Review: Wolfsbane/Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Published by: Atom Books
Release date: 26th Jul 2011/21st Feb 2012 (UK Paperback)
Series: Nightshade #2/3
I got it from: Library

Quote: 
"Love wasn't forged by circumstance or changed by sorrow. It simply was. Fierce and free as the wolf within me."

Goodreads summary:
This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended.Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered.

But then the Searchers make her an offer,one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack and the man she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

My review:
I've just finished reading Bloodrose, and I'm left with that bittersweet feeling you get at the end of a really good series. There's sadness that it's the end of the story, a little regret that I didn't take my time over it more and string it out, but mostly satisfaction from a properly good read, and happiness because it was a truly good ending. 

I'm reviewing Wolfsbane and Bloodrose together, partly because I couldn't bear to stop reading for long enough to review Wolfsbane before getting started on Bloodrose, and partly because the story flows so smoothly from one to the next, and the cliffhanger in Wolfsbane means that you really need to have Bloodrose ready to go if you want to avoid frightening your friends and family with your wails of frustration!

I love Andrea Cremer's writing. She somehow manages to hit exactly the right balance between character and action, romance and thrills. Her characters are so real, with barely any prompting at all they come alive in my imagination as I read. Yet there's no time wasted on flowery descriptions of how blue his eyes are, or the feel of his hand on her skin. Cremer deals out just enough description to form a picture in my mind, without losing myself in filling in all the minute details. What really makes her characters is the dialogue between them, the way they all have a fully-formed personality and aren't afraid to use it. I mentioned the group dynamics in my review of Nightshade, and I'm going to add more praise here - the wolf pack and the Searchers team are wonderfully-written groups. The interaction between the group members makes you feel as if you are a part of what's going on - the relationships between the various people are what makes these books so special. 

In some ways Cremer's writing reminds me a little of Rachel Caine - her Morganville Vampires series is another of my favourites, and I can definitely see parallels between the two - the pace of the action, the realistic characters and the irreverent dialogue make for ridiculously readable books. I'm also very impressed by the world that Cremer has created - rather than going along with a ready-made werewolf legend, she has built a world of magic that has me hooked. I would have liked it if there'd been a bit more about the Guardians in other countries - why didn't the Searchers attempt to make alliances with any of them? Perhaps they did and it didn't work out, but I think it would have been nice to include at least a couple with the 'good guys'. It might just have confused things though, so I can understand Cremer's decision not to go down that route.

Anyone who bailed out after Nightshade because of the focus on the love triangle is really missing out - Wolfsbane and Bloodrose do continue the theme, but they're also so much more. The twists and turns in the story kept me guessing and glued to the book for hours - I'm afraid my usual schedule was abandoned somewhat while reading these books. I'm disappointed by the number of poor reviews on Goodreads - personally, I think Calla is awesome - maybe as an older reader I get it more - the way she feels she has to do what's best for her pack, whilst at the same time struggling not to give in to her own selfish needs. Life isn't all about just doing what you want, and I think some younger readers may not have learned that lesson yet. 

Just one more point - the ending. I am rarely satisfied by endings, but the end of Bloodrose was just about perfect. I really didn't see it coming, and I think it's a brave way to end the series. Congratulations to Cremer on an original and worthy finish to a brilliant series. I will definitely be saving up to buy my own copies, and I look foward to reading the prequels Rift and Rise, as well as the new Nightshade book Snakeroot, set for publication later this year.

Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Published by: Atom Books
Release date: 26th July 2011 (UK Paperback)
Series: Nightshade #1
I got it from: Library

Quote: 
“My eyes moved over his face. His chiseled jaw and high cheekbones twisted in agony. Even writhing he was beautiful, muscles clenching and unclenching, revealing his strenght, his body's fight against its impending collapse, rendering his torture sublime. Desire to help him consumed me.
I can't watch him die.”

Goodreads summary: 
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

My Review:
Nightshade is pitched as a paranormal romance, a love triangle with werewolves. Don't let that fool you though - it's so much more than that. Cremer has created a complex and intriguing world for her wolves. These aren't your run-of-the-mill werewolves - the Guardians are a race created by magic, loyal warriors of the Keepers, a group of powerful, magic-wielding Old Ones. Protectors of the Haldis Cavern and enemy of the evil Searchers. At least that's what the Guardians have been taught to believe...

Calla Tor is an alpha, destined to be leader of a new pack of wolves charged with the responsibility of protecting Haldis Cavern. At her side will be Ren - Renier Laroche, the boy who Calla has been promised to since birth. But then Calla comes across Shay, alone on the mountain being attacked by a bear, and everything changes. 

Cremer eases us into her world, taking just the right amount of time to explain things along the way. She reaches the perfect balance between action, emotion and information, ensuring that once you start reading it is very hard to stop! Calla is the ideal heroine - she's strong, but has a vulnerable side. She's beautiful, but she shies away from it, seeing herself as a warrior rather than a princess. The Keepers have made sure that she has been kept pure, so at seventeen she has never even been kissed. I don't entirely approve of the way so many YA heroines have absolutely no experience with guys until 'the one' comes along, but when it comes to Calla's story it kind of works. 

Calla is supported by her pack - her brother and her friends, who follow her in everything and would die for her. Opposite Calla is Ren - hot alpha wolf and Calla's destiny, backed by his own pack. Cremer has created a great supporting cast here, a group of characters who between them cover just about every type of person, making sure we all have someone to root for. Then into the mix comes Shay - the third point in the love triangle which keeps the romance-lovers happy throughout the book. I'm not going to focus on the love triangle too much - I'm not a fan of them on the whole. In twilight I was team Edward all the way - it seemed so obvious - but in Nightshade I'm torn. I can't help finding Ren's strong alpha character sexy, but by the end of the book Shay really comes into his own and you can see why Calla finds him so hard to resist. Cremer has done a great job of creating the storyline and keeping it going - I really felt for Calla all along the way, sharing her confusion and inner turmoil. Her pack is her life, and the union between her and Ren has always been her destiny. She can't change that... can she?

If you're not all about the romance, you might not appreciate Nightshade so much - I've seen a lot of mixed reviews, and many people seem to be disappointed by how much the book centres around the love triangle. Personally, I'm becomming a bit jaded by the whole love triangle thing, but I found Nightshade different enough that it really reeled me in and kept my interest. There's plenty of intrigue and action to keep you going - Cremer's world is fraught with danger, and as Calla begins to discover that her history isn't what she thought it was, you're into the realm of conspiracies, censorship and even a spot of philosophy. The group dynamics between the pack members are a strong feature, and the characterization is of the best quality. 

I've already started reading the next book in the series, Wolfsbane - luckily for me the library came up trumps with my order, and I have Bloodrose all lined up and ready to go as well. Anyone thinking of reading Nightshade should make sure they have access to the other two book in the series, because if you have to wait before continuing the story you are going to be screaming with frustration!

Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Published by: Simon and Schuster
Release date: 2nd Feb 2012
Series: Everneath #1
I got it from: Library

Quote: 
“We’d both been stripped of all the evasiveness, all the lies, everything we’d ever kept from each other. Layer by layer, we had given up our defenses and our excuses and our demands for whys and hows, and what was left were two broken beings. Clinging to one last shred of hope. Tethered to each other.”

Goodreads summary: 
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld... this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

My review:
It's not the first time that Greek mythology has been used to inspire a book, but Ashton has done a nice job with her version of the tale of Hades and Persephone.

It took me a little while to get my head around the Everneath - the underworld where Nikki spent a hundred years pouring her every emotion into Cole, feeding him so that he could survive for another hundred years. At first, I had to check to make sure I hadn't missed something and accidentally picked up the second book of a series. Part of my confusion came from the way the book is split into two different time-frames - 'now' - covering the six months that Nikki has left before she's dragged back to the Everneath, and 'last year' - the six months leading up to her choice to join Cole and be his Forfeit. However, once I got used to the style - using the two time frames to tell the story, revealing bits of information here and there - I really got into it.

For some reason I'm finding this book hard to review. I think it's because I feel kind of ambivalent about it. I did enjoy reading it, but I didn't love it. I would definitely read the next book in the series, but I wouldn't rush out and buy it. I think another problem is that I'm on Team Cole. I don't really know why, but I'm just not getting Jack. I did at first - the way his face was the only thing that Nikki remembered from the hundred-year feed, the reason she chose to go back... but as the book progresses I found myself liking him less and less. He's just a bit too good and nice for me.

On the other hand, bad-boy Cole is totally doing it for me! However much Nikki tries to push him away, she can't help reacting to him. He's strong and wild, but every now and then you catch a glimpse of something more inside him. His heart is empty, he feeds off the emotions of humans, so can he really have feelings of his own? He's dark, dangerous and sexy. Oh, and he plays the guitar - what more need I say? It's a nice change from the standard vampires/werewolves/faeries - Cole is a new and addictive kind of monster.

YA paranormal books seem to fall into two main factions - the action-led, and the character-led. There's books that are non-stop action, a rollercoaster-ride of excitement, where people die, heroes fight and villains offer up ultimatums. Then there's books that are full of emotion, where we really get into the character's psyche, feel what they feel and, if the writing is good enough, we develop quite an emotional attachment to the main character, so that what happens to them really matters. (There are a few rare books that manage to merge both types successfully, but we'll talk about that another time). Everneath comes into the character-led camp. It's not as fast-paced as some teen books, with the events covering a whole year - six months in the past and six months in the present (not counting the time that Nikki was missing while the feed happened). That's not a bad thing though - a lot of books rely on a very fast pace and a continuous string of action sequences in order to get you through to the end. Not so with Everneath - we are carried through the book on a tide of emotion instead. From the beginning, where Nikki's emotions are sucked out of her by Cole, it's all about the feelings. Nikki returns to her life empty of emotion but sensitive to the feelings of those around her, and as she goes through the next six months, she gradually learns how to feel things again. Ashton's writing is wonderfully emotive, and it's easy to put yourself in Nikki's place.

I have to admit, I started reading the book a second time in order to write this review, and I'm actually enjoying it more this time around. I guess it's a grower - like some albums, some books take a couple of reads to grow on you and really get into your head. I'll definitely be looking out for Everbound, the next book in the series. Read Everneath if you're into intense romance, love triangles, Greek mythology and loveable villains!

Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

I wish I'd gotten around to reading this book before Christmas! Although it's quite a good antidote for a cold, wet February - I can wallow in memories of Christmasses past and lose myself in the romance of this wonderful book.

Cohn is obviously much better-read than I will ever be. This is a book for book-lovers, a whistle-stop tour of American literary history. Being English, and lacking a degree in English Lit, I can't help but feel that I'm missing quite a few points, but at the same time I feel like I'm being educated in a rather charming way. Literary references fight for space with sarcasm and angst in a most teenager-ish way, making the book feel as though it really is written by Dash and Lily, rather than an author. The way Cohn and Levithan write, taking a character each and trading chapter for chapter, produces a brilliantly individual pair of voices, and a wonderful story line that evolves in line with the relationship between the two main characters.

Little by little we get to know Dash and Lily, as little by little they get to know each other. The path of true love rarely runs smooth, so of course there are going to be obstacles, but don't worry - I feel confident in letting slip a little spoiler that nothing truly heinous occurs to sully this most charming of tales. Along the way, we are introduced to a supporting cast of family and friends - a gorgeous collection of characters who help Dash and Lily to set up and carry out their dares. I think Boomer is my favourite - he always says the right thing, no matter how ridiculous it is.

I'm almost always affected by the books I read - if a book doesn't flavour my inner monologue, then it's not really that good. In reading Dash & Lily, I can't help but feel I've become a better person, for a little while at least. I'm more considerate, I think carefully about the words I choose to use, I have an urge to dress in a somewhat zany way which is altogether me but the me that I'm usually too afraid and conventional to show. Also, I need to bake lebkuchen spice cookies.

I'm very critical of endings. I love books that come in series form, as it means I can happily read away without fear of coming across a disappointing ending. Dash & Lily has the perfect ending, though. No sequel required, no let-down, no 'end of something beautiful'. Just hope and dreams. I've had to thesaurus 'charming' - I've used it twice in this review already to describe the story and the writing, so I don't feel I can really get away with using it again. Therefore, I pronounce Dash & Lily's Book of Dares to be captivating, delightful, sweet, winsome, pleasing and beguiling. If that sounds too girly and fluffy, rest assured that it's also witty, droll, scintillating, jocular, piercing and original.

Review: Sister Assassin by Kiersten White

NB this book is titled Mind Games outside the UK.

Time for something completely different. Sister Assassin is unlike any YA book I've read. It has a hint of the supernatural, in that it features girls with abilities such as mind-reading, seeing the future and feeling emotions (known in the book as readers, seers and feelers), however it's not all about that. It's also about  relationships, abuse, control and escape.

Sister Assassin is a hard book to review without dropping any spoilers. Glancing at other reviews, it seems to be a bit of a marmite book - people either love it or they hate it. Personally, I loved it. It's so different from the usual paranormal romance that has flooded the YA market, it was like a breath of fresh air. Or perhaps I should say a breath of tainted air, because this book is quite gritty, although it's easy to just get caught up in the thrill and excitement, and gloss over the subtext.

Told using a dual PoV, Sister Assassin is the story of two sisters. Annie is blind, but she has visions - she can see the future. Annie's younger sister Fia doesn't think she's special - it's just her job to look after her disabled big sister. But when Annie is offered a place at the Keane School for Exceptional Girls, Fia discovers that Annie isn't the only one with a special gift. Fia just knows that agreeing to join the school is the wrong thing to do - she doesn't know why, but her intuition tells her it's wrong, and her intuition is flawless. However, Annie is overjoyed at the chance to attend a school that offers her a chance at a good future, and possibly even a cure for her blindness, so Fia can't say no. Together, the girls start their new life, but it doesn't take long before Fia works out that what they're being taught isn't exactly on the National Curriculum. Annie has it easy, with a best friend and a tutor who understands her strange visions, meanwhile Fia is being trained to be an assassin, and for the first time in her life she has to keep things from her sister, to protect her from knowledge that would surely break her, just as it's broken Fia herself.

Not only using two PoVs, Sister Assassin skips between time-frames. Beginning with a strange but exciting series of events, each chapter reveals more, with snippets from the past filling you in until gradually everything is explained. This is something that a lot of people seem to have a problem with. I don't. I found the style of writing fascinating, with clues as to what's going on being dropped here and there, scenes from the past adding both interest and essential information. It's like getting to know someone in real life - you start off in the present, with your first impression of a person coloured by the circumstances in which you meet them. Then over time they tell you stories from their past, and you get to know them bit by bit.

Full of angst, terror, a hint of romance and a ton of kick-ass moves, Annia and Fia's story is a dark, thrilling, action-packed rollercoaster ride that you'll find hard to put down.

Published by HarperCollins on 19/02/2013. This review is thanks to an ARC from NetGalley.

Order Sister Assassin from Amazon

Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Confessions of an Angry Girl is a young YA book. YA covers a huge range of sub-genres, many of which can be counted as cross-overs between YA and adult reading. CoaAG, however, is definitely strictly YA. So, as an adult reader I'm not sure I can really give it a fair review. I'll give it a go anyway, but please bear in mind that I'm about 20 years older than the target audience. Wow, that makes me feel old!

I actually enjoyed the book, even though it's too young for my taste. Rozett's writing is at turns witty, touching, sweet and bolshy. Rose, the central character, is a fourteen year-old girl who reminds me a little of myself at that age. She's not popular at school, but she has a couple of close friends. She knows her own mind pretty well though, which is something we can all aspire to, whatever our age. Rose has suffered loss and it's made her grow up in some ways, while in other ways she's still young and naive.

As can be expected, the book deals with issues such as under-age drinking, losing your virginity (or not), bullying and the attraction of older boys. Now I'm a bit out of touch with my fourteen year-old self, but I think these subjects are dealt with in a realistic and sensitive way. Rozett is brave enough to admit, and make obvious, that telling a teacher isn't always the best answer when it comes to bullying. Brave is what this book is in a lot of ways - it's not afraid to show the real and sometimes unsavory side of teenage life. Kids will try alcohol and get ill. Girls will agonise about whether or not to 'do it' with their boyfriend, and the won't always make the right decision.

Being American, there are a few references that didn't really scan for me - I still get confused with their schooling system - what's a freshman, what age do kids start secondary school? What age do kids learn to drive? Cheerleading is something I can't get my head around, but it seems that Rose at least agrees with me on that one! School system aside, Rozett's writing actually felt more like a Brit book than an American one. The writing is more real, and there's a lot less elitism than is usually found in US school-age books.

My main issue with Angry Girl, is that someone seems to have stolen half the book! I was reading a NetGalley version online and wasn't taking notice of the page numbers, so when I came to the end of the book it was a real surprise. It only took me about an hour to read, and I was kind of confused by the way it was just left hanging. I guess I'll have to look out for the next installment to find out what happens...

Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

I just can't get enough of Kagawa's world. If you loved the story of Meghan and Ash, the half-human daughter of Oberon and the winter prince son of Mab, then The Lost Prince will surely hold you transfixed as I was. Meghan's story, told in the first three books of the Iron Fey story, blew me away. Ash's part came next with the Iron Knight, and I fell in love even more - both with the gorgeous ice prince and with Kagawa's writing. I thought the story ended there, but then came The Lost Prince - Ethan's tale.

Kagawa has an innate feel for what her readers want. Meghan's adventures were a rollercoaster ride of dark thrills, romance and danger. Ash turned from the bad-boy we all fell for, into a swoon-worthy hero with a story of his own. Then, when it seemed like the world of the Iron Fey would have to live on in our imagination alone, Kagawa comes back with a doozy! Rather than attempting to continue with the lives of Meghan and Ash directly, Kagawa has drawn Meghan's little brother Ethan into the Nevernever.

If you're reading this review, I hope you've already read the first four books of the Iron Fey series. If not, go away and read them now! I'm doing my best not to reveal any spoilers, but it's hard to talk about this book without mention of what's gone on before. So I'm going to assume that anyone reading on knows the series, and knows Kagawa's spell-binding talent. I could wax lyrical for an age about her amazing writing, about how she brings her world to life with an ease that makes me incredibly jealous as a writer. I could spend a good few paragraphs praising her incredibly well-formed characters, realistic and engaging dialogue, and perfectly detailed descriptions. But let's leave it at that. You all know she's awesome! 

We met Ethan Chase a long time ago - the four year-old little boy who could see faeries was the reason Meghan was dragged into the world of the fey in the first place. Now he's grown up, but he's damaged. Being able to see the Fair Folk, being constantly tormented by them, has turned his into a bitter, wary and harsh character. He can't let anyone near him for fear that the fey who make his life hell will transfer their attention to anyone he becomes close to. When Kenzie St James forces herself into his life though, he doesn't have any choice.

Ethan just wants to live a normal life, away from faeries of any type. Unfortunately, that's not an option. They know he can see them, and they won't leave him alone. Pesky piskies and mischievous gremlins are one thing, but when scary, ghost-like fey attack him in public and his half-phouka friend goes missing, Ethan, along with Kenzie, is forced to enter the Nevernever and seek Meghan's help.

Enter Grimalkin! You may have thought you'd seen the last of the sarcastic cait sith, but no, Kagawa has given us a gift of more dry wit and timely appearances from our favourite cat. He's not the only old friend to have a place in this tale either. Brief appearances from Meghan and Ash assure us that their story had the right ending, and the introduction of a character called Keirran will certainly mean something to those of you who have read the Iron Knight. Leanansidhe has her place in the proceedings, but it's Robin Goodfellow's guest appearance that will make the most people happy I feel. Good old Puck jumps in to save the day once or twice, and although his part isn't a big one, it's good to see that he's still around.

I don't want to give too much away so I won't mention any more. Suffice to say that there is a good dose of adventure, just the right amount of romance, some kick-ass moves, and I am now on tenterhooks waiting for the release of The Traitor Son (expected Sept 2013)!

See my review of The Iron King, first in the Iron Fey series. One day I'll get around to writing reviews of the other books too!