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Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) review

Posted : 2 months ago on 27 June 2008 03:07 (A review of Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2))

The Casts have written a great follow-up to "Betrayal." I find myself really liking the House of Night universe, its concepts, and its traditions.

I was shocked by the death of one of the characters, but I applaud the way it was written. It was incredibly touching and worked into the story so nicely. Along the same lines, I'm a big fan of characters that aren't always what they seem; good guys becoming bad guys, and vice versa. Very realistic and it's far less two-dimensional, which is often an issue with teen novels.

What isn't realistic is the possible Anita Blake-ness of Zoey (see: Laurell K. Hamilton). So, we haven't gotten into all-out explicit sex, but there are hints of it. I don't mind the level it's at night, but I'm hoping that won't become a main focus of the future stories. Zoey's also being written as one of those "everybody falls in love with her" characters... the men always finding her irresistible and special. I'm really hoping that we're not going to get this crazy love pentagon where there are so many characters to flirt with it takes away from any actual plot. This is, of course, a personal preference and many readers may not particularly care about that.

Outside of that, a good read and it's a hard one to put down.

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Biting the Bullet (Jaz Parks, Book 3) review

Posted : 2 months ago on 27 June 2008 02:56 (A review of Biting the Bullet (Jaz Parks, Book 3))

I was a big fan of the first two novels in this series, and now somehow feel a little letdown by this one. I'm not sure if it's that I wasn't into the storyline wholeheartedly, or if it was indeed the writing, but I feel like I was missing something.

I actually checked the internet and the spine of the book more than once to see I hadn't actually skipped over a book. I think it's because it started so quickly into the action and Jaz's storytelling that you didn't get a chance to absorb it or settle into the premise.

I was also perplexed by the amount of backtracking. It would be two sentences in the present time, then back a couple of hours, then forward one, back one, and then finally coming back to the present time. It was filled with stories within stories within stories. A couple of times, it is valid... but otherwise there was no reason we couldn't have followed Jaz along, rather than have her backtrack constantly like that. It just got a little confusing and tended to muddle the pace.

Vayl was also very odd and seemingly did things that were rather out of character for him. He wasn't present as much as before, and when he was I just couldn't connect him with the ideal that I had previously formed about him.

I found these little things irritating me while I rad so I just couldn't find myself as absorbed in the story as the other two novels. With that being said, I do like Jaz and Vayl (in general) and so I'm hoping the next one will renew some of my earlier enthusiasm.

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Impulse review

Posted : 2 months ago on 23 June 2008 07:23 (A review of Impulse)

I really wanted to like this one, mostly because of how much I've enjoyed Hopkins' other work. And, technically, there's nothing really wrong with the story, I just sort of missed her old format of prose/poetry. The others were laid out so visually and sometimes there were key phrases separated from the rest. This one followed more like an actual story and might have served better as an actual novel. All that aside, the ending from some of the characters is a bit much of a "happy ending" and too convenient. You read it the whole time waiting for the pin to drop, but you see it coming from miles away. This gave me too much time to prep for it and therefore didn't have the emotional impact it should have.

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Mad Money review

Posted : 2 months ago on 23 June 2008 07:17 (A review of Mad Money)

You know... the story's cute and the characters really meshed well together. There's a few quirky moments where I actually laughed out-loud. But overall, the whole plot is asinine and the idea that anyone would get away with it is ridiculous.

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Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs review

Posted : 2 months ago on 23 June 2008 07:15 (A review of Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs)

It's Futurama! So expect the usual from the cartoon, including off-colour jokes and ridiculous space plots. Definitely liked this one better than "Bender's Big Score"

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21 review

Posted : 2 months ago on 23 June 2008 07:11 (A review of 21)

Ugh... interesting plot... but really just a teen flick. There's nothing in this movie that'll get you talking about it or that will even impress you. It's all been done so many times and there are much better casino/gambling movies out there.

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New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) review

Posted : 2 months, 1 week ago on 22 June 2008 07:36 (A review of New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2))

Why do girls always go for the most complicated and damaged ones?!

I personally don't have such a great attachment to Edward as other readers seem to. I believe he's great for creating a lot of emotional tension, but outside of that his and Bella's relationship is really just obsessive. I was rather upset about the extent to which Bella was broken up in this novel, to the point of catatonia. Maybe that's a personal issue, that I dislike the fact that someone would be so dependent on another for their happiness.

This is kind of why I like Jacob. Their relationship starts off as this great friendship and the desire to hang out simply because they like each other. There's no big weight between them, or this need to be uber-secretive and protective. I'm a little miffed about what happens between the Bella and Jake, and that Meyer felt she had to take it in such a direction. It seems she's firmly planted in Edward's camp and won't allow Bella to get past that.

What I did like was the fact that there was more action. I felt much more like there was something going on in this story, rather than an overly long, romantic introduction to the characters. I'm not sure that I would have been able to tolerate that for another four hundred pages; I like some substance.

And though I wasn't a fan of the fact that Bella completely falls apart, I do like the way Meyer wrote it; which is to say that she didn't write it at all and just indicated the passage of time. I thought that was nicely done.

I enjoyed the novel and do look forward to reading the next installments... but I'm beginning to wonder what all the fuss is about. I'm glad that these novels have opened a new world of reading and the urban fantasy genre to younger readers... but there are tons of books with teens vamps. Why have readers so latched onto this one?

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Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires) (Morganville Vampires) review

Posted : 2 months, 1 week ago on 19 June 2008 06:10 (A review of Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires) (Morganville Vampires))

Raise your hand if you're sick of cliffhanger endings?! Is there a reason these stories couldn't have been made into two or three longer novels, rather than spreading them out like this? Grr!

Moving on... What I do love is the fact that the "good guys" and "bad guys" can be interchangeable in this series. It's not completely cut and dry, with those thinking we're meant to utterly hate, occasionally surprising us. Claire seems to be able to find allies in the oddest of places.

This story gives us a glimpse into the traditions and ceremonies for Morganville vampires. That's often one of the more interesting part of vampire novels, if only because it's like glimpsing into a different nationality, or the customs of a country we've not heard much about. It tends to add some depth and makes the whole universe more convincing.

As an adult reader, I am also liking the tension between Shane and Claire; though I believe it's overly erring on the side of caution. Maybe because of experience and the fact that I am far more liberal, or maybe because I feel as if it's not at all representative of the times we're in, but it just seems to me that it's all so... "virginal." I get that the message is a good one for young girls, but it just doesn't stick with me. That's not to say I'd like Caine to get all explicit on us, but rather allow the characters romantically experience a little more, or at least talk to each other.

All in all, decent, and it definitely shadows some intense action and maybe al all-out war for the next novel.

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Queen of Babble in the Big City review

Posted : 2 months, 2 weeks ago on 15 June 2008 01:48 (A review of Queen of Babble in the Big City)

It's impossible for me to judge whether this story was good or not... mostly because it tends to stand for a lot of things I had about books for women these days. A lot of chick lit seems to center around vaguely vapid girls who are overly concerned with money and fashionable brands. This really wasn't what I thought it was when I picked it up, but I should have known better. I guess if that's your thing you'll enjoy it all... but outside of that, it just got on my nerves.

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Surrender My Love review

Posted : 2 months, 2 weeks ago on 15 June 2008 01:44 (A review of Surrender My Love)

Yet another romance novel based on a kidnapping/slave plot. It truly unfortunate because it's not particularly my idea of romantic. Perhaps this is because I believe it's incredibly insulting and don't think anyone in their right mind would be very forgiving about this... regardless of the era.

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