Blog Tour: The Look of Love

The Look of Love by Bella Andre
Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5
Published: June 2013; MMP / Harlequin
Cover C
FTC: unsolicited from publicity firm

For the first time, Bella Andre's The Sullivans' series is out in mass market paperback. First up, Chase Sullivan: world-renowned photographer with looks that even draws the models. He's tired of the one-night stands and looking for a true love. On the way back from his mother's birthday party, he rescues Chloe Peterson on the side of the road after her car gets trapped in a ditch. Running from a hard past and a soul-sucking relationship, the last thing she wants to deal with another man.

Strictly judging the book by its cover, The Look of Love is not something I would typically pick up.The blurbs and reviews, however, pushed me into trying as the majority are very positive. From the start, though, I realized that this book may not be my cup of tea.

Chase is gorgeous, Chloe is gorgeous. Chloe jumps out of a horrible abusive relationship and into the arms of a man she barely knows. And while there is a time gap between her old relationship and Chase, the speediness in which she claims to have fallen in love was alarming. Chase is, of course, the perfect prince in Chloe's eyes. He has had nights with models, but that only alludes to his handsomeness. But overall I found the characters flat, even the main villain was not as intense as I would have liked.

The ending was short. The build up and build up about Chloe's past relationship, and the confrontation is resolved in a measly 4 pages. The epilogue only sets up for the next story and offers some insight to the new couple.

Overall: The Look of Love is cliche, which may not be a bad thing if it fits the mood that the reader is currently looking for. I was not. Insta-love was very instant; lust, okay but love doesn't happen within less than a 24 hour span. The steamy sex scenes were again, cliche. I found the characters at times hypocritical or very unsure what they truly want. It wraps up quickly, like snap of the fingers quick. Again, this is all personal taste. If I was looking for something fast-paced, fun in the sheets action, with simple characters I wouldn't have rated The Look of Love as harshly.

The Dark Heroine Blog Tour Review

The Dark Heroine by Abigail Gibbs
Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5
Published: March 5, 2013; trade paperback; William Morrow
FTC: ARC was provided by publisher for blog tour

Oh how I wanted to love this novel. My favorite genre is paranormal romance, and this was up my alley. The synopses was something that I wold pick up in a heartbeat, but as I've learned, the synopses does not always agree with the book. 

When Violet Lee witnesses a killing in front of her, she is taken captive by none other than Kaspar Varn, heir to the throne of a vampire kingdom. Together, Violet and Kaspar will succumb to fate and their passion.

Smack dab on the cover of The Dark Heroine, it is claimed that this is “The Sexist Romance You’ll Read This Year”. Quite honestly, you might say this is indeed sexy; it is full of kisses, sex, rape, and don’t forget the orgies. Vampires, however, don’t seem consider the time and place for most of these actions though. Just a fair warning, all of that does occur. The book was not graphic though, but there are many cusses.

I do enjoy Gibbs’s world building. Her idea of multiple dimensions and parallel connections and a prophecy of nine women tying them all together were intriguing. It is something a little different from the other paranormal romances I’ve read. I also appreciate her slow introduction into the world; there’s nothing more boring than reading pages and pages of information just thrown in your face. The Dark Heroine, however, has only covered 1 dimension in which the vampires reside. The sequel will cover where the magicians reside, so it is a slow world building, but definitely more gratifying than word vomiting.

The pacing to The Dark Heroine was awkward and clunky. The shifts between politics and romance were abrupt. In one chapter there’s talk about going into war and fighting hunters, the next chapter some vampire guy is hitting on Violet and asking her to a dance/ball. What?

Anyhow. Violet Lee is not one of my favorite heroines. She’s a damsel-in-distress and constantly forgets that is a hostage that may cause a war. She’s spunky and has plenty of lip, but I find Violet so frustrating and too naïve. In a hypothetical scenario where I was held captive in a building full of people who can kill me and happily drink my blood, and my death can cause a full on war, I would not play a prank on someone who does seem to like me very much. I love sleep and all, but if it was between my life and not getting a good night’s rest, I would choose life. There is a time and place to play pranks. There is also Violet’s thinking that they should treat her better. I laugh and laugh because she is a hostage and that thought pattern eludes her. Throughout the novel, the vampires do treat her kindly, but when they threaten and are physically rough she cries. Get over it. (As a side not, Violet’s eyes are violet, but there is no real significance to her eye color so I do not quite understand why it was mentioned so often.)

Then there’s Kaspar. I have few more colorful words than jerk, a term most commonly used by Violet in describing Kaspar. (Really, is jerk all that you can come up with?) Kaspar is the typical bad boy turned good guy by the right girl. He is obnoxious, a manslut, arrogant with an ego that can fill the room, with bits (tiny bits) that show him to be gentle and caring. There are some chapters when Kaspar’s emotions are at a high that it will be in his POV which offer some insights. I wished these chapters were more frequent as many of his actions were at odds to what he says and what (he says) he feels.

The romance between Violet and Kaspar appeared to be forced. Riding on the fate track works and calling it love was contrived. I found the foundation of the romance to lean more on lust and the rest (conversations, intimate moments, commonness) hastily thrown  on top.

The side characters on average were eh. I liked some, but many were cliché. Violet’s best friend is of course beautiful and flirty. To the readers, she doesn’t sound like a very good friend. Kaspar’s best friend, Fabian, doesn’t sound quite a great friend either. And I do not, do not, understand why being rejected by a girl is a good to participate in an orgy. I would name more, but the list will get too long.

In all, I would most likely not read the sequel toThe Dark Heroine. While I find the world building fascinating, the characters and writing style did not click for me. I rolled my eyes and scoffed too many times for me to consider this book something I would want to read again.

On another note, The Dark Heroine is pitched for lovers of Twilight and A Discovery of Witches. I have not read A Discovery of Witches so I can vouch for that comparison, but comparing The Dark Heroine to Twilight is pushing it.

Visit the author's Wattpad page, Facebook page, or the Facebook group for Dinner With a Vampire 

-or-

follow the tour

Royally Jacked

Royally Jacked by Niki Burnham

Grade: 1.5 star out of 5

Do you hate those books where the girl claims that she's Plain Jane while her friends are the most beautiful, smartest, confident girls in the school? And somehow, some way or another, this girl manages to catch the attention of the hottest guy in the book with her stellar personality! Though, between you and me, her personality stinks. Say hello to Valerie.

Valerie's parents got divorced. It turns out her mother is actually gay. Her dad works for the government so to avoid a big scandal, Valerie and her dad moves a small town called Schwerinborg in Europe. In this tiny town, Valerie and her dad stay with the royal family. Of course, plain Valerie who doesn't have the most redeeming qualities a girl needs to snatch a guy manages to catch the eye of the Prince. That's right. A PRINCE. He's freaking hot and nice and smart and the perfect guy even if the title isn't attached.

The prince's name is Georg. It's pronounced gay-org.

And somehow Valerie is still upset. She's afraid of what her friends think about her gay mother. (Because OMG her "butch" haircut is the one thing that Valerie keeps mentioning about her mother now.) She's worried if the hot guy from her old school likes her because she's been pining away at him since forever (and still pining even with Georg). Cry me a freaking river Valerie. Cry me a freaking river. Your mother still loves you. Your father still rocks. You have an awesome boyfriend.Yet she still somehow finds a way to whine about something.

Okay enough ranting. Royally Jacked wasn't all that bad (but it was very much testing my patience). There were some great scenes, funny even, with a fun group of friends and a sweet boyfriend. I found almost everyone to be likeable except Valerie.

Will I read the sequel? I'm not so sure. I finished Royally Jacked in March. It's now late July. I have the bind-up edition with all three books in one (because hello, for $7 I had to buy it!). Now I'm regretting that decision. Hopefully if and when I do continue with Valerie's story, it gets better.

Cover B+

for the bindup cover

Source: purchased

Published: 2011 March 22

Also check out the companion to Royally Crushed with Royally Check:

Jules edition! [free download]

Future Imperfect (rant)

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese

Grade: DNF

Ade Patience can see the future and it's destroying his life. When the seventeen-year-old Mantlo High School student knocks himself unconscious, he can see days and decades into his own future. Ade's the best of Denver's "divination" underground and eager to join the heralded Mantlo Diviners, a group of similarly enabled teens. Yet, unlike the Diviners, Ade Patience doesn't see the future out of curiosity or good will; Ade gives himself concussions because he's addicted to the high, the Buzz, he gets when he breaks the laws of physics. And while there have been visions he's wanted to change, Ade knows the Rule: You can't change the future, no matter how hard you try.


His memory is failing, his grades are in a death spiral, and both Ade's best friend and his shrink are begging him to stop before he kills himself. Ade knows he needs to straighten-out. Luckily, the stunning Vauxhall Rodolfo has just transferred to Mantlo and, as Ade has seen her in a vision two years previously, they're going to fall in love. It's just the motivation Ade needs to kick his habit. Only things are a bit more complicated. Vauxhall has an addiction of her own, and, after a a vision in which he sees Vauxhall's close friend, Jimmy, drown while he looks on seemingly too wasted to move, Ade realizes that he must break the one rule he's been told he can't.


The pair must overcome their addictions and embrace their love for each other in order to do the impossible: change the future.

Second rant of the week: Future Imperfect (which by the way I love the title though I keep adding an –s at the end of Imperfect unintentionally). What seems to be so freaking amazing turns into one giant headache.

Ade gives himself concussions so he can get a “Buzz” from seeing into the future. Why oh why does Ade not suffer any lasting brain or body damage? The things he put his head through is astonishing! The way he can walk away from almost everything is equally amazing! Who the eff would jump off a freaking roof, land on their head, and can GET UP FROM THAT. And then people can accept it! The kid is jumping off roofs and people are pissed that Ade’s up to his usual self! Are you kidding me? The kid is obviously not stable. His mom also lets him get away from that because she thinks he will see the second coming of Christ. All I can say is ‘really’!?

This is all before the “girl” comes into the picture. Gotta love that instant love-ol’-lust meter that boils my blood.

I skimmed through the rest because I wanted so badly to throw the book. A lot more action-y towards the end. But Ade was still purposely trying to knock in the head to see the future so I don’t think I’ll reread the novel again.

Source: publisher for early review

Cover B-

Published: 2011, April 26

Amazon

Fallen Angel (semi-rant)

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell

Grade: 1 star out of 5

Heaven-sent?


Ellie was never particularly good at talking to boys—or anyone other than her best friend and fellow outcast, Ruth. Then she met Michael.


Michael is handsome, charming, sweet. And totally into Ellie. It’s no wonder she is instantly drawn to him. But Michael has a secret. And he knows Ellie is hiding something, too. They’ve both discovered they have powers beyond their imagining. Powers that are otherworldly.


Ellie and Michael are determined to uncover what they are, and how they got this way . . . together. But the truth has repercussions neither could have imagined. Soon they find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict that threatens to destroy everything they love. And it is no longer clear whether Ellie and Michael will choose the same side.

To sum up my opinion on Fallen Angel: did not like; will not touch sequel; probably won’t read any paranormal books by Terrell.

Novels like Fallen Angel make me dislike the paranormal genre. What once was so original has become this washed-out cliché garbled mess. Try as I might, I can’t completely shy away from fantastical elements. They are what take me to a new place and yet I seem to be going to the same place over and over again with overly hyped “pretty cover” books.

The love connection between Michael and Ellie was strenuous at best with no backbone to the story. Or maybe it had a backbone like a jellyfish. Either way I didn’t buy the little melodramatic tête-à-tête.

A big detail that sets Fallen Angel apart from other “angel” books is that whenever they kiss Michael and Elli always have to suck on each other’s blood. It’s an addiction. A really sick, why!?, addiction. An addiction that I wasn’t too fond of because there’s nothing more fun then reading about two people  tongue wrestling and slurping down each other’s blood. A little pain with pleasure please. Everyone’s a masochist. Or would it be a sadist?

Of course Michael and Ellie believe they’re vampires because they drink blood (and can see things when they do), have really sharp teeth, and can fly. When really the title is “Fallen Angels” so it’s sort of a WTF moment. The title is ONE BIG spoiler that readers can’t avoid. Oh and the idea of them being vampires goes on for about half the book. (Or a bit more, I don’t know since I no longer have the book.) Until the parents set them straight with a tale that’s decent. I believed it. I didn’t believe what Ellie does after it.

The rising climax was well done but the actual climax was lack luster.

Anyway I’m done. Ish.

Source: from me, myself, and I 

Cover B-

Published: 2011, January 1

Amazon

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Blurbed by P.C. Cast: "A deliciously clever and totally unique twist on the struggle between Good and Evil."

“It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Fortunately, humans are protected by trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night.” --from ARC

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter was a heart pounding, adrenaline kicking novel that tried too much as the first book in the series.

This dystopian world is caused by the economic downturns of countries. The price of gas is a hundred or so dollars per gallon. “With the ridiculous cost of gas even horses made sense now” (18, ARC). Yet if that is true and people are stealing traffic lights and “sold for scrap metal thieves” (18) then why is it, and how is it, possible that the demon trappers own cars. Like I think almost every one demon trapper that I’ve come across in the novel has a car. And then they bitch about being broke.

Riley is from a long line of demon trappers [not hunters, as hunters think all demons are evil and must be killed whereas trappers merely trap demons, and sell them to get them “purified”]. She’s—what 16, 17?—years old with a smoking body, because we get inner monologues and talks about how pretty she is. I got it, so thanks. She’s also really kick-ass for an apprentice nabbing a level 3 class demon when she’s only allowed to trap a level one. But Riley does get beaten up in these fights and nearly dies at one point. Riley is stubborn and sees very little outside of her own little world. The Demon Trapper’s Daughter offers readers realistic fighting scenes where the good guys get beaten, bruised and bloody. And the possibility death is ever constant.

This is VERY SLIGHT SPOILER so I would advise you to skip this paragraph if you hate spoilers of any kind. Death is a very real thing in The Demon Trapper’s Daughter where one character’s death creates a ripple effect in the trapping world, specifically affecting Riley the most. However, my preference to the way the character’s death is handled is less snark, more grief. A sentence describing the way Riley was in bed for such and such days isn’t effective in drawing out sympathy from the readers especially when the very next scene has Riley a little pissed of for causing her so much trouble. Whatever, it bothered me when I was reading it.

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter is told in two third-person perspective which is good and bad. Bad because one of them annoyed me. It was very repetitive and tiring after a while. Good because it gave a different point of view and set of opinions to the same scene. It also allowed two different reactions and coping mechanisms in regards to the character’s death.

In the novel each demon is categorized by their size, power, and attributes. Oliver does a great job of describing and separating each demon into subclasses and ways to fight them. Yet my problem is where did these demons come from? When did they first appear on Earth? Have they always been there? Have demon trappers existed as long as demons have existed? I’m curious about the over trappers in the world and if there are any aside from Rome.

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter has a set-up for a potential love square. SQUARE! It might be a triangle, or it might be a couple, but it can definitely go anywhere at this point.

Oliver keeps bringing up more questions to the world and another plotline before the previous question was answered. The world building was iffy, but the action top-notch. I found myself having to read the sequel to The Demon Trapper’s Daughter rather than wanting to read the sequel because it interested me so much. While I say that there is a big chance I will not continue with the series.

Cover B- 

everything looks great except for the hand. or whatever that thing is.

Source: Early Review from LibraryThing

Published: 01 February 2011; paperback

Amazon

UK edition

Almost to Die For

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Anastajia Parker turned 16 on the 16th, but it’s not a happy birthday party that will be the surprise. She discovers that not only is she a witch, but her father is the prince of the vampires. 

To say that I am a sucker for vampire books is a bad pun, but so true. I will gobble up anything vampires, werewolves, and faeries because I am a paranormal/fantasy nut. Almost to Die For is up the alley being my favorite genre, but I have to rethink this over the last couple of months. Vampires and werewolves have mushroomed in the last couple of years that entire books have become one giant cliché. Over and over again I’ve come across books that I may have read before: tweak a name here and there, alter their appearance and catastrophic teenage trauma, and viola. Almost to Die For has become that cliché for me and failed to impress me in almost every way.

Anastajia, or commonly known as Ana, is easygoing and laidback. She goes with the flow. Case 1) Nik—hot witch/vampire hunter—asks Ana on a date and that he has always had a crush on her. She says yes and internally squees.  Case 2) Next day: Elias—captain of Ana’s father’s guard—offers her a ride. She takes it. Nearly gets decapitated by the enemy. Brushes it off for the rest of the novel. He has to go back underground because he’s not a daylight person. She joins him. Case 3) Same day: Text from Nik. She of course gets bored underground with all the vampires who are asleep and runs off to bowl. They make out before heading to bowl. Case 4) Elias shows up in the bowling alley. He and Nik duke it out. Ana tries to stop the fight. There is no fight. Does she think before she acts? The consequences are much more severe now that she is a royal princess stuck between the two enemy worlds. I found Ana to be a quiet rebel who really has no idea what she’s doing.

I found Hallaway’s writing distinctive, but not for me. There were some sentences, and while proper, didn’t feel right. Example: “I determined to pay better attention for the rest of the class” (Hallaway 11). I am more accustomed to the sentence if there was a “was” stuck between “I” and “determined”. Every so often things like that pop up which makes me do a double read.

In all Almost to Die For offers nothing impressive with poorly executed storyline, albeit one that tried to add a little twist, and underdeveloped characters. There is leeway because it is the first in a series but when there’s two romances already happening, a pissed off best friend, and a mother who’s either hot or cold, I expect something. Almost to Die For falls on my level of expectations.

Source: personal copy

Cover B+

Published: 3 August 2010; paperback

Amazon

Nightlight: a Parody

Nightlight by The Harvard Lampoon

Grade: .8 / 1 star out of 5

Nightlight is a parody that I expected to blow me away. It was supposed to make me laugh so hard that I’d burst a gut. But no, sadly enough it only made me want to vomit my gut out. Okay, I’m exaggerating slightly. Just slightly.

Please note this is my second published Twilight parody I’ve read. The first one I wrote a review of here. I’m not exactly one of those people who love Twilight to death and attack anyone who bashes it. While I did enjoy the series I’m open to parodies for that quick laugh.

With Nightlight my main issue is how it focuses so much on making fun of the characters that the book loses its plot. Nothing makes sense. How did this event result in that conclusion? Is the Harvard Lampoon making fun of Twilight by saying that it has no plot? Is the Harvard Lampoon making fun of the silliness in Twilight by exaggerating characters and scenes? Frankly I don’t really care. Instead of guessing I want them to show me.

I was just irritated by the whole thing from start to finish. My God, they made Bella (Belle Goose) so freaking stupid that it passes the line of believable to ‘are you serious?’

I wasted my time with this.

Cover: C+ (based on the UK edition, the one I read)

Source: personal copy from me

Published: 03 November 2010

Amazon

The Eternal One [Angry Rant]

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Source: ARC from Penguin

Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Um, CAUTION, below is a very angry rant that I wrote right after reading The Eternal Ones. I read it back in March and my review is 80% complete, but by now I have forgotten almost everything D: It is also kinda SPOILISH so BEWARE as I am not very coherent in my blind rage. In fact I am going to take extra precaution and make the text color white so if you are curious, just highlight to read.

The Eternal Ones (just thinking about it makes me frown) is about past lovers finding one another again after being reincarnated. Sound delish right? The novel then goes on to tell why these two star-crossed lovers’ life seems to never forebode very well. Throw in some crazies, a smexy boy, a gay BFF into the city of New York and what do you get?—a yummy soup of potential. Whereas in reality we get a ‘what the heck are you trying to feed me?’ concoction. All signs pointed a YES when I first read a review that said The Eternal Ones is for fans of Time Traveler’s Wife, Twilight, and Beautiful Creatures.  Hey I liked all three of those books! That must mean I’ll like The Eternal Ones. Ha!—yeah right.

The Eternal Ones is very much so like Blue Bloods just without the vampires and the semi-incest thing happening. The society, the past lovers, the ‘is falling for him be a good thing?’ are all elements here. The regrettable weak protagonist?  don’t make me laugh. Seriously, don’t make me laugh; I’m in a foul mood when it comes to this book.

So here’s the thing the entire novel is fine. Perfectly fine. I just hated Haven a lot. And by a lot I mean that I could barely finish the novel because of her. I find her indecisive, irrational, gullible, naïve, stupid, and really just a ditz. Whenever someone tells her something, she believes them! When someone else tells her the opposite thing she believes them then! Really, where is the thinking process happening!? I mean if it takes one burning building that you happened to be trapped in to realize something than you really need to be dropped on your head. This goes on for about three-hundred pages you guys.


Speaking of which, the plot moves, no wait, it crawls on. With this many pages I need power, drive and plot twists to keep me happy enough to read this much. The only thing that kept me going was pride and stubbornness.

And...that was what I had last written back in March.

Cover C+

Infinite Days

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel


Source: ARC from St. Martin's Griffin


Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Lenah is one of the oldest vampires with a coven at her beck and whim. But Lenah is slowly losing herself, her sanity, to age. She has just one wish...to turn human. She wants to live again: touch, taste, smell again. Rhode, her lover and the one who turned her, is going to help fulfill her wish at the cost of his own life.

A hundred years later Lenah finds herself waking up in an environment and a completely new society, but a ultimately a new school. With less than a day left with Rhoda prefer he parish, he teaches Lenah what he could about the new place and its expectations.

But the coven knows that Lenah is now human and they will track her then kill her. And they will not hesitate to use Justin, a guy that makes Lenah feel alive, to lure her.

SPOILERS MAY BE BELOW (because when I rant I tend to let things slip)

Infinite Days is surely a disappointment on my end. My biggest issue was Lenah. I find her behavior not reflecting centuries worth of knowledge. I find her extremely shallow, somewhat childish, and unbelievable. The novel is also told in first person narration. This is the part where I would take out the copy of Infinite Days and quote lines with its appropriate pages, but I cannot seem to find my copy and I am 90% that I accidentally shipped the book in someone's package. To the recipient of the book, enjoy! To me, crap; this is going to be a weak argument.

When we are first introduced to Justin, Maizel describes his brothers. She describes the younger as pudgy; the older brother a little thicker; and Justin with his wash-board abs as a Greek god. (I really wish I had my ARC to double this!) That line ticked me off so much because, although there is barely anything about the brothers aside from that little fact, I believe that all three brothers share the same activities. So how is Justin the only gorgeous one? Between Lenah just happens to be beyond gorgeous with all the guys staring at her walk past. Perfect match eh?

Then there is how much Lenah knows about the modern world. Despite having less than 24 hours, perhaps less than 12 hours, she seems to know an awful lot of today. There is a line that I can recall, not with exact clarity, that Tony, a new acquittance to Lenah asks; it mentioned something about 'I hope you're not one of those girls who date only rich guys who play extreme sports and drive fancy cars'. (I really, really wish I had that ARC right now!) Lenah replies back in her mind how she barely understood half of that sentence. That I had trouble believing. For one thing, car is not the problem seeing as how she learns about cars from Rhode and receives one the following morning. Aside from that I do not understand what part of the sentence she has trouble comprehending. That are parts where I understand why she cannot understand, then there are times where I struggle to accept how she knows about that.

Then there is her love of Rhode. Lenah mentions that whenever a vampire loves, they give up a piece of them, so it's an extremely strong love yes? Yet why I do I feel as though she barely remembers or properly mourn for Rhode? Why does Lenah throw the urn of Rhode's ash? She could have placed the urn back to its place and threw another vase. It is at though Lenah is not as deserving of Rhode's sacrifice.

But just her love with Justin I need more. They both seem to throw caution out the window and love with a passion. I need more depth of why Justin seems to be the one (well the next one). Justin seems to be nothing impressive and unremarkable except being hot. At least with Tony I find there to be a good enough reason why they would together as a couple.

I did, however, like the transition from past to present. The ending was also a shocker!
 
Cover B-/C+

Infinite Days releases early next month in paperback form.

Manga Monday: The Wallflower

The Wallflower by Hayakawa Tomoko

Other names: Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge / Perfect Girl Evolution
Serialized: Del Ray
Genre: Drama, Shoujo, Romance, Comedy
Art: 3 stars
Plot: 2 stars
Characters: 1 star
Other: Anime; Live Action (Drama series)
Volumes: 25+

It's a gorgeous, spacious mansion, and four handsome, fifteen-year-old friends are allowed to live in it for free! There's only one condition - that within three years the guys must transform the owner's wallflower niece into a lady befitting the palace in which they all live! How hard can it be?

Enter Sunako Nakahara, the agoraphobic, horror-movie-loving, pockmark-faced, frizzy-haired, fashion-illiterate recluse who tends to break into explosive nosebleeds whenever she sees anyone attractive. This project is going to take more than our four heroes ever expected: it needs a miracle!"--from Del Ray

This series is being dragged to the pits of hell. It starts out promising, very extreme with the characters with the comedy hitting the right notes, but it's never-ending. The same scenario is used over and over again and it feels like the plot is going absolutely nowhere. With the same scenario, how does one expect any characters to develop? It doesn't happen is what! I made it to volume 18 or so, I am guessing, and had to call it quits. I am not seeing an ending in sight and there is nothing interesting to make me want to continue reading.

After a while even the comedy becomes nauseating and the artwork just tiresome. It is a constant joke that is passed off every chapter and the feminine "bishes" make me want to uglify them.

I have watched the anime and it is not fulfilling. Then again it only covers 11 volumes whereas the current count of the manga is 25 and ongoing.... The live drama I might attempt. I heard it is slightly different.

Volumes: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21

Shadow Bound

Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison

Source: ARC from Dorchester Publishing

Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Age Group: 18+

Oh books that I decide to take a blind shot at because of blurbs—never again. Erin Kellison’s Shadow Bound is what one might call intense, captivating, and exciting if you skim…a giant chunk of the novel. While the idea of Death (Shadowman, the Reeper, whatever you want to call him because he has a bajillion nicknames) fathering a child is…unique, it holds no substance or any strength of credibleness. What sets the tone of the novel was the prologue, this WTF mess.

A short recap of the prologue/synopsis of story: Death falls in love with a woman named Kathleen who has been sick, deadly sick, in and out. On a visit, Death appears before Kathleen and they said ‘to the heck with it’ and did “it”. Death has no real shape, but Kathleen envisions him as a man—strong and well formed if you catch my drift. (This is the part where I ask how does she know the image of a male anatomy because she is the one that creates Death’s appearance.) But by committing this action, Death inversely “parted the veils between life and death” and “Chaos escaped and took root in the mortal world” (Kellison, 314, ARC). Kathleen dies shortly after the birth of their child, Talia—half human and half-whatever you want to call it—oh! Kellison calls her part fae (whatever that means) so she’s able to hide herself in the darkness kind of like a curtain.

We’re now in the present and there are a bunch of supernatural, dead, vampire-like creeps who suck people’s souls (the last part totally reminds me of Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds [sorry, was deathly bored that weekend morning]). Segue, a group trying to tame this group and pretty much finding a way to destroy them because bullets or fire doesn’t work, is run and created by Adam whose own brother has turned into one of those soul-sucking evil bastards.

Really the entire thing does not sound bad at all. It’s just the execution of the book that had me a little displeased. Fine, a LOT displeased. I found the novel to be dragged, beaten, and locked in an old cellar to be fermented. It seemed as though the novel went ‘round in circles going nowhere until finally a swarm of people (bacteria) pops up and speeds things along. Way too fast in comparison to the little development that occurred in the beginning half of the novel. Somewhere in that time Adam and Talia falls in love though I would just like to call it lust. I read in another review that that relationship was the strongest part in the novel—well not for me it wasn’t. My favorite part was when they broke out the guns.

There’s a lot of dying, killing, running around. There are a lot of sexual tensions. There’s a lot of money being spent and I’m wondering how much money Adam has because he’s funding Segue on this own with full-time employees and scientists! Then there’s a whole lot of WTF, huh, and oh-kayyyyyy’s.

P.S. Shadow Bound book is awfully tiny. It has the thickness of my pinky finger nail or a water bottle cap.

First Drop of Crimson

First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Source: Personal Bookshelf

Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

First Drop of Crimson picks up immediately where Destined for an Early Grave ends. What readers have come to know about Frost’s novel—action packed, tension ridden romance, and a bad-ass villain—is what you’ll find here…just somehow more extreme yet unfulfilling.

Denise has just recently become a widow but she doesn’t get much time to grieve. Instead she’s playing a high stake game of cat and mouse for her life and for love. Spade has always been interested in Denise, but never tried to get anywhere with her incase it might anger his best friend’s wife who is best friends with Denise. Now these two are thrown in together for better or for worst.

Denise does not make a strong heroine that we first saw in Cat. She’s the typical heroine in the past: whiny, distraught, annoying, and darn I say, stupid? I’m talking about in a classic horror movie where the audience screams RUN and the girl either just stands there or traps herself stupid.

And then there’s Spade whom I really have nothing against. On his own he’s quite tolerable but throw in Denise into the pot and I’m gagging with the sickly sweet, forcible cheesy scenes that will put any Fabio cover to shame.

The actual plotline and execution may be dandy (though it appears not from some reviews), but I honestly cannot recall most of it because I am traumatize by the relationship of Denise and Spade. Really, this paranormal romance is generic that I am getting concerned with this series: Will it continue to only go downhill?

The “sequel” to the novel will follow Mencheres, Bones’s and Spade’s sire. And I am pretty confident that I will not read that addition to the series. The age of Mencheres is gasp-worthy. Edward from Twilight is pushing it, but no no no—Mencheres is just crossing that line for me.

Love in the Time of Cholera (Rant)

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Gracia Maquez

Source: School

Grade: N/A (but I did give it 1 star on GoodReads)

And welcome to the second round of mandatory school books I had to read: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I am always reluctant on school readings because every page required an analysis for a character, a mantra, a symbol or even the choice of color. Reading novels for school suck away any sense of enjoyment and the ones I’ve actually come to like are readings assigned by teachers who just chuck the book at you and tell you to have a blast: no quiz, no written assignment, no homework, just a due date to finish it by and a formal test. For Love in the Time of Cholera I had every one of those homework, quizzes, and written papers.

While delivering a message to her father, Florentino Ariza spots the barely pubescent Fermina Daza and immediately falls in love. What follows is the story of a passion that extends over 50 years, as Fermina is courted solely by letter, decisively rejects her suitor when he first speaks, and then joins the urbane Dr. Juvenal Urbino, much above her station, in a marriage initially loveless but ultimately remarkable in its strength. Florentino remains faithful in his fashion; paralleling the tale of the marriage is that of his numerous liaisons, all ultimately without the depth of love he again declares at Urbino's death.

--from Amazon

One of my biggest peeves is how historically inaccurate the novel is and yet it seems to be praised for it! Why does one book get condemned for having anachronisms and another gets a set of bravo!

As for the symbolism I am constantly weary of them. Here’s a short little anecdote: Our teacher announced that a published poet will be stopping by the following week. She then passed out 5 sheets of paper of his work and asked us to analyze them…in depth. We spent a large portion of class time that week combing through each line and thought the theme of one poem was about social stratification. When the poet finally arrived we complimented him about the symbolism of the poem to which he replied he had no idea what we were talking about, it was just a dream. Teacher sputtered and laughed; all I could say was WTF. In my opinion how can we pass judgment of a novel or poem when we really are not sure if the author has a significant meaning behind each word? So maybe Garcia Marquez just really liked parrots; let’s not over-analyze anything!

Pass the literary merit one may accompany Love in the Time of Cholera with lays this huge disdain for the characters. Not one character has a positive attribute grand enough to outcast the negatives: they are all disgusting loathsome beings. I apologize; the majority of the characters just live in this delusional world where primitive feelings are acute—particularly the sexual kind. Fermina, the main female lead, is just the only disgusting loathsome being. She’s want you might call today a gold-digger. And a whore. She marries Urbino because of his good reputation and good fortune completely ignoring Florentino even after 3 years of courting and love letter writing. And once Urbino tragically dies she ‘falls in love’ with Florentino again who remains a freaking virgin for her even after 622 affairs! Ha. Ha. Ha! But seriously Urbino and Florentino fell in love with her why? Because she's pretty. Gracia Marquez mentions that plenty enough.

What did I get from the story? Have an affair—everyone’s doing it! Sailors, captains, doctors, photographers, grandmothers, mothers, wives, CEOs—everyfreakingone.

I wanted to quit every chapter of the way, but alas I was not allowed to. Grrr.

Oh My Goth

Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter (November 20th 2006—MTV)

Grade: 1 star out of 5

Summary: “A fiercely individualist Goth girl wakes up to discover that the whole world has gone Goth and she's actually—gag—popular.

Jade Leigh is a nonconformist who values individuality above all else. She has a small group of like-minded Goth friends who wear black, dabble in the dark arts, and thrive outside the norm. They're considered the "freaks" of their high school. But when Jade's smart mouth lands her in trouble—again—her principal decides to teach her a lesson she'll never forget.

Taken to a remote location where she is strapped down and sedated, Jade wakes up in an alternate universe where she rules the school. But her best friends won't talk to her, and the people she used to hate are all Goth. Only Clarik, the mysterious new boy in town, operates outside all the cliques. And only Mercedes, the Barbie clone Jade loathes, believes that Jade's stuck in a virtual reality game—because she's stuck there, too, now living the life of a "freak." Together, they realize they might never get back to reality...and that even if they do, things might never be the same.”

Review: Oh My Goth was oh my god bad. I slammed the book—twice—on the countertop while reading. I ranted to my brother how much I disliked the book. I fumed for a good 10 minutes afterwards. My ‘dogma’ of how MTV books could never go wrong has proven to be blasphemous with this book.

When reading the summary I thought ‘hey this sounds pretty good’. When I finished I nearly—gagged—myself.

Jade needed a new sense of what it means to be an individual. She needs to understand that wearing clothes that a majority of her peers do not wear and moaning and groaning about how they all suck does not mean to be an individual. She needs to know when to stick up for yourself instead of running over people like a fortified tank half of the time and being trampled like a calf the other half. She condemns people because they all dress alike yet she and friends seem to dress very similar. Jade needs to let go of her past and stop living her life by a code—a sentence—her mother had spoken before her death. A powerful message it was, but the way Jade acts because of it makes her a mindless zombie.

This whole book could have acted as a strong message to teens but the delivery made it nothing short aside from being a kindle to a fire.

Overall: As uncouth as this may sound: Piss off.

Cover N/A

I refuse to even look at this book.

Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales

Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales, Volume 1: Sanctuary by Melissa Marr (May 1st 2009—Bowen Press)

Grade: 1 star out of 5 (but you were really close to being a door stopper!)

Summary: “Discover Melissa Marr's mesmerizing world of Faerie...

The desert is far away from the schemes of the Faerie Courts—and that's how Rika likes it. Once a mortal and now a faery, Rika seeks isolation and revels in her ability to appear invisible to humans. Then, she meets him. Artistic and kind, Jayce is the last person Rika wants to hide from.

But change is coming, challenging Rika's freedom and her new romance, as her past pursues her, even into the heart of the desert. . . .”

Review: You would think by now I learned to stay away from Melissa Marr’s books but I thought “hey, I enjoyed the Vampire Kisses manga even though the book series kind of didn't do it for me, maybe it’ll be the same for Melissa Marr’s books!”. Wrong! Wrong to the infinite suckage power.

Let’s start with the background information. Wait, opps we can’t. There were hardly any! The manga is designed that we have to have had read the Wicked Lovely. You need to understand the court system, understand Keenan’s past, understand the whole “finding the ice queen” scenes for the reader to even get pass the first 10 pages! Even then I was willing to slide on some levels. Maybe, just maybe, the manga/manhua* might explain some of that in the sequels to come--hopefully.

My biggest issue is the “thing” between Jayce and Rika. Completely unbelievable. Rika practically stalks Jayce for some time before reveling herself. Even then Jayce somehow falls madly in love with her despite the fact that they’ve known each for oh less than 24 hours. They even smooch a little in the end! Someone must have answered my prayers and decided to add a little action in the end! (If you guys can’t tell I’m being super sarcastic then you should just smack yourself in the head).

The lines delivered were unrealistic. The fight scene in the club stupid. I mean so the faeries are invisible to humans but when they were trying to force Rika to speed things along with Jayce (by trying to kill them of course, that’s the answer to all of life’s questions.The way through a man's heart isn't through his stomach, it's through his broken ribs, beaten face, and internal bleeding, which doesn't explain) are they suddenly visible? Because Jayce clearly mentions one of them having a knife later on. And if they were visible, why was no one stopping the desert faeries from trying to kill them? You’re in a populated club with people surrounding you, just starring. You would think someone would have screamed or cried out stop or something!

And let’s not forget the love triangle-ish. Yes ish because it might happen or Melissa Marr is just leading us on. *sigh* ugh. Let’s all I have to say.

The artwork is also kind of average. Some parts were weird since the head looked kind of squashed. The hair on Jayce—what the hell is that? Dreadlocks? An alien life form suctioned onto his head!? You can't tell by the cover but the shading of the hair is just bizarre.

Overall: I want my 20 minutes back. Might pick up the sequel if I’m in a nasty mood.

P.S. How the hell is the girl named Rika? When we first saw Keenan and Rika, they were wearing these Victorian outfits yet Rika is clearing a Japanese name. Is she an immigrant? Is she a mixed child? Or is Melissa Marr just trying to write a stereotypical manga/manhua* with a stereotypical Japanese name?

Cover B-
Suctioned man alert!

*I'm not sure what to consider this comic. The comic is illustrated by a Chinese group so...?

Swoon

So it's been a few weeks since my last review and I had hoped to come back with a giant, happy smile and hugs galore but now it's just uhhh this...

---

Swoon by Nina Malkin (May 19th 2009—Simon Pulse)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Sin is Coming...Prepare to Swoon!

Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him—but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent—and irresistible—adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will.

Only trouble is, she's in love with him.”

Review: I honestly have no words to express myself of this book (but I am going to try). On more than one occasion I found myself completely and utterly lost, constantly flipping back and forth trying to figure exactly what had indeed occur.

Swoon had all the right ingredients—dark and eerie themes, lustful characters, an awesome title, so where did it fail? In all the messy details. Where each chapter began with a new plot, a sense of correlation was lost between the period of the previous page and the next chapter number. This was where the frustration lied. I had absolutely no idea where things were heading! One minute they were discussing Sinclair’s past and the next thing I knew there’s a freaking orgy in the basement of some kid’s house! (Yes there’s an orgy. At first I did not believe either when I heard about it but then I came to the scene and I literally flipped). It was up and beyond confusing that I almost cried. Not from anything sad or touching, but rather from sheer frustrating.

Going back to the orgy, let’s talk about sex since sex and lust seem to be quite pronounced in this book. I love a smidgen of lustfulness as much as the next reader but there was a bit too much here. Swoon (the city name) is practically the capital of PDA (public display of affection), grinding hips, and necking, and let’s not forget the whole “friends with benefits”. Tone the sex down is all that I ask. I care not to read about the adventures of how Sin deflowered you, how Sin is a great lover, how Sin is practically hitting on every girl and yet you still love him.

Aside from the most obvious flaws in this book some of the characters I did happen to enjoy reading. I love the whole one syllable nickname and some of the twists in the plot. The confusion did die out in some parts as well albeit it only took 15 chapters for the author to revisit some of the beginning scenes and explain what the heck just happened.

Overall: I wanted something mysterious, deliciously tangy, and mass amounts of swooning happening. Instead I got a 425 page book that left me tears (which I am going to take a blind guess that it was not the main purpose of the book). Something about this book I just could not stomach, I just could not hold it down, devour it and savor the texture.

Cover B-
I love everything but the girl. I think if they just happened to move her up a bit or tilt it forward, it would have been better. It’s just the lower right hand side that leaves me disappointed. Definitely love the color of the lips, really rich and bright shade of red.

Beautiful World

Beautiful World by Anastasia Hollings (June 2nd 2009—Harper Teen)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Amelia Warner will stop at nothing to get what she wants: everything.
Seventeen-year-old Amelia Warner is always on the outside. Moving from boarding school to boarding school with her brother and their father, the untenured professor, doesn't help. Amelia lives inches from the sons and daughters of the elite, forever looking in on the beautiful people. A natural-born charmer who doesn't lie so much as rework the truth to her advantage, Amelia is well-versed in the art of faking a high-society identity to get limited access to the luxe life, but she's never figured out how to truly belong. Then she meets Courtney Moore, the Upper East Side heiress who needs a friend as badly as Amelia wants to be that friend, and suddenly a world of opportunity opens up for her. Parties, shopping, her own wing in the Moore mansion—it's all hers for the taking, as long as she can keep her real life a secret, especially from the new acquaintance who's been asking way too many questions. Can Amelia stay one step ahead of the doubters to secure her place in the beautiful world?”

Review: I just could not swallow this book. At mid-way I had to stop and wonder why I was even continuing. Skimmed through the rest, reading some dialogues here and there, some building blocks to the plot, but saw nothing really new from the first half.

It was a wash, rinse, and repeat type of book. Basic scenario of poor girl wanting to be rich and rich girl wanting some friends. Poor girl of course befriends rich girl and oh no, swindles rich girl into believing that poor girl is also rich. But here’s the thing, poor girl pretends to lose her wallet, sprouts tears and bada bing bada boom, here’s the gorgeous watch that you’ve been eyeing. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Courtney is the lonely rich girl that wants some decent friends in her life for once. And Ameila—Ann (her real name) is the poor girl who thinks she deserves more, much more just like Courtney. Courtney equals naïve girl who believes almost everything. Amelia equals will you shut up already!? Still interested?

Well here’s the thing, Amelia’s brother, Zach(ary) looks just like Johnny Deep. No lie! They only mentioned like oh…5 times in 3 chapters. Dark, broody, with penetrating eyes and an extremely high tolerance to alcohol! He drinks a lot, which, like his uncanny appearance to Mr. Deep, you will read about often.

Right from the start I hesitated about this book. The format threw me off as it was a third person point of view but rotating every main character. Amelia then Zach and then Courtney. You get used to it though.

But this book was a train wreck waiting to happen. There were sparks of intelligence between Courtney and Amelia and scenes where you can relate to. And as the back of the book states: “…a series that marries Gossip Girl with The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Maybe readers will find something to like in this series…whoever the heck is Mr. Ripley is.

Overall: Congratulations Beautiful World managed to not get burned…barely. What was really sad was that this book was so small—209 pages—and I could barely finish it.

Cover B+
The cover is really pretty though. Definitely showcases the “beautiful” people and the landscape divine.

You’ve Got Blackmail

You’ve Got Blackmail by Rachel Wright (April 2nd 2009—Putnam)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Lozzie Cracknell is a girl on the edge. Her parents have recently separated; she forgot to mail the invitations to her mum’s super-important client party; the school bully is out to get her following an unfortunate e-mail incident involving Photoshop and a picture of a horse’s behind; and now it looks like Mum might be dating her English teacher, the utterly loathsome Mr. Hilary Barnett.
Just when she’s got about as much stress as she can handle, Lozzie and her best mate Dex stumble upon a tantalizing mystery—it seems Mr. Barnett is being blackmailed. But who on earth would blackmail a bore like him, and why? As they delve deeper into the mystery, questions pile on top of questions, and the one thing that does become clear is that danger can lurk in totally unexpected places . . .”

Review: So this book is short, extremely short. It took me less than 2 hours to finish this book from start to finish. Maybe it was the huge font or the txt msg like wrds?

My biggest frustration for this book has to be the writing style. I felt that while I was reading this I was being sent back through time to when the 5th grade. I felt like screaming “We teens may still be quite young but that does not mean we cannot understand complete and coherent sentences!” It was like reading from 10 year old point of view—childish, annoying, and random at moments. The characters were as equally charming.

The actual “blackmail” does not occur until midway through the book. Even then the blackmail is quite straightforward. I tried to solve the mystery of the culprit, following the clues and piecing the hints together, but alas, to no avail. Why? I expected twists and turns, like a true mystery. Instead I ended up with a give me. I thought too much in this case. Be warned when reading, DO NOT THINK. Just go with the flow…which may or may not be a good idea.

I am stressing. Why? I cannot seem to comprehend the book. What did I read? Was the entire book based on that 20 page blackmail!? Quite baffling.

The redeeming aspects of this book can be the humor. It was funny in some scenes. The ending was also quite decent.

Overall: …so does anyone have any good recommendations to cleanse my palette?

Cover C+

EDIT: I feel like I have to clarify something. The book does NOT per se use IM talk throughout the book. It was the persona or the feeling that something was not right. Like the language was overly simplified. Many authors today want to appear hip and cool, using slang words or very oral words like "becoz". I have a very strong disdain to these types of novels.

To Be Mona

To Be Mona by Kelly Easton (November 25th 2008—Margaret K. McElderry)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Sage Priestly is seventeen, and she longs to reinvent herself -- to strip away the fat, the past, the crazy mom, the unpaid bills. She longs to be her own version of the gorgeous and popular Mona Simms.

Sage starts dieting and exercising. She gets blond highlights and throws away all of her black clothes. Bit by bit she transforms herself. This is deeply troubling to her best friend, Vern, who is secretly in love with Sage just the way she is. But the boyfriend Sage wants—the popular jock Roger—suddenly notices her. And when they start dating, Sage thinks her life is turning around.

So why isn't Sage happier? Yes, Roger is a little too controlling and pushy, but isn't that what boys are like when you date them? What is it about the image Sage has created that just doesn't fit?”

Review: After digesting this book for a couple of hours, my opinion of the book is still (insert heavy silence here). I really am not too sure what to think of the book. Was it fabulous? Not really. Was it horrendous? Nope. So where does that leave it? Smack dab in the middle of what the heck did I just read?

It had a great base, a wonderful foundation, if it only kept going. The premise of the book has been done quite many times before so I looked forward to how the author executed the plot and how she morphed it to something of her own. Only I felt that she headed into the wrong direction. Yes, trying to capture the realistic teenage emotion is good; however when you characterize someone completely solely on appearance and how popular they are, you will not gain any emotional support—from me and hopefully from any other readers.

Sage was too focused on the perfect appearance, to be perfect like Mona. Some have even called her shallow—which I cannot completely disagree. Almost every female teen character was shallow in a sense. But if the author had delved fully into the relationship of Vern, she might have created a scenario where Sage develops. Or into the relationship of her mother creating emotional depth. In reality, however, she skimmed both topics leaving me dumbfounded as to why even bring both topics then.

Roger is…an idiot to put it lightly. Not in the sense where I hate his guts, okay maybe I do, but more of his traits that made him an idiot. He is the all American football playing, horny boy, career goal—cop, talking shit with friends, living with his mother forever, type of guy. I just could not see what Sage saw in him! Wait, I think I do understand. His social status but of course. Even as the story progresses, Sage does not appear to be phased by his more than kiss attitude, in the aspect of actually trying to stop him. Only when he actually tries to really force her does she see the light. Dense, thus is Sage or the idiocy to create such a false image of someone. Narrow-mindedness? Stupidity? Or naïve? You be the judge.

Mona was well, nowhere to be seen. More of the idea of her, her essence, of what she represents, is played in the novel. She, herself, comes in for like 3 lines. And she is of course, pretty, nice, and smart all rolled into one. She ticks me off…only because in the sparing 3 lines, she ends up crying because Sage did not want to go to her house. Pathetic! I mean, it is okay to not get your way at least once! Anyone have a spare backbone? Anyway moving on…

The ending was abrupt. Non-cohesive, and leaving so many unanswered questions. For one thing, whatever happened to Vern! I’ll just leave it there. But I am still dumbfounded to this point about the ending.

Overall: If the book still sounds interesting, borrow this from the library first!

Cover C+