Book Review: Faelorehn (The Otherworld #1) by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

Self Published
Published April 21, 2012
228 Pages

Meghan Elam is a strange one and has been her entire life. Her eyes constantly change colors and she sees and hears things no one else can. When the voices become louder and the visions clearer, her parents begin sending her to doctors in hopes to try to clear their daughter.

But when Cade comes around and shows Meghan that she is not crazy but something different. Everything that Meghan has been doing to be normal comes to a screaming halt.

I love a good story about faeries. This was a decent story but not necessarily well written. So I am going to get to the point.

Meghan doesn’t develop at all through this story. When she realizes that she isn’t normal and that she is truly of  different kind she doesn’t really make the initiative to become proactive against those trying to kill her.

All she cares about is Cade and what Cade tells her to do and what he doesn’t tell her to do. This the first boy she has become infatuated with. This sure as crap isn’t love. Cade is barely in the picture. He is in and out her life on various assignments and to be honest he is sketchy and I really think he set her up.

Meghan was right not to trust him but pretty eyes stop her short -.-

The book moved very slow, which caused me to lose interest. I feel there was too much down time for a girl who is so important.

Overall, 2.5 Pickles

NetGalley Review: Dark Hope by Monica McGurk

Greenleaf Book Group
To Be Published July 29, 2014
400 Pages

For the past ten years, Hope Carmichael has been living under her father’s overprotective and obsessive watch as a result of her being a survivor of a child abduction. 

But at 15 years old, freed by her mother, Hope is now able live a life in which she can start over and be normal. She meets Michael, a teen with a mysterious past, who at the same time makes her happy but makes her question everything that is happening. When Lucas the school bully begins taking a unwanted interest in Hope, she can’t but wonder what is really going on and Michael is hiding so many secrets.

Firstly, beautiful, beautiful cover. But the book fell short.

The book starts off wonderful. It begins off in a action scene that only fills with questions. It is a really great lead up and it showed potential of being a really developed and exciting book.

However, Hope was as lifeless and naive as her father raised her to be. She possessed no spark, no real personality through the book. I can understand in the beginning but she really didn’t change herself.

I love stories about angels, forbidden love and battles. However, I felt that the author put too much religious stories into this book. I understand she did it to legitimize the concept but there was so much in it, the book stalled. The author also added a very important political issues in Atlanta (Sex Trafficking and Kidnapping of girls) and I felt it was out of place. I see how she tried to tie it into Hope’s own story but that is such a strong issue, I felt that to throw it in there wasn’t really right.

I liked Michael’s character. He was everything a love interest should be. The only issue I have with Michael and Hope’s relationship was there was no chemistry. I knew Michael felt something for Hope; that was pretty obvious but I didn’t get that same feeling from Hope. No butterflies at first or even second sight. There wasn’t really anything until he kissed her forehead. Love takes many different forms and times but the chemistry is always there. Just in this case I didn’t feel it.

Overall, I though this was a decent read. Did it spark a reread or a wow in me? No but the author did tell a good story although it lacked. 2.5 Pickles

Book Review: Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan

Thomas Nelson Publishers
Published Nov. 5, 2013
306 Pages

The only thing that Tom Harding cares about is the truth. Being a High School reporter, Tom knows how to ask the right questions in order to find the truth. However, when pushing for the truth,

Tom pushes too far and all of a sudden wakes up to an empty house, street and town with a freaky fog full of monsters out to get him. What happened to his mother? To the people of the town? Why is he being hunted? Only the truth will set Tom free.

This book was a disappointment and it made me very sad. The entire concept was very interesting and that is what I was drawn to.  The constant building of questions was great as well but it too way too long for any of those questions to be answered.

Also the book was boring. No real action; just Tom running around getting killed twice and completely not knowing what to do. No real horror; adding a monster chase to a story isn’t the only thing that can be done to make a book a horror book. Nothing scared or shock me and with a title called “Nightmare City” I expected to be scared.

However, the author did a good job with the climax. It wasn’t the best because there was background information missing for the reader,  such as how Tom and his girlfriend got together, and how was his friends able to come into nightmare city (I mean you know why but it was a half ass way to give Tom the answer) therefore causing the lead up to be slack but when everything came to light, finally, I was too disappointed.

Also the author made it that Tom was this amazing reporter who sought the truth no matter the cause but Tom himself was hiding secrets so it made him a hypocrite. Overall this book gets 2 Pickles.

 

 

What Tanya Wants: March 2014

Kathy Dawson Books Published March 25th 2014 388 Pages

Tor Teen Published March 4th 2014 384 Pages

St. Martin’s Griffin Published March 4, 2014 224 Pages

The Winner’s Curse (Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkosi:  One girl . . . two choices and a forbidden love.

Death Sworn (Death Sworn #1) by Leah Cypess: A girl who lost everything regains it back in the most dangerous place

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano: She is the only one that can solve the cryptic messages a serial killer leaves in newspapers . . . time is running out.

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld: A death row inmate created an enchanted place as he await his sentence. Two people venture there looking for a truth.

The Nightmare Dilemma (Arkwell Academy #2) by Mindee Arnett: Dusty and Eli are back solving the crime of Dusty’s bully, Lance

The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams:  The hospital is all they know since the disease took their memory but for two teens they remember everything.

 

NetGalley Review: Ticker by Lisa Mantchev

Skyscape
Published Dec. 1, 2014
273 Pages

Penny Farthing is near death when surgeon Calvin Warwick is able to successfully swap out Penny’s bad heart with a brass ticker. But the moment when it is found that Warwick killed people in order to save Penny with an updated Ticker, Penny isn’t so happy that she was saved.

During Warwick’s last day of trial, the Farthing factory was bombed, their house was broken into and Penny and her brother Nic receive a ransom notice, demanding their parent’s secret information in order to have their parents back unharmed.  

With the help of Penny’s best friend Violet, a gentleman around the town (whatever that means) Sebastian and a young army general Marcus, Penny and Nic go on the search for their parents and the truth about Penny’s ticker.

The first pretty cover of the year!!!!!

This book was a dry read. The plot, the characters everything seemed un-lifelike which is crazy considering that the topic of life centralizes the entire book. Penny  lacked development and character. She did what she wanted and how she wanted.  She had little regard for her own life, which again is crazy!

The storyline didn’t really provide enough to keep me interested in the story. As much as I love when books start off in a really great scene, there is a way to do it right and the author did not provide enough of a griping point in order for me to understand why things were moving the way they were. Yes, do you get that information but the vagueness of what happened to her, her sister and the man who gave her a new heart last for way too long for me to enjoy the book.

Also the author added a very unnecessary element to a world of science; paranormal. It was thrown in there without any type of back-story or anything leading up to it to make me believe that the paranormal topic should be there.

What I did like about this story was the steampunk aspect of it. It was detailed and creative and there was a lot of though behind it.

Overall, the book was okay. Nothing spectacular.

2 Pickles

 

What Tanya Wants: January 2015

 

 

Book Review: Sleepless by Cyn Balog

The boring can happen when you expect so much more.

Eron DeMarchelle is the sandman. His job is to seduce humans to sleep and stay out of their lives. But being a former human and ending his term as sandman, Eron is drawn to Julia; a lonely girl with a jerk of an ex-boyfriend who died weeks before.

Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Published July 13, 2010
215 Pages

Julia is in danger and the only person that can save her is Eron but helping her is more complicated than he thought it would be.

I loved the concept of this book. Sandman falls in love with a human and has to protect her from danger while at the same time easing back into the human world himself. However, the book fell short because of one major thing. Julia isn’t in danger until pretty much the last three chapters of the book.

What I expected or was hoping for in this book was more action and more mythology. When you hear or see the word danger you’re expecting some fast pace action. I was expecting the sandman turning into a human form falling in love and trying to stop the danger that happens to this girl. I wasn’t expecting a 17 year boy standing on a tree limb look into his charges windows.

Although the story lacked passion and fire the story itself was written very well. Overall this book gets 6 out of 10.

 

Tania Lasenburg is a communications major that plays video games and cyber stalks Gym Class Heroes. Follow her on twitter @mrztanyapickles

 

Book Review: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver

This book was not what I expected and I was thrown off . . .  not too sure yet if that is a good or bad thing.  Oh & this review will have a bit of spoiler *sorry*

The Demon Trapper’s Daugher by Jana Oliver (goodreads)

17 year old Riley Blackthorne is a demon trapper apprentice, she also happens to be the daughter of the famous demon trapper Paul Blackthorne. With going to school and learning how to trap demons things are bit rough for her.

Okay. So when I read the summary it simply stated she had an unexpected demon attack her during a routine trap and things get complicated. The summary fails to mention that the unexpected demon is really not the issue. *Spoiler Coming* her father dies. THAT’S WHAT SCREWED HER OVER. Her mother had past away a few months before. She is left alone with bills, rent and a pet. So what threw me off was why the summary of the book detailing an incident that really didn’t set off the events in the book?

Beyond that I loved the relationship between Riley and her father. They have a close bond; nothing is hinted that the bond formed after her mother passed away; it seems as if they always had that bond. So it was a great loss even for me to read of his passing.

What I also liked was how there was no love triangle . . . at least in this book. Yes, there are two main guys in the book but one becomes the boyfriend and the other holds some kind of responsibility to Riley. Although these relationships change in the next books (yes, I did take a peek at the next three books), I thought it was cool that there wasn’t any complicated love. It was a bit of fresh air.

The book overall was a decent read. However, I couldn’t see what the hype was about. Riley was extremely prideful not necessarily mean. The author did quite a bite of dragging. By chapter 37 I was extremely close to calling it quits. The detail was great and the semi religious aspect of the book wasn’t in horrible taste. It was a well written book.

Will I read the next three books? I have no idea.  This book gets 7 out of 10.

New Releases: July 2013

Affliction (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novel) by Laurell K. Hamilton 7.2.2013

goodreads

Awaken by Meg Cabot 7.2.2013

The Arrivals by Melissa Marr 7.2.2013

Mother Daughter Me by Katie Hafner 7.2.2013

A Midsummer Night’s Scream by R.L. Stine 7.6.2013

 

Fifth Grave Past the lIght (Charley Davidson Series #5) by Darynda Jones 7.9.2013

Please Don’t Tell by Elizabeth Adler 7.9.2013

Raven Flight: A Shadowfell novel by Juliet Marillier 7.9.2013

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman 7.9.2013

 

Belladonna (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #2) by Fiona Paul 7.16.2013

The Book of Elsewhere Vol 4 by Jacqueline West 7.16.2013

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols 7.16.2013

 

A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly #2) by Susan Dennard 7.23.2013

A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook 7.23.2013

OCD Love Story by Ann Haydu 7.23.2013

 

Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf 7.30.2013

EarthBound by Aprilynne Pike 7.30.2013

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry 7.30.2013