Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

While on vacation, I read Beautiful Creatures, Caster Chronicles #1, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and while I had heard mixed responses, I really enjoyed it.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything (GoodReads).

Originality:  6. A YA book from a boy's perspective? say what? And a boy who feels quite a few emotions and love?  Maybe this should be in the absurdity section.  But overall, I enjoyed this take on witches, southern stuffyness and history, and a sprinkling of libraries and voodoo.

Absurdity:  8.  Where is this boy who have so many emotions?  in highschool?  it was just hard to BELIEVE that they have feelings like this.  BUT I tired because in my heart I wish they did, for high school girls everywhere, and anyways, there was a lot more absurdity, namely Lenas unrelenting emo-ness.  Girl, I understand you feel doomed, but man, you are way too glass-half-full for me likes.  Though, that Carrie-esq stunt the girls at the dance pulled was rough.

Paranormal Romance: 10+.  Seriously, it is all here: insta/fated love, emotional high schoolers, magic powers emerging, and some flashbacks.  I was very disappointed to how those were resolved, and I would like to go on record saying so.

Harry Potterness: 4.  OK, low score, considering I liked this.. BUT THE ENDING.  You may remember my feeling about books that RESOLVE NOTHING at the end.  huge frustration.  While leaving somethings hanging is a literary technique employed by many authors, here, we read the whole book for the last two pages to basically say, got ya good!  nothing is resolved! read book 2.  siiiiiiiiiiigh.  So, anyone read book two?  If things get resolved and the plot progresses, I am in. But if we circle around Emo-Lena for another year, I dont know if I have the mental fortitude for that...

Waiting on Wednesday: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing. No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried (GoodReads).

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan comes out literally any moment (or just did-- it was scheduled to release yesterday). I could use a good Paris story and this sounds creepy and awesome. Let's call it a day and go buy this book (and maybe read all night).

Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

It is has taken me a while to write this review for A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Why, you ask? Because I had to cool down. This mix of Victorian boarding schools, Gothic mystery, (insipid, mean)  clique of girls, and magic made me want to THROW THINGS.  Primarily the book. 

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to? (GoodReads).


Originality: 2. Victorian girls with sassy, wild, independent sides seem to be the only type of teenage women in YA historical fiction. Don't get me wrong, power to the ladies, but this is a frequent setup.
Absurdity:  1.5 billion. This was all crazy because it made ME crazy.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 7. You know falling for a gypsy boy ( that you can't be with, obvi) when you can commune with the spiritual world is BASICALLY a paranormal romance...because all gypsies are magical, right? Isn't that why the wizard in the Wizard of Oz pretends to be one? This is at least a truth in my brain.
Level of Harry Potterness: 1. I do not want to know more. This book was just not for me. Goosie Mama is going to totally disagree. She loved this series and flew through them. This is even better for me, because now she can just tell me what happens! Then I can know and still move on.

Book Club Recap: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Non-book-club book club happened again this week in NYC!

We read An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. And guys, GUYS, I hate to admit this, but not one of us really liked it. Sure we liked bits, but the full story just didn't do it for any of us. We talked about how this made us feel guilty, since we like John Green and loooooove The Fault in Our Stars.  Do you ever feel this way when you don't love a book you want to love?

So recap of our thoughts: I thought the flashbacks to the Katherines were boring, but I loved the shenanigans of Gunshot, TN and the repartee between Hassan and Colin. I maintain that I would basically read anything about Hassan. More Hassan!  I also thought the "...." in the dark were adorable.

One friend liked the footnotes, and another swears she is going back to finish the appendix and get a better feel for the math. So at least we liked these portions.

I would like to hear what other people thought about this book. I know Crazy Camper and her BF liked it. (See her review)

Have no fear, the book club was still a success. I mean, who DOESN'T want to drink sangria outside on Stone Street (pictured) and talk books? You would have to be crazy.

And for our next book we decided on Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Since the world is agog at the new The Great Gatsby movie, we thought we would revisit Fitzgerald. Since we have all read Gatsby more than once, we are jumping into the highly acclaimed Tender is the Night. Feel free to join us!

It is the French Riviera in the 1920s. Nicole and Dick Diver are a wealthy, elegant, magnetic couple. A coterie of admirers are drawn to them, none more so than the blooming young starlet Rosemary Hoyt. When Rosemary falls for Dick, the Diver's calculated perfection begins to crack. As dark truths emerge, Fitzgerald shows both the disintegration of a marriage and the failure of idealism. Tender is the Night is as sad as it is beautiful. (GoodReads).

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Shades of Milk and Honey is an intimate portrait of Jane Ellsworth, a woman ahead of her time in a version of Regency England where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. But despite the prevalence of magic in everyday life, other aspects of Dorchester’s society are not that different: Jane and her sister Melody’s lives still revolve around vying for the attentions of eligible men.

Jane resists this fate, and rightly so: while her skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face, and therefore wins the lion’s share of the attention. At the ripe old age of twenty-eight, Jane has resigned herself to being invisible forever. But when her family’s honor is threatened, she finds that she must push her skills to the limit in order to set things right–and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own (GoodReads).

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal was rather like warm milk mixed with honey: sweet and soothing, but ultimately it did not tide me over (how 'bout them metaphors!?!?!)

• Level of Originality: 9. MAGIC and Jane Austin. Hello.
• Level of Absurdity: 7. Yo, if homegirl disparages herself ONE MORE TIME I am going to force a self confidence intervention a la Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear. I know that this is a re-imagining of Regency England, but Jane Austin lived it and gave us waaaayyyy stronger leads. This was absurdly unappealing!
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 7. This is not the case where the score reflects swoon. It reflects how obvious I thought it was that our glamour manipulators would fall for each other. Maybe I would have felt more of a build up and satisfaction in the romance, but it felt flat and obvious instead.
• Level of Harry Potter-ness: 3. This book is nice but dull, like that girl down the hall freshman year of college who was knitting when you were listening to top 40 and wearing jean skirts and Forever 21 sparkly tops (not that it was a good idea, but you know, it was fun). This series keeps going, but I for one will hop off this train for jazzier lands/reads.

Waiting on Wednesday: Divergent Series, Allegiant by Veronica Roth

While we don't have a cover till October (10.23.2013 if you are counting...), the name of the third book in the Divergent Series is....

ALLEGIANT 

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent. via

Here at YAF & WS, we loooove this  series.  Is it too soon to be waiting? And a big thanks to to Jill at Breaking the Spine for hosting WoW!

Top Ten Tuesday:Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun

Hello again, Top Ten Tuesday world! We have missed you the last couple of weeks here at YAF and WS, mostly because I have had so much work I haven't had time to get things together. Opps. My bad. But here we are, getting back into the TTT, (which we love and is hosted by the awesome The Broke and the Bookish). This week is all about books that are fun, fluffy, and light. Bring on the rainbows and kittens!
                 

1. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. Sweet swoon and happy endings.
2. The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde.  Extreme silliness ahead (for the kiddos).
3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I mean, everything she does is hilarious.
4. Wilfair by Alysia Gray Painter: Wacky but nevertheless charmingly charming. 
5. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Very smart and very wacky. 
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows. Charming letters from adorable AND strong WWII-era women. Winner.
7. Stardust by Neil Gaiman. From the master of mischievous storytelling.
8. Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill. I giggled out loud, which is pretty much inevitable with this adorableness.

Making this TTT made me realize that a LOT of YA books are broody, the world-is-ending-unless-our-brunette-heroine-can-realize-her-potential. Ouch. Now I see why we all needed to do this week's list ot share the wealth of fun books.

Want to know more about these reads? See our reviews of  The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Last Dragonslayer, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Wilfair, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and Meant To Be.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith was a charming, easy read I flew threw! I wasn't as blown away as some bloggers, but maybe it is because I came late to the game. Nevertheless, I liked this book.

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. (GoodReads).

• Level of Originality: 4. This absolutely feels like a rom-com, think an early Meg Ryan movie of Four Weddings and a Funeral-lite version for teens. But I am cool with that! 
• Level of Absurdity: 1/10, depending on whether or not the idea of love at first sight makes you roll your eyes or not.
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 4. Cute without insta-love. Huzzah! (And I love the idea that the dark plane as a bubble that allows two people to connect without the weight of the world).
• Level of Harry Potterness: 4.I was not absorbed 100% into this world, but this books feels like a more thoughtful version of Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill (see my review!). I think its a really nice contemplation of how both teens and parents might view a divorce. Hadley's feelings on her dad and having to see him as a new person in a new life got me, I felt sad and could understand her dislocation.

Friday Reading Updates: Rooftops, Library Books, and Hammocks, Oh My!

Here I am, enjoying life last Sunday on my best friend's roof deck. Please note the awesome hammock. This is taken in the LES facing south, so that almost-finished tower on the right is the Freedom Tower (not too shabby a view, right?) The Chinatown locale also makes it nice and easy to pick up pork buns for snacks. Huzzah! While the boys watched the Knicks downstairs, I enjoyed the sun and John Green's An Abundance of Katherines, my next non-book-club-book-club read!

I hope you have a fab weekend and get some tanning/resting/reading in! :-)

       

Review: Old Magic by Marianne Curley

Creepy Cover Alert!

Old Magic by Marianne Curley:

Jarrod Thornton is mesmerizing, but Kate Warren doesn't know why.

The moment the new guy walks into the room, Kate senses something strange and intense about him. Something supernatural. Her instincts are proven correct a few minutes later when, bullied by his classmates, Jarrod unknowingly conjures up a freak thunderstorm "inside" their classroom.

Jarrod doesn't believe in the paranormal. When Kate tries to convince him that he has extraordinary powers that need to be harnessed, he only puts up with her "hocus pocus" notions because he finds her captivating. However, the dangerous, uncontrolled strengthening of his gift finally convinces Jarrod that he must take Kate's theories seriously. Together, they embark on a remarkable journey -- one which will unravel the mystery that has haunted Jarrod's family for generations and pit the teens against immense forces in a battle to undo the past and reshape the future.(GoodReads).

(If I had read the Spanish edition with that castle, I probs would not have been shocked by the time travel.)

Absurdity: 8. So this book starts out in perhaps Australia? Anywho, halfway in we ended up in 13th century Scotland! SCOTLAND! Since I was reading this on an e reader there was no back blurb to let me know. I was shocked but okay with it all, even though it made for a bit of a mish-mash.
Originality: 8. See "mish mash" comment above. At least this wacky combo was new!
Level of Paranormal Romance: 2. Jarrod, for all of his magic (and thus the potential for a high paranormal romance score with our witch Kate) is a wimp and knows it. He spends 85 percent of the book letting popular kids boss him around, or at least acting in that mindset. Not a turn on, boy, and absolutely not "mesmerizing." Points deducted!
Level of Harry-Potterness 4. Meh, nothing grabbed this reader. I read this because it was available from the lib when I wanted a book late night, not for its writing or storytelling.