Review: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Alyxandra Harvey's website here // $11.55 from {amazon}

Publisher: Walker Children (June 21, 2011)

Hardcover: 352 pages

Source: Publisher (ARC)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Summary:  

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

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My Thoughts:  

I went into HAUNTING VIOLET conscious of Alyxandra Harvey’s ability to write exciting, fast-paced paranormal romance in THE DRAKE CHRONICLES. So despite HAUNTING VIOLET being marketed as a spooky, spirit-filled murder mystery, a huge deviation from her usual plotline, I still expected it to exhibit the writing capabilities I associate with the name Alyxandra Harvey.  

Verdict: Different, but lacking.

In YA, “murder mystery” tends to imply suspense, dark secrets, and anticipation. Out of the three, HAUNTING VIOLET has only the dark secrets well covered. If I felt any suspense, it was extremely fleeting. If there was any anticipation, it disappeared when what happened just… happened. Some things were life-threatening enough or ghostly enough, but I never felt a true sense of danger or urgency, which I largely attribute to poor character development. Primarily that of our heroine, Violet, who’s the dreaded “okay:” a little bit of everything (bravery, endurance, love, brains), but not much of anything.  Conversely, Violet’s mother is at the extremes of evil, but a sad history or occasional streak of humanity would have made her character that much scarier in its understandability. Looking back, I see so much unrealized potential that could have been realized with more yin & yang in the characters’ personalities and/or histories.

As for the mystery itself, rather than a steady incline of clues, it was a mixture of one pivotal suspect and a number of random smaller ones were either: a) superfluous, or b) obvious. The pivotal suspect? WHO is this creepy man and WHY does he keep appearing everywhere. OH, YOU, CREEPER. Problem was, creeper factor? Yes. Danger factor? No. So that was interesting for 50 pages or so, but it could’ve easily been solved in those 50 instead of being dragged out for another 200. That’s not to say the smaller clues and ghostly signs weren’t interesting – you don’t see chandeliers falling every day – but they simply don’t seem at all necessary when the ending twist is revealed. Like the icing on a cake that first needs more sugar.

That being said, in my eyes, the ending redeemed HAUNTING VIOLET. My thoughts while reading can be essentially summed up as (page approximates from ARC):

50 pages in: “Beautiful setting. Oh, a clue! I wonder where this will go…”

 

60 pages in: “Oh, that’s cool. A ghost. Hm.”

170 pages in: “COME ON, VIOLET, GO FOR IT. Can’t you see? Auisdha3e#)*#3rfysdAW(_@?!” 

310 pages in: “WOAH. Okay, is this it? Yay, they get a happy ending.” 

BOOK SHUT. *feels satisfied but kind of apathetic*

In spite of my seemingly endless complaints, HAUNTING VIOLET was actually a mildly enjoyable read. It just failed to meet my standards for solid mysteries. I do give kudos to Alyxandra Harvey for fleshing out a plausible 18th century society, complete with stunning balls and proper etiquette – and I’ll be anywhere that promises sparkly gowns, moonlit rendezvous’, and honey-coated deceit. HAUNTING VIOLET really had an intriguing plot during a lovely time period, and with proper execution, its plot could definitely have taken the book from ordinary to nail-biting, breath-stopping extraordinary. Perhaps next time – and, yes, I'll still be keeping an eye out for a next time.

My Rating: 3 out of 5

Bottom Line: HAUNTING VIOLET was there, and I read it. That pretty much sums up my feelings for it. However, looking at other reviews, it seems HAUNTING VIOLET is one of those books that's either meh or OMGAMAZING, with most people falling in the latter. So if you're an Alyxandra Harvey or ghostly mysteries fan, I recommend giving it a try. Not the right haunt for me, but maybe it will be for you.

Cover: It's beautiful. I love the soft, watercolor feel it has to it.

The Flip-side:
Dreaming in Books
Jess Hearts Books
Rebecca's Book Blog
Confessions of a Bookaholic

Nightspell Week: Nightspell Review & Giveaway!

Leah Cypess's website here // $9.99 from {amazon}
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (May 31, 2011)
Hardcover: 336 pages
Source: Author
Summary:

When Darri rides into Ghostland, a country where the living walk with the dead, she has only one goal: to rescue her younger sister Callie, who was sent to Ghostland as a hostage four years ago. But Callie has changed in those four years, and now has secrets of her own.

In her quest to save her sister from herself, Darri will be forced to outmaneuver a handsome ghost prince, an ancient sorcerer, and a manipulative tribal warrior (who happens to be her brother). When Darri discovers the source of the spell that has kept the dead in Ghostland chained to this earth, she faces a decision that will force her to reexamine beliefs she has never before questioned - and lead her into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens the very balance of power between the living and the dead.

My Thoughts:

It took me over ten tries to get this right: NIGHTSPELL is indescribable. It’s indescribably amazing. It’s indescribably fantastical. In a word, it’s brilliant. (And, yes, paradoxical.) Leah Cypess is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA fantasy writers, and in NIGHTSPELL, it’s clearly evident why.

My top reason to love: Leah Cypess is a master at world-building and plot-weaving. NIGHTSPELL doesn’t just throw out some Ghostland facts and leave you attempting to connect-the-dots. Rather, it gradually and seamlessly laces them together to form a rich history and haunting setting. Nothing in NIGHTSPELL is simply “a crack,” it’s “a hairline crack [that] spread along the length of a black-speckled gray coil” (315, ARC).

Likewise, the plot is fully fleshed out and filled with just as many twists-and-turns as its companion novel, MISTWOOD. For those that have read MISTWOOD, Rokan’s sister Clarisse steals the spotlight in NIGHTSPELL. She’s the same Oscars-worthy actress and cunning enigma that I knew and loved (though her previous history isn’t vital to the plot). She’s so incredibly self-serving, but man, do I like it that way. Clarisse is the one who makes so much of the plot unpredictable and exciting, and when everything does finally click together, it’s definitely a historical “WOW” moment.

However, what failed to impress me were the characters: solid, but not great. NIGHTSPELL switches between Darri, Varis, and Callie’s point of views, which was... fine. I didn’t really gain any spectacular insight about Varis or Callie, whose perspectives really just worked to further the plot. They lacked that extra ounce of unique personality, which, actually, could be said of all the characters, from primary to secondary ones. They each seemed driven by one self-defining purpose, and past that, it was a fuzzy fog. I had some quick glimpses and possible ideas, but never felt like I saw the raw essence of personality. That being said, the characters all had genuine struggles and authentic voices, and it was enjoyable learning more about them. 

In the end, does it matter that I wouldn't cry buckets if a character died? Not at all. NIGHTSPELL is a book that revolves around its stunning, mystical world and constant intrigue, and after adding some more action, what could be a better recipe for a fantasy-lover? :)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Romance: No real physical contact. There's the promise of something at the end, but sometimes reality cuts in and I'm glad NIGHTSPELL reflects that.

Cover:  I LOVE IT. The castle is perhaps a bit too pretty and Disney-esque, but the girl on top really matches my mental image of Darri.

Bottom Line: I highly recommend both NIGHTSPELL and MISTWOOD to fantasy and, to a lesser extent, mystery lovers, because the plot and setting are just that amazing. If you're not that into either genre, it's still a great book, just go in knowing what to expect.

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Since I love Leah Cypess's books, I thought I'd give someone else a chance to read my finished copy of Mistwood. If you'd like the chance to win Nightspell, enter here. Remember you can comment on this review for an extra entry into the Nightspell giveaway! :)

Rules:
• To enter, fill out the form below.
** You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
• Open Internationally
• Contest ends Thursday, June 2nd at 11:59 EST
• For more information, please view my contest policy.

Review: Other by Karen Kincy

Karen Kincy's website here // $9.95 from {amazon}
Publisher: Flux (July 1, 2010)
Paperback: 336 pages
Summary: from {goodreads}

Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.

 
Rating: View my rating system.
 


My Thoughts: Other is a thrilling debut by Karen Kincy. It’s chock-full of sweet romance, unrelenting danger, nail-biting action, and a certain kickass half-pooka, a refreshing change from the common vampire/werewolf theme. Other’s main detraction is its cumbersome beginning, but if you’re willing to hold through to the end, you’ll find a fast-paced, action-packed adventure that will likely prove impossible to put down.

The first half was difficult and frustrating to read for two reasons: 1) the awkward introduction and 2) Gwen’s prejudice against werewolves. Karen Kincy makes a decent attempt at developing Gwen’s teenage voice but it came across as contrived and, frankly, unauthentic. The liberal use of sarcasm and, er, kind of lame jokes sadly only serve to drag out the beginning. Fortunately, the writing quickly picks up and becomes smoother and more believable. But despite the better writing, Gwen’s perception of all werewolves as horrifying criminals continued to irk me for what felt like an extremely long time. I can understand a bit of prejudice, but Gwen constantly preaches how Others should be treated fairly – she even has a blog endorsing equal treatment – then turns around and is an exact example of why people continue to hold stereotypes against Others. Gah, it’s so hypocritical I could barely stand it. Luckily, Gwen’s hypocrisy only comes up a few times (the few pages I skipped) though I still felt she was occasionally shallow and never fully connected with her. Overall, my relationship was Gwen was both ying-and-yang; she’s not a detraction nor is she very annoying, if a bit dramatic. When she finally overcame her paranoia, I could finally and completely enjoy the book in all its glory. And it certainly does have its glory in a certain fox-spirit boy...

Getting past the rocky beginning, the end was gripping. Karen Kincy weaves an intriguing mystery with nail-biting action, but what really cinched the deal for me was Tavian. I would willingly go against Gwen’s insane pooka skills if I had a chance with Tavian, no joke. He’s only a couple inches over five feet but “don’t mess with me or my girl” fierce when he’s protective. He makes an adorable fox and is unbelievably sweet, sensitive, dorky, and funny. Oh, and did I mention he’s a Japanese Johnny Depp look-a-like? Right. I can’t say to what extent Tavian has made me biased in my opinions of Other, though I can say he’s topped my list of swoon-worthy nice guys. Setting Tavian aside, Karen Kincy definitely knows how to make a climactic ending with guns, blood, and the unexpected twist and how to keep the reader hooked as the clues fall into place.

Romance: A little kissing and sex. Nothing detailed but clothes comes off. AND I <3333 TAVIAN. :D
Cover: 4.5 -- It's very mysterious and matches the story perfectly. The cover makes red hair, golden eyes, and freckles look gorgeous; I can't say how happy I am that the publishers didn't just slap on a generic pretty face.
Writing: 3.0
Characters: 3.5
Plot: 4.0

Bottom Line: Other is a fairly solid debut that starts off rough but evens out and shines at the end. I love the mystery, love interest, and interesting setting (ie. paranormal creatures) much more than the characters or writing, but if you're looking for a fast-paced, unique paranormal read, I would recommend trying Other.

Source: Sent by the publisher for review.

Review: Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Anastasia Hopcus's website here // $12.23 from {amazon}
Publisher: EgmontUSA (July 13, 2010)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Summary: from {goodreads}

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

Shadow Hills is an intriguing mix of Greek mythology, mystery, romance, and a hint of suspense. From page one, readers will be sucked in to the captivating world

Rating: View my rating system.



My Thoughts:Shadow Hills is a prime example of YA paranormal romance; it has everything characteristic of the genre: the mystery, the intrigue, the swoon-worthy love interest, the conflicted and forbidden romance, with a unique twist, the Brevis Vitas. While Shadow Hills isn’t exactly a diamond in a densely-populated paranormal mine, the combination of tried-and-true aspects and a dash of Anastasia Hopcus’s originality make for an enjoyable and fast-paced read.

Shadow Hills opens with Persephone “Phe” Archer leaving sunny L.A. for Devenish Prep in damp Shadow Hills, Massachusetts. Phe’s haunted by vivid, strange dreams and her sister’s recent death and eighteen pages in, bumps into her handsome stranger. A little iPod incident with Zach, mysterious hottie, and she’s already suspecting the normalcy of some boarding school classmates. Shadow Hills plunges us head-first into the secrecy surrounding Shadow Hills, and though I felt a little woozy at first from the rapidity of events and pummeling of information – similar to Phe’s starting confusion – I soon found myself maniacally speculating with Phe over the hidden facets of Shadow Hills. Anastasia Hopcus definitely knows how to balance the romance and action, integrating the two elements and ensuring their quick development.

Phe is a bit of an enigma, despite Shadow Hills being narrated in first person from her perspective. On one hand, she’s one of the most mature characters I’ve encountered when it comes to accepting the existence of the supernatural; on the other, she’s surprisingly immature for her fifteen years. I connected to her emotionally to an extent but her impulsive actions and words made me feel older and slightly condescending – when we’re really the same age. For instance, Phe easily becomes irked and her following comebacks often come across as elementary and cringe-worthy. As in the type of comebacks that made me think, “Oh, I’ve heard that somewhere before” but in a better form. Instead, Phe’s instinctive, sarcastic commentary is infinitely superior, in both maturity level and humor value, to her manufactured retorts. Her overreactions, rash decisions, and almost annoyingly frequent remarks on Zach’s sexual appeal notwithstanding, I applaud Phe’s determination and drive in uncovering Shadow Hill’s secrets, which are a refreshing change from the helpless heroine. And, overall, Anastasia Hopcus does a good job of capturing the teenage voice.

For the most part, Shadow Hills is an enjoyable but fairly average paranormal romance. It has an interesting and diverse cast, an exciting dose of action, and a climactic ending. Anastasia Hopcus’s unique and original ideas are the one area where Shadow Hills has the ability to stand out, and the Brevis Vitas and well-developed history certainly do make it a step above the run-of-the-mill paranormal read. By itself, Shadow Hills’s potential is stunted by a slightly baffling main character and the convenience of some events – is Zach a little too perfect? – but Anastasia Hopcus has created a solid foundation that allows for great potential in the following book(s). All I know for sure is that she has me hooked on discovering the deeper mystery Phe is left to solve at the end of Shadow Hills, and I’ll be eagerly anticipating the sequel.

Romance: Kissing, hugging, deep staring into the eyes, and not much else. Romance-wise, Shadow Hills is safe for young teens. However, there is rather liberal alcohol, and more subtly drug, usage which isn't condemned. There are also instances suited for more mature or slightly older teens, such as a (humorous) instance with Pictionary and "self-service"... I leave the judgment on age to you.
Cover: 3.0 -- Simple, mysterious, and aesthetically pleasing, but it tells next to nothing about the book itself. Sorry.
Writing: 4.0
Characters: 3.5
Plot: 4.5

Bottom Line: Anastasia Hopcus's suspenseful debut provides original, fresh fodder for paranormal fans looking for something different than vampires and werewolves with all of the excitement, all of the mystery, and all of the juicy romance. Don't necessarily read Shadow Hills expecting something absolutely ground-breaking but do read it expecting an enjoyable, fast-paced, and thrilling ride.

Source: Thank you to Anastasia Hopcus and EgmontUSA for the review copy!

Review: Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda
Andrew Xia Fukuda's website here // $9.32 from {amazon}

Publisher: AmazonEncore (April 27, 2010)
Paperback: 217 pages
Summary: from {goodreads}

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

Rating: View my rating system.



My Thoughts:I was speechless when I finished Crossing, and I'm still sort of at a loss of words today. I could say intense, suspenseful, or mysterious. Perhaps dramatic. All of those terms describe Crossing, but it's impossible to capture the book's complexity, with the numerous internal struggles and racial issues, in one simple word.

To be completely honest, Crossing is not a book I would normally pick up from the bookstore. Intrigue? Check. Awesome-sounding plot? Check. Shallow? ... definitely not. I'm not a fan of 100-page romantic comedies, but I like reading books that make me feel happy. So if you're expecting the perfect prince with the rainbow-sunset ending, stop reading now because Crossing is not the book for you. In fact, Crossing is one of the most serious young adult fiction books I've read that addresses social issues outside of the common drug-use and eating disorders.

The aspect I enjoyed the least and, somehow, the most was Xing. On one hand, he basically is the story. Without his racial prejudices against himself and unique narration, Crossing wouldn’t be the story it is. Xing narrates in short, blunt sentences that still manage to convey everything: his feelings, his thoughts, etc. Take for instance:

I raised my head and felt her lips suddenly grip around mine with verdant determination. Felt the sandpaper rash of acne at the corner of her mouth rubbing again my upper lip. Before I could move away, I felt her tongue–

pg. 82

This particular passage stuck with me because of the gross portrayal of a generally tender act, a moment that clearly reveals Xing unusual, very detailed perspective on life, or at least his interesting way of depicting it. Personally, I liked Xing’s narration, which made me feel he was detached from his current life and constantly emphasized his “outside” status. On the flip side, I also experienced a degree of disconnection from Xing. Especially with me being Chinese myself, I was annoyed with his, what I deem, self-isolation and frustrated with his passivity. Perhaps that’s meant to reflect the society’s general acceptance of flaws in favor of conformity and how that misguided contentment gradually spreads to the individual or some deep, philosophical meaning that completely flew over my shallow teenage head, but it just wasn’t enjoyable for me. Period. If you’re going to complain, do something about it. I could see where Xing’s insecurities and self-degradation had originated, but especially when contrasting him with his fellow well-assimilated Chinese friend Naomi, I felt Xing’s determination could have, admittedly not easily overcome his culture-stemmed difficulties, but overcome them nonetheless on his road to success. In the end, I give Xing praise for his original voice and character in general but little to none for either his likeability or personality.

In the end, it was the plot that captured me. I went through the book thinking that it had an intriguing premise, but the end was amazing. Not the serial killer (which was interesting, for the record), not the love hardships, not the school drama, but the climactic ending that was WOW. Even if I don’t completely agree with the ending per se – scratch that, completely do not agree nor am happy with the ending – it was definitely page-after-page of building suspense and excitement that made it absolutely impossible to put the book down. The ending was sad (nooooo!) and Xing’s actions extremely rash, though understandable if you sort of look at them from way over there and maybe upside-down, and considering I still loved the ending? Then it must have been oh-my-freaking awesome. And it was, trust me. *fumes in frustration, yet looks back upon the ending with love*

Words of wisdom: Andrew Xia Fukuda is a man with talent, and Crossing is a debut novel you will not want to miss.

Romance: Which book are you reading?! Little to none. Some romantic drama, but don't be expecting any sweet relationships. Just one-sided love, jealousy, etc.
Cover: 4.0 -- I actually really like it. It's simplistic, but very close to how I'd imagine Xing would look (I know it's only a silhouette, but the posture, position, and background make it feel like him). And it's smooth, almost laminated.
Writing: 5.0
Characters:  4.0
Plot: 5.0

Bottom Line: Crossing is an original, in-your-face debut that will leave you questioning societal norms and the reality behind appearances. Congrats to Andrew Fukuda on a stunning debut!

Source: Thank you to Andrew Xia Fukuda and publisher!