Chime - Franny Billingsey

Review: Chime

Author: Franny Billingsey

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Fantasy, historical-fiction

Recommend To: Fans of A Great and Terrible Beauty

Wow, what a magical, mysterious setting. I’m blown away. By everything. The plot, the characters, the mystery, the wording. It was all surreal as I was reading it, and yet it was all very tangible. I’ll explain.

The Plot: Confusing at first, but the plot is centered on Briony and her struggle to save her twin Rose from the dangerous swamp cough. They are returning to Swampsea, a 20^th century town complete with motorcars, but still with a tinge of the Victorian era and of course haunted by ancient things that roam in the wild swamp. It’s hard to find the actual villain at first because Briony is so hell-bent on the fact that the villain is herself, but that just serves to add more twists and turns. The entire book has a really dark sort of feel to it, mysterious and on the verge on confusing.  Toss in there a bit of sunshine and humor (there were parts I laughed out loud actually) known as Eldric and we really have ourselves a brilliant novel.

The Characters: This is what I wanted to talk about the entire time. It’s not really the plot that keeps the book moving, it’s the characters. Or Briony herself I guess. It’s strange to find a female protagonist not whining about how ugly and unlovable she is, but about how she is pretty on the outside, and wicked and evil on the inside. She doesn’t spend time mooning over some arrogant jerk, complaining how he’ll never love her back, but instead she focuses on how she deserves to hang and to never be loved. It’s quite a flip. But you find yourself still liking her. Even though she can ramble about her wickedness, and you want to shake her, she is still pretty powerful, which made me like her even more. Eldric was the complete opposite, which made him perfect for Briony. They completed each other. He was the light in the story. I laughed over their “bad-boy” Latin and their boxing lessons. It was perfect. And then there is Rose, who is absolutely adorable, and Tiddy Rex who reminds me of a puppy. And Leanne and Cecil (both of whom I would’ve loved to punch in the face). But it’s lovely to have characters that inspire such feeling in the reader.

The Romance: Slower than other books. No insta-love. No love-triangles, (no real ones at least.) Like I said, Eldric and Briony are perfect for each other. They belong together and neither of them cares about the others flaws. They learn about each other before professing undying love for each other. They become real friends, learning about love, loyalty, and trust, before lust (even though they learn about that too). It was sweet and touching.

The Style: Gorgeous. Lush. Deep. Sumptuous. Mysterious. Verdant. Cryptic. Arcane. Opulent. All great words. The poetry, the descriptions, the Latin (you’ll understand when you read it), the emotions. You could sink into them and never return. It was astonishingly rich and worth reading it for the setting alone.

Overall: See above. Or just go read the book. Take your pick. If the choice is the former, you still go read it. 

Defiance (Defiance #1) - C.J. Redwine

Review: Defiance

Author: C.J. Redwine

Rating: 3/5

Genre: Fantasy, Historical-Fiction

Recommend To: Adventure and romance fans

Initially I was super excited about this book. Like crazy. OMG fantasy mixed in with romance type of crazy. And it was good. Just not as good as I was expecting. But it made me happy and the ending was huge so here we go. 

The Plot: Hmm yeah cool stuff happening. Rachel, our main character, has just lost her courier father, he is presumed dead after not returning from a mission. Her guardianship (women have like no rights, they need an escort to even go for a walk, seriously) then transfers to her father’s apprentice, Logan, a man she once loved, now hates (not really). She decides to go find her father and the mysterious package he was carrying with or without Logan, and with the threat of the Commander (super evil) looming over her. Pretty straightforward premise I think. Just one thing. When and where the heck is this happening? There was noworldbuilding at all. None whatsoever. I didn’t know if this was after our modern civilization post-apocalypse, or a completely different world, or a kind of steampunky (they had tech) historical dystopian earth. It was bizarre. And it took away from the book. 

The Characters: 

Rachel Adams: Headstrong, feisty, red-haired Rachel was initially fun to read. She made a lot of stupid decisions along the way though. And then she just became plain scary. I guess in a slightly good way because I couldn’t stop reading about this crazy, revengeful girl-thing she becomes, but she really changes and not really in a good way. More like an ohmygod that’s chilling kind of way. 
Logan McEntire: A nerd who can fight. He’s intelligent, especially with technology; he has a dark past so he can kick-butt. However, he is really overbearing. Blah at first, then kind of protective and endearing. I’m glad he is reminded women are his equals because at first he doesn’t tell Rachel anything as if she’s too stupid. Blah once more. But he’s cute I guess.

The Commander: Whoa, evil alert. Especially with the suppress all women agenda and kill them if they walk in the street alone. Seriously, Logan’s mother….so sad. That doesn’t count as a spoiler does it? Anyway, yeah. He was awesome to hate. I hated him a lot. 

The Romance: Hmm now this was…what’s the word….hurried? It was also a little peculiar. A few years ago, Rachel swears her love to Logan….he rejects her. Okay, so now she hates him right? She is forced to live with him after her father dies, and all Logan does is nothing right? But no, now they must fall in love, this time with Logan falling back and being all “I will let nothing hurt you Rachel!” But seriously, it just happened too fast! I wanted more hate, more denial, more angst! It wasn’t satisfying…

Overall: There were goods and bads I guess. The creatures were interesting, the Commander and his regime were also fascinating. The premise drew me in easily and I enjoyed reading it because of the dual POV’s even without any background. It was fun seeing what was happening in both of their heads. But it wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped it would be and that’s my final judgment. 

Upcoming Reviews

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

  

Defiance by C. J. Redwine

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman
   

The Sun Dwellers (Dwellers #3) - David Estes

Review: The Sun Dwellers

Author: David Estes

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Dystopia

Recommend To: All those dystopia fans out there...you know who you are. 

No, nonononono…..it can’t possibly be OVER can it? Where is the rest of the book?? My heart has just been chopped in two by the pure unbelievable amazingness (is that even a word?) of this book. Calling it just a book is an understatement. This is no ordinary book….this is a Dwellers book. To find out what that means, READ IT. 

The Plot: 

Yeah, okay, wow, stop the world from spinning, this is way more important. As stated in the previous Dwellers books, Adele and Tristan live deep within the earth after the aboveground became uninhabitable. Eventually, the Nailin family assumed control, and became an entire race of crazy, evil, dictators who I wanted to punch in the face. This is the final piece in the story of an epic revolution. Seriously. My god, the pace of this book, the everything of this book just wouldn’t let me put it down. I tried to unstick my eyes from it and I couldn’t. At that moment in time, I was living Tristan and Adele. I was there, I was them. Adele and Tristan ended at the second book given an impossible, suicidal task….to kill the President. Along the way, people die, people live, people love, and readers learn. Oh yes, there are some crazy things Tristan has been keeping secret. To learn them….READ THE BOOK.

The Characters: 

Oh my gods. Seriously I will never be able to get enough of these characters. Adele, so strong, brave, intelligent, and kick-butt. Tristan, also those things yet also highly sexy. Roc, funny, adorable, and protective. And Tawni, beautiful, fierce, and loyal to a fault. All of them against such impossible odds. The only way they could possibly succeed was with each other. Each brings something. Adele is of course the daughter of the two leaders to the rebellion, obviously she has mad awesome fighting skills. Tristan, as the president’s son has experienced so much loss at the hands of his father, he is so ready to bring him down and begin a new Nailin era, of peace. Tristan, the comedian brings advice to calm each member of the group down, and to keep them all focused on the task at hand, also focused on getting revenge on the man who happens to be his biological father. And Tawni keep everyone sane and fills them with moral support. It’s amazing how well-crafted each character is with so much depth. They fill the holes in each other. Another reason to READ THIS BOOK. And how on earth could I forget “President” Nailin. It’s amazing how much the word is twisted in this novel. He is just so villainous. So dirty, and evil. Malicious and immoral. Especially the way he treats women. It made me want to hurt him almost as much as Tristan and Adele. He was amazing fun to hate and want dead. 

The Romance: 

Yes. YES. YEEEEEEEEEES. No love triangles. I will repeat NO LOVE TRIANGLES. Just awesome, pure love and getting to know each other. It is so cute. Roc and Tawni plus Adele and Tristan line up so beautifully. I love Tawni and Roc so much (the end, OMG the end, with Roc, and I almost died b/c I thought…. and……). And of course Adele and Tristan struggling with their feelings for each other because of the strange electric pull toward each other. They, of course, are trying to understand whether what they feel for each other is real or not. (It’s definitely real). Uh huh. 

The Style: 

I loved this entire book. The dual perspective from both Adele and Tristan allowed for twice as much fun, and I loved it. If only I could see into the heads of the boys from other books to understand why the heck they do the weirdo things they do. And forget about real life. Anyway, there was so much detail into each of the characters. I bet I could read it a billion times and not ever get bored because there was so much happening yet it just drew me in even more. It didn’t overwhelm me.

Overall: 

I own this book. And I am so happy I do. I don’t think I could ever part ways with it. And it is also not the end!! What kind of ending was that? And I have to wait a year for this cliff-hanger to be solved?? THE EARTH DWELLERS HERE I COME (why can’t I find this book on Goodreads? And how do I fix this massive problem?). Anyway, every aspect of this book just serves to make it better. And better. And the best. So basically a Dwellers book means it has one of the most amazing dystopian plots ever, added with one of the fiercest troop of characters ever, added in with a pinch of perfect romance, all stirred together by an amazing author. This will forever be one of my favorite books ever, not to mention I NEED MORE.

"Blind Date With A Book"

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Great Imaginations

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) – Kendare Blake

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood

Author: Kendare Blake

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Horror, Romance

Recommend To: People who don’t mind terror, impossible romance lovers

Now, I’ve never really read much horror. In my mind, horror really has no place with the world of teen romance, and sparkly vampires, and dragons and faerie princesses. Uh, was I wrong? YES. So, so, so, wrong! This book is probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. The chilling details and descriptions that actually, yes really, kept me up at night just pulled me in. I was reading this during the Superbowl. Yeah. That’s how much I couldn’t put it down.

The Plot: Unbelievable. A ghost hunter who falls in love with one of his own intended victims. Plus a “thing” that eats people, running rampant through the town? Best thing ever. The summary on the back page was accurate and yet so much more. It describes the book as a boy meets girl, girl is dead and kills people type of story. Yes. A million times yes. The terror you feel as Cas combats these horrible things is real. Everything you’ve ever heard go bump in the multiplied by ten is this book. It is plain spooky. The plotline twists through bizarre voodoo and the athame (a ceremonial dagger people, look it up) gave me the willies.  And yet, overall there was humor in this story. I laughed out loud even at the parts where I was hiding in my fantasy closet with a pretend blanket pulled over my head. You should read it for the plot alone really. But there is so much more to this story.

The Characters: Ahh. Each was written in so much depth. Each was so perfectly flawed (oxymoron, I know). Cas the hero, he was just such a great main character. Following his father’s footsteps doing good in the world. Forever alone, dragging his poor mother with him. Thomas and Carmel, the sidekicks, (well Carmel was slightly annoying but what book doesn’t have irritating people?) Morfran, the cranky grandpa figure who specializes in voodoo. Tybalt (I love the Shakespeare names by the way) the cat who sniffs out bad guys (I want one). And of course, love interest Anna Korlov. Damsel in distress she is not. She is a cursed, ravaged demon who transforms from a sprightly 16 year old into pure terror complete with hair that circles around her head, eyes that turn blacker than night, blood that turns black, and a dress dripping blood down her legs. Fantasy closet here I come. All were very caring, even Anna once you get past all the murders, and each had a very special role to play. Cas couldn’t have asked for a better team.

The Romance: So some might say, what a weird story? Where is the blathering idiot of a girl meeting the same old supernatural arrogant swine? How can a ghost hunter fall in love with the very ghost he’s hunting? Oh don’t forget, she killed 27 people. Don’t be ridiculous. This is a very classic case of forbidden love. Puh-leeze. Nobody can resist such a haunting love story. It’s beautiful and sad, and it’s impossible not to love Cas and Anna. Oh and Thomas and Carmel make a lovely addition of to the side. I was rooting for them too.

The Style: Again, I was experimenting with horror and I have to say I loved it. I guess I am a fan of extreme danger, and dead things, and well…undead things that I really wished stay dead. Not for people who scare easily and who can’t stand gruesome descriptions full of the gory uncensored violence. It was definitely plain grisly at some points. Proceed with caution. I know some people who would be deterred by the entire genre.

But overall, if you have never read horror, this is the book to jump in with. Scary, thrilling, melancholy, poignant, humorous and dark. All great words to describe this read. I am so glad I picked it up and you will be too.  

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) - Tahereh Mafi

Review: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Dystopia

Recommend To: Dystopia and Romance fans, people who can stand unusual writing

My initial thoughts….. asdfghjklpoiuytrewqzxcvbnm

After organizing this into actual words I got this….. OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED HOW CAN THIS BOOK BE POSSIBLE IT IS TOO GOOD TO EXIST BUT OH SWEET JESUS AM I GLAD IT DOES. 

After organizing and tweaking this garbled sentence a little bit more I finally got this… This book just blew my mind. The plot, yes it was dystopian but seriously? Can you really group it into one category? The characters, Juliette, Adam, Warner, James, Kenji just all soflawless. The romance…the action……the feeling. It was almost overwhelming to absorb the little details that made it so seamless. For example, Juliette counts. She counts everything like a crazy person. But wouldn’t you after spending 3 years in an asylum feel like a crazy person? Wouldn’t you just to keep yourself in the present start counting? The way she remains herself after all the terrible (yes terrible) events that happen to her she remains human. And that is just one reason why this book deserves a billion stars. Oh and also what made this fun to read was the mixed reviews and reactions from everyone. The spectrum ranging from hate to absolute love was just entertaining. I rank on the love (I am gushing about it), but I know others had a tough time and thats fine. Opinions are fun. 

The Plot: Juliette Ferrars is our leading lady in Shatter Me. And believe me when I say the things she goes through are enough to break anyone. Not only is the world on the verge of collapse, Juliette is “afflicted” with a curse so awful not even her parents would touch her or love her. In fact they were the worst if you ask me. Her classmates would bully her, yes, but her own parents would stick her hand in the fire to check if she, a child, was a monster? Who is the real monster here, huh? Okay sorry, back to the plot not my horrified ranting. Anyway, she gets tossed into an asylum after being subjected to awful poking and prodding and tests and other disgusting, unbelievable things. (This book is kind of a smack in the gut if you hadn’t realized that yet). This is where our story starts (yeah sorry that was all backstory, and maybe a little spoilery) when she gets a new roommate Adam (yum). And then a series of events unfolds which I will not go into because I want you to READ THE BOOK. 

The Characters: 
Juliette: First of all, I love that name. Reminds me of Romeo and Juliet and doomed love sort of thing. IDK why I like that, but I personally think it gives an awesome feel. Anyway, she is just pushed to the breaking point so many times, but gods, she is just so strong. And vulnerable but at the same time you wonder wow, if I was put through that much, would I come out as nice as her? Or would I be like Warner? After that she is very caring, pretty intelligent (although sometimes she doesn’t use it), compassionate, and concerned with people. She doesn’t believe humans are unredeemable. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, which actually makes her the perfect candidate to carry such a lethal ability. She won’t hurt anyone innocent. 

Adam: Ahh Adam. My thoughts ranged from omg what a jerk, to omg I can’t believe you just did that, to omg you are so gorgeous and perfect for Juliette, keep her safe forever. Strong, brave, determined, and ahhh gods his relationship with James. But at times....idk...his character came off almost flat compared to Warner.

Warner: Now if Adam is perfect for Juliette, then Warner is….not perfect for her. He’s just perfect. Yeah you hate him, but geez, he is such a wounded person you can’t help but want to hug his little psycho self. You can tell he had a messed up childhood and is what Juliette could have been, but isn’t. Anyway, he has an obsessive infatuation with Juliette and it was fantastic. That sounds really weird and bizarre but it’s true. The way he was written just absolutely fanatical about Juliette was plain awesome and it gave depth to his originally believed heartless character. 

James and Kenji: I’m sticking them together because they were both adorable. I don’t want to give too many spoilers but I’m terrible at doing that and so I will spill. James is incredibly loveable. Especially for my horrible weakness when it comes to little kids and the younger siblings of characters. It’s impossible for me not to get attached to them within the first five seconds of meeting them and I assure you, you will love this little boy and his hyperness so much. Kenji is also a cutie pie. Starts out as a sarcastic, funny guy who just makes you feel good. And then…we learn. Mind blowing. 

The Romance: Hallelujah. I love this kid of heartbreakingly, achingly good stuff. How am I supposed to speak of this without spoilers? Okay, whatever, caution to the wind. Read at your own risk. Ahh when I found out Adam had loved her forever and hisbackstory and how he was justsearching for her his whole life. Almost makes me wish life was a fairy tale and that people didn’t hate me. Just kidding but the romance was just so immaculate and pure. The two of them, old childhood friends who never spoke but were justthere for each other. But then comes….Warner. My poor baby Warner. So besotted, and completely captivated by Juliette that he actually begins to feel? Half of me almost wanted Warner to win her even though he was just so messed up. Trying to use her as a weapon and exact revenge. That sort of thing. Actually now that I think about it, most of you probably hated Warner except for the ones who read Destroy Me. Whups. Go read that review too, sorry about that. All you need to know is that Warner has a reason for being so sad and twisted, and even though I think Adam is totally the perfect, sweetest guy out there for Juliette and she belongs with him in the end, Warner and Jules havechemistry. 

The Style: Very different andvery original. I can see how some people might be bothered by the style. They may call it “juvenile” or “choppy” or even “aggravating” but I think it was just plain interesting. After all the human mind doesn’t work in perfect sentences. And Juliette hasn’t had human contact for months. She’s been alone with her thoughts. Plus she probably wants to avoid thinking about her awful memories thus the cross-outs in an effort to repress them. Plus the numbers, as mentioned before. She thinks about everything in terms of numbers which I, for my part, thought was an amazing, unique touch not many authors would have thought of. Finally the metaphors and similes. Yeah they came constantly at you like rain (see what I did there?) but I thought some of them were unusual, beautiful and lyrical. Many were slightly repetitive, and it was all very fluffy, but overall a gorgeous use of words. 

Overall: Awesome book if you like dystopia, sci-fi, romance, superpower stuff, all just bundled up with a side dish of originality and sorrow. If that is your type, then this is the book for you. I know it was one of my favorites. The characters, plot, style, everything was just incredible. Seriously.