Hillary Jordan: When She Woke

I have totally been on an audiobook kick.  And when I like the book, the tv goes off and I "read" for the noise.

Review to follow my bookclub (in May!), so I post no spoilers!!!

Deborah Harkness: A Discovery of Witches

Even though I was not a fan (at all) in the beginning, the more I "read" (I listened to the audiobook), the more attached I became--to the story and to the characters. While the romance might be too sappy for some, the science and history and thorough research that went into this book is clearly evident. I am VERY excited for book two to see what Diana and Matthew will endure next. Some of the story is contrived, but the last 1/3 of the novel makes any struggle worthwhile.

Jodi Meadows: Incarnate

Maybe 3.75/5--it's a first book. Setting up what could potentially be an epic series. But Ana is a rough heroine to appreciate in this book. Sam is much more lovable, as are the other characters (minus Lin of course). This text is frustrating because of the very confusing setting. Is it present? Futuristic? Post-Apocalyptic? Pre-Apocalyptic? With dragons, creatures that burn (slyphs), centaurs, and trolls alongside iPhone-type devices, laser guns and flying attack devices, it was really hard to imagine this world. Quasi-medieval, quasi-futuristic, quasi-fantasy realm. I guess. I am looking forward to book two when Ana takes off her whiny pants and puts on some bad-ass fighter/discovery pants (hopefully).

Erin Morgenstern: The Night Circus

I may have given this a 5 because I listened to this book, and Jim Dale (who read the Harry Potter books) did the reading, but really, I fell in love with the characters. The time period, the magic, the cyclical nature of the entire text--going forward, moving backwards, going further forward. Holy crap it must have taken some work! While I loved the heroine, the other characters are what make this text memorable. Bailey, Sukiko, Poppet and Widget, the clockmaker, even Isabell....Is it better to have little to no expectations for this book? That might have helped me. Did it help not having the written words in front of me? I don't know. At times (and at one point I did go into Barnes and Noble and look at a copy to see the structure and appearance of, and where I was in the book!) I was frustrated not being able to see the dates and then look back as to where I just came from, but then I listened closer, and I know that I experienced the words I heard more thoroughly than had I read them. I really loved loved loved this. Loved the world, loved the characters, and I EVEN loved the ending!!

Megan Crewe: The Way We Fall

Maybe TOO much for a young YA reader. Maybe ok for upper levels, but the subject matter and the manner in which the world is completely shattered for the heroine is really a downer. And I like downer books! Plus, there is going to be a book 2? The end really sucked and I am not sure an entire second book will be worthwhile.

Janet Lee Carey: Dragonswood

I loved Dragon's Keep.  This book was good, but not my favorite.   It takes place two generations after Keep, and the Fey and Dragons'  safety are being jeopardized.  
There are elements of the Salem Witch Trials, Merlin, and Robin Hood (King John) woven in throughout this book.  The beginning is slow and slightly painful to get through, but the last 100 pages make the beginning and middle worthwhile.  I wish that the dragon/fey/human interaction would have been the focus rather than on Tess and witch hunters and the brooding Garth.  The ending is good, and leaves an opening for a sequel if Carey chooses.  Not sure if I would recommend this book though.  

Veronica Rossi: Under the Never Sky

UK Version (I like this cover better)

US Version

Read this in one day.  Once I got into the rhythm of the book, and fell into the dystopia that exists for Aria, I was hooked.  This is fast-paced, interesting, and the tribes that have been created due to the separation between the classes (my guess), is disturbing to say the least.  Those living underground live in Realms created by a contact-lens type of device that sucks the wearer into a virtual reality.  No pain, no sickness, no REAL anything.  Those living above ground must fight to stay alive.  Blood Lords rule clans, and powers exist in some due to Aether storms constantly destroying things around them.  Aria is whiny at first, and annoying, and I was easily frustrated with Perry but sympathized and liked him.  But then things became reversed.   I appreciated Aria and grew irritated with Perry.  The ending leaves MANY questions and several different directions the series could take.  I wish the ending had been more satisfying, but I understand why it ended the way it did. Glad I snagged it from the library when I did.

Melanie Dickerson: The Merchant's Daughter

I didn’t know what to expect with this book, but a parochial text was even in the realm of possibilities.  I am not religious, and I can appreciate others’ faiths, but I choose to not partake in religious life.  So when I read this book, I was taken aback by the highly religious thread that was woven throughout the book.  It was a decent plot—think Robin Hood times crossed with a tamer Beauty and the Beast and with a splash of Cinderella.  I am glad that I read (and finished) this book because if I ever get to teach again and I encounter religious students, I can highly recommend this book.   There are sermons, questions of faith, and conversations with God.  Thank goodness for me, there was a happy ending.  

Emma Donoghue: Room

Yuk.  Yuk.  Yuk. 

Not a fan of this book at all. 

Disturbing, inconsistent, and disheartening.  

Maria Snyder: Touch of Power

MUCH better than her Poison Study books—much tighter editing, and the plot is much more fast-paced.  The ending is unexpected, but happy, but leaving many questions unanswered for the next book (not until 2013!).  I liked the heroine, and the “hero” is interesting.  

John Green: The Fault in Our Stars

Wow.  I read this in one day.  It is amazing.  The command Green has over his lovable characters is inspiring.  I loved the friendships in this book, and the heroine is the narrator this go-round.  If you are looking to bawl (even more than Looking For Alaska), this book will satisfy.

I have to think long and hard about who I can recommend this book to.  I loved the language, the vocabulary, the academic nature of the book, but the student that can appreciate this book will be a unique entity.  That doesn't take away from the awesomeness of the story, or the unique nature of the friendships Green creates.  Really an amazing read.

J.K. Rowling: The Half-Blood Prince & The Deathly Hallows

Or, as I like to call it, finally giving in.

I have been avoiding reading the last two books.  I bought both of them the day they were released and they sat on my shelves.  I heard spoilers that irritated me, yet I still fought the urge to read them.

I didn't want the series to end.

Harry Potter is pivotal in my reading experience.  Yes, even at 35 years old.  Yes, even for one who has been reading (BOOKS) since she was three years old.  I wasn't a fan of the fantasy genre--I avoided it.  I didn't even read The Sorcerer's Stone until it had been out for about four years.  When I finally picked it up, I was beyond amazed.  The imagination Rowling conveys in these books is absolutely astounding.  The vivid detail and super-fun characters hooked me from page one.

I haven't seen the movies.

I won't see the movies.

What I have in my head might be "well-done" on the screen, but I love MY mental interpretation.  Even as I listen to Jim Dale (if you have a chance, listen to the audiobooks--they are FANTASTIC), my way of saying Hermione's name rules out his.  I love how this series has lived inside me, and am very sad that I finished the series with no more books to come.

I won't lie, the last two books could really use an editor that is able to stand up to Rowling to tighten up the language and sift through the unneeded.  But I can't blame them--Rowling made them filthy rich--why make waves?  The final books are dark, frustrating, and I got very sick of the whining.  But the overall awesome feeling at the end overweighed the negatives.

So now I am "re-reading" the series--listening to the audiobooks whenever I have a moment.  I am on The Goblet of Fire.  I love this series.

Do yourself a favor.  Pick up book one.  Give it 60 pages.  See if you can put it down.

Deborah Reed: Carry Yourself Back To Me

Book Club book.

The author came to our bookclub--she lives in Portland.  I liked the book more after meeting her and seeing her interact with my friends after adult beverages.

Yeah.

Laini Taylor: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I started this last night, and couldn't stop reading today--even during planks at the gym during my BodyPump class.  Amazing characters, world, story, and language.  I wish I was more familiar with Eastern cultures, and I have a burning desire to visit Prague.  There were moments I just bawled--the emotion is palpable throughout the text--and yet moments that are wry and peaceful.  The vocabulary is rich and very culturally diverse.  I learned a great deal thanks to immediate access to Google.
Around page 320ish I knew something bad was on its way, but I couldn't stop reading.
Fantastically amazing, powerful, heart-wrenching.  The way that Taylor interwove the past with the present without a lull or overdone tactics (like italics) is truly amazing.  I didn't really know what to expect with this book, and angels and chimaera and humans and magic and war and modern technology and flight were definitely NOT on the list of possibilities.  I am so glad that I read this book.  I can't wait to see how the rest of the series will go.  Really, really, really amazing.

Rae Carson: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Wow.  

Religious/Spiritual, emotional, diverse, action-packed, and a strong heroine.  Usually these components don't exist all together in one book--at least not successfully.  But Carson't book manages, in a hefty 400+ page story, to combine all these elements and more.   Elisa is the. first. "overweight" heroine I have ever read in a fantasy. Yes, along the way she changes both mentally, emotionally, and physically, the start of the book is a representation of an overeater's lifestyle, including medicating oneself with food.    Yet Elisa overcomes her need to feed her boredom, her insecurity, her sadness as she discovers her higher purposes and finds her role in the kingdom where her special mark--the Godstone in her belly--is coveted by some, and feared and revered by others.   Friendships and relationships are developed and the characters are likable and I really appreciated this entire book.  Really well-written, and different from anything I have read.  

Julia Karr: XVI

This book was more disturbing than I anticipated.  Teenagers in this dystopian society are highly sexualized, and girls are branded (tattooed) on their 16th birthdays so that the entire world knows they can have sex.  Men who are 18 are able to have their way with any "sex-teen" (of-age girl), and there are no ramifications.  The media controls everything, and incessant projections from every angle never relent.  Any instance of silence is suspicious, and the government is highly sensitive to ANY deviation (perceived or real).  

I'm not sure what books 2 or 3 will bring, and some of the situations that occur in this text are disgusting.  The writing isn't stellar, and the excessive acronym use (without explanation) is annoying.  Many inferences have to be made, so this book might not be a good fit for struggling readers (who would really like the love story/friendships/society depiction).  

Meh.  I'm not in love with this book, but I didn't totally hate it, and about mid-way through, I couldn't stop reading because I had to figure out what was going to happen next. 

Ann Aguirre: Enclave

Couldn't stop reading this one.  I started yesterday afternoon, and was done today at 11.  

Really enjoyed it, but the ending is nearly too much of a cliffhanger, and all I am reading about for book 2 doesn't sound any more fulfilling.  I am on a post-apocalyptic kick I guess, and this one is a combination of fighting, internal struggle, zombies, society's missteps, developing relationships, survival, that isn't too over-the-top or unbelievable.  

I  like Deuce, Fade, and the developing relationships they discover.  I love the inner strength Deuce has, and her capacity to fight, survive, yet be compassionate in a world that doesn't support her desire to act on that compassion.  

The societies that survived the plagues that destroyed the majority of the population are very interesting, yet extremely frightening. 

Well-written with only slightly irritating missteps along the way.  

"wicked fast" Really?!? C'mon man. ;)

Veronica Roth: Divergent

Best. Book. EVER.

I say that frequently, and in this post-last-page aura, I am aware that I have MULTITUDES of "Best.Book.Ever." books, and I just don't care.

This is right up there with The Hunger Games.  As good, if not, almost better.  No lie.

Beatrice/Tris, the society Roth created, the character development, the friendships, the relationship...all real, raw, and fascinating.  The factions that society had broken into and the method for selecting/accepting members was intriguing.

Are there problems? Yes.  There are some aspects of the text that really irked me, and unfortunately, they are all spoilers!

I am not excited that a movie deal has already been reached--even before book 2 is out--and not sure how some of the mental simulations will be replicated and conveyed to be meaningful for the viewer--because I really feel that one of Roth's strengths is her ability to make the reader experience powerful emotions as Tris does.

There are many questions I can't wait to see answered, yet the ending was actually quite satisfying without being too much of a cliffhanger.

Definitely. AWESOME!!!

Alice LaPlante: Turn of Mind

Caragh M. O'Brien: Prized

Wow.
Now THIS is what a book 2 should be.

I avoided reviews before reading this (thankfully), but just read this review and was slightly irked.  But then I saw her reading list, and that she rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower only ONE star, and I realized that a book that goes against traditional, super-religious thinking may not be received with open-minded love.

Are there issues with the book? Heck yes.  Does Gaia irritate me? Several times in the novel.
But is the journey worthwhile?

Super-Heck YES!

I love that O'Brien delved into controversial issues (assisted miscarriage, love triangles/quadrangles, matriarchal society, autopsies, genetic and reproductive issues, etc.), and I love the overall tone of this book. It is rife with agonizing decisions that Gaia is forced to make.  It is peppered with frustrations that the reader and the characters must grapple with.

If a book 3 never comes, I won't be sad.  This was a highly satisfying, very exciting, super intense, awesome read.  Done in one day.  Love, love, love, LOVED this book.