Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4/5 stars
Henry Holt and Company, 2012
356 pages
YA Fantasy

Source: Received an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

I have seen so many positive reviews of this around the blogosphere; it seems to have garnered a lot of attention and I feel comfortable adding my endorsement although I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as many other bloggers.

Don't get me wrong-I do love YA fantasy and I enjoyed this book a lot. However I guess I would say that it lacked that magical spark for me. I had trouble getting invested in the book and was very confused about the magical Grisha as introduced in the prologue. Still the writing style was easy and I flew through the pages. But when I closed the book, I almost felt like it could have been a standalone. I suppose the enemy is not completely defeated but the ending still felt pretty final to me. At the moment I don't feel compelled to beg for a copy of second book Siege and Storm although I will probably read it once other bloggers remind me that it is available.

There was nothing I hated about this book and in fact a lot I liked. I was very invested in main charachter Alina's romances, first a long-time flame for her best friend Mal (who reminded Small Review of Gale but me of Peeta) and then an attraction to the powerful and mysterious Darkling. One of them gives her a beautifully romantic speech about his love for her (shortly before the run-in with the stag for those who have read this) that made me absolutely swoon. So I really like the romantic aspects of this book without feeling like they were the main focus.

I also loved the magic once I had a better understanding of what it entailed and there was court intrigue, a soft spot for me. I really loved the parts with Alina learning the ropes of her power-her very unique ability to summon light, something that no one else can do, as well as her burgeoning friendship with Genya, forced into the position of servant and scorned by other Grisha.

Overall: An entertaining fantasy but one that failed to fully engage me. I like it but I can't write a gushing review for it.

Cover: I actually really like the ARC cover I have which is black with splatters of blood-this does make the story sound like it might be much creepier than it actually is. Whereas this cover evokes more of the beauty of Russia to me since the setting for this seems to be based on Russia.

Park Lane

Park Lane by Frances Osborne
2/5 stars
Vintage Books, 2012
320 pages
Historical Fiction

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited about this book since the publisher blurb compared it to Downton Abbey, a beloved TV series for me. However that excitement was dampened when I glanced at the goodreads reviews beforehand and saw that they were decidedly negative.

First this book was very difficult to get into. It begins in 1914 and goes to 1923 for an epilogue, alternating between Grace, a maid, and Bea, the young lady of the house. Grace is just settling in to her new position and the writing style, instead of smooth and inviting, was ragged and rough. There were a lot of passages where I was kind of confused about what was happening or what the relationship between the characters was. I don't want everything to be spelled out for me but I would have appreciated more smoothness and clarity.

Second it presumes a certain level of familiarity with British history with the battle for women's suffrage playing a huge role in the early chapters. One of the main characters Bea has a mother and an aunt (her father's sister) on opposing sides of the battle. But not because one opposes giving women the vote. In fact, both are in favor but the aunt prefers more radical actions while the mother is more conservative, trying to patiently push it through her Parliament connections. This was *so* confusingly presented and not explained until the Historical Note at the end.

And third this book was overall very depressing. Grace is in service as her dreams of being a secretary were dashed and lowered her earning potential. Then Bea was jilted by her love and seems on the brink of spinsterhood. Add in more ruined relationships and the tragedy of WWI and this is just not a happy book. I can handle sad books of course but I guess I was hoping for more of the happiness that balances out Downton Abbey. It is not present here and quite frankly I only finished this book through pure doggedness.

Cover: I find the cover misleading-if the insides were as cool as the cover, this book would have been more my taste.

Miracle

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott
4.5/5 stars
Simon Pulse, 2012
217 pages
YA Contemporary

Source: Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I think I may have mentioned one or two times that I love Elizabeth Scott's writing. While I do have my favorite books of hers, I appreciate that she tries different stories, mixing the light and the dark to always create something interesting.

I could tell this was going to be one of the darker stories just from the cover. And this was confirmed upon opening the book and realizing that main character Megan is the only survivor of a plane crash after being reported dead. Her parents are so grateful and she is promptly branded a miracle. Meanwhile all she wants is for things to go back to normal.

Her soccer coach, her teachers, people at school treat her like glass, allowing her to skip assignments, classes, and other commitments in order to get used to her regular life. Her parents continue to call her a miracle, giving excuses and allowing her to get away with anything. Her younger brother loathes her since previously he was the miracle able to get away with anything but no more since Megan's experience. The only people who treat her normally are Margaret, her oddball neighbor, and Joe, the loner boy from next-door who have their own experiences with grief. These relationships help Megan on her search to feel normal again.

This is definitely a novel for those who like excellent descriptive writing because that is the main thing you'll get. Megan is suffering from PTSD and is emotionally unresponsive-I felt deeply for her but I didn't have a real connection to her. The reader can't really because Megan is in no position for that. It is also quite a sad novel as we explore Megan, Margaret, and Joe's grief in painful detail. Their stories individually are very sad but combined together, it makes for a very intense emotional experience. While this is not a long book, it will impact for you a long time so make sure you don't read this in a hurry.

Miracle was released today-hopefully your pre-order will arrive promptly :) Mine is scheduled to arrive later today!

Transcendence

Transcendence by CJ Omololu
4/5 stars
Walker and Company, 2012
325 pages
YA Paranormal

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The part that grabbed my attention from the blurb was the promise London and reincarnation. While London is only the setting for a few early scenes, the reincarnation aspect plays a big role with the idea that there is a select group of people called the Akhet who can remember their past lives and use their accumulated wisdom for good.

Our main character Cole (which has been a male name in other books so the fact that she's female, Cole is short for Nicole, kept throwing me) is starting to remember pieces of former lives, most notably fainting at the Tower of London where she died in a previous life. She is rescued by Griffon, who recognizes her for what she is but despite her interest in him, no numbers are exchanged and they lose contact.

Fortunately though he was also just visiting England and the two reunite in the San Francisco area as Griffon explains more. Besides her beheading, Cole starts to remember a life as an Italian cellist touring who was entangled in a murder investigation. She also juggles suspicions about who she can trust: Griffon or a cello student, both who present convincing opposing tales. Who she chooses to believe could affect how long this life will be.

Besides the paranormal elements, Cole is a cello prodigy and as a violist, I always like books with musicians. It actually plays a fairly big role since Cole discovers that her previous stuff could play cello. Does she deserve all the praise she now gets when much of her talent stems from the fact that she also used to be able to play? I had never thought of it that way and it was interesting to think about.

Family is also present. Cole's parents are divorced but they share a house, with one on the top floor and the other on the ground. This means they are always around to butt into what Cole's doing or at least to try. Cole also has a sister who plays a role in setting Cole up with Griffon and who introduces her to some other people who may play a big role in later books. The sisters don't have the best relationship but I believe there are more levels to explore for the two.

Overall, I thought this book was a little hard to get into (with the mix of flashbacks and Cole's confusion) but once I was engaged, I flew through the book.

Cover: While I have repeatedly expressed my dislike of covers where the people stare out at you, I am kind of in shock that Griffon is on the cover. After reading Kate Hart's findings about YA covers in 2011, I know how rare that is. I hope sequel Fated's cover will be similar.

Reading and Reviewing Rut Update

While I had optimistically thought I was out of my ruts, it seems that I am still struggling a bit. For example, although I have read 4 out of the 6 books I have planned for review this week, I have reviewed not one of them. I have the templates made up with the basic information but I have not felt motivated to set down in front of my computer and attempt to craft some words.

And I suspect that I will need a lot of time as lately my reviews have nearly doubled in length. Just for fun, I like to paste my reviews in a word counter (I like http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/script2/countwords.shtml) and the latest ones have often reached 550/600 words in comparison to my usual goal of 300 words. I worry about that because I know that I am more likely to skim long reviews but it also makes me happy that I have so much to say and I don't want to stifle my creative spirit.

Meanwhile my reading rut has some easily identifiable causes: I just read two books for review that were really not to my taste. I rated one 2 stars and the other 3 stars (reviews to come later this month). I had really high expectations for the 2 star one so that is incredibly disappointing to me. Happily I am planning to finish the latest Elizabeth Boyle today (Along Came a Duke) and will be reading the highly recommended Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo as well (see Mimi Valentine's review). I am hoping this will reignite my love and help me start the week strong. I am hoping to read 26 books this month after all.

In personal news, I got bangs! I had them when I was young but started growing them out seven years ago. Lately I have been craving a change in my hair and while I keep touching them and brushing them off my face, I really love the way I look with them.

I also goofed and forgot to mention that I guest-blogged for Jenny at Into the Morning Reads this week (we "met" when she designed my beautiful blog); I shared what fictional character I would set my sister (who I am now dubbing Fashionista1732) up with. I think a lot of you will be jealous...check it out here!

How are your reading weeks going? How long does it usually take you to write a review? Do you have bangs (or have you had bangs)?

Glamorous Illusions

Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T Bergren
4.5/5 stars
David C. Cook, 2012
404 pages
YA Historical Christian Fiction

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

While I didn't fall in love with Bergren's River of Time trilogy like many other bloggers, I still enjoyed most of the story and eagerly added this book to my tbr-list when I heard about it. I am so very glad I did as I loved this book! Why did this book work so well for me? Well three main things would be:

1. I found the first couple of chapters both bewildering and incredibly emotionally powerful. Bewildering as it was set in rural Montana (well really is there any other kind?), which seemed very much at odds with the elegant Parisian cover. How does poor teacher Cora with parents who mortgaged their farm to send her to teacher college end up in Paris? But intense because Cora is arriving home only to discover that her father has suffered a stroke. The family bonding and the hope felt by them as he bravely fought grabbed me by the throat.

2. While this book does spend time in Montana, the majority of it (and the rest of the series) is in Europe following seven young people including Cora on a Grand Tour. How cool is that? I've read books with that mentioned but I've never read any specifically focused on it. This book has a brief stop in London followed by a longer time in France with future adventures in Italy to come.

3. I did share this in a goodreads status update if you happened to catch it: there's a guy named Will! That's kind of a small reason but I immediately decided that I liked him, which was further confirmed by the fact that he is just a good guy.

I'm not exactly sure how much else to reveal as the goodreads summary reveals what I would consider to be a major spoiler right in the first sentence. Suffice it to say that Cora is a strong young lady facing tremendous challenges as she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. She is definitely the main focus with most of the supporting characters needing a bit more color to fully come alive.

One of the things I didn't really like was the narrative style with Cora narrating the majority of the book in first-person but with her father and Will narrating some chapters in third-person. I found it very jarring although I did appreciate their outside perspectives on Cora and their pride in her for the way she holds up to outside scrutiny and judgment. I also felt like some of it was repetitive with Cora deciding to bravely keep her head high, then wilting under examination, and then doing it all over again. On the one hand, I completely understand this; I try to follow Christ's example, I fail, I repeat until I hopefully eventually succeed. But on the other hand, it can be a bit boring to read about. Luckily the strong foundation of the beginning carried me through such moments.

Compared to the River of Time trilogy, I did find this book to be more overtly Christian with Cora constantly leaning on her faith in God to get her through the many difficult moments. However I did not find it to be too in your face or preachy. Scripture is not on every page and it is more about the relationships than anything else. As a Christian, though, I may not be the best judge of religiosity so you'll want to check out some other reviews for more information on that front.

Overall: An exciting historical fiction that sets up relationships that I'm excited to explore over the course of the next two books.

Cover: When I looked at this picture as a thumbnail, I didn't realize the model was looking at us and I preferred it that way. I don't need to see her face and with that change, I would love this cover. As it is, I do love the font and the little flourishes on the A and S's as well as seeing the Eiffel Tower, which is referenced.

May Stats

Looking Back at May: Earlier this week, I worried about how much I had been reading but I sat down and focused and ended up with 24 read which is not too shabby. I think it helped that I loved a lot of books this month-I recommend 5 of those books below!

Looking Forward to June: I'm really psyched about my reading for the month of June-I have a ton of great YA releases on tap as well as a few older books and, just for fun, a couple of adult mysteries and romances. It should be very fun and I'm looking forward to talking with you about them and what you are reading!

Monthly Stats:

Books Read This Month: 24
Pages Read This Month: 7859 pages
Average Length of Book: 327 pages
Average Rating of Book: 4.04
Recommended Reads of the Month: Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker; My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin; The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross; Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren; and Miracle by Elizabeth Scott (reviews of these last two to come)

Year Stats:

Total Books Read: 124 (slightly behind goal)
Total Pages Read: 38,235 pages
Average Length of Book: 308 pages
Average Rating of Book: 4.03

By Genre:
Mystery/Thriller-2
YA/MG-18
Romance-3
Classics-0
Science Fiction/Fantasy-0
Non-Fiction-0
Historical Fiction-0
Short Stories-0
Other-1

Source:
Home Library-8
Own/Borrowed/Won-1
Booksneeze-0
Netgalley-9
Other ebook source-2
Audiobook-0
ARC-1
Amazon Vine-3

Stats for Previous Months: January; February; March; April;

Books Read:
101. The Illusion of Murder by Carol McCleary
102. Two Crafty Criminals! by Philip Pullman
103. Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
104. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
105. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
106. The Cranes Dance by Meg Hawrey
107. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
108. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
109. Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
110. Timepiece by Myra McEntire
111. Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker
112. My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin
113. Murder Most Persuasive by Tracy Kiely
114. Lyon's Bride by Cathy Maxwell
115. The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols
116. A Night Like This by Julia Quinn
117. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
118. This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas
119. Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren
120. Illuminated by Erica Orloff
121. Transcendence by CJ Omololu
122. Miracle by Elizabeth Scott
123. The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
124. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater