{Review} The Summer After You & Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

The Summer After You & Me
by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Pages: 287
Release Date: May 5, 2015
by Sourcebooks Fire

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Sunbathing, surfing, eating funnel cake on the boardwalk—Lucy loves living on the Jersey Shore. For her, it's not just the perfect summer escape, it is home. And as a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in over Memorial Day weekend, crowding the shore and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Lucy wants more from love than a fleeting romance, even if that means keeping her distance from her summertime neighbor and crush, Connor.

Then Superstorm Sandy tears apart her barrier island, briefly bringing together a local girl like herself and a vacationer like Connor. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm. And day after day, week after week, Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and broken home. Now with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?      

{Review} Dr. Frankenstein's Daugther by Suzanne Weyn

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters
by Suzanne Weyn
Pages: 245
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Point

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A new generation is creating a monster....
Giselle and Ingrid are the twin daughters of Doctor Victor Frankenstein, but they are very different people, and when they inherit his castle in the Orkney Islands, Giselle dreams of holding parties and inviting society -- but Ingrid is fascinated by her father's forbidden experiments.

*A copy was provided by Scholastic for review purposes*

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this one…and that is totally not a good thing.  I haven’t ever read a book where I couldn’t figure out why on earth it was even written, but I have now.  This book was POINTLESS!  There was absolutely no reason to write this book, because hello!  Books actually have a story line that goes somewhere.  This one, however, didn’t.  I really, really loved the idea and how it connected with the original Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (which I HAVE read *pats self on back*).  I also liked the writing style and how it was consistent with how people would have talked back then.  But after that, this book went downhill – fast.  First off, there was insta-love.  INSTA-LOVE, INSTA-LOVE, INSTA-LOVE GALORE!  Ugghhhh, it drove me nuts.  At first I didn’t really mind that the two characters in question (not gonna say who) liked each other, but when they professed their undying love for each other after only a bit, I was like “Hell no!”  And then, after that, there are a lot of pointless events like Ingrid and Giselle going to London, and then Giselle wanting to plan a party, and then there’s talk about the dad, and then the Creation, and then there are murders.  What really annoyed me was that I feel like Weyn wimped out on this story, was just like “Okay, I’m trying to finish this as fast as I can, so I’m just going to half-ass the ending”.  And I hate to say that because I appreciate authors and all they work they put into their books, but that’s really how I feel.  She completely drops the whole Creation part of the story, and then takes the easy way out choosing who the murderer is!  Those of you who have read this book know what I’m talking about and who the murderer is, and I really hope you agree with me.

Also, just wondering, but is there going to be a sequel to this book?  Because there are SO MANY loose ends and plot holes in this book and the ending.  Nothing was resolved, and it was all a pile of bologna, so is there going to be a follow-up?

This is usually the part in my review when I discuss the characters, but I’m not going to waste my time, because they have about as much personality as a block of wood.  So, instead, I’m going to talk a bit about the horrible staging and all the “lucky” things that happened in this book.

Here we go!  CAUTION: Spoilers!!!!!!

Okay, so this is at the end of the book when Giselle is remembering all the things that had to do with someone (the Creation????) trying to kidnap her and Ingrid.

#1: “The next time I saw him I was in a park in Edinburgh.  He grabbed me and knocked me down.  Lucky for me there was a rock nearby.  I pounded him in the head until he stopped struggling, and then I rolled him in a nearby river.”

~Page 243, uncorrected ARC edition

#2: “His piercing, hate-filled eyes gave him away.  He whispered evil things to me, and I knew as soon as he had the chance he would try to kill me.  When he sailed into a hidden bay where no one could see him strike, I knew it would be a fight to the death.  He capsized the boat and would soon kill me if I hadn’t acted boldly and wrapped the sailing line around his neck.”

~Page 243, uncorrected ARC edition

#3: “He asked me to join him in a pub but I knew what he really wanted – a chance to get me alone to murder me.  Luckily I spied rat poison in the kitchen and was able to slip inside to grab some.  While he tried to woo me with sweet words I slipped it into his ale, thereby making my escape.”

~page 244, uncorrected ARC edition

#4: “He made his way to Gairsay where he tried again as I walked home, only this time he was in a wagon and got out to kidnap me.  Fortunately I possessed a letter opener, which I used to fight him off.”

~Page 244, uncorrected ARC edition

#5: “The last time I saw him he was sitting up on a bed in a hospital or somewhere like it.  I’m not sure what it was.  Ingrid was there and he was attacking her this time.  I saved us both that day.”

~Page 244, uncorrected ARC edition

*Deep breath*.  Okay.  I’m just going to go through by number.

#1: No offense to women, but if there is a monsterish, super-strong something attacking you, I don’t think you’ll be able to fight him off, even if a rock is so conveniently right beside you.  And would that nearby river be, by any chance, THE THAMES!?

#2 & 3: Wow, so lucky that Giselle was so bold and smart and strangled him…even though he’s still stronger.  And how freaking lucky that POISON was just lying around, and Giselle was able to sneak into a kitchen, even though her “date” was probably escorting her.

#4: Oh, yes Giselle, I too carry around a letter opener wherever I go.  I didn’t know anyone else did that!  It’s really convenient! *rolls eyes*.

And finally, #5: How freaking lucky that Giselle is a freaking superwoman - and isn’t she humble too everyone? – and was SOMEHOW able to save herself and her twin.  Everyone bow down to Giselle!

To everyone who reads my reviews, I really don’t enjoy writing these negative reviews, and I totally don’t enjoy ripping an author’s hard work, but some books I just hate, and unfortunately this was one of them.  I also apologize for my swearing – I get worked up.  But please keep in mind that not everyone is the same, so even if I didn’t like this book, that doesn’t mean you won’t!

1 pink flower

{Review} The Mirrored Shard by Caitlin Kittredge

The Mirrored Shard
by Caitlin Kittredge
Series: The Mirrored Shard #3
Pages: 304
Release Date: February 12, 2013
by Delacorte Press

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Aoife Grayson must face death to win back Dean—the love who was ripped from the Iron Lands of the living when he was shot in the arctic north. But getting to the Deadlands is something that Aoife can't do on her own. And if she can find a way there, Tremaine would surely never allow it. He has sworn to keep her in the Thorn Lands, the fairie home of her mother, Nerissa. But Aoife is determined to find her way out. And she has no trouble if that means she has to kill Tremain and his queen to do it.

*A copy was provided by Random House for review purposes*

Gah!  I’m so sad!  This series started out SO GREAT, and then it sunk like a stone, getting steadily worse over the course of the series.  This book is the final book, and, unfortunately, the worst.  The writing wasn’t awesome, and the story line was so simple, and the staging was absolutely horrible.  In the first book, The Iron Thorn, the escapes were very difficult, thrilling, and believable, the story line was smooth and flowing, and the staging was perfect, but in this book, it was the complete opposite.  The escapes were so easy!  Every single time either something “lucky” happened or someone just “happened” to leave a door unlocked (that didn’t actually happen, but it was kind of like that).  The story line was horrible, bumpy, and the staging was absolutely horrible.  Kittredge introduced and got rid of characters as she pleased, trying to introduce the next place Aoife had to go in the book, and it was so annoying to read.  And, speaking of annoying, pretty much every single chapter ended on a really dramatic, completely irrelevant line.  Example:

“My name,” I said, glaring at him.  “It’s not ‘little girl’.  It’s Aoife.”

~page 243, uncorrected ARC edition

Gah!  It drove me nuts!

In the first book, I absolutely loved Aoife and Dean, and the romance between them, but in this book, I hated it!  Aoife was such a strong character in the first book, but in this one Kittredge tied to hard to make her seem tough and kick-ass.  Instead, she sounded stuck-up and cocky.  Example:

“You have no idea what I can imagine.  Or endure.”

~page 212, uncorrected ARC edition

All.  Book.  Long.  Aoife was all “I’m so awesome, I’m so strong, I’m so kick-butt”.  It was so annoying,  Also, Dean wasn’t really featured in this book at all, so that was kind of disappointing.

This series started off so good, with The Iron Thorn, then it got worse, with The Nightmare Garden, and then just plummeted with this book, and I really, really wish that Kittredge could have followed through with this series.

1 pink flower

Review: Abandon

Abandon
by Meg Cabot
Series: Abandon Trilogy #1
Pages: 320 (in paperback edition)
Release Date: January 1, 2012 (paperback edition)
by Point (imprint of Scholastic)

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New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

*A copy was provided by Scholastic for review purposes*

Even though I’ve already read this book (I read about half, marked it as DNF, and gave it 1 star) I decided to give it another try. I will admit, it took all my willpower not to give up on this book. The beginning was so unbelievably bad and slow-paced, I almost threw the book across the room. Some blogs and people that I know are always raving about how awesome a writer Meg Cabot is, but I’m just not seeing it. Her writing was so…well, bad. In the beginning of this book, she kept on repeating things over and over and over and over again, it was so annoying. She went on and on about how Pierce died, about John, about everything, saying the exact same thing. And she would make these really dramatic one-liners as well, and it was so cliché and annoying…gah. Also, the story line was so boring, literally nothing happened in the first half of this book. Then, about three quarters of the way through, something did finally happen, and the story was going somewhere, and there was action and no dramatic lines…and then splat – back to same old boring. Not to mention, the ending was a snoozefest. The ending of a book is when everything should come together in a dramatic, fast-paced, suspenseful way, and all the links and strings should make sense. In this ending...well, none of the stuff above happened, that’s for sure. Those of you who have read this book know what happened, and I almost felt like laughing when I read what Meg Cabot decided to do. It was so…pathetic.

You’re probably thinking, “Oh, okay, well, she hated the story, but the characters must be a bit better, right?” Well, to answer your question…NO. The characters were atrocious. Cabot didn’t take the time to develop any of them. John was probably featured in a whopping 20 pages! We had no time to get to know him, although we learned what he was and a bit about him, but we couldn’t connect with him. Pierce was an average character, but I still don’t feel like Cabot did anything to make her readers connect with the characters. AND THE ROMANCE! Literally 15 pages before the end, Cabot brings in John and Pierce and him are suddenly in love. WHAT?! WHAT?!

As you guys can probably tell, I am not a fan of this book. The annoying writing, the clichéd drama, and the repetition of the SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN just drove me crazy. I will probably be reading the second book (mostly because I own it and it has a really pretty cover in hardback lol) but I don’t think I’ll enjoy it much more than I did this one. And, as you can see, I still rated this book 1 star.

1 pink flower

Review: Level 2

Level 2
by Lenore Appelhans
Series: The Memory Chronicles #1
Pages: 288
Release Date: January 15, 2013
by Simon & Schuster

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Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).

'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.'

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.

Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

*A copy was provided by Simon & Schuster for review purposes*

This book has one of the best, most unique, most original ideas I've read about in a loooong time. But unfortunately, Appelhans didn't really carry through with the story line to make that great idea turn into a great book. I liked how she explained everything in the beginning of the book, and the writing was good, it's just the story line that really got me. Or really, I should say, the lack of a story line. The book didn't go anywhere for the first 100+ pages, but was literally stuck in the past focusing on memories. I just couldn't take it, and I will admit that I skipped most of these...so I probably missed some plot facts, but oh well, I was bored to tears. Then on like page 130 the story finally started to pick up, and it was pretty interesting and thrilling. I liked the ending and how it was pretty suspenseful, and it was written well. But that first half of the book, when nothing happened, really got to me, and I just can't give it an awesome rating.

I think this cast is kind of an average one, consisting of really two characters, Felicia and Julian. Felicia was a pretty solid character, average, smart, but nothing outstanding. Julian was kind of so-so as well, not particularly appealing, but not revolting either. There's kind of a mini love-triangle going on in this book, and I'm kind of rooting for Julian. The other guy, Neil, seems annoying and whiny to me, so I don't really like him.

Like I said, if the whole book had been like the second half, I would have no problem giving this book a good rating. But, as it is, it was mind-numbingly slow, with okay characters, and 150 pages of good isn't enough to make up for the 130 pages of bad.

1 pink flower