Review: Black Dawn (Morganville Vampires, #12) by Rachel Caine

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Penguin (New American Library)

Spoilers?: No (purposely vague).

Goodreads Synopsis:

 The hotly-anticipated twelfth instalment in the Morganville Vampires series

In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires... their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.

Lovers of Morganville, rejoice: Black Dawn takes the intrigue, romance and nail-biting suspense of the series to its highest level yet!

Review:

I love Morganville. I’m not sure how else to say this, other than tell you that I love this series. It is probably (or, most definitely,) one of my favorite series. I started this series when only a handful of the books were out, I think, and read the new ones almost immediately after I get them. Sometimes a series will get tiring after so many books, but this one just gets better and makes me love it even more after each one. This one included.

Black Dawn was the continuation of the draugs, with, um, that thing with Amelie, and then something bad happened with Shane, which gave me a very cute moment between him and Claire, and some tense stuff happened between Eve and Michael, and there were a lot of point-of-view changes, and then it ended with something that I’m unsure of between Amelie and the Draug and Oliver, and I want the next one.

Sorry, I’m trying to keep it vague and spoiler-free, since I know that a lot of people haven’t read this far into, or any of, this series. (Which, what is wrong with you? Go read them now!)

I love Shane and Claire. Clair is amazing, and totally badass, and even more so in this book. One scene in particular with Oliver, and then a bit later with Myrnin, was very awesome and badass. And I always love the scenes between Claire and Shane, they always make me smile and fangirl all over the place. Also, I found that I didn’t care as much about the chapter in other peoples’ point-of-view. Not that I would skip them, or anything, just that I didn’t enjoy them as much. Not Shane’s, though; I kind of did enjoy those. The others’ were interesting, I liked being in their head and seeing what they were seeing; I just personally enjoy Claire and Shane more.

I don’t think I liked what happened with Amelie at the end. I was prepared for the opposite, and while I see the merits to it, it just doesn’t seem right. Maybe that everything shouldn’t have worked out so well, I guess. I’m curious about what will happen in the next one, between Amelie and Oliver, and how Clare and Shane and them are, ah, kind of neutral now. I’m really curious, actually, what will happen next.

I’m super excited for the next one, want it now, and don’t want to wait. But I’m glad that I don’t have to wait a whole year, like with most other books.

(Sidenote: In this book, it’s mentioned that Eve is the big sister to Jason. What? I never really thought about it, but I guess figured that she was the youngest, and totally skipped the whole part when it was first mentioned. Her being older makes sense, what with leaving him behind and how he turned out, but I was really surprised.)

(Oh, also, I remember Caine mentioning that she’s working on another YA book. Romeo and Juliet type of thing? Doesn’t sound as appealing as I would hope, but I’m still excited to read it, whenever it comes out.)(It’s kind of amazing how many books she works on and releases around the same time.)

Review: Body & Soul (The Ghost and the Goth, #3) by Stacey Kade

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: Hyperion (Disney Book Group)

Spoilers?: No, very minor.

Amazon Synopsis:

 Alona Dare has been living as Lily “Ally” Turner for over a month...and it's not been easy. Besides being trapped in a body so not as good as her original one, she's failing miserably at playing the sister and daughter of people she barely knows. Plus, she can't help but think that Will Killian - the boy she hates to care about - somehow wishes the real Lily were back.

 She and Will have been trying to find a solution, looking for a two-for-one miracle that would free Alona and keep Lily alive. Visits to local psychics have proven useless, but then they stumble across Malachi the Magnificent, who seems to be different. His office is full of ghosts, for one thing. But Malachi doesn’t seem to hear or see them, which is odd. Plus, he bolts the moment he sees Will. To make things even weirder, Misty Evans, Alona's former best friend, is waiting in Malachi's lobby and claiming that she's being haunted. By Alona.

Will's convinced that Malachi has answers, while Alona is all kinds of pissed that someone's impersonating her. But their efforts to uncover the truth will bring them much unwanted attention and put them directly in the path of a ghost who will stop at nothing for another stab at life. Even if it means destroying Alona.

Review:

I was really looking forward to this book, although a bit worried, but mostly excited. And I’m not really sure if it was everything I was hoping for. It was really good, yes, but it just didn’t seem as polished or as good as the last few.

This book was the conclusion to the series, which is upsetting, but it was a good ending, so that was nice. It starts off somewhat close to where the last one ended, and moves forward pretty smoothly. I was a bit surprised at some of it, when we met some new people, and maybe would have liked to meet more people like Will, but it was interesting nonetheless. I won’t spoil what happens, but I wasn’t expecting it when starting the novel (although I did leave my mind open to whatever was going to happen). It was good, and I liked the ending. It’s what I was hoping would happen.

In the other books, I really liked Will and Alona, and I still did in this book, but they didn’t seem as perfected, as in-character, as they should have been. A little exaggerated, maybe, or immature. Some of it just seemed like Kade could have gone over the book again, like it needed another edit run-through for the characters and just some general sentences, and it would have been as good as the previous ones. I’m disappointed about it. Also, Will and Alona were fighting way too much, almost always arguing with each other. I get that they were unhappy with each other, but there was too much couple-angst going on, and it bothered me. I’m not sure if that’s just because I wanted more romantic stuff to happen or because it wasn’t all that well done, though. Maybe the previous books were building up to this, to this problem for them to fight over? It might have just been me, since it did have some reason.

Aside from that I enjoyed it. As I said, I liked the ending. The whole choosing thing was nice, and I was happy with it.

Review: The Calling (Darkness Rising, #2) by Kelley Armstrong

 Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: HarperCollins (Harper)

Spoilers?: Very minor.

Amazon Synopsis:

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is—a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.
Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.
In The Calling, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of The Gathering clamoring for more

Review:

This series is getting really good. I am so excited for the next one, and so upset that I have to wait, probably, another year. That is way too long!

The first book gave us little information, and this one didn’t give us too much more. For most of the book, Maya and her group of friends are traveling around in the woods, deserted from everyone else, unable to call anyone, not knowing who to trust, along with their classmates (or whatever) not really believing that someone is after them.

It was suspenseful, and even though they were mostly traveling, quite a bit did happen. At first, I had a hard time figuring out who all of the kids were, what their purpose was, and what they did in the first book. Probably because we didn’t see too much of them in the first book, and I didn’t pay them too much mind. I have a somewhat better grasp now, and hopefully still will by the time the next one comes out.

I am mostly looking forward to the next one, honestly. I want to find out more about Maya and what her friends are, and see them using their powers, since we’ve mostly only got to see Maya use hers, and then just barely. I want them to find their parents, and see who knows what to do with the project; particularly Maya’s parents, because they are awesome, and get to see (more of) who her biological parents are. I’m excited for them to get their friends back.

The biggest thing I want, though, is for them to find the characters from the first trilogy. Every time Project Genesis was mentioned, and the experiments from both projects, I got so excited. And they were mentioned several times, too. Because I know Armstrong has mentioned them meeting up, and they were heading out to find them at the end of the book. I want to see Chloe and Derek and all of them again, and how they react to Maya and her friends (Derek in particular; I bet he’ll get protective). I want it to happen! Stop teasing me already!

Anyway. I like Maya, and I really like Daniel (although I don’t really see much romance between them, and am unsure how I would feel about that, if it were to happen), and want to get to know Rafe more. I believe that she and Rafe will be together, and I don’t really mind that, and I see it, but I don’t really get a lot of, um, tingly feelings or anything from reading about them, possibly because he wasn’t in a lot of this book. Hopefully there will be more chemistry (or something) in the next one.

So, that’s pretty much it. I loved it, and I want the next one, immediately, and so I am bummed about waiting for it. Although I’m wondering how long the next book is going to be, and what all is going to happen in it, because I feel like there is a lot of stuff to get cleared up: the parents thing, getting to the people in charge of it all, finding Project Genesis, getting their friends back, discovering their powers. A lot for one book. Still, I'm looking forward to it.

Waiting on Wednesday[2]: Honey Darling by Norikazu Akira

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Honey Darling by Norikazu Akira

Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Publisher: VIZ Media (SuBLime Manga)

Chihiro drifts through life with no purpose going from girl to girl until one day he finds an abandoned kitten in a box. He quickly falls in love with little Shiro and couldn’t imagine his life without her. One evening, Chihiro finds Shiro has fallen ill. While searching aimlessly for an animal hospital, he runs into Kumazawa, a local vet who takes Shiro into his care. Watching Kumazawa in action, Chihiro realizes he wishes to learn the value of life and asks Kumazawa to consider hiring him at the vet clinic. Kumazawa agrees, but only as his live-in housekeeper. Has Chihiro finally found his purpose in life or will living with the handsome vet be a little too much to handle?

-------
I'm honestly not a big fan of yaoi; I enjoy it every once in a while, and I don't dislike it, but I don't usually go deliberately looking for it. But just the fact that VIZ is starting their own yaoi line (because of how much I love VIZ) makes me want to try them out. I was a little disappointed at first to see that they were only releasing digital copies, since I don't have a digital device to read them on, and so I'm very excited for the print versions to come out. There are only two set to be released, in June, this one and one other, and I'm excited to give them both a try. 
(Oh, also, as a sidenote, I totally didn't understand their capitalizing of BL in SuBLime at first. Probably because I only ever think of it as yaoi, but am I the only one? Because when I finally did, I was like, "Oh, duh." Because, duh.)

Anyway, what are you looking forward to reading, manga or otherwise?

Teaser Tuesday[3]: Black Dawn (Morganville Vampires, #12) by Rachel Caine

 Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading! All you have to do to participate is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

--------

I know I’m very… ah, not continuous with my memes; sorry. I’m still unsure as to whether or not it’s going to be a frequent thing, or what. Again, sorry. Also, sorry I haven’t been doing too well with my posting schedule. First I was sick, and then I had way too much school stuff going on, that I didn’t have any time for it. I should be back to normal for the next few weeks, though, before I go on a vacation-type thing, where I have no idea what my schedule will be like. I’ll talk more about that when it gets closer, though.

Anyway, onto the book! I’ve been reading this for way too long, and I’m a little upset about it (mostly because of how much I love this series). I should be finished with it soon, like within the next day or two, though. And hopefully my quotes will just add to your excitement, along with the authors quotes before the release on her blog. (Why was it that I kept finding the pages that she took quotes from? Finding quotes for this book was much harder than it should have been.)
Happy Reading! :)

Black Dawn (Morganville Vampires, #12) by Rachel Caine

                    

“Shane silently flipped one to her. On the casing was drawn, in black marker, the alchemical symbol for silver. Definitely Myrnin, because only he would think to write a warning that nobody but the two of them could possibly read. ‘How do you know what this means?’

Shane looked faintly injured. ‘I make it my business to know everything about silver. And I saw your notes. I study up on everything when it comes to your boss, anyway.’ There was a flicker of jealousy about that, but she didn’t have time, or energy, to consider it very much. Not even whether she liked it.” (Hardback, pg. 27)

“Shane’s enthusiasm for the flamethrower dimmed, but he didn’t take it off. That, Clair thought, was because there was something incredibly macho about walking around with flammable weapons that she would never quite understand. If she’d tried it, it would have just made her totally aware of how non-flame-retardant she was.” (Hardback, pg. 26)

Review: Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: HarperCollins (Katherine Tegen Books)

Spoilers?: Very, purposely, Minor

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

Review:

I was really surprised by this book.

I was expecting to like it; because of all of the good reviews that I read, mostly (I would also say because of the good reactions of the people in my book club, but they were also big fans of The City of Bones, and I wasn’t, so…). I just wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, or to be as impressed with it as I was. Because I really was.

My edition of the book had almost no description (less than the one up above), and so I had no idea what I was going into; which, I guess, gave me a lot of room to be impressed. Anyway, Divergent is about Beatrice, later known as Tris, who lives in a dystopian time. Where she lives, there are five factions, and when you turn 16, you take a test and then get to choose which one you want to go into. Usually, when you take the test, you get the faction that you are best suited for, and a lot of the time, it’s the one that you were born into. But then there are people who don’t get one result, who have a little bit of everything inside them, and they are the divergent. They’re stronger, and the faction leaders don’t like them. I’m not going to go too into the different factions, because, you know, go read the book for that (no, really, go read the book). And so, of course, Tris ends up being divergent, and choosing the more violent faction. I wasn't sure which faction she was going to choose, and was actually kind of hoping she would choose the one that her brother chose (I won't name them, though, because I don't want to give too much away!), but it makes sense for her to have chosen the one she did.

I liked how the factions worked, what with getting to choose the one you want, and how they all have their own rules and ways of doing things, but they are all in the same area; they aren’t not allowed to see each other or anything, as they’re all in the same town. Some might not like others, but they still have to be around each other.

Okay, so Tris is awesome. I kind of love her. At first, I didn’t really feel much for her; I was thinking she might just be another faceless character that I am in the head of, as I tend to think of other main characters, but when I realized that I wasn’t paying too much attention to her, I think I started to try harder, and so I did. She was strong, and smart, and protective, and conflicted. She is badass, guys. She takes charge when she needs to, she knows not to reveal too much about herself, she’s worried about her family and Four, and she’s just generally awesome. (As a sidenote, one thing that did bother me was that I thought one of her fears, during at least one of the simulations, would be someone finding out that she was divergent. But it wasn’t. I really want to know if there’s a reason behind that, aside from the fact that other people weren’t supposed to find out so early on.)

Her parents were pretty awesome. Her mom, in particular. Her dad was alright, but got a little better at the end. I’m hoping to get to know her brother more in the next one. Next, her friends. Uriah and the faction-born-initiates were pretty cool, and seemed to genuinely like her, whereas the transfer-initiates kind of sucked. Will, for the most part, seemed alright. But all of them turned their backs on her really easily, and only seemed to like her when she was weak, which was completely jerk-ish of them. (Like, in the next volume, when Christina finds out about Will, I doubt she’s going to forgive Tris.)

I kind of love Four. He’s tough, and strong, and smart, but he’s also so sweet, and vulnerable, and I want to hug him and kiss him and make it all better, but he doesn’t really need it (maybe he would accept it from Tris, though). I am really looking forward to Tris getting closer to him in the next book. The romance between them was really good, and went at a really good pace; their personalities, I think, go together really well. Also, they are both inexperienced, but their falling for each other wasn’t done in an immature way, it seemed more innocent and sweet, which was definitely nice.

The pace of the book was actually really good. A lot of the time I’m wary of bigger books, just for the fact that they can drag on really easily, but this one went along really well, and I found that I didn’t want to stop reading it, quite a few times (as in, I would want to go do something else, and maybe I would, but once I picked the book back up, I kept going “Just one more chapter… Oh, one more, than I will go do (insert activity here)…” and then I would be several more chapters into it, because I could not help myself). It started out with her with her parents, and then a lot of the book was spent with her competing during her initiation into the faction she chose, which took a lot of time but was still really exciting (there was always something going on!), and then, when there was about a quarter of the book left, bam!, something big happened that took up the rest of the book. I was expecting it to happen, but I wasn’t expecting it to occur so soon. I figured it would take more time, but no, it came rather fast.

And it was exciting. I could not put it down when it happened, and I really enjoyed that part of the book (I enjoyed all of it, but still). I kind of hate the faction leaders that were in charge of it, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next, to seeing what Tris and Four and her brother and everyone is doing. I’m thinking that Marcus is up to something, and I hate Peter, and hope that Tris does something about him soon. Again, I love how tough Tris is. She isn’t weak or afraid to hurt someone if it’s necessary to do so, which is awesome.

She’s just so awesome, and I’m so impressed. I should be reading the next book soon, since I’ll be getting it within the next week, I think. I am a bit upset that, once I finish the next one, I will have to wait about a year for the third one, but that’s alright.

Manga Review: Otomen, Volume 12, by Aya Kanno

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo Beat)

Volumes: 15+

Goodreads Synopsis:

Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things--sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo comics. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and play the part of a masculine jock instead. Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to Ryo Miyakozuka, the girl that he's falling for?
Secretly taking a baking class for men, Asuka is relieved that there’s a safe haven where he doesn’t need to hide his girly side from his anti-otomen mother. But when she finds out that he’s been attending this class, things get set to explode!

Review:

I generally enjoy this series, but it isn’t my favorite. And, I guess I wasn’t too excited with it (or I was lazy/procrastinative) because I’ve put reviewing it off for several weeks now…

Anyway, the book started with Asuka at his men’s baking class. He’s happily enjoying it, but it doesn’t take long for his mother to find out about it. Instead of there being too big of a show down, though, Asuka comes up with a good excuse, and his mother hesitantly believes it. So then the manga moves onto its main focus: Asuka’s dad.

We find out who it is when he has to stay with Asuka and his mother, who happily take him in, since neither recognizes him. Asuka starts getting closer to him, and then when people take him hostage and his father saves him, he starts feeling love for him. (Although the kidnappers’ motives bother me; it’s sweet, what they want them to do, but they went about it all wrong. I guess they wanted to be all tough about it, but they should have just asked in the first place, especially sense they begged for it later. It was just, kind of a dumb way to bring it all about.) It’s sweet, and I’m glad to get to see Asuka’s father, and for him to be able to get closer to him now. That’s nice, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of that later. And hopefully for the whole thing with his mother to hit a climax soon. And, I guess, for everything between him and Ryo to get fully cleared up, to actually hit a romantic climax or something. Because I guess they’re going out, but they don’t really act like it…

Then there’s a chapter about the poet teacher guy, who I somewhat remembered. He has a poetic interaction with one of his students, which is sweet, I guess. I wasn’t too excited for it, though; probably because I didn’t feel much for the characters.

I don’t know, I’m just not feeling too much for this series. Like I said, it’s just not one of my favorites; and the fact that the volumes are coming quite far in between probably has something to do with it. I’m not saying that I won’t be getting the next one, though, because I will.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Rating (Out of 5): ~4 (Maybe 3.5)

Publisher: Little, Brown (Poppy)

Spoilers?: Minor (Although things are perhaps hinted at)

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Review:

So, I’m a little disappointed, and upset, about this book. (Which is all my fault, really, not the book's.) I was expecting it to be amazing; I was hoping it would be amazing. Everyone else seems to have liked it, and it really did seem like my type of book. But I wasn’t as impressed, or in love, as I thought I would be. It was good, but it just wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.

It’s about Hadley, who is taking a plane over to Europe, where she is to be the bridesmaid at her father’s wedding. She’s still upset with her father because of the divorce, and she hasn’t seen him in a year, and so is unhappy about having to go. But then she misses her plane, and is almost late to the wedding, but that’s okay because she ends up meeting this boy on the plane.

So, I did like Hadley. I liked reading about her, and I found that I related to her rather well. (Particularly with her dad. With how she felt about her dad after, not at the beginning.) And I just generally liked her thoughts on things. It was fun, being in her head.

And I liked her and Oliver. Oliver was fun, and sweet, and they were cute together. And I think I was expecting something else, or something? Because some of it seemed more, on Hadley’s part, like when you meet someone, or just really talk to someone, for the first time, and you expect something more. But then again, I feels like that was purposeful, and so when she found out that he was feeling the same, that they both felt that deeper connection between them, it was even more special. Because she really liked him, but she was unsure because they’d barely known each other, and it was nice to find out that he liked her, too. Because I do feel like there was a connection between them, and there really was some good chemistry between the two. (I liked there conversations, especially. And there was even some good kissing. And, bonus, this isn’t a story where they’re from different places, and so how will it ever work out?, because they live within the same vicinity, and are only going to visit the same place.)

Hadley’s parents, too, are awesome. Her mom is sweet, and her dad, while what he did at first was very uncool, was still totally awesome. I was a little afraid at first, but she had a really nice talk with him, and it was so heartwarming, and even the woman he’s marrying is nice. I was afraid at the start of the book that, since it’s only over a twenty-four hour period, it would only show her time with Oliver, and them talking and getting things out, even though that seemed like a long time to be on a plane. But it wasn’t. She went to the wedding, and found him again, and several things happened, so we actually get to see the things work out.

I did really like this book. It was cute, and fun, and deep, and it was told really well, what with going to past memories and then to the present. But I think some of my lackluster feelings for it, is because I put off reading it. I wanted to read it really bad, so I put it off to read some other things (you know, for motivation), and then when I finally got to it, I tried to prolong my reading, to savor it, and instead, I think I lessened the excitement, the experience of it. I’m upset about this, because I was really excited for it, and I think I could have been more excited for it while reading it as well.

The ending was good, too. It was very sweet for all of the characters, and pretty much everything worked out very well, and I liked it. It was sweet and cute and mostly fluffy, but it also had depth, and relate-able/good characters, who I liked. It was really well done, and I am looking forward to reading more of Smith’s books in the future.

Review: Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

Rating (Out of 5): ~3 (Maybe 3.5)

Publisher: Penguin (Speak)

Spoilers?: Minor

Goodreads Synopsis:

High school senior Ashley Hannigan doesn't care about prom, but she's the exception. It's pretty much the only good thing at her urban Philadelphia high school, and everyone plans to make the most of it-especially Ash's best friend, Natalia, who's the head of the committee. Then the faculty advisor is busted for taking the prom money, and Ash suddenly finds herself roped into putting together a gala dance out of absolutely nada. But she has help-from her large and loving (if exasperating!) family, from Nat's eccentric grandmother, from her fellow classmates. And in putting the prom together, Ash learns that she has choices about her life after high school. Prom has everything that award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for-humor, poignancy, teen readers' tough issues dealt with head-on, and a voice teen readers will recognize as their own.

Review:
 

I haven’t read anything else by Anderson (although Speak is on my list, for eventually…), and I think I was expecting something a little more, maybe…

Prom is about Ashley, who doesn’t care much for prom, but ends up having to help her friends set everything up for it. She normally doesn’t try very hard at school, and doesn’t care very much for school, and so is reluctant to have anything to do with prom. But after a while of working on it, she becomes attached, and then has to overcome the fact that she has too many detentions and isn’t allowed to go.

Ashley was alright. And the story was alright. I didn’t relate to Ashley too much, which is maybe why I didn’t feel a whole lot for her, but she was alright. I didn’t much like her boyfriend and I didn't think he was the guy for her, and I didn’t really see why she thought he was so great, or agree on some of the things she thought (about school, in particular), but she got better at the end. When she realized how awesome her mother is, for instance, and when she finally smarted up about her boyfriend.

Like I said above, her mother was kind of awesome. She's a little overpowering, but was still pretty cool. Her dad and brother were pretty awesome, as well. And, you know how I didn't like her boyfriend (although I did like that she had a boyfriend at the start, and the story wasn't about her finding one; not that I would have minded some good romance). I didn't mind her friends, but I don't think we got to see very much of them or enough to actually get much personality from them. Oh, and her school. Most of the staff, or authorities, at her school, I thought were a little unrealistically exaggerated. This isn't any new for me, though, since exaggerated teachers and school authorities tend to bother me.

I was a little surprised with how Anderson writes. I’m not really sure what I was expecting (maybe a more loud, first person style?), but I guess it was more displaced and subtle than I thought it would be. It reminded me of Joan Bauer a little, only not as technical, I think? And a little more fun, with lists and short chapters and things like that. It kind of gave me the same feeling, which I, for the most part, enjoyed.

I was a little unsure at first as to whether I liked it or not (the characters and the writing), but it grew on me. Like Joan Bauer, it was pretty easy to get through. And so I do think I’m going to read another of Anderson’s books when I get the chance.

Review: A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

Rating (Out of 5): ~3 - 3.5

Publisher: HarperCollins (HarperTeen)

Spoilers?: Minor

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Talia fell under a spell...Jack broke the curse.

I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic...

I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.

I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger's soft kiss.

I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.

Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!

Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels...The good news: My parents will freak!

Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. Can a kiss transcend all—even time?

Review:

I’ve only read one other book by Flinn, which was Beastly, and I really enjoyed it, and so I was hoping to enjoy this one just as much, which I did.

It’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, about Talia, who was awake a few hundred years ago, and was put under a sleeping spell. Only, when she’s woken up by a kiss from Jack, who was on a school field trip in the present time, she’s surprised to find that her village is gone, along with everyone from her time. She follows Jack back to his home, where she tries to get used to our time, while also getting closer to Jack and helping him and his family.

It’s told in alternating points of view, so I got somewhat close to the characters, and I enjoyed reading about them. I did like Talia, and Jack was sweet. And I did enjoy the storyline. Sleeping Beauty isn’t my favorite fairytale, but I did really enjoy this retelling of it. It was a… bit of a cute, fluffy one. It wasn’t very deep, or dark in any way. One thing that did bother me was that everything seemed to work out a little too easily. Talia had trouble at first, and Jack was having problems with his family, but she helped work that all out, and then they had some problems with the witch (you know, who put the spell on her), but that worked out, moderately easily, as well. I would have preferred a little more depth, but I still enjoyed it, nonetheless.

It was just a cute, light, fun, easy read. I haven't read her more recent retelling, Cloaked, but I have it and am planning to at some point.

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Happy Reading!