[BLOG TOUR] MICHELLE'S REVIEW: 5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

Title: 5 to 1

Author: Holly Bodger

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Publishing House: Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 9780385391535

Summary: 

In the year 2054, after decades of gender selection, India now has a ratio of five boys for every girl, making women an incredibly valuable commodity. Tired of marrying off their daughters to the highest bidder and determined to finally make marriage fair, the women who form the country of Koyanagar have instituted a series of tests so that every boy has the chance to win a wife.

Sudasa doesn't want to be a wife, and Kiran, a boy forced to compete in the test to become her husband, has other plans as well. Sudasa's family wants nothing more than for their daughter to do the right thing and pick a husband who will keep her comfortable - and caged. Kiran's family wants him to escape by failing the tests. As the tests advance, Sudasa and Kirann thwart each other at every turn until they slowly realize that they just might want the same thing.

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

Review: 

In 2054 Koyanagar, Sudasa has five boys competing for her hand in marriage. The new norm brought about by the disparity between the ratio of the sexes in India that aims to champion fairness and equality amongst the classes, never mind the fact that they were trampling on freedom and independence. But as the tests go on, Sudasa and Kiran, one of the boys forced to compete for Sudasa's hand, slowly start seeing the cracks and fissures of the new system, and both teens suddenly find themselves in a battle that's bigger than the both of them.

Because going with what society deems as the wrong choice may be their biggest undoing yet.

As soon as I opened the page and was met with Sudasa's poetry, I must admit that I immediately closed the book. In my opinion, poetry is tricky - you either love it, or you feel indifferent about it, and that night, I was not in the mood for angsty poetry that teenage characters are notorious for. But in the end, my curiosity won out as to how the author could possibly make this work, and so I found myself turning the page.

Until I found myself at the last page and being all, "Woah."

While Sudasa might come off as just another pretty, rich airhead, she is actually subtle in her rebelliousness which makes her all kinds of awesome. She isn't in your face about it because that could spell serious repercussions for her family, but she is very self-aware of herself and the events that are happening, and I liked her immensely. Sudasa is not only at war with what society expects from her, but from what she expects from herself, and that is understandably confusing for anyone.

Kiran, on the other hand, doesn't want to be chosen as some girl's husband. He's not interested in a lifetime of play and pleasure if he won Sudasa's hand. All he wants is to keep a low profile and hopefully find his mother. But when the unfairness of the competition becomes too glaring for him to ignore, Kiran - or #5, as he is called all throughout the process - starts trying to level the playing field by pulling up a few tricks and helping out his competitors.

I loved that these two teenagers were different as night and day, but there was something about these two that just worked. Sudasa finds herself intrigued by Kiran's disinterestedness not because she's vain and thinks that she's a prize or anything, but because she finds it refreshing that he doesn't see her as his golden ticket out of a life of poverty. Kiran, on the other hand, is surprised when he finds that the seemingly vapid girl was apparently not unaffected by the unfairness of the competition as well.


Bodger's 5 to 1 is a clean read in the sense that it is practically faultless in its continuity. I was skeptical as to how poetry and narration could work, but it does, and the execution is unbelievable. 

In the end, Bodger reminds her readers that there are no such things as good choices and bad choices. In the face of despair, the true power lies in making that choice for yourself.

Rating: 

          

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan

Title: The Dolls
Author: Kiki Sullivan
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: September 2, 2014

Publishing House: Harper Teen

ISBN: 9780062281487
Source of Copy: Edelweiss

Summary:

Eveny Cheval just moved back to Louisiana after spending her childhood in New York with her aunt Bea. Eveny hasn't seen her hometown since her mother's suicide fourteen years ago, and her memories couldn't have prepared her for what she encounters. Because pristine, perfectly manicured Carrefour has a dark side full of intrigue, betrayal, and lies - and Eveny quickly finds herself at the center of it all.

Enter Peregrine Marceau, Chloe St. Pierre, and their group of rich, sexy friends known as the Dolls. From sipping champagne at lunch to hooking up with the hottest boys, Peregrine and Chloe have everything - including an explanation for what's going on in Carrefour. And Eveny doesn't trust them one bit.

But after murder strikes and Eveny discovers that everything she believes about herself, her family, and her life is a lie, she must turn to the Dolls for answers. Something's wrong in paradise, and it's up to Eveny, Chloe, and Peregrine to save Carrefour and make it right.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

I could never resist a book with a gorgeous cover, much less a cover with a killer (Ha, pun, HA!) shoe. Cover aside though, the synopsis also zeroed in on another perennial favorite of mine: a setting in the South! And then there's voodoo, magic, what everyone and their nana surmises as the uber rich girls' version of Mean Girls, and you got me praying relentlessly to the Edelweiss deities that they have this up for download soon.

Eveny Cheval finds herself back in her mother's hometown, and something is just a teeny bit off. Maybe it's because people need keys to get inside Carrefour, or maybe because everyone creepily knows everything about each other. Well, almost everything. After all, no one can deny that there is something at work in Louisiana just like no one can deny the power of the Dolls, who are in the all too corporeal form of self-entitled teenage fashionista brats. Despite having the Dolls interested in her however, Eveny isn't buying it, but it's only a matter of time before she finds herself just one little lost sheep that's finally come home... and changes everything.

The Dolls kept on losing me because champagne and caviar everyday for lunch sounds terribly boring  I could just not keep up with their "reality". How any authority figure could allow a reptile running amok in the school because chihuahuas and terriers are so Paris Hilton and are "not hot" is beyond me. I can only imagine how the Peregrine vs High School Principal smackdown went down about the snake:

High School Principal (HSP): Peregrine, why is there a snake in your bag? 

Peregrine (P): Don't you like Audowido? I think he adds a certain je ne sais quoi. See, look at this outfit. Then look at my outfit again with my snake wrapped around my neck. Hold on.. 

HSP: *aghast* It's a SNAKE, Peregrine! Get it off before it kills you!!!

P: *winds Audowido around her neck* Nope, because this is not actually a snake. See, it's a gorgeous boa. *snickers* It's actually all the rage in Paris right now.

HSP: *entranced* Of course, you're right. It must have been a trick of the light...

P: *blows HSP a kiss* Merci beacoup! *flounces off to luxurious lunch with entourage of hot boys*

HSP: *snorts* Huh, snake! Maybe I should get one of those myself...

Some books are downright unreal, but then there will always be a voice inside your head - Oh, just me then? - that cannot be reasoned with and will be screaming come hell and high water that, "NO, THIS IS FINE! THIS IS OKAY! COMMENCE READING, HUMAN!" The Dolls just didn't give off that same vibe for me. Neither was it fun as some of the most out there books could be, nor thought-provoking enough to make me scratch my hairless chin.

Moving on: I love fashion, and I devour fashion magazines so getting to read about designer clothes was fun for me. Those Mary Janes? Holler, I was thisclose to Tweeting the author and asking if they were Miu Mius. (Speaking of, anyone here a fan of the abruptly discontinued Poseur books? I LOVED THOSE! They were quelle amusant!) And for a town like Carrefour being filled with so many secrets AND being set in Louisiana at the same time, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in whether they do sport the big hair to match as well.

The Dolls kind of reminded me of the Sirens from Amanda Hocking's Watersong books - only that those girls were more interested in which human they were having for dinner, and these ones were much more inclined to have a serious debate whether they were stopping by either Saks or Barney's after school. But my beef with The Dolls is that this isn't a book about girls who needed to shop to induce magic. I felt like the book was taking too much detail with the clothes and their status symbols to truly focus on anything else. I needed less reminders that someone's stunning Dolce and Gabbana brocade t-strap pumps got dirt on them, and more of "I'm in Louisiana and there are terrible things happening and something must be done, but oh no Eveny watch out!" sorts of things.

The Dolls already had the basic components for anyone to devour - a dash of magic, intrigue, suspense, clothes that would make any fashion-loving girl die. Sadly and regretfully, it didn't measure up to its premise.

The Dolls could potentially appeal to reluctant readers who can nonchalantly quote Mean Girls and readers who aren't looking for anything entirely too time-consuming or something to lose sleep over. For the reader who is already heavily invested in YA lit however, I can't imagine this title possibly working out. 

Rating:

              

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: One Two Three by Elodie Nowodazkij

Title: One Two Three

Author: Elodie Nowodazkij

Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: July 1, 2014

Publishing House: Elodie Nowodazkij

ISBN: 9781495319617

Source of Copy: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

Summary: 

Last year, Natalya was attending the School of Performing Arts in New York City. Last year, she was well on her way to becoming a professional ballerina. Last year, her father was still alive.

But a car crash changed all that - and Natalya can't stop blaming herself. Now, she goes to a regular high school in New Jersey; lives with her onetime prima ballerina, now alcoholic mother; and has no hope of a dance career.

However, sexy soccer player Antonio sees a brighter future for Natalya, or at least a more pleasant present, and his patient charms eventually draw her out of her shell. But when upsetting secrets come to light, Natalya quickly shuts down again, this time turning to alcohol herself.

Can Natalya learn to trust Antonio before she loses him - and destroys herself?

        (Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary courtesy of NetGalley)

Review: 

Natalya was on the track to becoming a professional ballerina, when a car crash not only affects her career, but also her family. Her full-time mom has become a full-time alcoholic, and Natalya is pretty much left to her own devices most of the time. Now that her leg's busted, Natalya can't dance... but that doesn't mean she can't live.

This book was being promoted as a Perfect Chemistry meets Save the Last Dance book, and because I do so love the Perfect Chemistry series, I had to request it. Only, it's not as Perfect Chemistry-y as I would like.

I desperately tried to get Natalya, because actually liking her was bordering a bit on the difficult side. Her POV was pretty childlike, so just reading through them and getting to understand things from her standpoint was a bit unsettling. I really had a hard time trying to remind myself that this girl was old enough to get a few unsettling kisses of her own.

The secrets that unfolded weren't much to talk about either. It's feasible, sure, but the way the drama unloaded was anti-climatic, and to me, felt more like a cop-out to the readers who are already on to it from the get-go.

One Two Three is one of those books you pick up all the while knowing how it's going to end. I usually pick up these kinds of novels with a tiny, tiny hope that something new and fresh would grip me, or that I might just -fingers crossed! - be helplessly entertained by the story. 

Unfortunately, One Two Three is only one of the many books that offers nothing new to the already standard, generic formula.

Rating: 

        

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Dollhouse by Anya Allyn

Title: Dollhouse

Author: Anya Allyn

Format Acquired: eARC 

Publication Date: September 30, 2012

Publishing House: The Studio

ISBN: 9781629210230

Source of Copy: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

Summary: 

When Cassie's best friend, Aisha, disappears during a school hike, Cassie sets off with Aisha's boyfriend Ethan and their best friend Lacey, determined to find her. But the mist-enshrouded mountains hold many secrets, and what the three teens discover is far more disturbing than any of them imagined: beneath a rundown mansion in the woods lies an underground cavern full of life-size toys and kidnapped girls forced to dress as dolls.

Even as Cassie desperately tries to escape the Dollhouse, she finds herself torn between her forbidden feelings for Ethan, and her intense, instinctive attraction to The Provider, a man Cassie swears she has known before...

Because Cassie's capture wasn't accidental, and the Dollhouse is more than just a prison where her deepest fears come true - it's a portal for the powers of darkness. And Cassie may be the only one who can stop it.

        (Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary courtesy of NetGalley)

Review: 

What horror movie characters lack for depth and some interesting back stories, the actual psych-you-out stuff more than makes up for it. It is, after all, kind of hard to feel some sort of connection to someone who's either being wigged out by some paranormal, psychological stuff, or who ends up being killed just twenty minutes into the movie.

Dollhouse is like that, given that the creeptastic factor of the actual Dollhouse is actually the kind of flick Hollywood dreams are made of - if only its slew of characters weren't so darned caught up in their teenage drama, despite all the paranormal stuff that's been happening around them. (Come on, you guys. You can resume that catfight when you're outside, and not dead.)

When Cassie's best friend Aisha disappears, all fingers are pointed at Ethan, Aisha's boyfriend. Cassie knows that Ethan can't be involved in her disappearance, juvenile delinquent or no. The only way to clear Ethan's name is to find Aisha, and the only way to do that is to comb the mountains where she disappeared during the school hike. But these teens find more when they bargain for when they stumble across a decrepit house, with a different kind of horror awaiting them inside.

Earlier, I remarked upon the creepiness factor of Dollhouse. It's like this: Think about the last horror movie you watched that involved dolls (Child's Play? Annabelle?) and take note that since this is a book where everything is fleshed out and described in very attentive detail, everything is basically playing out in your mind. Which I think, is just as bad since it amps up the creepiness factor. Live, moving dolls that beat you up when you're misbehaving? Check. A girl who forces every teenager to act like a doll? Got it. Err, ancient Greek paranormal stuff? ...Yup.

While I was morbidly fascinated with how eerie and messed-up this whole scenario was, I was still iffy about the teenagers and their little romantic drama, given that they may not even make it out alive out of that house. The paranormal Greek thing was a bit out of sorts so while it did magnify the creep factor, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Dollhouse is still a bit fresh in my memory simply because I was really surprised at how disturbing the whole shebang was. The actual dollhouse set-up was golden for macabre-fans like me, but the forgettable characters and random plot twists was too much for me.

Rating: 

            

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: 

             

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Mean Girl Apologies by Stephanie Monahan

Title: The Mean Girl Apologies
Author: Stephanie Monahan
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: June 2, 2014

Publishing House: Entangled

ISBN: 9781633750210
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

Summary:

You know that catchy song you keep hearing on the radio? It's about you.

Natalie Jamison has spent five years trying to forget the girl she was in high school: popular, pretty... and, okay, mean. Now in her twenties and living once again in her small town, she's right back where she was: following Queen Bee Amber and keeping secrets from her best friend, Sarah. 

Secrets like Jack Moreland. 

Everyone knows Jack Moreland - his new album, "Good Enough", is everywhere. He's famous. Impossibly handsome. Completely untouchable. But what none of Natalie's old clique knows is that in high school, Natalie and Jack fell in love. And their secret relationship was incredible, painful - and earth-shattering enough to inspire an entire album. Facing friends and enemies isn't easy, but Natalie will go to great lengths to prove she is good enough - to her friends, to herself, and most of all, to the small-town boy turned worldwide heartthrob she never forgot.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Never in Natalie Jamison's wildest dreams did she ever imagine she'd be going back to the tiny town she grew up in. And just when she thought she left high school behind, it seems that her old clique is still in town, and one of them in particular, is just as awful as she was back in the day. Jack Moreland, however, is on his way to the stars. But his heart? Just as shattered as Natalie left it. When a chance meeting reunites the two old flames, Natalie must decide whether she'll let other people's opinions trump her own feelings.

While Natalie never always approved of Amber's mean girl antics, she nevertheless was part of the popular girl clique. And Natalie knows that if you want to stay in, you have to act in. Jack Moreland? Definitely not in the clique, but definitely in her heart. But Natalie's insecurities always end up pushing Jack further and further away, until all that's left is their relationship in tatters.

While I did like the concept of two old sweethearts reuniting and realizing that the spark was very much still alive, I didn't feel as giddy as I expect I would when Natalie and Jack were together. Sometimes, there are chance novels that make you just want to smoosh the romantic characters together because all they need is a proper snogging to make them realize their true feelings because they obviously are very adorable and go together as soundly as bread and butter. But Jack and Natalie didn't have the kind of electrifying chemistry that I liked in my romance, which was kind of a bummer.

I did like how Jack was a bit wary about where this new, older version of their relationship would go, seeming as he was always the one fighting for the both of them back when they were younger. It then left things up to Natalie to face on her insecurities and slaying her own dragons (read: Amber, that evil, nasty little two-faced troll). 

The Mean Girl Apologies is okay, but not as magnetic as I made it out to be in my head. Truthfully, I have read about five or six books in between reading this one, just to shake things up a bit. 

Rating:

             

(BLOG TOUR) MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Magnolia by Kristi Cook

Title: Magnolia

Author: Kristi Cook

Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: August 5, 2014

Publishing House: Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 9781442485358

Source of Copy: Pinoy Book Tours

Summary: 

In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.

Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents' wishes. They're only seventeen, for goodness' sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can't stand Ryder's nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn't exist.

But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma's and Ryder's true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.

                         (Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review: 

Jemma Cafferty didn't always hate Ryder Marsden. In fact, she was kind of crushing on him back in eighth grade... Only he kind of unknowingly crushed her heart. Which in turn, crushed the dreams of the two closer families of ever being united by marriage. Now seventeen and on the brink of their high school graduation, Jemma and Ryder are more than ready to bid adieu, farewell to everyone's expectations of them ever getting together. But like the storm that batters Magnolia Branch, there seems to be some other stronger force to be reckoned with...

It's not exactly a secret that any book that is set in either the South, or in New Orleans, is already halfway to my list of must-reads. A fluffy-sounding contemporary in the South where glorious chicken and biscuits exist side by side with the lovely drawling accents of the inhabitants? Sign me up!

It wasn't all that hard to fall into this book. In all honesty, I dazedly abandoned everything as soon as I got home, hurriedly grabbed my tablet and sprawled out on my mother's chaise lounge, ashamedly with an arm draped across my forehead, channeling one of them older Southern belles I thought I would encounter. (I must have looked pretty ridiculous, and you know you'd think I would look pretty ridiculous. I don't know why I had to tell you that, but I did. I have no regrets.)

I did like Jemma and Ryder (fine, everyone!) because they're all so darned there. Part of the charm (Ha, Southern charm, amirite? ...Goodness gracious, just ignore me.) of Magnolia is that it's easy to read, and you just fall right in. Like that one time you stumbled across some acquaintance's or friend's secret blog, and you just lap up delicious post after delicious post (which in my case, wasn't delicious at all, because all it did was chronicle what she did for the day. And when you're in school doing the same stuff almost every day, there's really just so much "We had a quiz!" "I ate lunch!" "My teacher is so boring!" posts you can get through). 

I found it quite amusing and adorable that the families weren't exactly subtle about their wanting Jemma and Ryder getting together (The proverbial wedding cake is as old as they are, you guys.) It's not so much as an arranged marriage, but it's more like a "C'mon, pleeeeeeeeeeeease get married, you two!" between the two families. It would probably be annoying if they genuinely hated each other, which they definitely don't, so I just sat back in that lounge with a smirk on my face, and watched it all unfold. 

About 70% of the book did revolve around Jemma and Ryder's interactions during the storm, and maybe that's where I found some things that may have gotten a bit off. Sure, there's nothing much to do with the power out, and I do understand that they may end up more friendly because of all the time they spend together. I don't get how chummy they suddenly seem though. Don't get me wrong, I want them to end up together, but if I end up stuck in a storm with the guy who humiliated me, and broke my heart, you can best bet that I won't let him know much of my future plans. I also don't get why they use some people to make the other jealous in the first place. They're both sounding off that they dislike the other, but it's like, "Yeah, look - the person I'm kissing right now? Isn't you - BAM, IN YO FACE!" (C'mon, that's lame, you guys.) That's about the only gripe I have with this book, which isn't even all that major for me.

Have I mentioned that I like the cover of the book? It's not all artsy-fartsy and stuff, but it's very fitting. It's got Southern-setting scrawled over the book, without the corny, cheeseball "YEEHAW!" everyone's drawing up in their minds every time someone mentions the South. We have Jemma whose tense-looking body may be pointing the opposite direction, but her head is definitely facing the same direction Ryder is. It's like she's giving off the "I want to do the opposite, but dang, maybe I'm just being contrary, and if I don't do the contrary, then I'm just being myself" mind-warring thing she's doing. (I'm told I overanalyze everything. Do I really?) Ryder's body language, on the other hand, is a bit more relaxed, just like how he is in the book. And can I also just point out that very ominous-looking sky which changes the course of e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-ng for the two kids?

Magnolia by Kristi Cook is perfect for readers who are looking for some light contemporary about a reverse Romeo and Juliet-esque couple who just need some time and space to pick up where they last left off.

Rating: 

             

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: On The Fence by Kasie West

Title: On The Fence
Author: Kasie West
Format Acquired: ARC

Publication Date: July 1, 2014

Publishing House: Harper Teen

ISBN: 9780062235671
Source of Copy: Sent by publisher for review

Summary:

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door...

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets - she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

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

Review:

In a testosterone-filled household, it's not unusual for Charlie to be more comfortable with participating in wrestling matches than a shopping spree. Charlie is one of the boys, and she's more than okay with that, until she starts working for a chic boutique to pay off a speeding ticket. While wearing makeup and putting on clothes that actually fit well seem to be a novelty that's somehow growing on her, Charlie's almost desperate attempts to keep her home life and blooming social life separate are catching up on her. The only place Charlie feels where she could truly be herself is when she is talking to Braden behind their fences, but could she lose her sanctuary when she figures out that she's actually in love with the cliched boy next door?

I recall that On the Fence was announced just after I finished reviewing The Distance Between Us and all at once, I felt like a cat about to be given another bowl of creamy milk. Based on TDBU, I more or less already predicted the cute fluffiness that West will throw at her readers, as if she already knows the secret ingredient to the balm that would undoubtedly soothe our heavy-YA-weary souls. 

On The Fence is exactly that.

Watching Charlie Reynolds being thrust into the world of makeup and fashion is very fun, especially if you're the type of reader who likes reading about things like that (which I am). And watching her being all flustered with Braden, who is suddenly simply not just Braden? Even cuter, if you're the type who smirks while reading a fun, fluffy, contemporary novel (which I also am). Charlie is at the right age to be exploring her true identity, given that all she's ever known and have been comfortable with, was hanging out with her brothers and Braden, and playing one game after the other. It's quite lovely to see the lightbulb go off in her head that she doesn't have to be only one or the other - and that she could actually be both!

I do have my misgivings with On The Fence, however. Similar in the fashion of The Distance Between Us, some events that seemed minor, given the little amount of spotlight thrown on them, ended up being major events that got in the way of the storyline. Also, Charlie didn't seem to be the type of girl who lived for pushing the pedal to the metal. The girl got one speeding ticket, and didn't seem to come across as having them habitually since there were no repetitive nuances about it throughout the whole book.

But still, On The Fence is one such balm to soothe my heavy-YA-weary soul, and for that I could not ask for more. And yes, I still lapped that cream to every last drop.

Read On The Fence if you like cutesy, fluffy fiction about tomboyish girls and their equally adorable love interests. Or you know, you're a kindred heavy-YA-weary soul as well.

Rating:

         

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Nihal of the Land of the Wind by Licia Troisi

Title: Nihal of the Land of the Wind
Author: Tricia Troisi
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: May 27, 2014

Publishing House: Mondadori

ISBN: 9781497648
Source of Copy: Netgalley

Summary:

Nihal lives in one of the many towers of the Land of the Wind. There is nobody like her in the Overworld: big violet eyes, pointed ears, and blue hair. She is an expert in swordplay and the leader of a handful of friends that includes Sennar the wizard. She has no parents; brought up by an armorer and a sorceress, Nihal seems to be from nowhere.

Things suddenly change when the Tyrant takes charge. Nihal finds herself forced to take action when she is face with the most difficult mission a girl her age could imagine.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Nihal has no idea why her hair is blue, or why she is unique. She's never known her mother, and thinks that her father is an armorer. 

She's wrong. 

Nihal is the last of her kind, the lone survivor of the race that the Tyrant has wiped out from existence.

And she will make him pay.

Nihal's story spans her childhood to her being a fierce young female warrior. It encompasses the people she grew up with, people she has unique interactions with in her journey into becoming a young woman who almost always defies everyone's expectations of her.

I must admit that Nihal, while being bold and defiant, could have appealed to me, and her being rash and, at times, irrational may have endeared herself to me, she didn't. There was a detachment from her I could not place. It seems that Nihal of the Land of the Wind was originally written in Italian, which could probably be the reason why some scenes just didn't make much sense to me. Some paragraphs and scenes felt stunted and cut too short, while others were much too drawn out to be desired. Nihal of the Land of the Wind had a lot of characters as well that I didn't care much for, given that their appearances in the storyline were too short-lived. I get that this is a fantasy novel and that maybe Troisi was angling for a pretty massive world, but it just seemed a bit too crammed for me. The world the author created didn't really span a huge territory in my head, only that it was full of characters that Nihal would have to have an encounter with.

I also didn't quite get Nihal's fascination with Fen, the older dragon knight who is in a relationship with Sennar's aunt. He rides his own dragon and is one of the best combatants around, but I didn't really get why she gets all moony-eyed, even knowing that Fen couldn't and never would be hers. Maybe I'm coming across too serious and seem hellbent on crushing every teen girl's fantasy of the dreamy older guy, but come on. All throughout the novel, all she did was worry about Fen and think of him so pardon my French, but ughhhh. 

While the novel held its own with an intriguing premise and an ambitious young character bent on proving everyone wrong, Nihal of the Land of the Wind lacked depth and further explorations of the psyche of the characters that could have made a deeper and more lasting impression.

Rating:

          

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett

Title: The Stepsister's Tale
Author: Tracy Barrett
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: June 24, 2014

Publishing House: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 9780373211210
Source of Copy: Netgalley

Summary:

Jane Montjoy is tired of being a lady. She's tired of pretending to live up to the standards of her mother's noble family - especially now that the family's wealth is gone and their stately mansion has fallen to ruin. It's hard enough that she must tend to the animals and find a way to feed her mother and her little sister each day. Jane's burden only gets worse after her mother returns from a trip to town with a new stepfather and stepsister in tow. Despite the family's struggle to prepare for the long winter ahead, Jane's stepfather remains determined to give his beautiful but spoiled child her every desire.

When her stepfather suddenly dies, leaving nothing but debts and a bereaved daughter behind, it seems to Jane that her family is destined for eternal unhappiness. But a mysterious boy from the woods and an invitation to the royal ball are certain to change her fate...

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

While her mother may still have her delusions of grandeur, Jane Montjoy knows that her crumbling estate is now reduced to a has-been. Jane and her sister Maud milk the cow, mend and repair their own now too-tight dresses, and clean the place up to the best of their abilities while their mother pretends that servants are still doing the work for them. But Jane's mother remarries and not too soon, her new husband dies, leaving debt and his own daughter to the care of the Montjoys. 

Jane Montjoy and her sister Maude are used to a life of scrubbing floors, and making do with what meager things they have. I like both sisters because while others might moan and complain about having to have a difficult childhood amidst a once-glorious setting, they both take it all in stride and try to survive a day at a time. Their mother, however, is unaccustomed to the hard life, having been born to affluent parents and a place in society. While I surmised that the mother is embarrassed of having to stoop down from her pedestal to do anything around the house, I really felt bad for the sisters for having a mother who instead of contributing anything to their survival, only thought that they might have a better life if she remarried.

And thus, we meet Ella - and she is not the angel we all pictured in our heads when we were five years old. This Ella is selfish and a total brat, but I'm guessing that this is stemming from the fact that she is uprooted and suddenly has to call a bunch of strangers her family. Ella, who knows nothing but to make herself look pretty and presentable to society, has to share an apple with other members of the family, because as it turns out, her father is good at keeping up airs. I won't go into the details anymore, as this is a retelling of Cinderella, but I did like how Barrett handled a slew of characters who had minds and personalities of their own. It's quite uncanny how very humanlike they are, as they exhibit flaws and traits that both endear and irk the reader - a huge factor, I think, why this retelling worked out so well. 

Forget Grimm's version of Cinderella. Forget Disney's version as well. Barrett's version is much, much better, and it satisfactorily fills in the holes that any skeptical audience of the other versions poked at.

Rating:

          

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Wizard's Promise
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: May 6, 2014

Publishing House: Strange Chemistry

ISBN: 9781908844736
Source of Copy: NetGalley

Summary:

All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch - but unfortunately, she's stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she's ever been before.

As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna's help.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Named after one of the most awe-inspiring pirates, Hanna thinks that there must be something more to her life than being an apprentice to a surly fisherman. Learning some magic, and maybe even be a little good at it doesn't seem like an order too tall anyway. But little does Hanna know that Kolur is not what he seems to be, and what she's in for may be not the simple, tranquil fishing life she's imagined, but one of the biggest adventures in her life yet.

Hanna wants a grand life, the kind of life that her namesake Ananna, the great pirate, has. So when she becomes apprentice to Kolur, the grumpy coot who fishes, she thinks that the only magic she'll be honing will be all about the catch. While I do like Clarke using Hanna's starstruck voice when she talks about Ananna, as she uses the young girl to update readers of the great pirate's adventures, I did feel a bit overloaded with information about Ananna. Don't be mistaken; I love Ananna, and I love Ananna best when she's with Naji, but this one was supposed to be all about Hanna and her unlikely adventure.

Moving on.

Kolur is as vague as all get out when he instructs Hanna whichever way they need to go, so of course Hanna isn't particularly happy with the way things are working out. She's bent on getting back home where things aren't as crazy (or as unpredictable) as this wild ride. To top it all off, there's an insanely beautiful boy named Isolfr in the, err, water. But like Kolur, he can't tell Hanna his purpose either. So Hanna's even more pissed because everyone seems to be in on the big secret, and she's not. (And no, it obviously does not entail a surprise birthday party on an island for Hanna.)

I actually like Isolfr - even when I feel like I'm butchering his name because I can't pronounce it right (I-Sulfur? Isolf with a silent 'r'? Sorry, dude). While his vagueness was maddening, it was endearing watching him interact with the increasingly petulant Hanna. And it was kind of amusing to watch Hanna be all, "ADVENTURE PLEASE!!!" and watching her retreat back with something like a "NO, NO THANKS. I WANNA GO HOME NOW. K."

While the novelty of the mystery was refreshing at first, it soon waned and got me just about as impatient as Hanna. There's still a hint of the same author who penned both The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish, but having The Wizard's Promise follow up a fantastic quest like that made it kind of pale in comparison. It's still enjoyable, I must say, it's just that it felt more like a companion novel, or a novella, as opposed to a spin-off that would be having succeeding titles.

Rating: