Book Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Velveteen 
by Daniel Marks

Genre: Paranormal/Horror

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: October 9, 2012

Source: ARC from publisher

Age Rating: 16+

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Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days. It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her. 

My Review

Velveteen is a book I've been waiting to read for about two years now because I found Danny Marks somehow through his YouTube vlogging. He's such a great personality and he'd vlog about editing Velveteen, getting it ready for his agent to go on out on sub with it, and then had a very quick sale of the manuscript to his publisher. Of course, I was really happy to have been approved for an ARC several months ago.

But, after reading Velveteen, it really wasn't a book that captured my attention for the right reasons. Sure, it's very different YA paranormal fiction from what you've likely encountered, and that is good. The world building is unique and well-detailed—it's interesting, and I had no trouble at all envisioning the world of purgatory and understanding the logic of how it operated. Still, this ends up not being enough to completely save this book for me.

First off, the writing is verbose—very verbose—so, it should have been pared down. It would have trimmed off 100+ pages, as this was a tad too long of a read. Velvet, being the protagonist, starts out with the goal to kill the serial killer, Bonesaw, who is her killer. I love that whole angle, but, weirdly, she doesn't do the most obvious thing and just grab one of his many precious knives and stab him to death in his sleep. As badly as she wants to kill him, I think her reason for not killing him doesn't work. She's too afraid, apparently. Meh....

She spends most of her time in purgatory because she's not even supposed to be in the world of the living at all. She is part of a Salvage team—a group of purgatory souls who go to 'daylight,' where living people live, and take care of problems caused by wayward purgatory souls messing up things and causing shadowquakes in purgatory. Apparently, doing anything in daylight causes shadowquakes in purgatory.

This is why Velvet feels guilty every time she haunts Bonesaw, or tries to free his victims. She has to do this all secretly. That's fine, hun, but could you just get your revenge over with already? It's kind of sucky having all these shadowquakes because you're so darn undetermined to kill your killer.

Next, I must move on to Nick, Velvet's love interest who just doesn't really need to be in the story because he seems like he could have been excluded and it wouldn't have changed the story much. Although, he does do some heroic things with his inexplicable specialness. He's a golden boy, perfect jock guy whose pretty funny, but still, not really layered with any depth. Neither is anyone else. Although, I suppose Bonesaw is the lone character with any hint of depth, oddly enough.

My biggest problem with this novel is that the real rub of the story, the story itself, doesn't emerge until the very end. Get this: a group of wayward souls, revolutionists, want to escape purgatory and possess the living bodies of humans in order to have a second life. That would make a cool premise for a story, if only it had been used as the actual story for this novel. But, we don't find out that's the motive of the revolutionists until it's nearly over, so it is mostly just a story about an unremarkable teen girl living in purgatory trying not to jump on the hot new guy in front of everybody. She has no purpose, no goal until the end and it's too late to keep the story engaging.

It's not a bad read, but one that doesn't engage the emotions much because life is too easy for Velvet until the very, very end and it's just too late to cop a care for her, or anybody else, by then. Depending on taste, you may find this a really fun story, so go ahead and try it if it sounds like your cup o' tea.

My score: 3/5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book as an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

by Veronica Roth 

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Source: hardcover purchase

Age Rating: 13+

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Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature. 

 

My Review

Wow, it took me a long time to finish this one since it's so long and I had family visiting for a good chunk of the time I spent reading it. All I can say is that I didn't like this one as much as Divergent. Tris spends so much time bouncing from one thing to the next, one place to another, all without any direction or purpose. She finds out very early on from Marcus, Tobias' father, that he knows why Jeanine attacked the Abnegation faction at the end of the first book, but Tris doesn't get that answer at that time. She doesn't even feel it's all that significant of information to go after until the end of the book.

I just feel like it should have been much shorter and it would have been easier to get through. There are a lot of unnecessary scenes and lengthy descriptions that could have been left out completely. It bogged down the flow of the story and made it soupy to tread through. Shouldn't this story be more action-oriented and adrenaline-pumping? It is for a few short scenes, but that's all in its entire 525 pages.

For some reason, I sometimes find the second book in some trilogies to be “the sagging middle” books, and Insurgent seems like that to me. There is a plot twist at the very end that leaves you wanting to read the third book because it promises to answer the overarching, pink-elephant-in-the-middle-of-the-room question, why are all these people living in factions in Chicago, Illinois and are completely unaware of the outside world? So, I'll likely read Book 3 just to find out, but it better be more focused, more action-oriented and less cluttered with meaningless prose so it's not such a pain to get through.

To authors: Please remember you need to write a real story even in Book 2 of your trilogies. If you can't, then save us the pain and write duologies, instead. 'Kay, thanks.  

My score: 3/5 stars.

Book Review: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue (The Seven Kingdoms, #3)

by Kristin Cashore 

Genre: Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Source: ARC from publisher

Age Rating: 15+

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Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart. 

 

My Review

I have to say Bitterblue was somewhat disappointing for me. I really liked Graceling, the first book in this series, but Bitterblue is very long, longer than need be, and just doesn't have the excitement Graceling has. It's not that the plot is worse, because it's fine being an unraveling mystery for Queen Bitterblue to sort out. She has to discover all the ways her late father, King Leck, ruined her country and its people, and it takes its toll on her emotionally, as it does many other characters. It's well written, even better technically than Graceling, but reading about how Bitterblue runs around her castle solving clues for 500 pages gets old very quickly.

I like Bitterblue as a character and she's nothing like Katsa, by the way. There's a lot of feminism in Graceling that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but I didn't mind it. I like that Katsa can be a heroine who doesn't want to get married or have children because that is so rare, but I don't even feel like she's much of a poster child for feminism, since she latches onto her boyfriend Po for dear life. What kind of feminism is that? -__- Bitterblue knows she'll marry one day and wants to, and in this novel, she falls in love with someone she can't possibly marry for political reasons.

Saf is a decent male hero whose more of an anti-hero, but I didn't feel like he was in the story enough. Bitterblue liked him probably more than she should have for how little he appears in the story. I wish he had been in it more just so I could believe her feelings for him were justified. But, then there's the issue of her seemingly growing attraction to Giddon and I wonder what will happen with them in the future. I'm not sure anymore books will be written in this series, let alone volumes that will include anything on Queen Bitterblue's future, so I may never find out. As for my favorite character in the series, I like that there's more Raffin in this story compared to Graceling, but he doesn't even have to be in it because he doesn't do much of anything useful.

Anyway, overall, it is a decent book but nothing like Graceling. Still, I felt the mystery element was handled really well and you get to discover along with Bitterblue just how truly horrific King Leck was during his reign. The man was sicker than the sickest sicky that ever sicked. If you're curious at all about him as a character, you will find a treasure trove of information in this installment.

My score: 3/5 stars.

 
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers in exchange for my honest opinion of the story.

Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

by Kady Cross

Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 24, 2011

Source: Hardcover purchase

Age Rating: 14+

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In 1897 England, 16-year-old Finley Jayne is convinced she's a freak. No normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch. Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special . . . that she's one of "them." 

 

My Review

I finally read The Girl in the Steel Corset after having it on my shelf for almost a full year! I'd been wanting to read it, but for some stupid reason (too many other books tbr) I waited until now to do it. How's that for procrastination?

• Plot: Finley Jayne is a servant in a big manor and has to fend off an unwelcome advance by a young, rakish lord, which she does easily because she has this “Mr. Hyde” alternate ego that takes over when she's in danger. She's very strong in that state. After escaping, she literally crashes into Griffin King, Duke of Greythorne's carriage and he decides to take her into his home because he recognizes that she's unusual, like how he and his merry band of misfit friends all are. Griffin becomes like a “Professor X” to all his friends and they have to stop a madman called The Machinist from his evil ploy against Queen Victoria.
• Characters: Finley has a ton of potential to be a really intriguing, if not fascinating character, but she falls totally flat. She was born with a split personality, her normal self and her bad self. The bad side scares her and she can't control it at first. But, even in that state, she's so uninteresting. She's too cardboard. Griffin is just as cardboard and uninteresting. All I can think to say is that both of them felt underdeveloped, and in fact, this applies to all the characters. Some characters feel out of place, like Jasper the American cowboy. His presence was so insignificant, it felt like he could have easily not been in it at all and it wouldn't have mattered. Jack Dandy seemed like an insert just to create a love triangle between himself, Finley and Griffin. What made Dandy so dangerous was never illustrated or specified, but he supposedly was a super bad boy. Why not show us how? And, why did he fake a Cockney accent?
• Writing: The writing is fine, but my gripes with it are that it switches from limited 3^rd person POV to head-hopping 3^rd person POV from time to time. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often. Also, I don't like the dialogue very much because it seems too modern. It's set in the year 1897 and they occasionally used modern slang. Really off-putting.
• Story: For the most part, I like the steampunk elements used because they are so plentiful. I feel like most steampunk I read is too scant on the actual technology that makes it steampunk. Although, some gadgets and do-dads seem pointless. I'd rather be informed on just the things that matter to the plot. The clothes everyone wears is just modern steampunk attire, not actual Victorian-era attire, which feels odd. I don't understand Emily's “ropey” hair. What does that mean? Also, it may as well have been set in 2012 because they have all of our technology in steampunk form. Why bother to set it in 1897, then?
• Overall Quality: The story is meant to be a pairing of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with X-Men, but it comes off a bit too superficial and shallow, and I had a hard time feeling satisfied while reading it. It is a good story and keeps you turning the pages, though. The Organites are very interesting insofar as what they do, and the back-story on Griffin and Finley's parents adds layers of dimensionality. So, not all is lost, but I would have liked it better with multi-dimensional characters, less meaningless descriptions of the style of the clothes (style over substance problem), and more dramatic tension between the characters. I had such high hopes that this book would be amazing, but it fell so short of them. What a bummer....
• Favorite Moment: When Sam (Griffin's best friend who is half-man, half-machine), tries to kill Finley and Finley nearly dies, but her 'Hyde' ego kicks into gear at the last second, and she nearly kills him, instead. A kick-butt, dramatic scene—I just wish there were more like it.
• My Score: 3 stars out of 5.
  
  
  
  
  

Book Review: Anasazi by Emma Michaels

Anasazi (A Sense of Truth, #2)

by Emma Michaels 

Genre: Mystery/Paranormal

Reading Grade: New Adult

Publication Date: August 3, 2011

Source: publisher review copy

Age Rating: 14+

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One year ago, something happened to David. Following the only clue he had he headed out into the desert. Now he has asked me to come see him. But when I arrived, he was gone. The people in town claim they have never heard of him and everyone wants me to leave. 

 

But I know he was here and he is in trouble. He can't survive out there for long.

Can he?

David. I will find you. 

 

My Review

• Plot: Anasazi is the second book in the Sense of Truth series, and it picks up about a year after the first one left off. The main character is a young woman named Megan who never appears in the first book, but she is already a friend of David's. David is the first book's protagonist's ex-boyfriend. He texted Megan to come meet up with him in the Arizona desert, and already being keen on him, she didn't hesitate to hop on her motorcycle and head out there. But, David is nowhere to be found in the small desert town mostly inhabited by Hopi Native Americans. He had something to do with the town's big archeological dig, but she spends the novel trying to find him because someone has decided to eliminate him for his research on the dig.
• Characters: Megan is an interesting girl with a troubled past who can kick-butt when needed. She's sassy and sarcastic and very stubborn about finding the missing David, even in an area she doesn't feel completely welcome in. David is a character I already like from the first book, but he's missing for most of Book 2. Still, he's the same old charming character I liked from The Thirteenth Chime. Lucas is a teenage Hopi character who ends up being the only character Megan can really trust to help her out, and I thought he was cute.
• Technical Writing: I really didn't like how the first book was written, but this one shows good improvement on the technical side.
• Storytelling: I think the storytelling shows continuous improvement in this installment, which I liked in the first one. I know nothing about the Hopi Nation, but this author clearly did her research. How she weaved this mystery together is a mystery to me, me being someone who just doesn't get how mystery authors do it. I'm very impressed. How she tied everything together from what was discovered at the dig site, the Rock City (which may or may not be fictional), and how the ancient Hopi could use a calendar to figure out when to plant crops so they'd grow perfectly... It was all so very expertly done.
• Overall Quality: The quality of Anasazi is overall higher than The Thirteenth Chime, although I feel I might prefer the first book because I like David, and he appears in the first book a lot more. I think the mystery plot of the first book appealed to me more, as well.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Megan finally finds David after searching for him for so long. He's in terrible shape, but he manages to help her help him because he's an EMT. Also, I was impressed with how Megan found him. She used a hawk, something straight out of Native American folklore/mythology, to locate him and I thought it was really cool, for lack of a better word.
• My Score: 3 out of 5 stars.

*I received an e-copy of this title from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Buy this title from | Amazon | for $2.99.

Read my review of the first book in this series, The Thirteenth Chime.

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Book Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1)

by Ilona Andrews 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Reading Grade: Adult

Publication Date: December 4, 2011

Source: gift from Lan @ The Write Obsession

Age Rating: 17+

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Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way.

My Review

First, I'd like to say thank you to Lan @ The Write Obsession for giving me this book, although I feel bad because I didn't like it as much as I wish I had. But, I do appreciate that she thought I might like it.

• Plot: There wasn't much of one for most of it. Magic Bites was made up of Kate Daniels' daily activities, which was boring until about halfway. Things, then, did get more interesting and it lead to a climactic battle scene with Kate's guardian's killer. She was looking for this killer throughout the novel, and it was a surprise who the real killer was. But, I would have liked to have seen her normal work life at the beginning because you don't get to see what she actually does for a living. Just saying she was a mercenary over and over again didn't help me to understand that.
• Characters: I wish I could have liked these main characters but I couldn't. Kate had a major chip on her shoulder and tried too hard to act tough, which might make sense given her profession, but she seemed fake to me. I like characters that come off genuine and, for me, she hardly had a genuine moment during the entire novel. Curran was my least favorite character, hovering between treating Kate worse than garbage and acting like a decent guy towards her. Guess he couldn't make up his mind. I found him foul-mouthed, rude and border-line abusive. He could be excused for being a werelion, but I have so little tolerance for behavior like that, no matter what. Surprisingly, I really liked Dr. Crest of all people. He was a classy guy and made the story better during his scenes, although he didn't have much overall significance.
• Writing: The writing was very good, made up of mostly short sentences that make the reading move quickly. It was very effective for this type of story.
• Storytelling: I think because I wanted so much to see Kate doing her regular mercenary job, but never got to, I'd have to say the storytelling was not fabulous. Things got a lot better in the second half, but it was too little, too late for me. The humor was occasionally good, but I found it underdone for my tastes. The world-building was extremely well-done, but my gripe with it was only that it was confusing. I never could wrap my brain around how magic was affecting everyone's daily lives, and what all the guilds were, plus how all the shapechangers were classified. I could not figure out how Kate fit into this world that was created for her.
• Overall Quality: I'll give it pretty decent marks for quality. It lacked a lot of things I wished it had had, and had too much of what I wished it had not had, but still was a competent story. A lot of people love it and that has to count for something.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: The scene where Dr. Crest went to Kate's apartment just after she had fought with and killed a nasty vampire, and she was very badly wounded in the abdomen. He was a nice guy and helped her out, being particularly well-suited, since he was a surgeon by trade. I felt that Kate actually showed a smidgeon of genuine-ness and vulnerability because of him.
• My Score: 3 out of 5 stars. 
  
  
  
     
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Book Review: Bittersweet by Marcia Colette

Bittersweet (Bittersweet #1)

by Marcia Colette 

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: March 2, 2011

Source: BookRooster.com (ebook)

Age Rating: 14+

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Five years have passed since Phaedra has seen her older, estranged brother. She’s hesitant about his return and even more so when he comes bearing a cure for their mother. However, this so-called antidote, having sex with an incubus, comes with a catch that's larger than the statutory rape implications. The incubus who's willing to help the Thornes has unwittingly been followed by beings who call themselves hags. They want to drain the demon dry of his power and don’t care if they threaten Phaedra's desire to have a normal family. She’ll do whatever it takes to protect her loved ones, even if that means trusting her uncontrollable powers won’t kill everyone in the process...including a Child Welfare official who'll decide in thirty days if the Thorne household is safe enough to raise children. 

 

My Review

• Plot: The plot is a bit sparse and a lot of the story is caught up with many mundane details that probably don't need to be included. The real story doesn't even begin until around 2/3rds of the way into the book. Phaedra, the main character, has a crazy mother with psychokinetic powers and must live in the attic so she doesn't hurt her children, Phaedra and Nadia, the 6-year-old kid sister. Because these powers are hereditary, Phaedra and her older brother Kurt have them, too, and he returns after 5 years with an incubus, who can curb their out-of-control powers and keep their mother sane. The catch is that Mr. Incubus has to seduce them in order for his powers to work.
• Characters: Phaedra is a pretty cool teenager to follow around, but she's so feisty that it gets a bit bothersome. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a flawed character. She has such a hard life taking care of her little sister and fending off attacks by her mother when she's insane. Her mother is only sane for three hours at a time because of a very expensive herb called Bittersweet that wears off after a few hours. The expense means it can't be used often. It's interesting to see the extremes in the mother from homicidal maniac to perfectly normal, concerned mother.
• Writing: The writing is decent but nothing amazing. It could have used more editing and proofreading, since there were quite a few errors. Does have a good YA voice, though.
• Storytelling: Again, the story starts in the wrong place, although we get a lot of important information in the first 2/3rds of the story. But, not much happens to drive the plot forward until you've read most of the novel. A hag ends up as the main villain character and this is the person causing all the problems, but we know nothing about her until late in the story. What happens a lot that I don't think works is that new elements and characters suddenly pop up long after the novel begins, which feels random and overly-contrived. We are never told why Phaedra's family has their shared ability, so I feel lost. I also am not fond of the ending, as we don't get to see things wrap up, but are told what had happened through a random diary entry. Another writerly device that should have been introduced into the story earlier because it seems too convenient.
• Overall Quality: It's a pretty good story that has potential, but it lacks good editing to make it high quality. Still, it has some good things going for it, and I generally liked reading it. Phaedra has a convincing YA voice—that being one of the story's strong suits.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Phaedra unwittingly touches the incubus (who looks like a regular man) when he wasn't curbing his powers, and he accidentally seduces her. (How does that happen? I know, right?) It is a pretty intense, although, brief moment.
• My Score: 3 out of 5 stars. 
  
  
  
   

*I received this title as a complementary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladmir Tod, #1)
by Heather Brewer

Genre: Paranormal/Vampires

Reading Grade: Middle Grade

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: March 13, 2008

Source: local library (paperback)

Age Rating: 12+

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Vlad has to keep his vampire urges under control while dealing with the pressures of middle school.

Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He's being hunted by a vampire killer.

My Review

For some reason, I had high expectations about this book and I assumed I'd love it. But, that really wasn't the case after reading it. (I need to stop having high expectations!) It is a well-written story, and I think perfectly targeted for its intended Middle Grade audience. It's plenty safe reading material for children, but, isn't particularly original.

I figured I'd love a story about an adolescent teen vampire who has to learn to hide his true identity from most everyone in his small hometown, but I suppose I just didn't find Vladimir as endearing as I had hoped I would. Not that there's anything bothersome about him, but there isn't much making him stand out above the crowd of male teen vamps that has him shouting, “Hey! Check ME out! I'm totally different from those other emo boys.”

For the record, Vladimir isn't “emo.” Just a very normal thirteen-year-old boy, excluding the fangs, of course. He has to deal with bullies in school and has some triumphant moments over them, using his unique vampire abilities. He has a crush on a certain girl at school, but suffers from the typical shyness and insecurities found in most human teen boys. But, he has to hide the capsules of blood in his lunch that his aunt packs for him everyday.

This is a good story—just nothing new. Vampires live amongst the unknowing humans in their world, the humans only knowing of them via cultural superstition. The vamps have their own secret organization which is something akin to a cult, and they seek to punish members of their own organization who break the rules by execution. It's intriguing stuff and a young audience unfamiliar with this trope may suck it up like a vampire dying from his thirst for blood. If that's you or some youngster you know, then you should give this series a try. It's fun for kids.

My score: 3 out of 5 stars.

Review: "Daimon" by Jennifer L. Armentrout

"Daimon" (Covenant, #0.5)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology

Reading Grade: Young Adult (short story)

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: May 10, 2011

Source: free from the publisher's website

Age Rating: 14+

Amazon.com

For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals—pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty. According to her mother, that’s a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill. The daimons have found her. 

My Review

This is a short story introduction to the first novel of the series, Half-Blood (Covenant, #1). It ends leading directly into the first chapter of the first novel, so it really doesn't end, per se. But, I think it does a good job of illustrating what the series is about and what the author has to offer. I felt the writing was good and the descriptions very emotional and realistic. I felt bad for the main character Alex when she had to go on the run all by herself. She came off convincingly traumatized by her experiences.

But, I just didn't really like her much. What few characters there were, none were particularly interesting to me. Alex seemed to me too much the cliché teenage girl who had a sarcastic thought every time something happened that she wasn't happy with. I suppose that's realistic, since she is a teenager, but it's been done too many times before. There wasn't anything new in this story that I hadn't seen done before plenty of times already.

I think a lot of readers who love stories about Greek mythology and demons, or demon-like creatures that are genuinely scary and murderous could really like this series. I simply found it not the finest cup of my tea, despite the good writing.

My score: 3 stars out of 5.

Review: The Abandoned by Amanda Stevens

"The Abandoned" (Graveyard Queen, #0.5)

by Amanda Stevens

Genre: Paranormal/Ghosts/Romantic Suspense

Reading Grade: Adult (short story)

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: March 14, 2011

Source: Kindle store freebie

Age Rating: 17+

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When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her. 

Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as The Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest—before she is locked away forever....

My Review

I picked up this title because it was free (still is) and sounded like it had an interesting premise. It does, but I really couldn't get into this story very much. It's really more of the plot-driven variety, rather than the character-driven kind. There's nothing wrong with that at all, but it's just not my preference.

I found the writing to be decent quality except for some point-of-view problems here and there. I think it does a fabulous job with the mystery and the suspense aspects, so a reader looking for romantic suspense would probably like this story. I, personally, would have liked to have gotten more attached to the characters, but I couldn't, since they just weren't very interesting. They weren't bothersome, either, but were simply not characters I could get excited about.

This short story is a prequel to The Restorer, the first novel in the Graveyard Queen series, and is meant to illustrate what to expect from the subsequent novels. I was not intrigued enough by this prequel to want to read any further books in this series, but I think it is a good story for it's intended audience. So, if you love mystery, adult romance, and suspense with some ghosts furthering the plot (but, a story that is light on characterization), then you'll likely want to download this e-book.

My score: 3 out of 5 stars.