Publisher of Book: HQN
Where did you get this book: e-ARC from Netgalley
Release date: Out now

Blurb taken from author’s official website:

Chloe Turner thought she was going to marry the perfect man—until her fiancé’s plane crashed. And then she got the really bad news: he’d tried to fake his own death to avoid marrying her. Now America’s most famous bridezilla (a tag she most definitely does not deserve), Chloe escapes to a remote island to avoid the paparazzi. And right next door is a man who just might be the cure for Chloe’s heartache….

A magnet for wild, complicated women, Max Sullivan is relieved to have finally found someone “normal.” Chloe is his girl-next-door fantasy come to life, and best of all, she gets him. With her, he can be himself, a treasure-hunting millionaire who desperately wants out of his sexy but reckless job. But when Chloe’s notoriety catches up with them, will their torrid romance make it to the mainland?

Has: At first, when I read the premise, I thought it would be chick lit in tone but since Victoria Dahl is the author, I thought it would have a good take, and I really enjoyed her previous contemporaries.  I was pretty open minded about the premise of Crazy for Love.

Lou: When I first read the blurb and saw the cover, it seemed muted compared to her other books. And Crazy for Love definitely has characters that are muted in personality, but I think it made for a nice change. Having said that, while I enjoyed the lead characters, I wasn’t keen on the bridezilla plot because it seemed too over the top for my liking. The romance between Chloe and Max was the driving force for me, and I adored Max and his very weird hero complex that was pretty unusual.

Has:  I loved the understated tone. I think the romance was a strong point and Chloe, and Max had chemistry in spades. I also loved the the fact that he was so neurotic but so charming at the same time. He was an unusual hero and I liked that. Chloe in contrast, although likable, I think was not as developed. But I liked that because it would have overpowered the romantic relationship, and I liked how she drew him out of his shell so to speak. The weakest aspect of the book for me was the Bridezilla/runaway fiance plotline. It had a good start but then halfway through, it sort of fizzled out with the twist, and I don’t believe the paparazzi would have left her alone at that point. It was just too tidy.

Lou: I thought Max was the best character in the book. His constant need to make sure everyone was safe was adorable at first, but then when you realised how he took on the responsibility of every person he meets, I was thinking, how on earth hasn’t he made himself crazy yet! And I think Chloe recognising this off the bat shocked Max and it was a changing point for him. When he tried to make out with her so they wouldn’t go swimming dark at night because it could have been dangerous was very funny, but also sad at the same time. I don’t think Chloe was as developed, but I agree that if she had any emotional hangs up like Max – alongside the bridezilla plot – it would have been overload. The bridezilla plot was the weakest, and I didn’t click with that particular storyline. And the secret her best friend Jen was hiding? I didn’t understand at all because with that sort of secret, you tell your best friend no matter how hurt they might be.

Has: That was another aspect of the plot that I thought didn’t really work, Jen and their other friend Anna. But I think the plot wasn’t as much of an obstacle really for Max and Chloe. I think his neurosis about safety held more promise and I loved the exchanges. Their snappy dialogue helped to make their love story more alive. I would also have liked to see a confrontation with Chloe’s ex fiance.But nothing really happened. And he created so much drama and chaos in her life.

Lou: I think Jen’s relationship with Elliot, Max’s brother, was also underrated, and I think more could have been done with them. It felt muted if that makes sense. I know secondary characters are meant to stay secondary, but there was no oomph between them. Compared to Chloe and Max, whose love scenes were absolutely smoking hot. I think there should be an official guarantee on each Dahl book: Guaranteed Smoking Hot Love Scenes. They were fantabulous and are one of the strongest points of the book. Dahl never fails to deliver on that level.

Has: Oh I totally agree. That love scene on the beach? T’was sizzling! And their sexual tension that led up to it was perfect! I agree that the sub-romance with Jen and Elliot could have been more developed but I think it was an interesting juxtaposition with their relationship to Chloe and Max. I think the subplot about Jen and the bridezilla storyline kind of overshadowed them.  But I think the romance was a huge strong point in the book and I enjoyed the book. The subplot didn’t really bother me even though it could have been fleshed out more, but Max and Chloe were a great couple.

Lou: Their relationship was a huge strong point. I did think the conflict towards of the book was weak. It makes no sense when someone tells a person to go away in no uncertain terms, but really means for them to stay, and they expect that person to know LOL. But overall, Crazy for Love is a good romance with likeable leads, but had weak external plots. The friendship between Jen and Chloe was great, but Jenn also had a lot of baggage, and I’d thought she came across as weak because she carried it for so long for all of the years.

Has: I think it was kind of forced with Jen – especially with her reasons about why she acted like she did (trying to avoid spoilers). I think there was more potential about Max’s hangups.

Lou: I think if Jen’s and Elliot’s relationship could have been explored more, I would have given this book 4 stars. But because of what I thought was a weak bridezilla storyline, and secondary characters that didn’t really make much of an impression, I give Crazy for Love 3.5 stars.

Has: I think Jen and Elliot’s romance needed more of an oomph too. But the humorous and snappy dialogue with the main protagonists -plus the great chemistry with Max and Chloe – really makes the book. I also give Crazy for Love 3.5 stars.

Joint Review: Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Where did you get this book: Won in a contest

Release date: Currently available

This review contains spoilers!

Blurb taken from authors’ official website:

Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time. Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets.

I have to say, when I read the premise for this story, I was really excited. I’ve always been fascinated by the mystery surrounding the demise of the Romanovs. And when I first started reading the novel, I thought it was going to live up to my expectations.

The visions Anne had of Anastasia were interesting. Ethan popping up in unexpected places was fun. In short, I initially enjoyed discovering the situation with her. But over time, the excitement wore off. I still enjoyed the novel, but it wasn’t as winning as I’d hoped.

Having said that, the basic story itself is very engaging and the characters are interesting. I like how strong Anastasia stayed through her captivity, and I liked the fact that, unlike many YA stories, Anne had a generally good relationship with her parents. Ethan was cute and kind of clumsy with Anne, which was a nice change from the alpha males often seen in YA. And I enjoyed the inclusion of the Baba Yaga mythology. In other words, there were a lot of things I liked.

The problem is there was a lot I wasn’t fond of too. First, while multiple first person stories aren’t a turn off, I need all the narrators to have very distinct voices. I didn’t feel that with Dreaming Anastasia, particularly with regard to Anne and Ethan’s chapters. And while I liked the inclusion of Anastasia’s journal/letters, I’d like to deck whoever picked the font. It was horribly difficult to read, especially by book light late at night. (Though I don’t hold the author responsible for that choice, it still affected my reading pleasure.)

The way Anne kept worrying about things like skipping class (when Baba Yaga’s giant disembodied hands were chasing her) or getting her driver’s license (when she’d just been shot at) really bothered me. I felt it was a forced way to make her sound more like a teenager. For me, if a teenager is getting attacked by monsters or bad guys, they’re probably thinking the same thing as the average adult, which would be more along the lines of “Oh #*($, I’m glad I’m still alive!” The thing with the much older guy as a love interest bugged me. At first, I liked how they both approached their attraction in an oh-no-can’t-go-there kind of way, but considering the short timeframe of the story, they got over it way too fast. If it was squicky in when she finds out how old Ethan is it would still be squicky a few days later. And lastly, I could well be wrong, but to me it seems logical that an early twentieth century princess would have known how to ride a horse. Why, in that case, would Ethan put Anastasia to ride double on one of the three available horses with Anne, rather than having her ride the third horse alone? It seemed like the logic was twisted there with no explanation just to make it possible for the bad guy to follow them.

All in all, I wanted it to be a great book, I really did. For me though, the plot issues mentioned just made it not measure up to what I’d hoped for. It could have been fabulous, instead it was just okay.

I give Dreaming Anastasia 3.0 stars.

Review: Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Release date:  1st March 2010

It’s been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. For Miranda Evans, life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.

The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda’s complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.

I have heard good things about this series, but I definitely recommend that you don’t start this series by reading the last book of the trilogy which is what I did. I found that I missed quite a lot of development and backstory. However I quickly caught the gist of the plot, and characters once I got into the story. I quite liked Miranda, who is the narrator of the story. The book takes the form of her diary, depicting the everyday events of surviving a post apocalyptic world, where an asteroid hit the moon and its fragments hit the Earth, which pushed it closer to the planet’s orbit.

Miranda is coping more easily with the environmental drastic changes and the everyday struggle for survival. But although she has accepted things, there are moments where she is understandably resentful because she fully realises that despite these small comforts, all the things she has took for granted have gone. Her life has changed forever and this adds an air of poignancy to the story. Along with her brothers and mother, despite the struggle to survive, new changes come along. Some for the good, like electricity (albeit very unreliable and short) makes a returns, semi regular but low food rations from the Government, and some for the bad which create tension. Her diary was a perfect medium to share her feelings and outlook about the dystopia/survival setting which I found realistic – especially the smaller entries which said just as much as a longer detailed entry would about the bleak and uncertain future her family is facing.

I had some issues with certain characters and plot lines such as Alex, the protagonist of the second book in the trilogy. And although I didn’t read his book, I did not warm up to his character because I found him distant, and the decisions he made was frankly idiotic – especially in context with what happened at the end of the book. Unlike Miranda, who was a more sympathetic character, I found his logic and reasonings about his sister were off. And I also didn’t think the romance he had with Miranada was realistic. Also, it was a bit of a coincidence that Miranda’s family is reunited despite the events which happened to her father and his family in the previous book.

I do think there might be more books to come as it leaves on an ambiguous end. I loved the feel of isolation and desolation but also finding strength with each other and as a family – which at the end of this book, is a realization that most of the characters face, including Alex. But I found some plot lines were too convenient, and characters were making decisions that just felt off. But I think it was done to bring forward a plot. This World We Live in may not be as hectic or action filled as some other post apocalyptic books, but I do think the tone of the story and the emotions was more realistic. I liked Miranda’s narration which was honest and realistic. Her outlook and insights about her new world was filled with pathos, and hope now that she is reunited with her family, even though tragedy can be part of her life.

I give The World we Live in 3.5 out 5

Review: This World We Live in by Susan Beth Pfeffer is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Where did you get this book from: Review galley from NetGalley

Release Date: Out now.

This review contains some spoilers.

Official blurb from author’s website:

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. One of thousands who work in the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. The Trava family who rules our world from their spacious Upper levels wants us to be docile and obedient, like sheep. To insure we behave, they send the Pop Cops to police us.

So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it’s all that dangerous–the only neck at risk is my own.

Until a lower level prophet claims a Gateway to Outside exists. And guess who he wants to steal into the Upper levels to get the proof? You’re right. Me. I alone know every single duct, pipe, corridor, shortcut, hole and ladder of Inside. It’s suicide plain and simple. But guess who can’t let a challenge like that go unanswered? Right again. Me.

Lou: I’m a fan of Maria’s books, especially the Poison Study series which is labelled Fantasy with a very strong romance element to it. So when I saw that there was going to be a YA book that’s not from the same world as the Poison Study series, and the Opal Cowen series, I was mighty interested – especially when I read it was going to be Sci-Fi. The premise of Inside Out is unique, and when we saw it was available on NetGalley, Has and I said instantly, ‘ Joint Review!’. Inside Out reminded me of The Hunger Games, with the ‘authority’ controlling all aspects of people with lesser powers.

Has: I love claustrophobic/sci fi dystopian settings. It’s a great premise to explore issues and characters in a very tense setting. However I did find the pacing was slow in the beginning of the book due to the monotonous info dumping of the scrubbers lives. Although I think it was done on purpose to show the drudgery they go through.  I only felt it picked up pace once Trella got away from her duties, and explored the forbidden parts of the Inside.

Lou: I agree. The beginning of Inside Out I found to be slow going, and there were times that I put the book down because nothing of importance seemed to be happening. Additionally, there was the very detailed descriptions of the layout of the pipes which I found to be slightly monotonous. Trella’s character wasn’t an easy character – in the sense that she wasn’t a heroine who’s easy to like. She was very hard, and somewhat chilly and not very approachable. While it was horrific how the lower level scrubs were treated, and their poor quality of life, Trella’s situation wasn’t different compared to the others. Others managed to make friends and to ease their time, so I wasn’t sure why Trella was so hard compared to the others.

Has: I can understand why she was like that – I don’t think she was selfish but I think she had a dog eat dog world mentality and she wanted to survive, so keeping her head down and becoming a loner helped her. But I also think it was supposed to make her more heroic. But I agree, I did find her too cold at times although her friendship with Cog helped to humanise her. The problem was she didn’t feel human enough for me, although later in the book she was more relatable and vulnerable due to what happened to her.

Lou: I think my problem was the lack of empathy that she had for others. While I didn’t dislike her, I think her being like that didn’t make for an easy read. And perhaps it was done on purporse, because the life of the Inside wasn’t easy, and was cruel and horrific.   Though Cog was her beacon of light in a way, and if she didn’t have that friend, I think Trella would be even harder than she is.

Has:  It was structured so that the people feel and live like robots. Oh I agree, it was Cog’s actions and beliefs that made her open up, otherwise she wouldn’t have chosen to be part of the change. I think her loner attitude was also part of the lone/rebel hero archytype too. I don’t think that was as clear in the book, but I liked that she developed later on. It was like she locked herself so much into an automaton. Not so much that she was a robot, but she locked her emotions in and Cog was her weak link which helped to crack that. Later, her realisation about people around her made her more aware. And her interactions with others… it felt like she was waking up. I did feel frustrated by some of Trella’s actions towards the latter part of the book towards her trust of others.

Lou: In a way, it was a journey of Trella arriving into the real world. While she hated and understood the status of the lower levels and the upper levels, she didn’t push for a change. She didn’t believe there was a change, or that it could be possible. And it was her exploring the upper levels, and believing in Cog that made the status of the scrubs change. Especially when Broken Man entered the picture as the prophet. But I think what failed for me slightly was that there was no clear understanding of what the Inside was, and why the Uppers controlled them other than they thought they were above them in station, and due to the power of control they had – as in the ultimate authority. Maybe it was done so we were as clueless as the scrubs, but I was mighty confused on what the actual Inside was. So when the rebellion came about, while I cheered them on to become people again and not just cattle, I didn’t really understand what the whole picture was if that makes sense?

Has: Oh definitely. It was pretty ironic. This is going into spoiler territory!
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But even those in charge were clueless, and their control/motives were just as destructive towards their own society. Although I suspect there will be more about that and the mysterious controllers in the sequel. You know I just realised that Broken Man was seen to be a prophet, but it was really Trella who was the figure of change. She was the one who ‘ascended’ to the higher levels to get the truth. I liked that little twist.

Lou: This is where Trella’s hardness was handy. She was the only one that had the balls. Add in her knowledge of the layout of the pipes – as she was a cleaner of the pipes – she was the ideal person. And when it showed that there were other small rebels amongst the lower levels, it showed Trella that there were people who didn’t just accept the way life was dictated to them for so many years. And it showed when Trella met Riley – her love interest – that there were people in the upper levels who were ignorant of what happened below, and weren’t happy with how the way Inside was.

Has: I think Riley’s introduction was interesting, and I thought he had a great way to challenge Trella’s walls and defences about the upper levels. But on the romance, I’m not sure if they share enough heat.  I can see he saw in her someone who was a loner and hating the society they live in but I didn’t feel we got enough of him in the book. In contrast I loved Jacey’s character in the brief scenes that we saw of him, and I thought he might be a potential love interest at one point.

Lou: I liked Riley. There’s nothing about him to dislike, but I thought his character wasn’t as strong as Trella’s character. And for me, he became somewhat smaller in stature next to her. Jacey was a character that had more personality, and he had this determination, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be a love interest. I saw no hints myself, but if there is going to be possibility, I wouldn’t mind at all as I liked his charactet arc.

Has: I totally agree. I think Riley wasn’t as developed, although I hope in the next book we get to see more development, but I am not feeling any heat. I know its a YA and Trella has closed herself off to feelings, but I thought the romantic tension was not as strong as it could have been. Although the potential for it can be developed.

Lou: I think while there’s a romantic element, it’s not in the forefront of the story, and this book is more about survival, the right to live the life of freedom, and finding the way out of the Inside. Even though I had some issues with the book, I would definitely pick up the second book as I feel this series has a lot of promise and it’s pretty darn unique. I would give Inside Out 3.5 stars.

Has: I loved the premise of the book and even though it had a slow start and I had some problems with Trella’s decisions towards certain characters, I will be definitely picking up the next book Outside In. I feel that the repercussions will have interesting developments and it felt that things are being shaken up like a bottle of coke in this book, and in the next book it will fizz all out. I would also give Inside Out 3.5 stars.

Joint Review: Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Where did you get this book from: E-Arc Galley from NetGalley.

Release date: Out now.

Blurb taken from author’s official website:

Sometimes paradise isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!

That’s what I, Kylie McGraw, have discovered since sacrificing my dreams of traveling the world to run the family shoe store. But if I have my way, peaceful Eden, Indiana, is in for a major shake-up…

It all began on my birthday, when I got drunk and disorderly over Eden’s hunky new police chief (and my former high school crush), Jack Reynolds. Then I may have, in my Cosmo haze, witnessed a murder in progress. Now I’m almost certain I’m being stalked by the mob, while he-of-the-distracting abs Jack continues to think I’m nuts. However, there comes a time when a girl has to kick off her sensible shoes (size 7, cushion insoles) and go after what she wants. So if I can just survive long enough to put on my sexy new red heels, that’s exactly what I intend to do…

Out of Eden is a pleasant, fun and warm hearted romance about a small town girl in Eden. Kylie, on her birthday night celebration, decides that she’s not happy with the way her life is going. She’s sick of the same routine day in and day out, and she announces loudly in the local town’s bar – while steaming drunk – that she’s going to shake things up. And Kylie starts off shaking things up by trying to seduce her ex crush, and her brother’s very good friend, Jack, who’sbecome the town’s new Chief of Police. She then decides to decorate her shoe store despite fierce opposition from the town residents.

I found that Out of Eden had a nice pace to it with quirky humour. But I thought it sometimes went off into goofball comedy territory when connections with the mob started to entwine into the story. I understood Kylie’s frustrations in not being able to expand on her choices in life, and not having the chance to go off to China, the one place she dreamt of going since childhood, due to family obligations.

The romance between Kylie and Jack was very fun, and Kylie really knew how to tie Jack up into knots with her escapades. Jack was very likeable, and I thought he was the perfect foil to Kylie. And it was great seeing Kylie seducing Jack, the guy she had been crushing on since she was a teen. Even though Jack is the straight shooter to Kylie, he had to contend with his own personal problems with his estranged sister and niece coming back to live with him, and Jack also has to deal with his own problems of shutting people out, and not wanting to commit fully due to his past as a cop in New York. So Kylie’s and Jack’s romance is quite slow, with both of them taking hesitant steps in the emotional side of things.

Overall, while I liked this book, the storyline of the mobsters was a bit too over the top for my liking. But Jack and Kylie’s romance made for a cute read, and I would pick up the next book, Into The Wild, that features Spencer, Kylie’s brother, as the hero.

I give Out of Eden 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Quickie Review: Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

This review contains some spoilers.

Blurb taken from author’s official website:

When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back — if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie’s own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her — until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

Ice is a very unique YA fantasy romance based upon the the Norwegian fairytale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Cassie is a very headstrong heroine who has grown up on an Alaska Arctic research station all of her life, brought up by her Father who is a research scientist. Cassie’s whole life has revolved around the ice caps, and one day, while tracking a polar bear, she sees the most peculiar thing: the polar bear runs away at a terrifying speed and disappears into the ice… literally. Cassie, undeniably shocked, doesn’t realise how special this polar bear is, and most importantly who he is. When Cassie explains to her father about the polar bear disappearing into the Ice, he suddenly, and urgently, decides to send her away to live with her Grandmother in Fairbanks, and doesn’t give her a choice in the matter. Cassie is bewildered, hurt and angry. In a nutshell, she refuses to be sent away.

When her Grandmother arrives to take her away, Cassie gets the shock of her life when her Grandmother tells her that the tale she told her as a child, about the deal her mother made with the Polar Bear King, turns out to be very true. And her life is about to take a monumental change when she goes outside, and demands that the Polar Bear King shows himself,  and upholds the original agreement her mother made: For her daughter to be the wife of the Polar Bear King. The Polar Bear King shows himself, and it’s the very same bear that ran away from Cassie.  Cassie’s whole world is turned even more upside down, when she learns from Bear that her mother is very much alive, and is the prisoner of the trolls. Cassie agrees to a deal with Bear:  Her mother will be returned safe and alive, if Cassie agrees

I liked Cassie in some aspects of her personality; she was fierce, she was unafraid of going after what she wanted, and her emotions on learning about Bear were very realistic at first. When Cassie goes to live with Bear after agreeing to the deal, she remains suspicious, and conspires not to remain with him, but she builds up a slow trust with him – one that you don’t see in scenes unfortunately – and one day, she realises that she doesn’t actually want to leave Bear. Oh, and before you think: OMG, she’s falling in love with a polar bear, Bear is actually a munaqsri, the guardian of souls for the polar bears. He takes a form of a polar bear, but he has a human form also.

While I loved the worldbuilding and the colourful and very imaginative detail in Ice, I found it was lacking in character development and the relationship of Cassie and Bear. Cassie’s character was fleshed out, and her strong personality instantly shone through, but I wished that Bear had the same development. Knowing he’s the love interest wasn’t enough. I wanted to see his emotions, his thoughts and feelings. There was no real depth and personality to him, and I felt he was rather one dimensional.

Cassie’s relationship with Bear gets stronger and stronger as she spends more time with him, but she soon realises that she feels like she’s missing a part of herself. Cassie misses the scientific work she did. Cassie then finds out that one of the main reasons Bear marries her, is to carry on the future of the munaqsri as there are fewer and fewer of them. Bear and Cassie do have a physical relationship, and she understandably feels instant betrayal when Bear does something that will change her life forever without her permission. As I was reading this, I was like: Oh my gosh. I would have done more than what Cassie did, and would have beaten the crap out of him.

While this is a fairytale story that has its unique worldbuilding, I’ve always been a person that’s character oriented, and I like to read about characters that have a dose of pragmatism. And this is where I’m torn with knowing that this is a book where you have to suspend belief, but the characters’ actions bugged me a lot – and I felt that some of Cassie’s decisions and actions were reckless.

When Cassie goes off to save Bear, again the world building and the adventure is wonderful to read about, but the reasons behind it make no sense as Bear could have avoided being taken away simply by telling Cassie the truth.

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read, but while reading this book, you have to suspend a lot of belief while doing so.

I give Ice 3.5 out of 5.

Review: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Blurb taken from Chloe Neill’s official website:

As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…

When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building.

The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster.

Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…

Firespell is the first book in the Dark Elite series by Chloe Neill. I bought it not long after it was released, and I think Chloe Neill is making a strong stamp in the supernatural romance genre with her Chicagoland Vampires’ series.

Firespell is a light-hearted and quick read, but unfortunately it didn’t make a huge impression on me. Not that the book is badly written, but I found it to be lacking in excitement and quite slow going in pace. Lily, the heroine, is a likeable enough character – she has a good sense of humour – but there was no distinction in her personality that made her stand out to me. The secondary characters did though, such as Scout, Michael and Jason who all have individual powers – especially Jason who has an extra edge to him, and who looks like to be the potential love interest for Lilly.

Yup, my main problem was that I found the secondary characters to be more interesting than Lily herself. Scout had more of a colourful personality than Lily, and made much more of an impression on me.

Lily does derive sympathy though, especially when you see her struggle with her parent’s decision with sending her away to boarding school for two years as they go on sabbatical – while professing that they loved her dearly. So at first, I did have this warning flashing through my head: Danger, Danger. Another YA book that features crummy parents!  But thankfully, there is more than meets the eye with Lily’s parents who seem to have been lying to Lily about their choice of profession. In future books, I think that particular revelation will be very important (and the headmaster of St Sophia’s seems to be hiding secrets also).

The blurb sounds fantastic, but Firespell doesn’t actually show any demons or vampires – only The Reapers and the other members of the Dark Elite. The actual premise of their powers is quite interesting, and one that makes for a change where you choose to give your powers back, or keep them and become Reapers. The problem was, though, that you didn’t see the characters use their powers very much. IMO, it was more of a tell than show book. Firespell leaves you with questions rather than answers, but as I found it to be very slow in pace, numerous times I found my attention slipping away and losing interest.

But it does have promise, which was what kept me reading the book, and the ending was much more to my liking as it picked up pace. But I do hope we see more of the unexplored powers of Lily, and hopefully a lot more action in  the second book. I did like that there was no angst ridden love in Firespell. Lily and Jason do have a connection, but it wasn’t in the nature of: OMG, I love you and I’ll die if I’m not with you.   It was nice seeing a character who wasn’t focused 100% on getting the boy – a refreshing change.

So all in all, I did like Firespell, but IMO, it was simply lacking in action and slow paced for my taste for a 250 page book. I am going to pick up the second book in the series when it comes out, so I really hope that there is more action, and we see the demons and vampires. And hopefully the plot expands so we see more of this supernatural world that was vaguely introduced in Firespell

I give Firespell 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Firespell by Chloe Neill is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Blurb taken from Lisa McMann’s official website:

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can’t tell anybody about what she does — they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant….

I wasn’t sure about the style of writing when I first started to read Wake – the short sequences that are stamped in time date which repeats itself in a pattern throughout the book. But after a while, I got used to the style and it ties in with the sort of surreal tone Wake has.

Wake starts off with sequences dating back to when Janie, the heroine, was a child, and then to the present day where Janie is 17 years old and in high school.  Janie is working her socks off at school to gain her grades, working whatever shifts she can get at a Nursing Home for money to go to college, and perhaps even getting a scholarship as she doesn’t have any money. Janie has an alcoholic mother who doesn’t have a job and drinks herself to oblivion day and night without care or thought for her child. Before I continue, I would like to say this: Seriously, I would love to read a YA book that features a parent who’s loving and takes care of their child as a responsible adult. Somebody needs to break the curse that seems to have taken hold of YA’s lately with awful parents featuring predominantly in the books.

So because of her alcoholic mother, Janie has learned to be self-sufficient from an early age, and relies on nobody but herself for help. Janie has brought herself up and she doesn’t let herself get overly close to anyone – especially when they are sleeping! Otherwise Janie will get sucked into their dreams, ones that she can either bring herself out of slowly, or terrible and frightening nightmares that leave Janie paralysed, frozen and numb. The latter dreams are happening more often, and Janie is starting to lose control. In Wake, not only does Janie have to cope with these terrifying dreams, but she has to cope without having any family support and with the fear of never truly being happy with this affliction of hers.

I found Wake to be a good read, albeit dark in tone with Janie’s emotions on a downward spiral for most of the book. In a way, I found Janie to be a one dimensional character, in the sense that her character was so consumed with these nightmares and dealing with them, that I felt that she wasn’t fully fleshed out. There is a big TSTL moment that the heroine does in this book that actually angered me. Janie is driving down a street where she gets sucked into a nightmare. After crashing the car, she continues to drive on afterwards despite knowing the same could happen again. Stupid.stupid.stupid. The romance with Cable was sort of angsty, and while I enjoyed their story, there was nothing out of the ordinary that differentiates it from other YA romances. And also, IMO, it would be great to read a YA hero who is not predictably mysterious. I wasn’t too sure about the ending, and what Cable and Janie will be doing for the police as it didn’t seem to gel.

But what did differentiate this book overall is the surreal tone. Despite clichéd characters, this book’s premise is unique and the surreal tone saved Wake from blending into other YA books.

I give Wake 3.5 out of 5.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me this review copy.

Review: Wake by Lisa McMann is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold

Blurb taken from Fantastic Fiction:

“Young Fawn Bluefield has fled her family’s farm hoping to find work in the city of Glassforge. Uncertain about her future and the troubles she carries, Fawn stops for a drink of water at a roadside inn, where she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers, enigmatic soldier-sorcerers from the woodland culture to the north. Fawn knows the stories about the Lake-walkers: they are necromancers; they practice black sorcery; they have no permanent homes and own only the clothes they wear and the weapons; mysterious knives made of human bone they carry. What she does not know is that the Lakewalkers, as a whole, are engaged in a perilous campaign against inhuman and immortal magical entities known as “malices,” creatures that suck the life out of all they encounter, and turn men and animals into their minions.

Dag is an older Lakewalker patroller who carries his past sorrows as heavily as his present responsibilities. When Fawn is kidnapped by the malice Dag’s patrol is tracking, Dag races to rescue her. But in the ensuing struggle, it is not Dag but Fawn who kills the creature at dire cost and an uncanny accident befalls Dag’s sharing knife, which unexpectedly binds their two fates together.

And so now the misenchanted knife must be returned to the Lakewalkers. Together, Fawn and Dag set out on the long road back to his camp. But on the journey this unlikely pair will encounter danger and delight, prejudice and partnership, and maybe even love. . . .”

I love fantasy romance! It’s probably one of my favourite sub genres, and Lois McMaster Bujold nearly manages to deliver on all fronts in her first book of the Sharing Knife series. The budding relationship between the hero and heroine is a wonderful read. Both have been broken by different and separate events from their lives, and they come together and manage to heal one another in a way that I found to be very sweet.

I did have an OMG: How freaking old is he moment. There is a major – and I mean MAJOR – age gap between them, but I quickly got over that aspect as Fawn and Dag seem to be made for one another. And they work together in a partnership that was very believable, IMO. Since this is a fantasy world, and Dag is magical, I don’t think the ageing will be a problem for them in their future. Eek. I hope not!

The only downside was that the fantasy and action was too slow paced for me, and nothing really big happened, but the premise is fantastic. Hopefully the action will pick up in volume two.

4 out of 5 for Beguilement.

Coming Undone by Lauren Dane

(I love this cover. It’s sexy, and has this super glow about it. Very awesome!)

Blurb taken from Lauren Dane’s official website:

“Brody Brown has always been responsible for others. After his parents’ death, he gave up a promising artistic career to care for his younger brother and sister. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, has a nice house, makes a nice living, and for the first time in years he’s on his own.

Elise Sorenson has come to Seattle with her young daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina—(and just as many years in a marriage-gone-bad)—she’s looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached.

More than friends, Brody and Elise discover in each other what they need—wild, physical passion without commitment. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need—to what they truly desire.”

I’m fairly a new reader to Lauren Dane’s work. I’d bought her first début book: Undercover and liked it. But for some reason, I didn’t buy anymore of her titles. I have now, though.

Coming Undone is a sexy and likeable read, but I found it lacking in tension. The hero, Brody, is a wonderful and vivid character, and Elise is a very likeable heroine who is having trouble putting behind a violent past, not only for herself, but for her daughter.

Elise did a lot of healing with Brody, and for me, that was one of the two strong aspects of the book; her learning to becoming independent and not letting anyone push her around. But the tension that was supposed to be the driving point and focus of the book was weak.

The sex scenes were sizzling hot! And with an extra sizzle! I’m very much looking forward to Dane’s Relentless, another title I bought that looks like a goodie.

3.5 out of 5 for Coming Undone.

Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine

Blurb taken from Anna Katherine’s (actually two authors) official website:

“One night six years ago, Allie and her friends got drunk and chanted a fake spell they made up… and accidentally opened a portal to Hell. Now it resides in the basement of the diner Allie runs, and it’s a pain in the ass — mystical crap is always coming out, and then it has to be killed. Demon guts get everywhere, stuff gets smashed up, there are salt circles and sigils all over the place… It gets tedious.

The up side is that Allie gets her own personal demon hunter guarding the Door and killing the demons: a sexy and mysterious, Stetson-wearing, snide-remark-making, dark-eyed demon hunter named Ryan.

But after six years of jibes and sexual tension, the Door disappears at the same time there’s a surge in demonic activity — and no one seems to know what’s going on. Not Narnia the bitchy psychic witch, or Roxie, a kickass demon hunter from the other side of town.

It’s not Allie’s idea for a team of demon hunters to find another Door and go into it to see if Hell is about to take over Earth, but she definitely wants in on that plan. After years of seeing the havoc a Door to Hell wreaks on the world, she’s ready to grow up, take responsibility for helping open a Door in the first place, and kick some demon butt.

Okay, and she’d also like some quality make out time with Ryan, and mortal peril is always a turn-on, right?”

When a friend of mine recommended this book, I went to the author’s website and read the excerpt, and liked it verily muchly. After reading the whole of the book, I didn’t like it as much as my first impression. The premise is interesting, and overall, the book is very much a light read, but the heroine was too shallow for my tastes and there was not much depth from the characters.

The heroine does not make for a very sympathetic one, and when you have the heroine’s POV in first narrative, the dialogue and inner thoughts have to grab you, and make you want to read and learn more about her. I was skating upon being amused, and nearly not liking her.

The hell portals is a cool idea – especially when it’s expanded upon in the story. While I didn’t love this book, I did like it – despite the heroine -  and I managed to finish the book in one reading. I’m interested in how the second book will turn out, and hopefully there will be more depth and a tighter plot.

3 out of 5 stars for Salt and Silver.

Quickie Reviews is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

It was once known as the City of Los Angeles, but a series of fierce interspecies wars -  resulting in the streets running red with blood – gave birth to the nickname, Crimson City.  An uneasy peace has been established between the three main species: Vampires, humans and werewolves.  Each species has their own living area with vampires inhabiting lofty spires 100-200 stories above street level, humans in the typical street levels, and werewolves relegated to the subway tunnels and stations below.  Entering Crimson City, despite the peace, we notice an undercurrent of tension that seems to grow as the days pass.

Noted author Liz Maverick teamed up with five other authors to bring us the story of Crimson City, as the fragile peace unravels and how a few dedicated individuals risk their lives trying to hold that peace.  We are also introduced to two other species: The mechanicals and demons; who play vital roles in determining the fate of Crimson City.  We experience the combination of glitz and grit that is Crimson City in the following books:

Crimson City by Liz Maverick, July 2005

A Taste of Crimson by Majorie M. Liu, August 2005

Through a Crimson Veil by Patti O’Shea, October 2005

A Darker Crimson by Carolyn Jewel, November 2005

Seduced by Crimson by Jade Lee, March 2006

Crimson Rogue by Liz Maverick April, 2006

Anthology: Shards of Crimson, January 2007 – with stories by Liz Maverick, Patti O’Shea, Carolyn Jewel and Jade Lee.

The most recent instalment and the focus of this review is Crimson and Steam by Liz Maverick, which is released on the 29th December, 09.

Per the FTC guidelines, I must state that I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review.  I purchased the other books in this series for personal enjoyment.  Unfortunately I will not be able to avoid spoilers for the previous books in this particular review because it is the 8th in the series.  I will, however, do my best to minimize those.

Each book in the series, while entwined with the others, focuses on a primary hero and heroine.  Crimson and Steam draws the reader closer to what appears to be the star-crossed pair of not-yet-lovers: Marius Dumont and Jill Cooper.  Marius is the acting head of Clan Dumont, the most powerful vampire clan in Crimson City, and therefore head of the Vampire Council.  His clan is trying to pursue peaceful yet powerful alliances by marrying strategically amongst powerful werewolves outside Crimson City.  A previous marriage attempt between the two families was derailed due to some unexpected events detailed in Shards of Crimson.

Jill is a freelance human reporter who lost her steady job during Crimson City around the time she first met Marius.  The two of them share a mental and emotional connection but Marius is determined to do the right thing for his family and the vampire community as a whole.  The right thing does not include a relationship with a human.

We get to see both the determination and the emotional pain experienced by both Marius and Jill as he weds Tatiana, the daughter of a powerful werewolf alpha from New York.  That same night Jill stumbles over a gruesomely dead body in one of the rooms in Dumont tower.  Her panicked mind reaches out to Marius and he leaves his new bride to investigate.  They discover that the dead body used to be a vampire, but it’s missing all of the physical vampire traits.  Marius drags Jill and the carcass to an underground research lab – run by and for the Mechs or Mechanicals.  They discover that the vampire was infected with a pathogen that looks for non-human parts.  Once they are located, the micro-organism attempts to change them back to human.  At this time the pathogen does not have an airborne transmission path, but the Mechs have seen three or four other bodies with the same infection…

Ms. Maverick takes a different tact with this book then the previous ones in the Crimson City series.  The reader is treated to a series of unfortunate events that occurred in London during 1851 during the height of experimentation with steam, mechanical devices, and unusual creatures from the West Indies.  The events in London center around a young lady named: Charlotte, who co-owns a draper shop, and a penniless inventor called: Lord Edward.  At first the reader is left wondering about the importance of these experiments and why half the book is spent with those characters.

Ms Maverick seemed to pick the most tension filled moments to switch between centuries.  I have to admit the jumps did keep me interested.   By the end of the book, I was able to see how all the various threads are interwoven and exactly why a sizeable chunk of time is spent in London.  I can’t divulge any of those reasons because they contain major spoilers.

I really, really wanted to like this book.  I had been looking forward to Marius and Jill since the last instalment.  Unfortunately this one didn’t really work for me.  I think the problem was twofold.  First, Ms Maverick used a version of a trope that is not one that I personally enjoy.  Second, there were too many threads to be resolved.  Some of the contrivances were necessary to avoid potentially uncomfortable situations.  However, others were not.  Compared to the other books in the series, it is hard to become emotionally involved in Marius and Jill’s quasi-relationship with the addition of Charlotte and Lord Edward.   Ms Maverick did a good job interweaving her two storylines and answering some lingering questions, but in my opinion it is not at the same calibre of the previous instalments.

I give Crimson and Steam 3 out of 5 stars.

ARC Review: Crimson and Steam by Liz Maverick is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter