Tag Archive | paranormal

REVIEW: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Oct11

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Read: September 2015

Format: Audiobook

My Book Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

My Narrator Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance (Angels and Demons)

 

In my search of my local library’s very limited supply of YA audiobooks on CD, I discovered Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I think, had I read the book instead of listening to it, I would have had a difficult time getting through it (I’ll explain later). However, the audiobook was an addicting joy to listen to.

Karou is the quirky, mysterious heroine to this story. She’s an art student in Prague and seemingly normal—blue hair aside. However, she has a habit of mysteriously disappearing (much to her best friends annoyance), and she is, in fact, running errands for a demon. Karou doesn’t know anything about where she came from, all her life she’s lived with the demons and she’s accepted that’s just who she is. As payment for her errands, Karou is gifted beads that allow her to make wishes. She wishes for silly things such as her hair to grow out of her head blue or she wishes for someone to have an itch. While this story could have been taken very seriously and dark, Taylor has managed to pepper the story with humor. I really, really loved Karou’s character. She just came to life for me and I wanted to be her friend.

Taylor’s writing is beautifully descriptive, to the point where I would probably gloss over it when actually reading it with my eyes, but I loved the details while I had the story read to me. I’m gravely disappointed my local library does not carry the rest of the series on audiobook!

Much of the book is Karou going about her business, with little hints of what Akiva (an angel) is up to. When all hell breaks loose (get it? Hell? Demons? …..sorry) we’ve already seen the seeds planted, but it’s all a revelation to Karou. She is hit with tragedy, sadness, joy… a plethora of emotions all at once.

I don’t have a text copy of the book, so I may quote this incorrectly, but I believe the beginning of the book begins with a quote of: “Once upon a time, an angel and a demon fell in love. It did not end well.” This is truly a tale of Romeo and Juliet, but much more interesting than Shakespeare’s version. The entire world Taylor has crafted is brilliant, when all of the pieces came together in the end I had an “OHHHH!” moment. I never guessed that was where things were going, and I absolutely loved that’s where they went. (I’m avoiding spoilers here!)

I knocked half a star off because at one point we’re given huge chunks of backstory, which I normally hate. However, Taylor mostly pulled it off due to her beautiful prose and her incredibly interesting storyline.

This is a must read in my opinion, or even better, get your hands on the audiobook. The narrator is fabulous, the different voices she used for each character were brilliant.

REVIEW: Finding The Way Back by Jill Bisker

Oct7

Finding The Way Back by Jill Bisker

Read: September 2015

Format: Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Ghost Story (paranormal, light romance)

 

I put off reading Finding The Way Back for a while because I don’t typically read adult fiction. I’m pretty sure I’ll be 19 forever, though my body may age. That said, I know Jill Bisker personally and I designed her cover, so I gave it a chance.

Finding The Way Back is the story of Laney, a young woman going through a divorce. She’s picking up the pieces of her life and learning to be herself again now that she’s no longer under the spell of her loser of a (soon-to-be) ex-husband. To help get her mind off things Lancey’s mother invites Laney and her cousin Connie to live in and fix up the old house their grandfather lived in. As it turns out, Gramps had a bit of a hoarding problem, there’s hardly any room to move around the old house he’s packed it so full!

As Laney and Connie begin their mission of clearing out the house—trashing the junk, dispersing sentimental items to the family, and selling the valuables on eBay—things really get interesting. As it turns out, the house is haunted and the women’s mothers’ never bothered to share that little bit of information on them. Let me tell you, there are some creepy moments in this book that made me wonder what I was thinking reading this on my Kindle in bed in the dark late at night!

So, when the ghost makes it’s appearance, Connie does what any intelligent girl does: she calls the Ghostbusters. Okay, not really, but close enough. She invites a guy she knew in high school, Emmett, plus some of his friends, to come scope out the joint. Emmett is a hobby ghost hunter. And hot. Really hot. Laney tries to deny the attraction but it’s there. So as Laney and Connie attempt to cohabit the house with a ghost, Emmett becomes their knight in shining armor.

I liked the romance in this book, it was a slow build that didn’t seem sudden and out of nowhere. The ghosts were the perfect blend of spooky, creepy and wondrous. And Ms. Bisker created a fabulous story for the haunting of the house. As a bonus, there were some local details in the book that made me chuckle because I know those things oh so well. Not to mention the little points of humor scattered throughout the story (I loved the closet scene with Emmett and Laney!)

There were some things I didn’t enjoy as much. I found some parts of the book to be too over detailed (I read YA, remember? We gloss over the details for the most part in YA!) and sometimes it felt a little repetitive.

Overall, I did enjoy this story and I will be reading (and reviewing!) the sequel which is due to come out from Melange Books this fall.

 

Disclaimer: I designed the cover for this book so I do receive a small monetary compensation for sales of the book. This in no way affects my review of the book. If I wanted to be dishonest, every book I design covers for would be a 5 star read! 😉

REVIEW: Wishing For You by Elizabeth Langston

Sep30

Wishing For You by Elizabeth Langston (I Wish #2)

Read: September 2015

Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Tip for reading this book – do not begin immediately after reading book one, I Wish. Both books are told in first person, but two different characters. Book one is Lacey’s story. Book two is Kimberley’s. I had to keep reminding myself this was not Lacey narrating, this was Kimberley.

We first met Kimberley in I Wish, as Lacey’s new-to-town friend. A cancer survivor, one major lingering side effect from her ordeal is brain damage. Short-term memory loss to be precise. Kimberley has to carry around an iPad to record everything she does, otherwise she may not remember.

When Grant appears in a puff of smoke she is only mildy surprised to learn he’s a genie and there to grant her wishes. I honestly wasn’t sure how Grant could help Kimberley. Her challenges were so different from Lacey’s I couldn’t imagine where this would go. As it turned out, Grant was entirely beneficial for her.

Due to her disability, Kimberley relies very heavily on her parents, her mother in particular. Instead of helping her to be self-sufficient, they have kept her in a protective bubble. They drive her everywhere, she has no chores aside from keeping her bedroom clean, she doesn’t know how to cook or do laundry, the list goes on. With Grant’s help, she’s able to identify the reasons she should not do a particular task, and then find a way around that obstacle safely. Most importantly, Grant helps her become her own person and not just the person her family thinks she is.

Even though Grant was there to help her, that really wasn’t the main plot point of this book. Someone close to Kimberley has been diagnosed with cancer. She’s been there, she knows what he’s going through. Her friend is keeping mum, he asks her to not tell a soul (aside from her mom) and she agrees, because how could you let down your friend when he’s terminal?

The romance in this book was far superior to I Wish, in my opinion. It built slowly and realistically. There was no love triangle for Kimberley (thank goodness!)

What really makes this book memorable though is the friendship between Kimberley and her friend with cancer. Watching their friendship grow, only to end in heartbreak had me tearing up.

I have an idea of what will likely happen to Grant next, now that he’s completed his month with Kimberley, but I won’t say anything for fear of spoiling anything from this book.

Ultimately, I’d say this book was a little better than its predecessor and I do look forward to what book three will bring.

REVIEW: I Wish by Elizabeth Langston

Sep29

This review is for book one of the I Wish series, a unique take on genies.
I would say this book is more of a contemporary fiction novel with a fantasy spin.

This was another I read via text-to-speech on my Kindle at work.

 

I Wish by Elizabeth Langston

Read: September 2015

Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Fantasy Romance

 

 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, I Wish is a paranormal romance about a human and her genie. But really, it’s more than that.

I Wish is Lacey’s story. She’s nearly eighteen and the primary caretaker of her family. Her father died when she was six and her stepfather died one year before the books events take place. Her mother is suffering from sever depression and Lacey is sure if she tries to get help there will be social workers who will take Lacey and her eight year old brother, Henry, away. She’s been in child protective services once before, after her father died. She doesn’t want Henry to have to go through that.

To support her family and pay the bills Lacey has a job at a bookstore and she’s been pawning the family valuables at the local flea market. She receives money from her dad’s military death benefits, and her mother and brother receive social security, but it’s barely enough to pay the mortgage. They are in dire need, late on bills and living on pasta.

When Lacey gets her hands on a beat up music box at the flea market she thinks if she can clean it up she might be able to sell it for more. So she takes it home, starts scrubbing the box, and in a puff of smoke, her genie appears. And he’s an extremely attractive teenage boy who tells her his name is Grant. He quickly explains that he is there to serve her, she is his mistress, and there are rules. Lacey will not receive 3 wishes, instead she will receive 30 wishes—one per day for the next 30 days. There’s a catch, while Grant has magic, he is only able to grant wishes that are humanly possible. No wishing for a million dollars or a new car.

Lacey, being the practical and responsible person she is, makes a list of everything Grant can help her with and soon he becomes her personal handyman. While he helps her fix up the house and find ways to make money to help support the family, she also learns some life lessons. Lacey does not like to accept charity, she’s doing just fine supporting the family. Grant helps her learn to accept help and realize she can’t do everything on her own. It was interesting watching Lacey grow.

One of the things I most enjoyed about the story were the letters from Grant to hiss Boss at the end of each chapter, outlining the wish he granted for the day and his overall feelings/observations. It was interesting watching him learn and grow.

Now, my one gripe with the story is the romance between Grant and Lacey. The whole story we’re building up a relationship between Lacey and her classmate Eli (who is also her brothers soccer coach) and then we’re thrown a curveball when Grant and Lacey fall for each other. Sure she’s been physically attracted to him from the get go, but he does not have a full range of human emotions, because he’s not human. He doesn’t think the way humans think. I sort of feel like the author was expected to have Grant and Lacey be together, so she made it happen. Ultimately, I don’t think it really added a lot to the story the way it was done. If the romance build had been more organic and less sudden, I would be more okay with it.

Even with that small gripe (that others may not share at all!) I still give it 4 stars and do recommend this book. The sequel Wishing For You releases October 13. Watch for my review on that book very soon!

 

 

REVIEW: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Sep28

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Read: September 2015

Format: Audiobook

My Book Rating: 3/5 Stars

My Narrator Rating: 3/5 Stars

Genre: Time Travel Romance – Young Adult

 

First things first, can we talk about how beautiful this cover is? So soft and romantic, the blues and pink. Him, so close to her yet so far away. And the longing on her face. Love the cover. Love, love love.

The book itself….

Time Between Us – or as I call it, “Twilight, but with time travel” – is the story of Anna and Bennett.

Anna is a high school girl who falls for the new guy in school, Bennett. The day he started school, she was sure she saw him that morning watching her run on the track of the local college. She was sure he knew her, somehow, from the way he watched her so intently. Yet, when they meet each other at school, he denies being at the track and seems legitimately confused. However, upon learning her name is Anna, something sparks within him.

You see, Bennett has the power of time travel. He has limitations to his time travel that we learn in the book, and his own set of self-imposed rules. Additionally, Bennett meets Anna in the prologue – before the events of the book take place. He meets Anna in HIS present time, before they meet her in HER present time. (That’s confusing…)

Anyway, as I stated above, I lovingly call this book “Twilight, but with time travel” because it follows many of the same themes. New at school (Bella/Bennett), falls for the boy/girl (Edward/Anna) even though “we can’t be together” (because he’s a vampire/time traveler). There’s the moment of the big reveal where he saves her life and she discovers he’s a (vampire) time traveler and it’s revealed over dinner at a restaurant. Oh yeah, Bennett is also filthy rich. Just. Like. Edward. Cullen.

I did enjoy this book, but it was very difficult to look past all of the Twilight parallels. I liked the romance between Anna and Bennett, the build was done pretty well and I believed they really cared for each other. They were both pretty well developed.

Aside from the Twilight parallels which had me rolling my eyes (and I would like to point out that I do enjoy Twilight) the only other problem I had was the flimsy reasoning behind why Bennett has the power of time travel. SPOILER ALERT – there is no reason. One day he just thought, “I wonder if I can time travel”, tried, and it was a success. I didn’t buy that for one second. It felt like a cheap cop out by the author. Like, she really wanted to do a time travel book, but she didn’t want to think past the romance.

I did like that upon losing Bennett Anna actually did learn to move on with her life, unlike Bella who was catatonic for months. Sure Anna was sad, but she could function as a normal human being.

In all, I’d say this is a pretty average read. If you’re a huge Twilight fan you’ll probably love this book, unless the similarities drive you batty as they did for me.