New Reads! New Reads! #reviews

Every now and then, a book comes along and wallops me upside the head with happiness. This was one of them!

Can you imagine my dazed look of happiness? Yeah. It's kind of odd. I'll admit that.

But this was just so cool. A girl who dreams her entire next day. How exciting, scary, intimidating, and . . . boring--but that last part is only for her.

Poor Nara needs a surprise. And she gets one. In the form of a bomb at school. How could she not call this in to police and prevent her friends from being killed?

You guessed right. She couldn't.

But that phone call changes everything. The mysterious boy at school who never talks or touches anyone suddenly takes interest in her, helping her learn how to actually play soccer instead of predicting people's moves, befriending her when her best friend starts dating the school hottie and leaves Nara in the dark, slowly revealing there's more to Ethan than the bad reputation that follows him around. Which is a good thing, because now that she's a secret heroine, everything in her life starts falling apart. Her dreams are hazy. Accidents at school are hurting her friends. The bombers want to find the snitch, and somehow discover she's it.

Together, Nara and Ethan discover there are darker, more powerful forces attacking, and she's pissed them off with her heroic ways.

I do not want to give any of the juicy stuff in this book away. Yes, it has a paranormal story line that I fell in love with, something I haven't read before. A few times I thought, oh, no, please don't do be that book. And it wasn't!

Yes, it has romance. Sweet, tender romance. I thought for sure I'd yell STALKER at Ethan once or twice, but I didn't have to. It all made sense. Awesome.

I loved this book. I'd say it's appropriate for ages 14+. Minor swearing. Definite violence. Definite heart-pumping romance. 5 stars!

And not to leave out its sequel!

Ethan is GONE! I had to start out saying that because I felt that way through almost the entire book. Ethan is gone. Good God, bring him back.

Now that Ethan has Inara and some of his darkness is behind him, he goes home to settle things with his parents. (Because right now he lives with his older awesome brother Samson.) Inara makes a decision to research Ravens while he's gone. She wants to compile a book that might explain the mysterious tattoo that magically appeared on his shoulder. (You MUST read Brightest Kind of Darkness before reading this or you will be missing out...and lost.)

But someone is onto her. Someone dark. Someone deadly. Every stroke of her computer key puts her in more danger. Every trip to the Library puts her in harm's way. Even a simple trip to meet a man who's researched Ravens all his life leads to disaster--and also a really amazing scene between Ethan and Inara...even though they're several states apart.

But thanks to Drystan, a foreign exchange student who's into Parkour--and Inara, she's kept relatively safe. Drystan packs some supernatural powers of his own, and I cannot wait to see how these unfold in the next book. Ethan and Inara's relationship is strained to the point of almost snapping when he finally returns, and oh boy does he return with a bang...and some deeper darkness.

Lucid is an action-packed sequel to Brightest Kind of Darkness. Betrayals, new friendships, new relationships, new villains, and missing loved ones makes this book almost impossible to put down. I think I devoured it in two days. The romance is spicy. The wit is fun!

Solid 5 stars. (By the way, as a Washingtonian by day and a Virginian by night, I must admit that the author's facts about Washington DC were slightly skewered. She mentioned being able to see planes take off from Dulles airport though she was walking around the Tidal Basin of the Potomac, or somewhere close as they watched a plane crash into the Potomac, which, strangely, has happened before. The author should have stated Reagan National Airport. There may have been another error, but I can't remember it. The story was amazing, and these facts should not deter you from reading. I just had to point them out for any of my friends/family who might read and wonder if I missed that and I was stupid. Don't worry, guys. I still know where I live. Haven't been sucked that far out of reality...yet.)

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Dead Ever After #ugh #ohmygod #dnf

Well, it's happened. I've met a book that I absolutely couldn't finish. And it's not that I couldn't finish it because it was the first in a series and I couldn't get into the book. I couldn't finish it because it was the last in the series and I refused to let the author massacre a world I loved so much.

Charlaine Harris is an amazing writer. Let's just get that straight. She's brought legions of fans from all over the world who enjoy romance, mystery, crime, etc and said, "I've got a book for all of you."

And holy hell was she right. I devoured her books so quickly, my husband thought he'd never get to talk to me again. He may have hated the name Sookie. Maybe he still does.

Then a very sad thing happened: True Blood.

When the show came out, I thought Yay, these characters get to come to life!

What could be better? Eric (I drool, fawn, love, and die every time he's on the page), Bill (Can he just say my name that way? KRYSTAL. No, I guess it doesn't work as well.), and Sookie all on TV together. But the show's writers, director, producers, whoever, ruined the hell out of the connection to the books. They made it smutty--more smutty than the light, comedic Southern Vampire series. They made it trashy. They shredded the story lines.

As a writer, I thought to myself If these were my characters, I wouldn't be able to watch this.

Then I read Charlaine's next book. Something had changed. I sensed a path that didn't flow well with the story she'd written so well and beautifully for so long. I couldn't put my finger on it. But I put that aside and rode a new excitement: the author gave the main character something that could give her a life she loves with someone who loves and adores her, and the main character's grandfather said something that made women all over the world swoon.

Okay. I'll put that initial worry aside and keep reading.

So, the twelfth book came out. Yep, TWELVE, 1-2, and I felt like the author's heart wasn't in it. I felt like Charlaine reached inside the pages of her work and performed an AUTHOR INTERVENTION. I had an editor once who warned me about AUTHOR INTERVENTION. She described it as a moment in the story where the characters said or did things, well, out of character that felt intentional in order to guide the story in a new direction. So, I sensed this in book 12. I hated it. It didn't feel natural, right, real, or good.

As readers, we LIVE the words on those pages. We FEEL the characters' feelings. We EXPERIENCE their lives. We WANT things to end well, especially for HEA Romance readers.

So, when a book takes a twist or turn and a new path blooms, we shouldn't feel like OH NO. NO. What is the author doing? Why is she making this decision? Why? That's not how the cluviel dor was supposed to be used. That's not how things were supposed to go down!

If the reader puts on the brakes, it's a BAD SIGN.

By the end of book 12, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to read book 13. But I did. I actually pre-ordered it. $15 for the KINDLE version. Can you believe that? FIFTEEN dollars.

So, anyway, I put off reading it for days. I knew. I just KNEW things would not end the way I wanted. I knew, and the idea made me sick. Sookie's loved one was promised away for 200 years of SEXUAL SLAVERY. And the author changed Sookie's character SO MUCH that Sookie didn't do anything to stop it. Like, eh, he said he loves me and that what he has to do doesn't mean anything, but it does. Oh, how it does. Umm, honey, you should have saved his ass.

Frankly, none of it made sense. Why Eric would give up so easily. He's been in love with and protecting Sookie since BEFORE THEY EVEN MET! Charlaine wrote this amazing story between them. She brought redemption to a man who initially didn't appear to possess one redeeming quality. She made me fall in love with a new fictional character when I had thought I loved Bill. She painted Eric in this beautiful light. God, he LOVED her. He loved her so much that he cried (Eric, beautiful, strong, stubborn Eric CRIED) when the fairies hurt her.

But something changed in Charlaine's life. She swears that the ending of Dead Ever After is what she envisioned two books into the series. Well, then, why the hell didn't you give clues and hints earlier on? Oh, sure, Sookie wanted babies. My God did we hear about them often enough. But two words: cluviel dor. You could have saved Eric, dumbass. That's who you should have saved. That's who you loved. That's who loved you. That's who you deserved and who deserved you.

Not your boss (at least, that's how I think it ends due to some of the reviews I've read...but I'm still pretending book 4 is the end of the series). Not your boss who's mind you could read. How you always looked at as a brother. A family member. Who you never showed an interest in. Sure, he's a great guy. He's always been there for you.

So why put the readers through the ringer with Eric? Why show us that he NEEDED--no, he DESERVED redemption only to give him a MEA (miserable ever after) ending?

Why assassinate your characters with intentional AUTHOR INTERVENTION to guide your story a different way than the path it naturally flowed on?

My guess? True Blood.

My guess is that show ruined how she felt about her books and characters.

Or something.

I don't think I'll ever pick up another book by Charlaine Harris. Not because she's a terrible writer, but because I can't trust her. She broke the contract between reader and writer of romance, the type of romance where the main relationship lasts forever.

I'll probably rant about this again in the future, should I ever decide to finish the book, but right now...I just can't.

There are too many other things out there with a happy ending, with an ending where the redeeming character doesn't end up a sex slave, miserable, and away from the one he loves and has protected for years.

The End, Charlaine Harris.

The, horrible, sad, broken-hearted, End!

Oh, and in case you're wondering.... 1 Star for me. I recommend reading the series, but stop around Book 10 and make up your own ending.

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Today is #huganauthor Day @camphalfblood

Today is Author Appreciation Day (aka #huganauthor day) hosted by Susie Levine.

Most casual readers don't understand how important ratings and reviews are to an author's career, especially in this day and age where there are so many authors and books and new ways to purchase stories. When you get to the end of a book on your Kindle (or other reading device), make sure you hit the stars you think that story deserves, and SHARE IT.

This helps us immensely!

Now, today I'm going to hug Rick Riordan. Why? Or why didn't I chose an Indie author, you ask? Well, because I finished reading a book yesterday that totally pissed me off. Yes, I was still mad even after I ate cupcakes, went for a jog with Kid #1, ate ice cream, and watched Vampire Diaries.

If none of that could make me feel better, you'd probably figure I was doomed. But I picked up a book I had around the house and hadn't yet read (I have a bunch of these. I'm so far behind.), and one line--the very first line--put a big smile on my face.

"Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day."

I knew this book wouldn't be full of smut. I knew this book was packed full of adventure. I knew this book was appropriate for its intended audience. I knew because I've read so many of his books before. So, today, on #huganauthor day, I went out and rated his book on Amazon and wrote a snippet of a review. Sure, you can argue that he probably doesn't need it, but I needed him. I needed his words.

And that's what reading is all about.

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Author Appreciation Day #huganauthor

Susie Levine is hosting a great blog hop to celebrate authors! Why? Well, she realizes how important reviews are to authors. How without the ratings, without the few sentences from a happy reader, that it makes it harder for a new reader to come along and snatch up the book. Really! How many times have you seen a book on Amazon and not purchased it because it didn't have enough reviews?

Below, you'll find a link back to her original post and the sign-up code.

Make sure you write a review for a book you've read, loved, and never mentioned to your friends or family or Goodreads. Post it on your blog. On Amazon. On Shelfari. Wherever you like to rant and rave.

Authors are sometimes insecure and need of a pick-me-up. So hug them!

HUG AN AUTHOR - Susie Levine

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Rules for Reviews

I don't often post about writing. I usually refrain from offering unwarranted advice, unless you're close to me and I know something that will help you. Which is maybe what's going on here today. I know something that so many authors and writers do not, and I want to share this wisdom. I want to ease your suffering. I want to end world hunger . . . .

You really think I've gone too far?

Fine.

Ending world hunger would be nice, though.

So, what, you ask, could I possibly tell you that you don't already know? Nothing new, really, more like a way to cope with reviews. But while you may know that you have to cope, you don't know how to apply methods to ease the pain and obsession that comes with reviews.

For those of you who are unpublished, maybe you won't believe this will affect you. For those of you who only recently released a book, you probably think you'll get over this soon. Obsess about it for a week and move on.

Well, I'm here to tell you that unless you make a conscious effort to protect yourself, you're in for a long, bumpy road.

How do I think you should deal?

Thanks for asking!

A) Before and during writing a book, during submissions to publishers/agents, pretty much ALWAYS remember that you WRITE FOR YOU.

B) When you ask your mom what she thinks, your friends, your neighbors, coworkers, critique partners, agents, publishers, etc, do not let their response decide your happiness. Be happy with what you've written. The rest is just a way to make it better. (This also goes along with part a.)

C) Reviews are for readers, not writers. While I do believe there is something that can be learned from reading reviews, if you cannot read a negative one and walk away from it with a smile on your face, then DON'T READ THEM AT ALL.

D) Do not waste time scouring Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Google, for updated ratings and reviews of you and your book. You are a writer. SO WRITE. You want to make money at this? You will not make money staring at sales rankings. You will not make money crying over mediocre reviews.

E) Do not judge your worth as an author by an average rating. So what if your rating is 3.5 overall? Not everyone gets it right every time. Someone believed in you and took a chance with your book. Is that the last one you'll ever write? Only if all you do is cry over your "dismal" success. JUST KEEP WRITING.

F) If you feel you MUST read these things, then make sure you're wearing your Wonder Woman panties (or Superman, I don't discriminate). Make sure you have a support group. Make sure you take all of my above rules into account.

You will get through this, and it will be easier if you shut down to these things and JUST KEEP WRITING.

Written with all the love in my heart,

<3 Krystal

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The Raven Boys #review

I know you've all heard me rave about Maggie Stiefvater. She is an amazing author, and while I'm not always 100% satisfied with all her books, I AM enthralled with them. Maggie's voice is so strong, so poetic and magical. The Raven Boys was no different. She has this soft way of telling a story, and I will gladly read everything she writes.

Now that I've raved a bit about her...the book.

The Raven Boys started out slow for me. I had trouble settling into the POV shifts between the characters, at first. But as I pressed on, this beautiful world unfolded before my eyes and I was left wanting to devour. Unfortunately, I've been really busy this week so it seems it took me forever to actually, you know, devour.

Blue is the daughter of a psychic, and every psychic she's ever met has told her that if she kisses a boy, her true love, he will die. Pretty grim, right? You'd think Blue would be raving mad and kicking things to protest this horrible fate, but she handles is pretty well. 

Even when she and an "aunt" are monitoring the Corpse Road and she sees--yay! because Blue doesn't possess psychic abilities--a young guy her age passing through. Blue finds out his name (Gansey) and knows this must be him, the boy she's destined to kiss and kill, and now that she's seen him on the Corpse Road, she knows he'll be dead within a year.

Gansey, having a strange interest in all things magical, was out monitoring spiritual activity on that same night, and he has the conversation with Blue on tape, though he remembers none of it.

When the two meet, it's definitely not love at first sight. Heck, I'm not even sure it's friendship. But their worlds collide, and Blue and Gansey, while nothing romantic happens between them, work together toward his unusual goal of finding a dead king on a magical line. But they're not the only ones after magic and wishes and freedom. And what started out as a simple search turns into a game of solving murders, wondering who's after them, and being betrayed by those they thought were close.

There were very powerful undertones in this book, tones that I appreciate greatly in young adult literature. I applaud Maggie for this, but I cannot tell you what they are. You must read this yourself. :-)

Solid 4 Stars!

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January Black #review

****REVIEW**** 

I've thought about this book for days, now, and it just won't leave me alone. You see, January Black is haunting. The story takes place in a futuristic society where you're never really sure if Matty and everyone around him are on a different planet, in a dystopian future, or what.

It's kind of confusing, and that's half the fun.

Matty is a troublemaker. Well, his teachers think so anyway. I think they're just jealous because he's smarter than they are—which is why they expel him from Regent school.

But the king offers Matty a sliver of hope. Answer one question, one teensy, tiny, itty-bitty little question, and the king would give Matty a Masters degree.

Who wouldn't jump at that?

But when Matty delivers his answer, he discovers the king is a friend of semantics (don't you hate those?) and then Matty plunges deeper into his world, a world where information is closed off to the public, where news and records and reality have been altered, a world where freedom doesn't ring as it should.

A world much like our own. (Oh, wait. Sorry. That was me getting somewhat political.)

In Matty's pursuit of answers, he falls in love, learns that family is more than genetics, and learns that freedom and liberty must be protected at all costs.

This was a great read (4 Stars). One I recommend for young and old alike.

Great job, Wendy. I can't wait to read more!

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Must Read: Warm Bodies

Wow. Just wow. I'm not a big fan of zombie books. I think people's fascination with human-destroying diseases is pretty freaky.

Then, I'm not a big fan of a horror.

But Isaac Marion may change my mind.

Let me introduce you to R. He's a zombie who doesn't remember his name, how old he is, what he used to do before the world collapsed, how the world collapsed, how to read, or anything that might actually help him be human. What he does know: he has to eat humans to stay alive, and it makes him feel undeniably guilty. (Trust me, he moans about it.)

R is different; his brain surges with eloquent words, with a need to feel, with a longing to regain the life he lost. Yes, he's still a zombie—there's brain-eating, loss of limbs, shotguns to the head—but he's the sweetest zombie you'll ever meet.

Then R discovers Julie, a human who he now feels the need to protect. "Keep . . . you safe."

Julie makes him feel. She reminds him what it's like to be a human. She gives him hope, because Julie has it. A lot. There's a fantastic message to be found in this book, a message to enjoy what you have, live life to the fullest, never give up.

It's a message I truly believe in.

But there are bigger forces at play here. In this sci-fi future, the humans are dwindling and will shoot anything that walks the wrong way, and the Boneys (these are the skeletal versions of zombies, the ones who have been this way for quite a while—and even seem to like it—who make me think of aliens) don't like threats to their survival.

As R and Julie grow closer, everyone around them changes. R's best friend M wants to help "Keep. Her. Safe." and he even gathers an army of "changing" zombies to help.

An epic battle between Boneys, humans, and R-like zombies rages, and when R and Julie think they're going to die, true love proves them wrong.

Seriously. You have to read this book. True love. Epic battles. A lesson in appreciation and hope. A little comedy. Zombie brain-eating. A happy ending!

Oh, and it's a short read. I devoured this in a few hours.

5 stars and THANK YOU to Isaac Marion for sharing his words with us.

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On My Kindle

While busy prepping for the release of Wilde's Meadow--which included writing, promoting, editing, promoting, biting off my nails, promoting--I missed out on a lot of reading time.

So, for the last couple weeks, all I've done is read read read! I love reading, as you can imagine, and I've missed it so terribly.

I'm here to share with you what crazy little stories have appeared on my Kindle and kept me up late at night--sometimes into the wee hours of the morning--with wonderful, imagination-tantalizing pleasure!



First, let's start with Hidden by PC and Kristen Cast. This mother and daughter team of writers were brought to my attention by my mother in law, who, accidentally, purchased a boxed set of books 1-5 when she mistook it for a different series I'd asked for.

I figured why not? Right?

That's a good way to find a new book. And while I was intrigued by the first couple books in the series, they keep getting worse and worse and worse. Honestly, I'm not sure why I kept reading this one. It was just a wash, rinse, repeat version of every other book in the series. Frankly I just want it all to end, but I'm not the giving up type.

This book received 2 stars from me.



The next book I read is The Evolution of Mara Dyer. I love Michelle Hodkin.

She is awesome.

This book far surpassed the first in the series, and it left me a little heartbroken and screaming NOOOOOAAAAHHHH!

For fans of this series, you will not be disappointed. If you haven't read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I suggest you pick it up and devour it! Amazing work, and a really strong character. While Mara does some things that outright grate on my nerves, I think that's all the more awesome because she feels so real!

I rated this book 4 stars, but it could have easily received 5.



And we cannot forget Anna Dressed in Blood, or the sequel Girl of Nightmares. These books were recommended to me by my good friend Susie, who Dughbal likes to call Susanna--muahhahaa.

They came as an AWESOME surprise. Who knew I'd like YA horror so much? A few bodies ripped in half, a little romance, some high school drama, crime, mystery, and demonic crap?

Yep, I love it!

They were not what I expected at all. The author delves into the paranormal while mixing in some Celtic-ish fantasy as well.



She achieves this with great success too. Especially in the second book, which is much more adventurous than the first and delves into deeper childhood problems--like friendship, and we all know friendships suck when your a teenager.

Right?

That was just me? Fine.

Anyway, want action, adventure, and ghosts, and a little romance? Read these books!

I rated the first a 4 star and the second a 5.



Last, but certainly not least, is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This book isn't new to anyone but me really, but that's okay. I'm late to the scene. I get it.

There's also a movie coming out about this one. I watched the trailer. It looks very not close to the book. Go figure.

Anyhoo. Where do I start with this one? The first 30% of the book--that's how I gauge things on my Kindle--seemed to drag on for me. It's a front-loaded high fantasy, meaning there is a TON of information/world building thrown at you from the get go. Overwhelmingly so. So much so that I kept falling asleep while trying to read.

But, if you can get past that, and I advise you should, you will be treated with a wonderfully developed tale of angels, demons, and humans, and a war all located in New York City.

I've been trying to tell people for years that NYC is not a nice place. :-P

The pace and action pick up, and the little history lessons get dribbled in at all the right moments.

Now, I have to warn you, there is a plot device in this book that turned my stomach sour. Really sour. Nearly vomiting sour. I wouldn't buy the next book in the series until I read every blurb for the other published book in this series to see if that plot device ever resolved itself. When I was satisfied, I purchased City of Ashes.

Because of the slow start, and that disgusting plot device, I rated City of Bones 3.5 stars. (This could be because I'm totally in love with Jace. Who knows. You should read it and find out!)

That's all for now. I have a bunch of other books I plan on reading starting tonight.

Happy Bookworming, everyone!

<3 Krystal

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Politicians and Reviews

Reviews have a way of bringing an author a lot of joy and also a lot of pain. No author likes to hear that our words pissed off a reader. And I definitely know we can't stand when someone rips every fiber of our book to shreds, saying it's worthless, horrible, the worst thing ever.

But this is reality. And if you read what I recently wrote about perception, you'll know that everyone's reality is different.

Here's an analogy for all my author friends, something to help you get a little perspective on why the entire world doesn't love your book, something I like to laugh about because I work in politics!

Enjoy!

Look at politicians. They speak at a public event, to a crowd of thousands. Half the crowd cheers and says "HELL YEAH! You ROCK. You're going to save us, bring change, rule the world, end Darkness!"

 

The other half of the crowd goes, "What the *bleep*? Idiots! You're all idiots! Did you HEAR what he just said? He's going to enslave us, you fools!"

 

Everyone is at the same event, listening to the same politician, but everyone hears his words a bit differently.

 

Think about that next time you get a bad review. People are unique, so you can hardly expect everyone to love your book!

 

Happy Friday!

 

<3 Krystal

 

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