Review: How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper

  Title: How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf [Amazon|GoodReads]
  Author: Molly Harper [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
  Standing: 1st in the Naked Werewolf duology
  Genre: Romance, Paranormal
  Published: February 22nd, 2011 by Pocket Books
  Format: Paperback; 371 pages.
  Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Northern Exposure

Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question. If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

Okay, How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf is really not the type of book I would normally pick up, but I’ve been trying to read out of my box more as I’ve been reading more—else you get bored!  Two things happened this year that led me to Molly Harper: 1) I determined that yes, I do indeed like romance and 2) Melissa Marr bespoke her love for Molly Harper on Twitter.  Harper was described as funny and snarky, and I found this to hold as true as I read, laughing often at Mo’s situations, way of thinking, and occasional witty reference.

I loved our lead, Mo, and I absolutely adored the entire town of Grundy, Alaska.  How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf is full of so many wonderful small-town characters from the cute old man, to the slutty waitress, the neighbors that will do anything to help one another out, and of course, the overly grouchy hot guy.  Cooper, our male lead, reminded me a lot of Luke from Gilmore Girls.  He liked his small town the way it was, he was wary of outsiders, and overly gruff with pretty much everyone besides his cousin.  And since I’ve been in love with Luke for over a decade, of course I was pumped about Cooper!  There’s a decent hate/love thing between him and Mo, which I always enjoy, and even though something about it seemed a bit off (like maybe a little too much I don’t want to want you but I do?), and their relationship went from 0-60 in 10 pages flat, I enjoyed them as a couple. 

Mo herself is a piece of work.  I love that she’s the classic child of the overbearing parents striking out largely to get away from them (yeah, you can see a bit of a Lorelai resemblance here too, but it’s not extreme).  The best part of this?  Her parents are hippies!  Uber hippies.  Her mother is the worst sort of helicopter mom, but not in your usual way.  She’s constantly barging her way in to Mo’s life to make sure that she’s eating organic, and sticking with the values they taught her.  For goodness sake, Mo had to enroll herself in public school at 13, knowing that she’d never learn anything or function in the normal world if she let herself be homeschooled forever.

Now, I’d already decided some time ago that adult sexytimes make me super uncomfortable, and that I don’t enjoy reading them.  Which made me really hesitant to try How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf knowing there would indeed be some beyond PG13 scenes.  All of the romance I’ve managed to get my hands on so far has been very chaste or vague, glossing over things, and I really liked that; but then I realized while reading How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf that I didn’t mind sexytimes so much after all!  I even kind of enjoyed them.  Then I sat down and thought of what turned me off of explicit sex scenes, and I came up with two things.  1) Hearing them on audio, most likely with a parent in the car.  I don’t care that I was over 18 at this point, it’s always awkward to acknowledge sex in front of your parents (unless you have Mo’s parents, that is). 2) Last year I attempted to read Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz.  The book basically opens with one of the main characters giving head to her fiancé's brother at her own engagement party.  I was so disgusted by this, I can’t believe I powered through as much of that book as I did.  I know some people don’t mind cheating, or at least reading about it, but I realize now that I really really do, and that it was the infidelity that disgusted me, not the sex itself.  So call me cured, and sign me up for more!

As far as the paranormal elements of the story go, I enjoyed them.  The werewolf lore was fairly similar to Twilight in that wolves could change at will, and that it was a genetic trait passed down in certain native families.  I’m happy to report though, that it’s similarities deviated in two important ways (apparently I’m all about the lists of two this review): 1) there’s no vamps.  The werewolves don’t change because of any threat, they change each generation because they always have. 2) The chicks change too!  Yeah I know Twilight had one chick werewolf, but it was something all new and scandalous because we need men to take care of things after all.  Not so in How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf.  All family members that share the genetic trait change.  Woohoo!  Mo seems to accept the werewolf thing pretty readily, but not instantly.  She spends some time thinking she’s good and crazy, and freaks out a bit, which I appreciated.  Cooper’s desire to run from his past give Mo and him something big in common, and I thought the story was well done—neither too light or heavy.

Finally I just have to point out that I adore the cover art, despite the fact that Mo is supposed to have a pixie cut and this chick really doesn’t….but whatever.  I devoured How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf in a day (a day where I got very little else done), and I’m happy to report that adult paranormal romance can fill a hole where I’ve been avoiding the YA versions as of late.  It’s light and uncomplicated, but sometimes that’s exactly what a girl needs.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Already put the second book, The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf on hold!  It centers around Cooper’s little sis, and I’m totally in.  After that, I’ll likely dip into the Nice Girls series.  Because a children’s librarian who’s a vampire?  I can do that.

Recommended for:  Readers sick of YA paranormal romance looking for a more adult read, or romance readers who don’t mind a paranormal twist.  Those who like humor and snark.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I informed the bf that if we break up, I’m moving to Alaska.  

Get a second opinion:
Lurv a la Mode
Pedantic Phooka
Beckoned by Books

Audio Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Maggie Stiefvater [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: First in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series.
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Published: August 1st 2009 by Scholastic Audio
Format: Audiobook; 10 hrs, 43 min.  Read by Jenna Lamia and David LaDoux.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

When Grace was six, she was attacked by wolves.  But something (someone?) saved her.  Since that time, she has been obsessed with the wolves that live in the forest behind her house in Mercy Falls, Minnesota.  Obsessed, in particular, with one wolf.  She thinks of him as her wolf.  There’s something in his eyes that makes him seem so intelligent, Grace knows she should fear him and not get too close, but she can’t help herself.  The wolf watches her too.  When a boy from her high school is reportedly killed by a wolf attack, the townspeople of Mercy Falls step up to eradicate the danger, legal or no.  Grace is desperate to stop men from shooting the wolves she feels such a kinship to, but finds herself engulfed in a world much more dangerous and mysterious than she had anticipated when she finds a boy bleeding on her back porch.

I was pleasantly surprised and happy at having chosen to listen to the audiobook of Shiver.  Being completely out of the reading loop for a few years due to school and other real life business, I hadn’t even heard of this series until I was browsing the shelves at Barnes and Nobel this past year and came across the paperback of Forever, the final book in the series.  I fell in love with the cover immediately, and subsequently with the covers of Shiver and Linger as well (okay...so Linger's a little GREEN for me).  The books didn’t sound overly exciting to me, basically Twilight without the vampires (this is also how my friend Alyssa of Books Take You Places described them to me), so I wasn’t in any rush to actually read them.  That said, when I found them available for download through my library, and the mood for paranormal romance struck, I put Shiver on my i-pod and proceeded to savor it over several weeks.  

Listening to Shiver was addictive.  I found myself unable to put down the i-pod when I had other things to do, and looking for more brainless activities to give me more listening time.  Needless to say, the kitchen was cleaner than normal for the time it took me to get through this book.  It helped me realize some things about myself and my book preferences.  For instance, I much prefer dual perspectives when read by several narrators (I haven’t listenened to many multi-narrator books before), and while I enjoyed David LaDoux as Sam, I have completely fallen for Jenna Lamia as a narrator.  Her narration as Grace was wonderful, she locked me into the story and made me enjoy the characters immensely.  It’s so nice to have someone narrate a YA book who actually sounds like she could be in high school!  This made Grace more believable than some of the other YA audiobooks I’ve listened to in the past.

Now for the story.  I honestly had fairly low expectations going in, and found myself pleasantly surprised by the story of Shiver.  Yes, it’s your classic YA paranormal romance, but Maggie Stiefvater created a unique and interesting werewolf mythos that kept me hooked and wanting to learn more.  Without giving too much away, I’ll say that the title (and the temperatures given at the beginning of each chapter) are a reflection of the werewolves physical changes as a reaction to temperature rather than moon cycles.  All of the questions that were raised for me at the beginning I felt were answered (like, if the werewolves change in reaction to temperature drops, why don’t they just move to Hawaii?).  Other factors that I greatly enjoyed were the fact that there was no love triangle (Ms. Stiefvater I could kiss you!), no cliff hanger, and there was enough side story going on to keep me from gagging at the gushy stuff.  Okay, I gagged a little.  I’m sorry, I can’t stomach poetry and song lyrics very well in text, but when you put them on an audiobook I have that whole ‘omg this is so embarrassing’ reaction where I feel nauseous and turn beet red like it's happening to me.  Unfortunately, Grace and Sam’s connection was that “I’ve always loved you” type, second only in play to insta-love, but whatever.  I can overlook this trope every so often when I enjoy the story.

I do kind of wish that I had finished Shiver before reading The Scorpio Races, because quite frankly that book was so much better it hurts.  Still, I did enjoy Shiver, and plan to read the rest of the series, but am hoping that future Stiefvater work is elevated to the level she presented in The Scorpio Races.  It’s kind of hard to go back to ‘pretty good’ after you’ve achieved ‘excellent’ (also see: why I’m not sure I’ll ever read anything else J.K. Rowling publishes even though I’m sure it will be all well and good).

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I'm gearing up for The Raven Boys, but I'll admit that when I tried to listen to Linger, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not writing it off though, and am thinking I'll come back to it when I'm more in the mood.

Recommended for:  This is a good series for any paranormal romance fan, particularly those of us who like the wolf boys.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: I discovered, to my horror, that Maggie Stiefvater was born a Heidi.  She changed her name to Margaret when she was 16.  Now I love the name Margaret/Maggie, but it saddens me that anyone would dislike being a Heidi that much.  I love it!

Review: Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Title: Midnight in Austenland [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Shannon Hale [Website|Twitter|Facebook] 
Standing: Stand alone, companion novel to Austenland.
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
Published: January 31st, 2012 by Bloomsbury USA
Format: Kindle edition.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.

It turns out that it’s not always safe to think things alone to oneself, even at midnight.

Charlotte is an overbearing mother of two, a divorcee, and hopelessly in need of a getaway.  When she is reminded of a goal to read Austen, she picks up the books, and finds herself yearning to escape into the Regency world.  After too many blind dates, she determines she owes herself a break.  Charlotte sets up a vacation at Pembrook Park, leaves her kids with their unfaithful father, and heads to England to immerse herself in Austenland.  Pembrook Park offers more than she expected, however, when mysteries begin rippling to the surface.  What is a part of the game, and what is real?  Who is real?

If you pick up Midnight in Austenland because you read and loved Austenland, and are hoping for another taste, you’re picking it up for the wrong reason.  And you’re probably going to be disappointed.  Luckily, I am here to prepare you (as this review at Janicu’s Book Blog prepared me) so that you can get through Midnight in Austenland with a smile on your face and a song in your heart (or something marginally less cheesy that equates to actual enjoyment of this book).

If Pride and Prejudice was the main inspiration for Austenland, Midnight in Austenland was inspired by darker Gothic tales like Rebecca, The Haunting of Hill House, Jane Eyre, Agatha Christie, and of course, Northanger Abbey.  I actually appreciate that Hale decided to highlight one of Austen’s works that gets far less attention.  Sure, Northanger Abbey isn’t everyone’s favorite, it certainly isn’t mine, but Midnight in Austenland helps to remind us that there are very different women out there, with different interests, personalities, and life experiences that mold them.

I had a difficult time identifying with Charlotte, but I do believe many women out there will feel a bond with her.  Charlotte is in her mid-30s, and while she is a successful and savvy business woman, her personal life is a wreck.  Her husband, the father of her two children, has left her for some trollup named ‘Justice’ (seriously people, if you don’t want your kids to be a self-fulfilling prophecy/hypocrisy, don’t give them a quality as a name), and she can’t help but butt into her children’s lives inappropriately for worry of them.  Her confidence is crushed.  Like too many women who get treated poorly by the men they love, Charlotte blames herself, certain she is defective in some way and afraid to open up to anyone.  Where Jane, our heroine in Austenland, knew the etiquette and was able to present herself with an earnest wit and ease, Charlotte is constantly self-conscious and stumbling, screaming at her inner self to be better in some way.  Let’s put it this way: Charlotte is so sensitive and self conscious that she made it a point to never go to the same gynecologist twice.  If that doesn’t tell you something about this woman, I don’t know what will.

Like its predecessor, Midnight in Austenland is more about the growth of the main character than about the plot.  While Austenland was primarily a romance, this new offering holds more mystery and intrigue (but yes, there is some romance too!).  Like any good mystery, there are multiple questions and story lines that must be tied up and answered.  Due to the setting, it becomes necessary to try to separate the fiction from the reality, and as such I found Midnight in Austenland to be much less predictable than I would have surmised.

All in all, I thought Midnight in Austenland was a charming and true coming of middle-age story.  After all:

Jane Austen had created six heroines, each quite different, and that gave Charlotte courage.  There wasn’t just one kind of woman to be.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I’ve started in on Hale’s works for younger readers now (listening to The Princess Academy), but I would love suggestions of good modernized Austen retellings or Austen-esque books!  

Recommended for:  Northanger Abbey fans, those who enjoy Agatha Christie, or a little mystery with their romance.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: I totally read like Eddie!  I literally will cover a page with my hands to avoid reading ahead at critical moments.  What about you?

“What about you, Eddie?” Charlotte asked.  “Do you take a peek to the last page?”  

“Never.  I cover the right page while I read the left, lest I accidentally read ahead.  I am a slave to the story.  So long as a book is not trying to be useful or pontificate at me tirelessly, I am its willing servant.”

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Stephanie Perkins [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone novel, but there are/will be two companions!
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Published: December 2nd, 2010 by Listening Library/Dutton
Format: Audiobook/Kindle edition.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: Completely Contemp Challenge.

Anna's father, who seems to basically be Nickolas Sparks, decides to ship her off to boarding school in Paris for her senior year to get herself some culture.  She doesn't want to go, and is bitter at her lack of choice, but she finds herself not entirely hating the place once she makes some new friends--particularly Etienne St. Claire.  St. Claire is American born, English raised, and French sired.  And if you don't find that hot, well I don't know what's wrong with you.  Too bad he's taken; not only does he have a girlfriend, but her new friend Meredith's totally in love with him.  Besides, Anna still has feelings about Toph from back home, right?  Ha!  Prepare for a year of awkward.

Let’s take a moment to discuss the importance of choosing the right format.  I initially picked up Anna and the French Kiss as an audiobook, and after suffering through 5 chapters I was ready to give up.  I couldn’t stand the narrator, Kim Mai Guest.  To me, the narration came across as very whiney, snobby, made the whole story seem very vapid, and I did not want to hear it.  Needless to say, I won’t be listening to other works like How I Live Now or Wildwood Dancing that are also narrated by Kim Mai Guest.  Now, I do want to emphasize that this audiobook was recommended by multiple people, so don’t let my bad experience make up your mind--just know that if you don’t like it, you can always change formats!  Since pretty much everyone loves this book, I decided I’d switch over to the Kindle edition and push through to see if I could like it better.  This made all the difference!

My judgements and emotions went back and forth a lot throughout this book.  I love boarding school (living vicariously), but I hate Paris (maybe hate is extreme, but I don't like it).  I loved St. Clair (awesome friend), but he was kind of a douche (crappy boyfriend).  Anna was annoyingly naive (come on, no one watches that much film and doesn’t know ‘pissed’ means drunk in Britain), but totally identifiable (more on this later).  There were some teeth grinding cliches (like bending down to pick things up and bumping heads), but the story was very true to life and the crappy decisions many people make in relationships.  In the end, I decided I really liked it, and appreciate Perkins’s honesty and ability to wrangle uncomfortable situations into text in a way that made me scream “WHY AM I SO AWKWARD?”

So...since this is a romance, let’s discuss the leads!  I identified with Anna a lot, in ways that actually made me uncomfortable to remember some of the past decisions I made that hurt my personal relationships.  She’s a film buff, and wants to be a critic, which is awesome.  She’s totally awkward about her Americaness upon moving to Paris, which I can 100% identify with.  I spent my junior year in Europe, and had similar feelings upon moving to New York.  Being from Wyoming, my impression of NYC was largely formed watching episodes of Sex and the City.  I was so nervous to even set foot in the city at first, as Anna was in Paris--filled with complete misconceptions and self-consciousness.  Anna was also awesome in that she didn't turn into a bumbling idiot around the guys she liked. She was still her intelligent, funny, silly self. Finally, I completely loved Anna’s outlook on sex.  She basically states that she wouldn’t have sex with anyone unless, if she were to get knocked up, she wouldn’t be embarrassed to tell said kid who her father was.  YES!  I will totally preach this to my daughters someday.  

And then there’s Etienne St. Claire.  First the good: he’s shorter than Anna (as a 6’ tall woman, I love seeing this sort of thing), he’s totally sweet, funny, and thoughtful, he goes out of his way to make sure Anna feels comfortable and explores Paris.  Then...the bad: he’s so needy that he continues to date his gf, even after he obviously has feelings for Anna because he’s not 100% sure of her feelings, while at the same time actively working to keep any other guy from getting near Anna.  He crosses all the lines.  But then he totally calls Anna on her shit, and there’s totally (at least) two people in this boat, so I guess I can’t funnel all my angsty glares toward him.  Also, yeah, he's going through some crap, and I guess that can make people make stupid decisions. So I forgive the guy.

In the end, I appreciated that this wasn’t a fluffy happy love story, even though it was full of some great humor.  There were a lot of very realistic bumps in the road, and I found myself thinking ‘oh thank goodness I’m not the only one who’s been this stupid’.  

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I may have been waffling for the first portion of this book, but by the end I was sold, and will be reading both Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After.  Does anyone know if Isla will feature the Isla that appeared as a minor character in Anna?  I hope so!

Recommended for:  Girls who need to grow a spine already, Paris lovers, pretty much anyone who likes YA romance. OH WAIT I'M THE LAST PERSON TO READ THIS BOOK.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  Your vocab word of the day is callipygian.  Meaning having well shaped buttocks.  

Review: Austenland by Shannon Hale

Title: Austenland [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Shannon Hale [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone, though a new companion novel, Midnight in Austenland is now on the shelves!
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Published: January 1st, 2007 by Bloomsbury USA
Format: Hardcover; 208 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a thirty-something woman in possession of a satisfying career and fabulous hairdo must be in want of very little, and Jane Hayes, pretty enough and clever enough, was certainly thought to have little to distress her. There was no husband, but those weren’t necessary anymore. There were boyfriends, and if they came and went in a regular stream of mutual dissatisfaction—well, that was the way of things, wasn’t it?

But Jane had a secret. By day, she bustled and luncheoned and emailed and over timed and just-in-timed, but sometimes, when she had the time to slip off her consignment store pumps and lounge on her hand-me-down sofa, she dimmed the lights, turned on her nine inch television, and acknowledged what was missing.

Sometimes, she watched Pride and Prejudice.

You know, the BBC double DVD version, starring Colin Firth as the delicious Mr. Darcy and that comely, busty English actress as the Elizabeth Bennet we had imagined all along. Jane watched and re-watched the part where Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy look at each other over the piano, and there’s that zing, and her face softens, and he smiles, his chest heaving as though he’d breathe in the sight of her, and his eyes are glistening so that you’d almost think he’d cry...Ah!

Each time, Jane’s heart banged, her skin chilled, and she clamped down on the distracting ache in her gut with a bowl of something naughty, like Cocoa Pebbles. That night she would dream of gentlemen in Abraham Lincoln hats, and then in the morning laugh at herself and toy with the idea of hauling those DVDs and all her Austen books to the second hand store.

Of course, she never did.

That pesky movie version was the culprit. Sure, Jane had first read Pride and Prejudice when she was sixteen, read it a dozen times since, and read the other Austen novels at least twice, except Northanger Abbey (of course). But it wasn’t until the BBC put a face on the story that those gentlemen in tight breeches had stepped out of her reader’s imagination and into her non-fiction hopes. Stripped of Austen’s funny, insightful, biting narrator, the movie became a pure romance. And Pride and Prejudice was the most stunning, bite-your-hand romance ever, the kind that stared straight into Jane’s soul and made her shudder.

It was embarrassing. She didn’t really want to talk about it. So let’s move on.

I don’t often read anything that could strait up be called “romance” because I do find it embarrassing.  I’m not sure why.  I mean, a lot of what I read is so focused on romantic plotlines that throwing in fantasy elements or calling it YA doesn’t really change things.  But Austenland was a real adult romance, and I loved it.  It had the Colin-Firth-loving, BBC-watching, Jane-Austen-admiring girl in me squeeing and fist pumping at all the right moments.

Jane Hayes has an unhealthy Mr. Darcy obsession.  She knows it, her friends know it, heck, her great aunt knows it.  She can’t seem to have a happy and successful relationship when no real life man can possibly measure up to her fictional crush, Mr. Darcy.  Now, who among us women can say we don’t have a total crush on Mr. Darcy?!  I certainly do.  However, unlike Jane, my fictional crushes have not seeped into my real life...for the most part...  

When Jane’s great aunt passes away, she is surprised to find her name in the will as the recipient of an all-expenses-paid, non-refundable trip to Pembrook Park in Britain.  Jane determines to go, to face Mr. Darcy and say goodbye once and for all so that she can get over him and on with her life.  Of course, Pembrook Park proves that immersion therapy is easier said than done.  Jane finds herself trussed up in corset and empire waist dresses, feeling awkward and silly, and challenged to take seriously the other women who share her experience, and the men cast to woo them in Austenesque fashion.

The existence of Pembrook Park was, sadly, completely believable to me.  I can imagine wealthy women paying exorbitant amounts to be woven into the world of Jane Austen and courted by charming young men therein.  But isn’t this a wee bit like hiring prostitutes?  Emotional prostitutes maybe, but prostitutes nonetheless.  Ah well, to each their own.  It’s easy to root for Jane, because unlike other guests, she is in no financial situation to live out her fantasies repeatedly, and is looking for a bit of therapeutic resolve.  I love love loved Mr. Nobley, and found his character more-or-less the perfect Mr. Darcy (was he the spitting image of Colin Firth in my head?  You know it.).  It’s so charming to me how Jane despises him for his irritability thinking him nothing like Darcy, failing to acknowledge that Elizabeth Bennet felt the same way.  

All in all, Austenland was no more surprising than any romcom I’ve ever seen, but I still enjoyed it quite thoroughly.  I appreciate that it wasn’t all about romance, it was about Jane finding herself and learning the power she has over her own life. The writing was very whimsical and fun, and Austenesque in a nudge-nudge, wink-wink sort of way that had me smiling more often than not.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Yes!  I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of Midnight in Austenland and will certainly be reading it soon.

Recommended for: Um...pretty much anyone who’s stared longingly at Colin Firth in a wet shirt.  You know who you are.  Also fans of Bridget Jones, this is very much in the same vein, but more fun to me because of the Pembrook Park setting.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: You mean other than watching the BBC Pride and Prejudice for the upteenth time and watching certain scenes over and over again?  I suppose I should stand up and admit: My name’s Heidi, and sometimes, I like to read romance.

Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Brodi Ashton [Website|Twitter]
Standing: First book in a new series.
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Greek Mythology
Published: January 24th, 2012 by HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray
Format: Kindle edition; 384 pages.  
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Challenge: Debut author challenge.

Nikki Beckett has returned after disappearing six months earlier.  She wasn’t really strung out or in rehab, she was in the Everneath for one hundred years, partaking in the Feed.  At a desperate moment, Nikki offered herself to Cole, an immortal being that must drain a human of energy every 100 years in order to sustain life.  To everyone’s surprise, however, Nikki didn’t waste away in the Feed.  She remembered her life, she remembered Jack, and she decided to return to her old life to see him and make amends with friends and family with what little time she had left.  Nikki has six months on the surface before the Tunnels come for her, using her as a battery to power the Everneath.  Her only option besides this hell?  To become an Everliving, like Cole, and potentially rule the Everneath as its queen.

Everneath was promised as a retelling of Hades and Persephone, but what resulted was more of a mashup of this myth with that of Orpheus and Eurydice, and some Isis and Osiris thrown in.  More of a nod to, as it were, than a retelling. The interplay of the mythologies was interesting to me.  What could have been a confusing train wreck ended up working surprisingly well.  You could see Nikki identifying with either Persephone or Eurydice, and because the book did not go too in-depth, it was possible to mix Greek and Egyptian mythology in a way that made sense.  The basic concept that all myths are rooted in reality is taken to a more literal level than usual, and I found the world Ashton created in the Everneath to be quite intriguing.

While I enjoyed the mythology created, I had a few issues with the melodramatic tone of Everneath.  Nikki is supposedly drained of all emotions, and will only recover the ability to feel over time on the surface.  While she does become increasingly emotional, I felt the story was rather full of emotion to begin with.  Nikki’s motives were confusing to me.  She seems bent on making amends, and yet she doesn’t want to get too close because she knows it’ll be worse when she leaves again.  She entered the Everneath in a time of extreme emotional strife, and her doubt of Jack was a contributing factor--yet despite her belief that he no longer cares for her, Nikki’s love is so strong that Jack helps her hold on to her life as a human.  I don’t really get this dynamic.  To me, a ‘true love’ connection, one that could literally get you through hell, needs to be one solid enough that you don’t have to doubt your feelings for one another.  Also, I was confused by Nikki’s relationship with her father.  Does he just assume she ran off and was drugged out like everyone else seems to, does she say this is true?  We don’t know.  I guess it’s not odd to me that this may be the rumor of choice, but it is surprising to me that those who knew Nikki would think this of her.  

Despite these personal issues with Everneath, I do see it as a read that will appeal to many.  I did want to hug Brodi Ashton for giving both of her boys brown eyes (NO GREEN EYES HUZZAH), and I thought the smokey cover was gorgeous.  

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: Everneath wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it’s the series for me.  

Recommended for:  It’s funny, I’d say people who liked Fury, but I kinda feel like either you really like Fury, or you really like Everneath.  Haven’t seen a ton of crossover from people who enjoyed both (and I was a Fury fan).  Nonetheless, a good option for mythologeeks, and paranormal romance peeps.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I got really annoyed at the overuse of the word ‘niggling’.  I’d never even seen this word before, but apparently it’s completely replaced ‘nagging’ in Ashton’s vocabulary.  Kinda made me want to punch babies by the end.

Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

Title: Crossed [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Ally Condie [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Series: Book 2 in the Matched trilogy, following Matched.
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Published: November 1st, 2011 by Dutton Juvenile
Format: Hardcover; 367 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.  
Spoilers!:  This review contains some spoilers for Matched.  So go read that first.  

Cassia's time at the work camps is almost up, and she'll soon be sent to Central, the biggest city in the Society, for her final work assignment.  She came here with the hopes of getting closer to Ky, of finding him.  So far, she's managed to keep the stock of blue pills from Xander and Ky's compass secret and safe, but if she's going to go she needs to go now.  When the morning to be moved arrives, Officers come to collect selected Aberrations and take them away.  Cassia decides to sneak into the group as this might be her only chance to get to the Outer Provinces.

Ky has been sent to die.  The Society seems to be killing off its Aberrations as they are sent to live in abandoned border villages of the Outer Provinces.  Nearly every night there's fire, and the boys in the villages have been given nothing but blank ammunition with which to defend themselves.  They're told if they complete a mission of six months they'll be welcomed back to Society as full Citizens.  The boys figure out pretty quickly that nobody has ever lived that long, and Ky's already been there longer than most.  If he's going to live to see Cassia again, he has to get out now.  Luckily, they have just been stationed in a land that is familiar to him.  When he was a child he called this place home, and with the Carving in sight Ky knows there is a chance to reach land the Society won't easily enter, and even possibly find help among the Farmers who live there.

Like it's predecessor, Matched, Crossed is written with the voice of a poet.  Ally Condie's writing is lyrical, enchanting, and it reads with the feeling of a very long and beautiful love letter.  Part of the reason I loved Matched so much was its quiet sense of danger and urgency always lurking just below the surface.  Everything about Matched was so careful.  The entire book was spent dancing on egg shells, and so much was said in small actions, stolen moments, erasable words.  Crossed maintains the underlying feeling of the story, but kindles it with something new.  Unlike the first installment of the series, which was narrated in first person by Cassia alone, Crossed is narrated in first person perspectives alternating between Cassia and Ky.  It is so heartwarming/heartwrenching to see things from Ky's perspective.  We are able to see his love of Cassia through his own eyes, learn more of his story, and reread portions we already knew from his perspective.  I did occasionally have an issue where I would get a page or so into the chapter and realize I wasn't sure whose chapter I was on, their voices were so similar.  However this wasn't an overarching problem (and probably a personal one created by my attempting to pay attention to football while reading).  

While Crossed shares a voice with Matched, the tone and setting couldn't be more different.  Taking place largely in the wilderness of the Carving (inspired by Utah, where Ally Condie lives), Crossed becomes less about emotional survival and more about physical survival.  Cassia is a Society girl, with all the naivety that comes with that, and Ky is facing some demons being so near his past.  Cassia has found a new hope, and unfortunately, it's the one thing Ky isn't sure he's willing to give her.  Besides which, there's the question of Xander--he's still her Match, her best friend, and someone she loves dearly.  Not only that,  there's a secret Xander has yet to tell Cassia, and Ky is pretty sure he knows what it is...and that if she learns it, she might choose him instead.


Check out the official Crossed playlist created by Ally Condie!

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: 100%.  Crossed was a notable read of 2011, and the third installment (as of yet unnamed), is one of my top 10 most anticipated reads of 2012.

Recommended for: People who like poetry, romance, dystopian societies, and roughing it in the wild.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: You will probably have images of 127 Hours running through your head through half the scenes.  Don't worry, nobody will have to drink their own urine.

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Ally Condie [Website|Twitter|Facebook] 
Standing: Book 1 in the Matched trilogy.
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Published: November 30th, 2010 by Dutton Juvenile
Format: Hardcover; 366 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Full disclosure: I read this book quite some time ago, but as I recently finished Crossed and wanted to review it, I figured I should start with dredging up my memories of Matched.  The truth I’m dancing around here is I’m too OCD to start reviews mid-series, so I hope you’ll bear with me.  

Cassia is both giddy and nervous to be attending her Match Banquet.  She’s grown up in the Society where all of her choices and personality traits are tracked, they even monitor her dreams.  They know her so well, she is confident that they will choose the perfect Match for her, the man she will spend her life with.  So it comes as a huge surprise when the moment arrives, to learn that her Match is a boy from her own City--this is rare--and to Cassia’s greater delight, the boy Society has Matched her with is her best friend, Xander.  Cassia is in for a bigger shock though, when she goes to privately view the microcard with information about her Match.  It’s not Xander’s face that appears on the screen, but some other boy’s.  And she knows him too, it’s Ky Markham.  Let the power of suggestion take hold.  Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and if he’s really her best Match.  The Society is trying to pass it off as a glitch, but Cassia can’t help but wonder, and has to find some way to know Ky better.

Personally, I found this book to be beautiful, and felt Cassia’s narrative to be simultaneously strong, naive, hopeful, and afraid.  Matched is written from the first-person narrative, in such a way that it is almost poetic, and settling into the style can take some effort, but is worth it.  I’ve seen this book compared to The Hunger Games quite a few times, but I have to disagree with this assessment.  I realize they’re both YA dystopians with strong female protagonists and love triangles, but I would say that Matched is closer in voice to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.  Both Matched and Hunger Games are incredibly appealing and have an urgent sense of danger, but where Hunger Games is loud and full of action, Matched is quiet and secretive.  Katniss has always questioned their society, and can fend for herself.  Prior to her Match, Cassia didn’t know the Society could make mistakes, and she certainly wouldn’t know what to do without them.

Matched has the feeling of an epic love poem.  As Cassia discovers her love for Ky, she discovers her ability to question and think for herself.  In a Society where there are only 100 poems, 100 paintings, 100 songs, Cassia opens her heart and mind to the possibility of creation.  I loved this book, and am honestly torn about its existence as a series.  Like the conclusion of The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s almost better not to know what happens next.  That’s not going to stop me though, as I am already waiting quite patiently for the final chapter of Cassia’s story.  

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: Been there, done that.  My review for Crossed, book 2 in the series and a Notable Read of 2011, will be up on Friday!

Recommended for: People who like poetry, romance, dystopian societies, and don't pop pills.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  You may want to start waxing poetic all over the place.  Resist.