MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Madly, Deeply by Erica Crouch

Title: Madly, Deeply

Author: Erica Crouch

Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Publishing House: Patchwork Press

ISBN: 9781927940051

Source of Copy: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

Summary: 

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea...

Annaleigh Wells and William Calloway had a love even the angels envied. It was as if the universe spun them toward one another, like the stars crafted their souls to fit perfectly together.

With a wedding on the horizon, fate had a change of heart. Whispered warnings from phantoms and morbid nightmares darkened every night - but even visions of the future couldn't save Annaleigh.

(Image, summary, and information courtesy of GoodReads)

Review: 

When I saw Madly, Deeply on NetGalley, I didn't know what I was getting into. The cover was lovely, the blurb even more so, and my expectations were spiraling upwards faster than I can scream, "Stop, it could be a TRAP!!!" as lots of books with gorgeous covers and equally arresting blurbs are wont to do. But before I knew it, the green button touted the words PENDING, and my request was sent. Fast forward a few days, and a copy pops up on my dashboard. And because I want to prolong the delicious suspense that is just killing me, I finish off the other new books first. (Yep, selecting which book to read first - and last - is this dramatic for me.) When I finished those, I sprawled on my bed, just because I have had enough of draping myself in my mother's chaise lounge earlier, and read.

And read.

And read, and made pitiful moaning sounds read, and made more wounded, dying animal sounds read.

Until it was The End. 

Ladies and gents, Madly Deeply, is a short book, but it has also got to be the up there with the most gutting, let-me-splash-some-alcohol-on-your-wounds-and-sucker-punch-said-wounds book I've ever read.

My dear Ms Crouch, do you have poetry book-protein shakes for breakfast? Grilled poetry books for lunch? A light poetry book salad for dinner? No? ARE YOU SURE? Everything in this book is just pure poetry - the kind that is just obviously effortless, and sounds like it just comes naturally to the author. The narrative is lush, evocative, and all sorts of wonderful that it just is very fitting for the novel, which is a derivation of Poe's Annabel Lee.

I LOVED it because it has just the right amount of length to it - effectively without overstretching the story and overdramatizing the plot that some books are wont to do. It's short, but it's incredibly bittersweet because you have these two amazing characters who are so in love with each other and who are just about to start an amazing life together, only to have Fate intervene and crush everyone's dreams.

Madly, Deeply inevitably cuts readers where it hurts the most, but it will slowly soothe you, and at the end of the book, the reader will inevitably subconsciously touch the gash, only to find healed, yet puckered skin. 

I cannot recommend Madly, Deeply enough to Poe fans and bittersweet romance aficionados alike.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all" indeed.

Rating: 

             

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

Title: Strange and Ever After

Author: Susan Dennard

Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: July 22 2014

Publishing House:  HarperTeen

ISBN: 0062083325

Source of Copy: Edelweiss

Summary: 

In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publisher's Weekly called "a roaring - and addictive - gothic world," Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus...all before it's too late.

He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination that ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationship with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has ciriously entangled herself in Eleanor's mission.

With the rising dead chomping at her every move and Jie's life hanging in the balance, Eleanor is convinced that her black magic will see her through to the bitter end. But there will be a price. Though she and the Spirit Hunters have weathered every battle thus far, there will be consequences to suffer this time - the effects of which will be irreversible. And when it's over, only some will be able to live a strange and ever after.

        (Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review: 

Strange and Ever After is the last book in the series. Review for the second book HERE.

This is it, the final battle, the moment that will decide whether Eleanor manages to win against the evil that took her mother, her brother and now her friend Jie or ultimately lose everyone dear to her. Eleanor travels all over the place in this installment, from Paris to Marseilles and then to Egpyt, if I'm not mistaken, trying to stop Marcus and hoping to save the life of her friend.

The final installment of this series is...I can't. It's killer. As in when I read...THAT PART (no spoilers) I had to do a reread because why why why why why. Cue ugly crying people. Ugh. On to the review.

Eleanor's control of her powers is getting better but her powers and her demon companion still cause strife between her and the Spirit Hunters seeing as how they're totally against her necromancy. I'm glad that Daniel and Eleanor's relationship actually progresses in this installment and Eleanor does grow as a character. I mean sure sometimes her decisions leave me baffled but Eleanor's a smart girl and fearless too and she always manages to push through. Sometimes I wonder why Eleanor's so afraid of her magic but then I realize it's not exactly unicorns and rainbows when it comes to raising the dead. Dead is dead and zombies aren't pretty.

If you've read the second book you'll know that Eleanor and Oliver are not on good terms but I like how their friendship doesn't just disappear and they manage to bridge the gap between them. He's the one who always urges Eleanor to hone her powers and free him from their contract. And despite his anger and hurt he still cares. 

Strange and Ever After is hard to put down, Eleanor encounters trouble every which way she turns to the point that it looks like she just can't win. And when all was said and done, the ending was terribly poignant. It's one of the more conclusive endings I've read, with all the loose ends tied up. It was sad but Dennard managed to make it hopeful so while I might have thrown a little tantrum I got over it quickly enough. I'm satisfied and I will definitely read the next book the author releases. 

Thank you for this series Susan Dennard, it was wonderful.

Rating: 

      

                         

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Devil in the Corner by Patricia Elliott

Title: Devil in the Corner
Author: Patricia Elliott
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: March 6, 2014

Publishing House: Hachette Children's Books

ISBN: 9780340956786
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

Summary:

Penniless, and escaping the horrors of life as a governess to brutal households, Maud seeks refuge with the cousin-by-marriage she never knew. But Juliana quashes Maud's emerging friendships with the staff and locals - especially John, the artist commissioned to restore the sinister Doom in the local church. John, however, is smitten with Maud and makes every effort to woo her.

Maud, isolated and thwarted at every turn, continue to take the laudanum which was her only solace in London. Soon she becomes dependent on the drug - so is this the cause of her fresh anxieties? Or is someone - or something - plotting her demise?

Is the devil in the corner of the Doom a reality, or a figment of her imagination?

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Maud's life takes a turn for the better when a letter from an estranged relative appears out of the blue to offer her a warm bed at Windward House. Unsurprisingly, Maud finds herself as an companion to Juliana Greenwood, her sometimes overly dramatic, sometimes compassionate relative, who is only a bit more manipulative than Maud at times. Maud can't help that she sees and/or feels that there is something out there that's bent on getting her: the laudanum helps her sleep, helps her cope with her nightmares. But as the devil slowly makes its presence known as it terrorizes Grenville, has she unleashed her nightmare out into reality?

I actually don't like being omniscient when it comes to Maud's thoughts. Instead of being grateful for being offered a place to stay without wandering, entitled grown men passing by for a grope, she also cultivates a dislike for Juliana for inheriting Windward House. It's not Juliana's fault that Maud's father was rather loose with money - which Maud herself constantly turned a blind eye to. And to cap it off, she had laudanum dependency problems, so she was always paranoid and accusing people of the strangest things (like following her, because Maud is pretty self-obsessed) so no matter how John Shawcross described the loveliness of Maud, she was probably the ugliest protagonist - inside and out - I have ever come across. Some trials in life have made people stronger, and maybe a bit bitter; Maud 's tribulations in life only makes her resentful and calculating. I wanted John Shawcross to find himself a lovely girl who was not Maud, or that equally dreadful girl from the pharmacy, because even if he first fell in love with the hauntingly empty beauty of Maud, he did love her wholly, and I didn't think that Maud deserved that.

The thriller was exciting at first, but in the end, it fell flat. I myself couldn't settle for the paltry convenience of what actually happened, but maybe I'm a bit biased because I really didn't like Maud. While Juliana wasn't the easiest patient nor the kindest relative, I hardly think that it was enough justification for Maud to think of the inheritance she would undoubtedly come into even before Juliana has passed. Juliana may be selfish and manipulative, but then she is also unloved. And while this may not be enough to justify her actions, I just wished that Maud would have been more understanding to that. (Which I now realize, is hard because Maud is self-obsessed, so thinking of anyone besides herself would be challenging.)

While the writing of Devil in the Corner is solid, easy to read, and that it may suck you in, I just came away hollow from the whole book. There was no love lost, nor love found, but neither would I say that this is a book that I'd remember or forget.

Devil in the Corner may appeal to fans of Gothic work, if they aren't put off by the heroine's hideousness as a being, and often lack for human empathy.

Rating:

         

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: August 15, 2013

Publishing House: Dial

ISBN: 9780803738898
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White's sleepy, seaside town... until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet's crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet's grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back.

Violet's already so knee-deep in love, she can't see straight. And that's just how River likes it.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

I found it very hard not to be intrigued by this book when it came popping up on GoodReads. For one, the title alone was enough to convince me that I absolutely needed this. Then out of the blue (Was that a pun? Why yes, I believe it was!) I remembered this The Killers song that had a line that had these words on it. I know that the title is obviously a saying, but there's nothing like humming Spaceman every time I see the title. Second, just look at that totally gorgeous Gothic-looking cover, and the teeny tiny humans on the cliff. They look like they're dancing, despite the grim and dangerous theme of their surroundings. The girl obviously looks like she's having fun flirting with danger, and I love the whimsical detail it poses. Third, the summary. Goodness knows how obsessed I am when it comes to horror and very unconventional romances. I have been disappointed time and time again by awesome-sounding books, but thankfully, that was not the case with this one.

Just like the evil River West, Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea is a total charmer.

With their bohemian-living parents away, Violet rents out one of the rooms in her grandmother's sprawling yet fading estate to be able to feed herself and her brother Luke. And who else rents it but the mysterious River West who seems to make Violet's heart race and whose grin almost makes her forget about the strange happenings around town. But when the gruesome and macabre goings-on start to hit closer to home, Violet starts to realize that her grandmother's warnings about the devil may not have been utter poppycock at all.

Violet would be the perfect embodiment of those shabby-chic girls you spot in magazines. She goes around wearing her grandmother's clothes with a devil-may-care attitude (I swear I am not making these puns on purpose. They just come rather naturally.) in her opulent yet faded grandmother's property, and she doesn't seem to give a rat's butt about what people think or say about her. Personality-wise, she reminded me a lot of Petunia from the webcomic Todd Allison and the Petunia Flower. While she's mostly smart with her dealings with River West, you just can't really fault her when she goes weak in the knees because, dear reader, you will too! I couldn't muster any love for Warner of Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me, nor any for Darkling of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, but I could understand why Violet fell under the spell of River West, despite him possibly being more psycho than Darkling. People, this guy is a real nut job, but a nut job I will confess to being enraptured with. Seriously. You want a really bad boy? Meet River West. I seriously didn't think I had it in me to be fascinated by a bad boy, but he's just so darn charming! River will remind you of a very mischievous cat playing with a mouse; it's not really intentional if the mouse ends up dead.

What I love about Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is that it does away with your whole black-and-white version rendition of good and evil. Instead, readers are subjected to a murky gray that will undoubtedly be good material for some self-reflection.

Also, Tucholke's writing will not clue you in that this novel is her first. She is good at pacing, and is adept in creating curious - and sometimes horrific - events that effectively counter the idyllic scenarios readers witness. 

Was the novel a bit insta-love-y, however? A little, but if you've given proper thought, it doesn't appear to be that way. Well, not on purpose anyway, and that is good enough for me.

If you like creepy books and are curious about a devil who doesn't know which side he's on, I cannot recommend this book enough. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea balances perfectly well the romance as well as the Gothic horror, making it equally appealing to horror-lovers and romance aficionados alike!

Now, being a new Tucholke fan, I'll just have to languish a little bit every day like the others as I wait for the second book, Between the Spark and the Burn, which comes out in August 2014...

Rating:

  

            

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Madman's Daughter
Author: Megan Shepherd
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: January 29, 2013

Publishing House: Balzer + Bray

ISBN: 97680062128027
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London - working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she leans he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward - both of whom she is deeply drawn to - Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into the chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius - and madness - in her own blood.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

It's not hard to fall in immediate lust with The Madman's Daughter. It's got a fantastic sinister-looking cover, and a compelling summary involving experimentation. In fact, I've been coveting this Gothic historical fantasy and science fiction novel for since the last quarter of 2012, and the only reason I've been so delayed with reading it was because the bookstore ran out of hardcovers, and I couldn't bring myself to settle for a paperback. You can probably gauge for yourself how high my expectations were for this one.

When rumors of her father's grim expertise sets the tongues of London a-wagging and the reputation of her family in tatters, Juliet has no qualms about ditching London to find her father as soon as she finds more about his whereabouts. But it seemed that destiny has a different fate in mind for her, because she happens to chance upon one of her father's illustrations - and that could only mean one thing: her father is alive. Juliet thinks that Montgomery's apprehension about her coming to the island is laughable, but it is only because she doesn't know that there is a monster committing terrible and unspeakable crimes on the island. The only question is which is the real monster.

One thing I do like about Juliet is how she's so clinical when it comes to bodies and blood. (Yes, me and my gore, I know.) It's fascinating how she's picked up terms from her dad and how totally nonsensical she is when faced with all these things that women back then would have undoubtedly fainted from. Aside from that however, Juliet's a pretty decent character, which is to say that she isn't the type you would completely empathize with, but you won't be so quick as to want to kill off from the get-go. The girl wants to find her Dad, her last family member - hey, I get it - even if he isn't the affectionate kind. I mean, most of the time, it doesn't even seem like he has any semblance of human feeling. But what I don't get with Juliet is her attraction with Edward on the side. I get why she still has feelings for Montgomery: he was her first crush, and they did spend an awful lot of time together before. But Edward? He's a castaway, and here comes Juliet, already barreling to protect him from who knows what. There are also instances where I did feel that Juliet was a bit slow, but I could kind of understand her difficulties a little.

If there's anything I am utterly in love with in The Madman's Daughter though, it is undoubtedly Shepherd's setting. I could easily immerse myself in the settings she has written out for London and the remote island. I could taste the grit, watch the blood ooze, and envision the lushness of the greenery. I just love it when books have that way of transporting you into a totally different world without difficulty on the reader's part. I do also love how this novel does have horror in it, so in a way, I guess you could say that some of my expectations were met. I actually wanted more drama, more heart-pounding horror, and more evil things that go bump in the night, but The Madman's Daughter is a pretty good shot in the historical fiction x horror category.

While I will find myself putting on my t0-buy list the next installment, Her Dark Curiosity, I don't really see the need for having a second book. Shepherd could wrap this one up and you wouldn't catch me screaming bloody murder. I guess you could say that I am going to be picking up the next book, if only to stave off what appears to be my dark curiosity. If you like Gothic historical fiction with a dash of horror, you might want to try this one. But if you don't mind not having much of romance and are looking into this one because of the lure of horror, you might want to check out Rick Yancey's The Monstrumologist books instead. 

Rating:

   

             

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey

Title: Ashes on the Waves
Author: Mary Lindsey
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: June 27, 2013

Publishing House: Philomel

ISBN: 9780399159398
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:


Liam McGregor is cursed. Haunted by the walls of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will never get better for him - until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton arrives on the island and Liam's fate is changed forever.

With Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied, but the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea around it, have other plans. They make a wager on the couple's love, testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. But the tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. Frustrated, the creatures put the couple through one last trial - and this time it's not only their love that's in danger of being destroyed.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

Every villager believes that Liam is a monster, a devil who brutally destroyed his mother's body when she gave birth to him. He's so used to being maltreated that he really thinks that he deserves the punishments he gets. When Annabel Leighton, the only girl he's ever loved, comes back to the island, Liam begins to realize that maybe the reason he took it all by stride was because he had nothing to fight for. But now that the two lovers are reunited, it seems that there is opposition from all sides. Liam and Anna can handle being maligned by the villagers and Anna's family and friends, but when Otherworlders take too much of an interest and place a wager on their love, Liam and Anna may face their deadliest obstacle yet.

Right off the bat, let me just say that I love Mary Lindsey's world-building. I've already read - and loved - her earlier work, Shattered Souls, so it was only fitting that I pick up her newest novel as well. Now, Dòchas, the island where are protagonists are moored, just screams "Eerie, fantastical mythical stuff happens here!" Aside from the horrible, paranormal rumors revolving around Liam's birth, there are actual otherworldly creatures that lull and trance some of the people to throw themselves into the ocean. There are also selkies who seem to know more than they let on and one in particular even keeps a watchful eye over Liam. 

Liam appears to be the picture-perfect modern-day Gothic hero - handsome, mysterious, brooding, yet passionate about his lady love, Anna. While I can understand how he can fully love Anna who may have become a different person as compared to her seven-year-old counterpart, I couldn't embrace the idea of Anna quickly falling irrevocably in love with Liam. She's a Page Six favorite - a New York socialite whose goods have already graced countless of tabloids and magazines, all for shock value. I understand that Liam might have a totally fresh personality from what she's normally accustomed to, and maybe that is just what Anna really needs - someone who can see her for herself - but I think she just fell for him a little too quick for my taste. 

I was actually quite fascinated with Muireann, the selkie. Her gentle and innocent ways were simply bewitching and I adored her for it. The only other book I've read with selkies in it was Margo Lanagan's utterly lovely The Brides of Rollrock Island, and while those selkies were demure, they don't really have any distinctive quality - which I presume, stands for a point Lanagan was trying to make. But Muireann was just so alive and child-like, which definitely deviated from the selkies I was accustomed to.

The ball only really started rolling after the first half of the book. The Bean Sidhes (pronounced as ban-shees. Yes, those banshees. I learned it from Mary Lindsey's FAQs.) and the Na Fir Ghorm decided to determine the fate of their territorial wars once and for all by testing the strength of the love of the unlikely couple. While I don't really get why Liam and Anna have to be the unlucky people chosen to be pawns in their little messed up game, I guess it's more entertaining to mess with people who are trying to rise above the hardships as compared to ruining lives of the already miserable villagers. 

If you like reading modern-day adaptations of Gothic novels, or if you fancy yourself in a somber, poetic mood, you might want to try reading Ashes on the Waves. It will also appeal to the romantic at heart who never can resist rooting for star-crossed lovers.

Rating:

  

            

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Unspoken
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: September 11, 2012

Publishing House: Random House Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 9780375870415
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:
Kami Glass loves someone she's never met... a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn't silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn't suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return. 

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily fmailiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown - in fact, she's determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Sarah Rees Brennan brings Gothic romance kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century with a heroine who can take care of herself, a boy who needs to be saved, and the magical forces that bring them together and tear them apart.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

With everyone positively raving about Unspoken, I knew I had to give it a try. If you've been following my reviews, I like checking out books that get a lot of hype and see for myself what the fuss is all about. With Unspoken garnering almost 6,000 ratings in GoodReads, the book practically put itself on my reserve list at the bookstore.

All her life, Kami Glass has been talking to Jared, a voice in her head. Kami thinks that it's just one of her little quirks in life, knowing almost everything about a "boy". But when the Lynburns come back into town and Kami ends up face to face with Jared Lynburn, questions must be answered and family secrets must surface to uncover the truth about what seems to be a dangerous bond that they both share.

To be brutally blunt, Kami Glass is very annoying. I am usually patient when it comes to characters, but Kami pretty much ends up on my list of annoying characters. She is mildly entertaining, yes, but somehow, I thought that the whole book was basically just a campaign to get everyone to like the main heroine and wish that the romantic interest would just stop being a jerk and get with the program already. Since Kami does all the talking (Hoo boy, can she talk.) the book pretty much had me reeling from all the comments and unnecessary information here and there. All of Brennan's characters had the same humor, and if it weren't for the names, I would be guaranteed a hard time trying to differentiate one from the other. The romantic interest, Jared, wasn't anything unusual either. He was gorgeous, rich, and was so protective about Kami that he can't make up his mind whether to push her away or to reel her in. In real life, he's practically a Dodo bird. In the world of YA fiction, however, he's a dime a dozen.

The thing about Unspoken is that it focuses too much on the witticisms that it actually detracts the focus from the plot, however thin it already is. What ever serious business the gang tries to get into ultimately starts and ends up foiled because of all the talking and banter that they, of course, just had to have. The actual action was uninspired and hardly surprised me; if forces of evil can be reckoned with just by attacking them verbally, then I get the reason why the protagonist absolutely has to be so mouthy all the time.

With relief practically oozing from my forehead the second I spied the ending, it goes without saying that Unspoken is most definitely not for me.

Rating: