizably interesting concept!

-Explanations as to why research could actually DAMAGE your profit!

Research takes time, energy and intelligence. Why do it? You’ve got ten fingers (presumably) and an attention span that extends past anything that could be compared to a gnat (even if it is only barely). Simply make it up as you go! For example: Ever is psychic. Research may tell us that this has something to do with receiving visions of the future or possibly commnicating with ghosts. Yet research is boring. Instead, she is imbued with the following powers that we guess can kind of be put under a psychic umbrella if we force enough information and logic out of our brains first: Mind reading, visions of near-present and future, personal life knowledge of any person she physically touches, seeing ghosts, seeing auras, literary osmosis from touching any written object, drawing the answers from any written question placed before her and any other supernatural abilities that seem convenient at the time.

-Detailed observations on why the Deus Ex Machina rocks.

Tying together a plot, even if you work to keep it as non-complicated or infantile as possible, is hard! It’s much easier to ignore tying together a number of plot points in any believable fashion and instead rely on some Deus Ex Machina to come in and take care of thoughtful planning for you!

-How to expand one, nonsensical idea into a series and why this is more profitable than originality!

Last, but not least! Ensure that your story is somewhat open ended so that you can create a series out of it! Research shows that people, even if they are intelligent enough to see that you’re writing is becoming progressively shittier and nonsensical, will often still purchase books in the series in order to find out what happens. So rather than creating a new story with new characters, simply beat the same old horse (it needn’t really be a horse – simply a pile of shit that’s been forced into a horse-like shape) for at least three or more books in order to squeeze every last cent out of the franchise that you can!

 

This review can also be found on my blog, Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

 

3.5 Maybe? I really enjoyed the ending so I'm rounding up.

I spent a good portion of this book floating somewhere between wanting to punch Gabriel Merrick in the face and wanting to hug him and bake him cookies. Our pyromaniac always has the ability to bring up the most strong feelings due to his personality being so unpredictable. In Storm, I down-right hated him because, let's be honest, he's a dick. But somehow in Spark I started feeling differently. Don't get me wrong, I still don't love Gabriel, but I don't hate him anymore either.

Spark reminds me another book I've recently that features an anti-hero as its love interest: The Collector. The biggest difference is that Gabriel already has a past for really not being very well-liked in Storm. So he has to overcome a reader's preconceived notions and I honestly didn't think I could like this guy, even a little, after his behavior in Storm. Having the story told from his point of view definitely helped the situation. I think if it had been told by another character, it's possible I would have still be on the fence with this guy. Or driven into a murderous rage.

Other than Gabriel, we are introduced to another character I wasn't too sure of at first: Layne. In the end, I came out liking her much better than I did Becca from Storm. I know that this book could easily read as The Player meeting The Virgin and changing his ways, because that does happen. That viewpoint is completely valid. But for me, I saw this as something a little more. This isn't you Edward/Bella situation. Layne is a strong character, albeit flawed, but she does something that other people, specifically girls, usually don't do when it comes to dealing with him. She challenges him when he's most vulnerable. And while she does admit early on that she is physically attracted to him, she doesn't put up with his bullshit...



...or immediately buy into his charm.

In Spark, Gabriel is at a point in his life where he realizes that he and his twin brother, Nick, might not always be together. This becomes even more apparent when a fight leaves them on non-speaking terms for majority of the book. Without his twin by his side, he doesn't know who he is or what he wants to do with his life beyond high school. He's pushed his brothers away to the point where they don't even know how to handle him. To top it all off, he's struggling in school without Nick's help. He's alone.

Gabriel is a character who is used to having everything handed to him. Girls, good grades, sports. He's never really had to "work" for any of those things the way others have. But with Layne, it's an experience for him. He needs her help to pass math and ends up spending a lot of time with her. And she doesn't exactly make it easy for him. What made it interesting for me is how much they had in common personality-wise. They both are guarding secrets from their past, not used to letting anyone get close and both are very lonely. So for me, while Layne was the more unexperienced one when it came to relationships, I never felt any emphasis really place on that as being a reason for Gabriel's attraction.

And if Storm reminds me of Four Brothers, than Spark is She's All That, except there's no bet (another favorite movie of mine, by the way). Layne is the unpopular girl who gets bullied by the other kids and Queen Bee, Taylor (hey, same name as the lead bully from She's All That). There's even a scene where Layne is tricked into attending a party and the bullies humiliate her there. There's no wine being poured down her dress, but she is sexually assaulted (groped by a dude while others get it on camera). I didn't really care for the part for the same reasons why Becca's almost rape scene bothered me. I don't like it used as a plot device. Replace Layne with a male character and it would have been an entirely different prank, but because she is a female, the prank *has* to do with her sexuality in some way. (-_-)/

***Time Out***

Why are all the lead female characters sexually assaulted? First Becca and now Layne. And if they aren't, then some type of emphasis is placed on their appearance.  Becca's best friend Quinn is regularly teased by Gabriel for being "chubby." And even Taylor, the bully, is insulted as "looking like a prostitute" by Layne. I'm starting to notice a trend here...

***Time In***

But one really positive thing I can say about Spark is that the writing felt noticeably stronger than Storm. I had no problem adjusting the Kemmerer's writing style and I enjoyed it much more this time around. The dialogue also was an improvement to me. That's not to say it was terrible in Storm, but it was funnier in Spark. Gabriel is a bonafide smartass and his personality clearly came in loud and clear. But I just love how there is someone time enough for his little remarks.

"You know," he said by way of greeting, "the night I caught you with Layne, I called you a future felon. I didn't realize you'd make good on that prediction so quickly."
"That night you dragged Layne out of my driveway, I called you an asshole. Guess we were both right."

And:

"Were you bluffing about getting out?"
Gabriel grabbed the door handle. When he was standing in the grit and rubble of the shoulder, feeling the rain trail down his collar, he hesitated before closing the door. "You know I don't even have a phone."
"Would now be a bad time for a joke about smoke signals?"
"Fuck you."

Truly, it was never a dull moment from Gabriel Merrick's point of view.

All in all, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Spark considering my reservations of its leading man. But that last 25%! GAH! It'll be very interesting to see where this story goes next. Very interesting indeed.


A Finished copy was provided by K-Teen as apart of the Spirit Blog Tour, hosted by The Midnight Garden. No monies or favors were exchanged for a positive review. 

More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

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Are you ready for round two of the Elemental Read Along?! Join Jen and I as we read Spark. Then head over to Jen's review to discuss on May 12th!

Damn. That kissing scene at the end was pretty HOWT.

EDIT: Okay, here's the thing, I feel the need to clarify a few things. This review is in no way, shape or form alluding to the fact that the author is sexist. Are there characters in the novel that are depicted as sexist? Yes. Do I think the author is sexist and that he was trying to write a sexist book? No. Did the book come off as sexist to me? Yes.

This is just an interpretation of the novel and has nothing to do with the author's intention. Just so we're clear.

--------------

Actual rating: NO STARS

I can't believe I survived. Should I laugh? Cry?

Definitely both.



Full disclosure: I went into this book with a suspicion that I might not enjoy it after my bookish twin panned it. But since I requested this book and was sent a paper ARC from the publisher, I thought I'd try to go in with an open mind and try it out.

That was probably not the best decision I've ever made in life.

It goes without saying that this review will be long, contain spoilers and quotes that might possibly make your eyes bleed. RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN.

There are two reasons why I felt I NEEDED to have this book. (1) Just look at that cover! (2) The blurb made it sound like a fun summer read. On both of those counts I was mislead, but especially when it came to the blurb.  If you think this book has romance, guess again. If you think it will keep you on the edge of your seat, guess again. If you expect this book to be coherent in any fashion, guess again!

What you will get with September Girls is an anti-climatic plot, slut shaming, gendered language, poorly represented feminism and sexism. Oh and penises. Isn't it everything you could have hoped and dreamed for in a mermaid novel?

Terrible Characters:

Okay so the book follows this boy named Sam. His mother has just left him, his brother, Jeff, and his dad for some mysterious placed called Women's Land (more on that in a bit.) Sam's dad quits his job and they journey to this strange beach that is brimming with girls. Not just any girls. Highly sexualized, blond, perky breasted, toned-bottomed, tanned girls. And guess what? They all want Sam. Sam, who slut shames, starting from page 25 where he reminisces about groping a girl's breasts "through her deliberately slutty Alice in Wonderland costume." Sam, you can't feel a girl up and then slut shame her once you've gotten what you want, silly!

Then you have Jeff, who's only care in the world is having sex as much as possible over the summer. He doesn't particularly care who it's with as long as she is hot and preferably drunk. You know, the usual standards.

"Oh, who gives a fuck," Jeff said. "The point is they're hot and they're here. I hope they're already drunk when we get to the party. I hope they are ready for a piece of this." He groped his crotch obnoxiously.

Such an outstanding gentleman. Ladies, don't rush this stud all at once!

Sebastian was a really random character who didn't even have physical presence in the book, but I've decided I hated him slightly more than the others. You see, Sebastian was just full of dating advice for Sam. And when in doubt, Sam would always wonder what his good old buddy would say.

Oh, Sebastian, I'm such a boring character with absolutely no depth or personality and this hottie is talking to me. What should I say?

"Girls like to talk about themselves. If you can't think of anything to say, just ask some dumb question about nothing, and if you're lucky she'll go off and you won't have to say anything else for another ten minutes and she'll think you're a great listener."

He's like a Dr. Phil, I swear. He clearly understands the complexity of the female mind.

But... I think I might be falling  for her even though we've only interacted a few times. I'm thinking about her all the time, but she seems smart and appears to be ignoring me. What now?! Should I go looking for her, find out where she lives, visit her at her work place until she relents?

"Wait, this is all over some girl? Don't be such a fucking vagina, dude! I mean, dude! You go to the beach for a month and you turn into a human tampon!"

What a guy! I just love it when someone uses the name of my genitals to insult someone! For those of you like me with small female minds, that roughly translated as:



Were any of the above quotes supposed think, "Oh hells yeah. These guys sound so authentic. This book is so--" Wait, let me see what the back of the ARC says. Oh yeah, "poetic and punchy, sarcastic and true," says Sara Shepard. Well, damn. Who am I to argue with that logic and quotes that were clearly "sarcastic and true." I suppose I'm just a sensitive little female with no humor bone in her body. In fact, I have no bones. I am made of tampons.

What I really don't understand is why Madison couldn't make any of his characters likable. Having your male characters degrade women with their words at any chance they get isn't authentic. It's insulting to both genders and a disservice to humanity.

Anti-climatic plot:

There were times when September Girls attempted to actually tell a story. The only problem is that almost nothing ever happens. Oh, I lied. Sam does do things. Here is his routine:

-Wake up
-Monologue
-Walk around the beach
-Monologue
-Have women thrown at his feet
-Monologue
-Stare at a Girl's "heart-shaped ass." *raging boner* That slut.
-Monologue
-Come home
-Skip monologue. The Price is Right is on.
-Monologue
-Jerk off
-Ahhhh... sweet self-satisfaction!
-Sleep


Oh shit, I hope not!

Slut Shaming:

September Girls' biggest problem would have to be the amount of slut shaming and the overall deeming attitude toward women. (And if you are unfamiliar with what slut shaming is, here is a great article at The Book Lantern.) Jeff just looks at them as conquest, something to satisfy his pleasure. Sebastian can't be fucked to show any human decency. And Sam follows after the other two, except he takes it a step further when his brother starts hanging out more with a certain Girl named Kristle:

"He had clearly entangled himself in that dire pussy-web he'd warned me about on our first night here."

That's right, guys! Beware the female "pussy-web." It'll gettcha! What kills me about this is that it isn't assumed that his brother may like Kristle just because she's a person. Instead, they reason that if a guy falls for a girl it is strictly because of what she is offering sexually, therefore, objectifying her.

"And by the way, Kristle's a total slut, so I hope you haven't caught anything from her yet."

Tell us how you really feel, Sam.

"Okay, she's not a slut," I said testily. "Just a skank."

So glad we got that cleared up!

Not only do the men in this novel have a blatant disrespect for women and slut shame, but the Girls do as well. The one Girl who does this the most is one special ray of sunshine named DeeDee. Now, mostly DeeDee just talks a bunch of shit and makes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine. She was also their resident Ho-olgist. She knew all about dem hos in the bible. Those are her favorite stories. Dem hos. See if you can keep up with the poetry she's spittin':

"I like the parts about hos, even if they always come to a bad end. Eat a fucking apple, you're a ho. Open a box, you're a ho. Some guy looks at you: turn to stone, ho. See you later, ho. It's always the same. The best one is Lilith--also a ho, but a different kind of ho. She went and got her own little thing going, and for that she gets to be an eternal demon queen, lucky her. No one likes a ho. Except when they do, which, obviously, is most of the time. Doesn't make a difference; she always gets hers eventually."

Wut.

"Is that really in the Bible?"

"No. Some of it. Well, the ho with the apple at least."

"I never thought of her as a ho."

"Think again."

The ho... with the apple. I... HUH?

 "God," DeeDee said, reaching for an ashtray and stubbing out her cigarette. I couldn't take my eyes off her. "Kristle can be so ridiculous. But who knows what I'd do without her. Total ho, by the way--not that I'm judging; I actually like hos myself. Maybe I am one--I barely know what counts anymore. Being blond certainly never helped anyone's case."

She's probably even got hos in different area codes. I wouldn't put it past her.

Poor Representation of Feminism:

And this is the part that really made me rage. So Sam's mom was a housewife from what I gather from the book. Now the thing is, when you are a parent or mate that stays home, it can be very easy to fall into the rut of *exclusively* taking care of everyone else and forgetting your needs too. Moreover, everyone else in the household might forget. That's why it's so important to find a hobby, get outside the house, do things for yourself for your own sanity and health. There is a scene where Sam and DeeDee are talking about housewives and how she feels being a housewife would be fun because they don't work and they are apparently "free." Sam has a monologue moment where he says "my mother spouted about something called the Feminine Mystique" and he considered it "pure shit."

Then he goes on to say this:

"If you were housewives you could just sit around all day with your feet in footbaths full of Epsom salts."

This is a common misconception of the role of a housewife and it's one of the most under-appreciated jobs a person can ever have. That passage is problematic and further perpetuates the stereotype of a housewife being lazy and doing nothing all day. I REALLY don't appreciate the attempted humor here when in the 1950s, suburban living had a very high rate of suicides among women. (Richard Yates highlighted this a bit in his novel Revolutionary Road. There was also a film adaptation where the DiCaprio/Winslet duo wrecked havoc on my feels yet again!) Managing the home and kids while being separated from society literally drove some women insane. Even in today's world, women who stay at home suffer more emotionally then their working counterparts.

Back in May of 2012, Gallup.com did a survey of over 60,000 US women between the ages of 18-64 and their results were depressing.

Stay-at-home moms also lag behind employed moms in terms of their daily positive emotions: They are less likely to say they smiled or laughed a lot, learned something interesting, and experienced enjoyment and happiness "yesterday." Additionally, they are less likely than employed moms to rate their lives highly enough to be considered "thriving." - Gallup.com

Mothers at home also can have feelings of worthlessness and lack of accomplishment. Many of what they do, volunteering in schools and taking care of the children, goes ignored in our society. I think it was in very poor taste for Madison to use this as joke fodder in his novel. Sam was only one step away from calling her a "bored housewife." At this point nothing should surprise you in this book when it is nothing BUT female stereotypes.

So his mom stayed home to take care of her family until one day she discovered FaceBook. First, she would post things on his FaceBook wall, but then she moved onto Farmville (which I hear is ridiculously addictive). He complains about her always being in the basement on the computer all day playing this game. And when she's not playing, she's always talking about it. But according to Sam, the real problem starts when she makes friends. Because his mother having a life is definitely a major problem! I guess he expected his mother to do his laundry and cook him dinner forever and ever!

"She got all interested in this weird crap that she wouldn't have been able to tell you about before. She's reading all this poetry; she has a Tumblr, although I avoided looking at it. She won't shut up about this thing called the SCUM Manifesto..."

Sounds to me like his mother developed a hobby and found a means to have other human interaction. And hey, that's a good thing!

In the Gallup study, stay-at-home moms found other ways to cope with depression by continuing education, blogging and joining the gym to have some social time with others. - CBS Atlantica

What I also dislike is the reason why she decided to leave her family. Madison had an opportunity to show feminism in a positive light, but he instead showed an extremist. Right after she reads SCUM Manifesto this happens:

"Then one day I'm getting ready for school and she knocks on my door with a bag packed and she tells me she's going to live at something called Women's Land, where no one ever has to talk to men."

Of course. Here is evil feminism breaking up a perfectly good family. I supposed this is just as good a time to reveal my master plan. Ladies, are you ready take over the world, moving all men underground only to be used for breeding, whist women rule the world? Muahahahahahaha!




The next section spoils the ending, so click only if you are burning with curiosity or rage. Either will do.

"Save us with your Mighty-Joe-Young Penis!"

The Girls are all bound to this little beach by a curse placed on them by their father for... reasons. I didn't really understand why this was, but I think it had something to do with seeking revenge on their mother. BTW, their dad is the Endlessness and their mother is the Deepness. Don't ask me what that means. Anyway, it's really not important.  What's important is this curse because it's the reason for why the Girls are so sexual. The book has sections where the Girls narrate and they describe this "knife" they have. This supposed "knife" is basically good looks. Perky breasts, perfect butt, blond, overall hotness. This is another stereotype I picked up on where women, who approach men instead of waiting for a guy or use their looks to gain things, are looked at as "predators."

But, of course, when the summer ends the Girls go into some weird lethargic state where their hair skin become dull and their faces sullen. No boys, no "knife." So basically this is how I pictured them:



The only way each one of them to break the curse is if they have sex with a virgin boy. And they can't even initiate the encounter. They have to wait for Sam to talk to them first. So let's recap here: Not only do the Girls not have a choice when it comes to breaking the curse (well, they kinda do: break it or die), but it must be done by a male penis swooping in to liberate them. Their sexuality is not their own. It is owned by men.

Excuse me for a moment.





I mean, goddamn! I really think this book hit on almost every way to demean a women. That is quite a feat considering I never thought I'd read a book that offended me more than Fifty Shades of Grey. Congrats, September Girls! You get the new title of Worst Book I've Ever Read right up there next to Revealing Eden.

If it isn't obvious, this book is terrible and I could never recommend it with a good conscious. But what do I know? Both Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly thought it was brilliant and gave it glowing reviews. Clearly, this is the sign of the end of the world because here's the truth: Reading September Girls was like being swept away by the ocean and drowni--

CLEAR!




ARC was received via publisher for an honest review. No monies or favors were exchanged, though, I guess that's pretty obvious.

More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

Also, check out Debby's review from The Snuggly Orange for an even bigger aneurysm.

I will read anything this woman writes.

Occasionally, my husband and I will discuss books that I am reading at the time. It mostly depends on if the cover sparks his curiosity enough to find out what it's about. In this case, he saw me putting together the Elemental Virgins post a few weeks ago (which may or may not have led to a few awkward questions. "So you're a virgin, huh?"), so he knew this was one of the books in the series. One day, I was minding my business, cracking up in my little Reading Corner at some witty banter between the Merrick boys, and hubby and I had an interesting exchange:

"So, what's going on in your book? You liking it?" he said.

"Yeah, it's pretty funny. I like some parts more than others," I said.

"That's good, I guess?" he asked.

"Well, it's just this one character named Gabriel that's being a total douche," I replied.

"Uh oh. That doesn't sound good. Are you going to anger the internet gods and write a scathing review?" he asked.

"What? No. I like this book far too much to do that," I said. I mean, really, hun, is that what you think-- okay, fair point.

"Alright, so tell me what it's about."

"It's about these guys that can each control the elements. See the man-child on the cover? This book is Chris' story. He can control water and his brothers can each control fire, wind and earth," I explained.

*cue laughter from the hubby*

"What? What's so funny?" I asked.

"The fact that you're giving your V-card up to Captain Planet's Planeteers," he says.

*insert my unimpressed face here*

"'We're the Planeteers! You can be one too! 'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do!'" he sung. Badly.


Ha. Ha. Ha. Everyone's a comedian.

But my hubby is totally wrong, it's nothing like Captain Planet, minus the whole element wielding thing, of course. But it does tell the story of four orphaned guys, living in a house together, struggling to stay out of trouble. Well, I should really rephrase that. Sometimes they manage to stay out of trouble. Other times, they welcomed it.  But the thing with Storm and I is that we developed this weird love/hate relationship during our courtship. For every one thing I absolutely loved about it, there was always something else that I hated. So here are three things that I loved/hated about Storm.

The Merrick Boys

I'd be lying if I said I didn't love this group of guys. While this book does primarily tell Chris' story and jumps between his and Becca's PoV, the other brothers' personality are not neglected what so ever. Each brother has such a distinct personality that comes through the pages loud and clear (except for Nick. He's kinda quiet). I loved seeing the dynamic between them, which of course came with lots of witty banter like this:

“If you want me to fix your homework, you need to leave me alone.” Then he spotted her. “You’re back.”
“Yeah.” She glanced between him and Gabriel. “You do his homework?”
“Just the math. It’s a miracle he can count to ten.”
“I can count to one.” Gabriel gave him the finger.”

You could also tell how much they cared about each other. Since losing both parents in a tragic accident, the oldest brother Michael forgoes college and any other personal aspirations to stay home and raise his younger brothers. Sometimes he's very over-protective, but that was totally understandable given what they've all gone through. The Merrick boys are virtually outcasts from their own kind and hunted for their powers. Their relationships and fierce protectiveness reminds me of how my siblings and I interacted.

But you want to know who I really thought the Merrick boys reminded me of?



The Mercer boys! Okay, so before you start giving me strange looks, hear me out! I mean, think about it. You have Bobby (Michael) who's the one in charge, keeping the others in line. Angel (Gabriel) who is always getting into it with the leader and he's the most volatile. Jeremiah (Nick) is the calm, responsible one. And finally, Jack (Chris) who is the younger, brooding member of the family. Now just picture Mark Wahlberg threatening someone while saying:

“Good.” Michael wrapped his hand around the hilt.
Then he lifted it, cocked the hammer, and put the barrel against Hunter’s forehead. “Now where the fuck are my brothers?”

Guys, tell me this is not a YA version of Four Brothers! And in case that wasn't clear, that's a compliment because that movie was awesome, filled with a lot of action and it has great chemistry between the brothers. Are you seeing my vision here?

So what was the thing that I disliked about the characters? Gabriel. I honestly was not feeling this guy. He came across a bit sexist to me when he kept commenting on Becca's sexual ventures. He'd say things like "she's been around the block" and how she slept with half the soccer team, etc. But I found that to be very unfair considering how he mentioned to her that it wasn't unusual to find different girls in their house on a regular basis. BUT I do think that even though Gabriel felt like he was slut shaming to me, he DOES seem like a redeemable character. From what I hear from my other reviewing peeps, he does just that in his book, Spark.

The Story

I really appreciate the creativity that Brigid used in Storm. This could have easily turned into a run of the mile "boy saves girl, boy and girl fall in love, the universe is trying to keep them apart... oh noz!, happily ever after." But it didn't. Instead, the book starts off with the heroine, Becca, saving Chris from getting his ass handed to him on the parking lot. That one interaction causes her to continue to cross paths with the Merrick boys over the course of the book and from that moment on, there is very little downtime for the reader. When people say this is an addictive read, they aren't joking. I stayed up well past my bedtime because I couldn't seem to put it down.

I also loved how the story takes place somewhere that is very familiar to me. Thank you, Brigid! There are not nearly enough books set in this awesome town. ;)

The downside?

-I found the plot to be fairly predictable in some parts. I had seen the mystery surrounding Hunter and Becca a mile away. The good thing is that it didn't bother me in the slightest. The story is way to engaging for that.

-In the beginning, I felt that the Merrick boys were way too willing to share certain things with Becca even though they were trying not to tell her their secret. For example, Chris would make comments hinting at his powers to the point where it was painfully obvious, but Becca remained oblivious until Chris finally told her. Becca finding out the mystery felt a little too drawn out for my tastes and didn't seem very organic.

-The writing style was a bit of an adjustment for me. I don't think it was bad, I just dislike 3rd person PoV because I am a strange person and it usually takes me a lot longer to connect with characters. This is just a personal pet peeve, so that probably wouldn't bother most people who have a heart and soul. Unlike me... or so Kat tells me.

Becca

Becca was a very interesting character and I felt that Brigid took a risk with her. Mostly this was not a bad thing. Becca is sexually harassed throughout most of the book and is labeled the school slut. I think that was a very realistic portrayal of what happens to some girls and overall I did like Becca as a character. She's spunky and does hold her own up against the Merrick boys since they are not the most accepting bunch of people.

My issues?

-I feel like Becca made a few decisions that were illogical, like say, going to a party thrown by a guy who started the rumors about her and who continued to harass her only to get drunk there. Given what her past was with this guy, that made so little sense to me. Also, in the end where she goes outside of the dance to talk with the guy (Drew) alone, was so not smart on so many levels. Why not have Hunter just stand at a distance while she had the convo and be nearby just in case douchey McDouchey Pants tried to try anything. And you can believe that Drew did intend to try something. It was like watching a character in a horror movie opening That Door and you're yelling at your TV, (as if they can hear you) telling them not to, but they don't listen and they die. That is how I felt with Becca.

-The moment where Becca finally stood up to Gabriel and his snide comments, was awesome for me... right up until he decided to get revenge on Drew by beating him up. It felt like the scene's focus shifted from Becca being the victim and having her moment to Gabriel being the hero. The problem I have is that every time Becca was being sexually harassed, it was one of the Merrick boys that came swooping in for the rescue. Becca wasn't exactly a pushover since she did stand up to the Merricks on countless occasions. I would have liked to see Becca be her own hero when it came to standing up to Drew.

-There is an almost rape scene between Becca, Drew and a group of other boys (and it was more graphic that what I thought it'd be). To me, it felt conveniently placed just so Chris and Becca would end up on the field during that lightning storm. One of my pet peeves is when a heroine's gender is used to further the plot. It's like, she's a girl and so the worst possible thing that will happen to her is rape, so let's throw in a rape scene. But more than that, this one didn't seem authentic to me because Drew essentially says, "Everyone thinks I raped you. So even though I didn't and could possibly plead my case, I'm going to commit the crime everyone thought I did... just because." Really, Drew?



And then, of course, that was Chris' cue to step in and save Becca. I wasn't very impressed with that scene.

 

But despite my issues, I would still recommend this book. It's addictive and a really entertaining read that appears to get better with every book. As for me? Weathering this Storm proved to be very rewarding. How do I feel about losing my Elemental V-card? Well, you know what they say. You never forget your first time. Heh.


A copy of Storm was provided by KTeen for the Spirit blog tour, hosted by The Midnight Garden! Thank you!

-----------------------------

I'm ready to lose my Elemental V-Card. Are you?



Join Jen and I for a mass read along! On April 28th, come back here and let's swoon over the Merrick boys discuss the story! ;)

Tweet at us with #evirgins!

@starryeyedjen
@Cuddlebuggery

----------

Anyone up for a mass read along?

Check out the details for the read along here and enter for a chance to win Storm, Spark and Spirit (they are totally signed)!

I am intrigued!

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It's pre-game time before the Elemental Read Along tomorrow! I had the opportunity to hear Brigid read a little of this yesterday at a signing. Bad boy? Gimme.

Want to win an ARC of The Glass Casket? Hop on over to the official cover reveal for a chance to win!

I always go into a second book in a series with fears that it will have the dreaded "Second Book Syndrome". I worry that the characters will regress, the plot will stall and surmount to overall ridiculousness, and in the end, become boring and lathered in disappointment. So even though The Grisha series is a new favorite for me, I still had these concerns. You cannot even imagine my glee when I discovered Siege and Storm did NOT suffer from any of these things. On the contrary, it was even better than its predecessor. If you loved Shadow and Bone, be prepared to be blown away!

There are so many things I want mention and squeal about in this review, but OH THE SPOILERS. And anyway, Kat did such a great job with reviewing in code already. So I've decided to just write letters.

 

Dear Darkling,

You're so evil, but I can't seem to conjure up any feelings of dislike for you. In fact, I missed you in Siege and Storm. For most of the novel, you were gone from me, only appearing in Alina's dreams. How fair is that? Don't you know how much I need your evil goodness to be present at all times? Seeing you torture the poor peasants of the Grisha world, warms my heart.

And, oh, Darkling, what new skills you have. Wait, does that sound dirty? Because it totally isn't. Then again, you did tell us all to, "Make me your villain." It's only fair if I, too, am allowed at least one inappropriate pun. But seriously, you've leveled up faster than a Super Saiyan in Siege and Storm. Kat says you learned to line dance, but I think it's more along the line of baking cookies. You showed those cookies who was boss!

But your ending concerns me. I guess the cookie batter turned out to be much more difficult that you expected. Maybe you should take a page from Paula Deen and add more evil butter. I'm not sure this has anything to do with book 3, Ruin and Rising, but I just like cookies, okay? And you. I like you too. So be sure to be extra evil next time and give those cookies a run for their money.

Love,

Steph

--------------------

Dearest Mal,

Please do us all a favor and stop being so insecure over your relationship with Alina. The girl's got a lot on her plate. She has the responsibility of saving all of Ravka, which is kinda a tad more important than you. I need for you to be more understanding and supportive. I liked you in Shadow and Bone, but I'm starting to think I'm outgrowing my mildly inappropriate swooning of you. Just yesterday, I found myself wondering if Leigh might actually kill you off in Ruin and Rising. If that happens, it's possible I might only mourn you for half a page. No, no, no! I take it back! Don't you dare die on me, Mal-Mal!

True love is tough love,

Steph

P.S. I still love you, Mal. <3

--------------------

Sturmhond,

I think I speak for everyone when I say, please become a real person.

xoxo,

Steph

========

And finally:

Dear Leigh,

Amazing.

You are evil. Evil, evil, evil. So evil, your stories leave me speechless. Your humor sends me into fits of giggles and tickles my tender pieces. Your plots make me wish I can pack my bags and vacate to your mind if only for a day. Please don't ever stop being this awesome evil. And because Troy gifs have become our thing:

Also, that ending is causing me to hit the Kvas pretty hard tonight. Look what you've done to me.

Mal, Darkling, Sturmhond... I must collect them all.

Hiccup,

Steph

 

An ARC was received for a review from the publisher. No monies or favors were exchanged for a positive review. Thanks, Macmillan! 

More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

I got to around 26% before I DNFed. It's not that it's a terrible book because it's definitely not on Starcrossed or Fallen's level. But I did feel the writing and characters lacked a certain bit of depth that I prefer. Otherborn does have a very interesting premise, but it failed at building the right amount of anticipation to hold my attention.

Dystopian novels disappoint me the most out of any other sub-genre. Arclight has to be one of my most anticipated books of 2013 and I was not disappointed. Despite the fairly predictable plot twist, Arclight does offer strong writing and imaginative creatures: The Fade. Which basically means this review will be a lovefest of all things Fade.

The strongest point in Arclight is without a doubt Josin's writing style and her beautiful descriptions. Every scene was so visual in my head and this was so important because by only reading the blurb, it's hard to understand what the book is really about. The world is so different and it's covered in darkness. Josin slowly reveals to the reader how things came about while still maintaining some sort of ambiguity. I really think that is where a lot of dystopian novels fail to grab me. Some don't seem to let the reader know anything about their world. It's just usually a "My world is terrible, people die. Deal with it." kind of thing. But not in Arclight. The reader finds out more as Marina does and that part was not predictable.

You may have heard that there is a love triangle and that is true, but it's not a bad one. There are two guys who are vying for Marina's affection, Tobin who I wasn't really sold on and the other is... "Honey Bunches". That is what I will call him because he was filled to the brim with sweetness! Both guys do have their faults. Tobin carries a chip about on his shoulder and blames Marina for something that happened in the past. And on the other hand, "Honey Bunches" is the jealous type, but I honestly can't blame him for his anger (you'll have to read the book to see what I mean). <!--more-->

And then you have the Fade themselves which was nothing short of brilliant. I absolutely love them and it's what really sold me on this novel. They are so different and fascinating. I especially love the way they communicated and their ability to say so little, but their words packed so much punch. It was the way they viewed the world and each other and the way their names transcended human language that made me truly believe Josin did an AMAZING job developing them. And OMGosh, I just want to tell everyone about my favorite part, but spoilers! I will say it was right before the ending when secrets are being revealed and Marina has this moment of clarity. She looks at "Honey Bunches" and ahhhhh!!! My feels and that scene made sweet, sweet lovin'.

Now that isn't to say that Arclight was perfect. It's one of those books that dives into the whole "I'm the new girl in this strange world and I don't know who I am". I really love those books for the mystery and for finding out the story behind the main character's memory loss. The problem is when you already see it coming and that anticipation that should have been building for a good period of the novel is all for nothing. However, even though this was Arclight's biggest problem, it didn't really bother me that much and gave me similar feelings to how I felt about the plot twist in Cinder. By the time the Big Reveal came around, I was already so invested in the story and the characters.

But strangely, there was a good that came out of the predictability. I was very surprised about all the characters' reactions to the twist, especially Marina's. She chooses one guy over another and I did not approve. All throughout the novel, and particularly the second half, I was shipping Marina and Honey Bunches hard. Like, there was no doubt in my mind that Marina would end up with the guy I was rooting for. And yet, she didn't and I was so unhappy. I felt all my feels melting faster than the Wicked Witch of the West. Thankfully, I did discover the other day that there is a sequel, Meridian, and I honestly couldn't be happier because knowing this completely changes my original thoughts on the ending. All is not lost and dammit, THIS SHIP SHALL SAIL ON. *pumps fist* Plus, I need to read more about the Fade. Overall, I *really* enjoyed this book and I can't wait to find out more about the characters.


I received an e-ARC from the publisher for review, but was later gifted a physical ARC from Christina @ A Reader of Fictions. Thank you!

More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.