[Blog Tour] The Twins on Thursday: Resistance by Jenna Black

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: Resistance
Author: Jenna Black
Format Acquired: Paperback

Publication Date: March 11, 2014

Publishing House: Tor Teen

ISBN: 9708765333728
Source of Copy: Borrowed from Dianne

Summary:


Nate Hayes is a Replica.

The real Nate was viciously murdered, but thanks to Paxco's groundbreaking human replication technology, a duplicate was created that holds all of the personality and the memories of the original. Or... almost all. Nate's backup didn't extend to the days preceding his murder, leaving him searching for answers about who would kill him, and why. Now, after weeks spent attempting to solve his own murder with the help of his best friend and betrothed, Nadia Lake, Nate has found the answers he was seeking... and he doesn't like what he's discovered.

The original Nate was killed because he knew a secret that could change everything. Thanks to Nadia's quick thinking, the two of them hold the cards now - or think they do.

Unfortunately, neither of them fully understands just how deep the conspiracy runs.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Against her will, Nadia is sent to a "spa" to keep the heat off her family and to their family name. Nate doesn't know that Nadia is in seclusion, and Nadia knows that she is useless when the real battle is outside... Until an ally steps in to inform her about the new developments in Nate's life. Nate, on the other hand, finds himself in a stickier situation, what with politics and love and familial duties and ties entangling themselves into a web where he finds a bigger conspiracy that no one is really quite prepared for.

If you think Replica (the first book) was pretty good, Resistance is even better. Replica only skimmed the surface of the conspiracy, so we were really impressed at how bigger Black makes this ruse out to be without sacrificing too much credibility. While things may have come to a certainly roundabout way, both Nadia's and Nate's characters have grown and their resolve is no longer as shaky and conflicted as before.

We like that not only has Nadia cemented herself as a kickbutt girl (We knew the girl had it in her since book one!) in Resistance, but Nate isn't so much as the hang-back-and-let-Nadia-worry-about-it Nate here. He's actually testing his limits and control, which makes us proud of him.

Another thing we have to love about Resistance is the pacing, there's never a dull moment in this book and it's full of action packed scenes. Nate and Nadia have matured a lot and have to make a lot of hard decisions. We totally approve of Black's willingness to put her characters through one catastrophe after the other. 

In Resistance, everything is falling into place - the plot, the characters, the conspiracy. It's an interesting roller coaster of suspense and action with romance throw in. Plus points to that because it's not forced at all and we kind of wish that Nadia's romance with this spy flourishes. (And we're pretty grateful that the revolution isn't run by a bunch of teenagers this time.)

Rating:

The Twins on Thursday: Indelible by Dawn Metcalf

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: Indelible
Author: Dawn Metcalf
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: July 30, 2013

Publishing House: Harlequin

ISBN: 9780373210732
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher

Summary:

Joy Malone learns this the night she sees a stranger with all-black eyes across a crowded room - right before the mystery boy tries to cut out her eye. Instead, the wound accidentally marks her as a property of Indelible Ink, and this dangerous mistake thrusts Joy into an incomprehensible world - a world of monsters at the window, glowing girls on the doorstep, and a life that will never be the same.

Now, Joy must pretend to be Ink's chosen one - his helper, his lover, his something for the foreseeable future... and failure to be convincing means a painful death for them both. Swept into a world of monsters, illusion, immortal honor and revenge, Joy discovers that sometimes, there are no mistakes.

Somewhere between reality and myth lies... THE TWIXT.

(Image, summary, and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

When Joy gets her eye injured by a creepy guy with black eyes, it inadvertently marks her as his. Joy's oblivious to this of course, so when strange creatures pop up all over the place insisting that she deliver messages to Ink, she's at a loss. Because who is Ink and what the heck do the messages mean? It's hard enough that she's been dragged into a totally different world that involves tattoos and magic and otherworldly creatures giving her a fright, but Joy also has to deal with these new feelings for Ink, especially when the lines between pretend love and real love begin to blur.

Joy's afraid of being abandoned. Her parents have divorced and her brother has left for college which leaves her feeling not a little bit left out. Even her best friend Monica has a new guy and she's not one to intrude on her friend's happiness. Enter Ink, he's strange, mysterious, alluring and when Joy starts accompanying him on assignments she can't help but be drawn to him. Inq doesn't even have a normal human body, as he doesn't even really have a body, per se. He can morph into other forms, which is totally awesome except for the fact that he doesn't use it that much. Boo. But as Ink teaches Joy about his world, she shows him how to embrace emotions and live for once, which you know, gives us all these "Aww" moments.

Ink also has a sister named Inq. She's his opposite - outgoing, loud, a little bit obnoxious, and a bit of a troublemaker. We especially liked when she introduced her cabana boys, her harem in short, consisting of beautiful male specimens of the human race with broad shoulders, killer smiles and well-defined abs. 

Briarhook reminded us of Moblin, this narcissist and irritating mini pig boss in Legend of Zelda, that they could in fact, pass for twins, although Briarhook would still be the more annoying one.

Despite how adorable Ink was at times, as well as the inclusion of cabana boys, Indelible began to come apart at the seams when the "twist" was introduced. The latter part of the book became a big jumbled mess, and soon we were both getting confused as to who did what and what did to who, to the point that we finished the story all dazed and disoriented.

Indelible has a beguiling concept, but the way it was executed may confuse and lose its readers along the way. While it does have its charming points, they're hardly enough to tip the scales to its favor.

Rating:

   

    

The Twins on Thursday: Steel Lily by Megan Curd

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: Steel Lily
Author: Megan Curd
Format Acquired: PDF

Publication Date: August 12, 2013

ISBN: 9781492135494
Source of Copy: Sent by Author

Summary:

Avery Pike is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.

She's a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She  creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.

Or so she thinks.

That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued. But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn't any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are hidden better.

...Which means digging deeper.

When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, she learns that while some secrets are better left concealed, humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything...including the fate of your world.

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

Review:

Avery knows she's a victim of an unfortunate tragedy, but Dome Four seems to claim otherwise. Especially when she's the strongest elementalist who supplies more than her share of steam in the Dome. Avery might get a better lifestyle than the others, but she isn't treated differently as opposed to a machine. She dreams of a better life, of life outside the Dome and when an opportunity actually rises up and with it a chance of a different life, Avery thinks that it might not as bad as the treatment she gets from the Dome. But this dome that gathers gifted individuals might have an ulterior motive in mind.

Truthfully, we're not exactly sure what to think about Steel Lily. It's like your typical dystopian - a world in ruins, run by an overbearing government. But we're not exactly sure what's going on. It's got fantasy and steampunk - sort of - and an amalgam of other things with romance and a love triangle thrown in for added spice.

We're not much of a fan of the characters and there's not much to say about the cast. Avery, the main character, is just your typical YA heroine, spunky, smart, pretty and somehow more powerful than the rest of the plebes. Jaxon, the male lead, is a bit of a jerk, but that's because his mood is dictated by how his father treats him most of the time. He was a bit of a weird one at first, but Jaxon's snark grows on you, and that's what happened with us.

The world-building, while inspired, does lack a bit of convincing. There are domes, sure, but we did find it quite hard to believe that Avery's dome didn't seem to have plans of getting her back. She provides more than her own share of steam for the dome, so why would they just let someone tht important slip through their fingers? Avery is an exceptional asset who could probably be enough to wage war over!

While Steel Lily does fall short on some areas, it does have an interesting promise. Fans of dystopian worlds might want to give this one a go.

Rating:

The Twins on Thursday: The Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: The Cutting Room Floor
Author: Dawn Klehr
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: October 8 2013

Publishing House: Flux

ISBN: 9780738738048
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher via NetGalley

Summary:

Behind-the-scenes secrets could turn deadly for Desmond and Riley.

Life in the Heights has never been easy for seventeen-year-old Riley Frost, but when she's publicly dumped and outed at the same time, she becomes an immediate social outcast at her high school. So Riley swears off romance and throws herself into solving the shocking murder of her favorite teacher, Ms. Dunn.

Riley turns to her best friend, budding filmmaker Desmond Brandt, for help. What she doesn't know is that Dez has been secretly directing her life, blackmailing her friends, and hoping his manipulations will make her love him. When his schemes go to far, Dez's web of lies threatens to destroy both of their lives.

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

Review:

With a concept like that, how were we supposed to resist? A controlling, manipulative boy who has secretly directed our leading lady's whole life in the hopes that she'll fall in love with him through blackmail and subterfuge. While it's not exactly something a normal high school boy would do, we think it's been established that Desmond's not exactly normal. Add to that the murder of a teacher and we've got a murder-mystery slash psychotic-stalker-problem in our hands.

Desmond's been pining after Riley for a while now and makes it a point to sabotage every intimate relationship she's had. Riley is his and Desmond's going to everything in his power to make sure it happens. Riley is totally clueless. To her Desmond is her pretty boy best friend who's a great filmmaker, and a totally upstanding guy. And when Riley is bent on solving a murder involving her favorite teacher, Dez will have to show how far he's willing to go with his unhealthy obsession.

What's confusing about this book is the many themes that were thrown into it. Murder, mystery, a bit of gay fiction, romance - so much so that we're not exactly sure what to think. It has a definite murder mystery vibe going on but the lack of focus on that particular aspect was a bummer. Dez's machinations should play a bigger role in the story, given how warped his displays of affection are. He's actually a total creep, but somehow, readers are forced to tolerate him, because hey, he's the protagonist and he's somehow refreshing (if you're the type who wants to read about unconventional leads, that is.)

If you're not into protagonists you want to rally 100% with, you might not find yourself enjoying this one. Dez was downright creeptastic towards Riley, even when she seemed to be batting for her own team. But if you do find yourself interested in a different kind of protagonist, why not try this one out for size?

Rating:

[BLOG TOUR] The Twins on "Thursday": When The World Was Flat (and we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach + Guest Post + Giveaway

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: When The World Was Flat (and we were in love)
Author: Ingrid Jonach
Format Acquired: ARC

Publication Date: 3 September 2013 in the US and Canada, and 5 September 2013 in the UK, as well as worldwide as ebook and audio

Publishing House: Strange Chemistry

ISBN: 9781908844576
Source of Copy: Requested from publisher

Summary:

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it's like fireworks - for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccuring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind - memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger - and much more terrifying and beautiful - than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads and from the author herself)

Review:

When Lillie sees Tom, she somehow knows that there's more to him, gorgeousness aside, that she just can't put a finger to. Because when you dream of having a baby with the new transferee, you know that's kind of messed up. But maybe it isn't, because while Tom will reel Lillie in only to push her away later, there is something more than he's letting on. In fact, Tom's secret will definitely change Lillie's perspective on the importance of each choice and decision she's ever made.

Lillie's not a very interesting character and her progression from decent, slightly artistic good girl into this love struck, hormonal and slightly whiny teenager was discomfiting. We didn't get a feel for Tom until the last few pages of the book, because he was just so weird what with all the brooding that he does. We thought that there were too many characters, so the actual story progressed really slow. There's all the drama with Sylv, Lillie's best friend, and a mini side story with another best friend, Jo, and they do kind of detract the reader from Lillie's story. 

The romance is actually both insta-love and not insta-love, and regrettably, we couldn't really elaborate more on that fact without giving much of the story away. While initially hard to swallow at first that these two protagonists were making moony eyes at each other almost all throughout the book, as it turns out, there is a logical explanation for the kind of crazy Tom-obsessed dreams Lillie is having.

The explanations regarding the parallel universes were a bit confusing at times, but it did make the book redeem itself. Yes, there are parallel universes, which made us giddy when that part came out. We love how Jonach has made some pretty interesting answers regarding deja vu, and other seemingly "paranormal" phenomena. But at the same time, the last few chapters were an info dump, a confusing one at that. And while a lot of questions were answered, a lot more were left unresolved.

While this would really be more fitting for hopeless romantics who are diehard believers in the transcendence of love, we would actually recommend this one more for parallel universe enthusiasts. 

Rating:

Guest Post: Top 5 Book Boyfriends

1. Tom Windsor-Smith from When the World was Flat (and we were in love) by me!

I think it would have been difficult to write a romance novel about a character I was not in love with myself.

Tom is good looking (tick!), ridiculously wealthy (tick!), and a snappy dresser (tick!). Moving past the superficial stuff, we find a boy who is hiding heartbreak behind a cool exterior. He is completely motivated by love – and I find that extremely attractive!

2. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Mr. Darcy) from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. 

Mr. Darcy was actually the inspiration for Tom, so, of course, I absolutely adore him. He is such a pig at the beginning of the book, but I love his journey from snobbery to smitten to soulmate with Elizabeth Bennet.

His failed marriage proposal is heartbreaking, but necessary as he still has a lot to learn about himself before he can marry Elizabeth. I am not sure if I could have held out though if I were Lizzie. I would have said yes before he had even finished telling me how ‘ardently’ he admired and loved me.

3. Jesse Tuck from Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit. 

I try not to think too much about Jesse being 104 years old and the object of his affection, Winnie Foster, being only 10.

I adore Jesse for his youthful exuberance and head over heels affection for Winnie. Like his life, his love for her is everlasting and he asks her to also drink from the fountain when he is forced to leave Treegap. But (SPOILER ALERT!), when he returns many years later, he finds her grave and evidence that she lived a long and fulfilling life, leaving him alone in his eternity. Sob! I would have drunk from that fountain in a heartbeat for Jesse!

4. Louis de Pointe du Lac from Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. 

There is something endearing about the perpetually haunted Louis that I love in Interview with a Vampire. He is constantly thwarted in his attempts to retain his humanity by the selfish Lestat, who I just wish would die already!

Oh – and Brad Pitt in the movie adaptation… Need I say more?

5. Theodore Laurence (Laurie) from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. 

Laurie is an extremely lonely character in Little Women. He embeds himself in the March family through his friendship with Jo and proposes to two of the March girls, finally marrying Amy.

It did disappoint me when he lost his way somewhat before marrying Amy, but he was just so heartbroken by Jo. Darnit Jo! I will still never forgive you for not marrying him!

It breaks my heart when he says to her:

There’ll come a time when you will care for somebody, and you’ll love him tremendously, and live and die for him. I know you will. It’s your way, and I shall have to stand by and see it.

I also adore Christian Bale as Laurie, opposite Winona Ryder as Jo.

Enter below for your chance to win one of two awesome prize packages as part of the Around the World in 80 Days Blog Tour for When the World was Flat (and we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach. 

There will be two winners worldwide. Each prize package includes:

·      a signed copy of When the World was Flat (and we were in love)

·      a pair of silver plated key-shaped earrings in a When the World was Flat (and we were in love) gift box

·      a When the World was Flat (and we were in love) bookmark.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The competition will run until 21 October 2013 and the winners will be announced on this page and via www.ingridjonach.com

The Twins on "Thursday": Into Darkness Peering by Amber Gilchrist

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: Into Darkness Peering
Author: Amber Gilchrist
Format Acquired: PDF

Publication Date: May 15, 2013

Publisher: Amber Gilchrist

ASIN: B00CSTSGMA
Source of Copy: Sent for review by author

Summary:

When her father died, leaving behind nothing but chaos and a secluded Gothic inn, seventeen-year-old Voirey Cruz lost control of her life and her faith in anything. Her search for answers about her father's mysterious behavior and sudden death thrusts her into a world of evil doppelgangers intent on destroying everything she has left.

If she believed in magic, she'd bring her father back from the dead. If she believed in heroes, they wouldn't be punk boys with guyliner, tattoos, and a lip piercing. But if she doesn't start believing in demons, she might not make it to eighteen.

(Image, summary, and information courtesy of Goodreads & details provided by the author)

Review:

Voirey Cruz finds her new home unsettling. There are birds that seem to record her every move, the strangeness of the family of caretakers, but especially by Griffin, the cute guy who seems determined to keep her at arm's length. The inn was the last purchase of her deceased father, and Voirey seems to know that something is amiss - because something's out there and it seems that it knows what it wants: her.

Into Darkness Peering got a lot of things right, mainly the rather engaging characters and an interesting plot line. Voirey is a normal girl, normal until she lost her father, moves into a gothic inn and starts getting attacked by demons. Have we mentioned the birds that follow her around? Creepy. She's strong and determined, a little droll and sarcastic but we can totally get behind a character like that. 

As for the love interest, we initially didn't really know what to do with Griffin at first. Was he the kind of guy who suddenly professes his love after a few staring contests with the girl? Thankfully, Griffin has a lot more layers than that, and we can totally count on him as being one of our too few book boyfriends.

The romance aspect of the book was very believable, and there were a lot of instances we just wanted to knock both their heads together because Voirey and Griffin are simply too adorable together. The fantasy, on the other hand, was quite intriguing, and had us nodding along enthusiastically.

Our only qualm with the story was that it read like a prequel. Initially, the pacing was a bit slow since there was nothing much really happening aside from Voirey discovering her powers and her settling into her new home. But when Gilchrist got the ball rolling, the few encounters with demonic entities were quite tastefully done.

Truth be told, we were both surprised at how well this book turned out. It's actually more interesting than some of the published books we've read, and we do think that this book has potential. We definitely recommend this one for those of you into the whole demon invasion scene and while you pick up a copy, we'll be eagerly awaiting the second book in this installment.

Rating:

The Twins on Thursday: Prodigal by Rektok Ross

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: Prodigal
Author: Rektok Ross
Format Acquired: eBook

Publication Date: January 31, 2013

Publishing House: lc13 Books

ISBN: 9780988256811
Source of Copy: Sent for review by author

Summary:

It was supposed to be Lexy Quinn's year.

The hard-working wallflower has finally landed the coveted spot as Editor of her school's newspaper. Then the rug is ripped out from under her when she finds out her mom is sick, and the family is moving half-way across the country to Preston Hills, Texas. Lexy can't think of a worse place to be than at a school full of snobby rich kids where she'll have to start all over to get people to notice her writing, or - who is she kidding? - notice her at all.

When the most swoon-worthy boy in town, who also happens to be the jock celebrity quarterback, gives her an exclusive interview, Lexy's life takes an unexpected turn. Ash Preston is the perfect guy, and even better, he sees Lexy as she wants to be seen. But can she trust him?

(Image, summary, and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Just when Lexy Quinn lands the most coveted job of newspaper editor in her school, her parents drop a bomb on her. Her mother's sick and they'll have to uproot to Preston Hills, Texas. Lexy's convinced that she'll once again be the dirt under every rich kid's shoe in Preston Hills, but when Ash Preston, the most popular guy in school, offers her his help in nabbing a spot at the school newspaper, Lexy may find that things are looking up. And just as much as she needs Ash in this confusing and terrible time, Ash might just need her as much.

Ross has created for herself a decent batch of characters. Lexy is determined, relatable and so very forgiving. She's got a few issues with her dad but they're both just trying to cope with her mother's sickness. Ash is the resident bad boy and heartbreaker, he's got his own fair share of issues and demons that get in the way of him having a stable relationship. He's managed to push away his friends and develop trust issues. The thing we liked about Ross' characters is how they don't fit a certain mold. The mean girl isn't just a mean girl, the brooding bad boy isn't just a jerk because he wants to be one or because it's ingrained in his system. 

The romance may have progressed a little bit too quickly for our taste but it wasn't that bad since Lexy and Ash are cute together - especially when Ash gets all jealous.

We were also caught quite off-guard that this was Christian fiction. It's not that we have anything against God or anything, but some books we've read that had God in it was just too preachy for our liking. Thankfully, Rektok Ross' Prodigal is anything but a YA version of a droning sermon from your local priest / pastor. The faith is applied in context, so the stuff on faith isn't exactly triggered by random events. 

We recommend this book to people who are on the lookout for an adorable story about love and finding your faith. But, as we said, its not preachy or anything so anyone on the lookout for a sweet, contemporary read, we do suggest that you pick this one up.

Rating:

The Twins on "Thursday": The First Lie by Diane Chamberlain

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: The First Lie
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: June 4, 2013

Publishing House: St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 9781466839403
Source of Copy: Invited by publisher for review

Summary:

An e-original short story that sets the stage for bestselling author Diane Chamberlain's upcoming novel Necessary Lies (September 2013).

The First Lie gives readers an early glimpse into the life of thirteen-year-old Ivy Hart. It's 1958 in rural North Carolina, where Ivy lives with her grandmother and sister on a tobacco farm. As tenant farmers, Ivy and her family don't have much freedom, though she and her best friend, Henry, often sneak away in search of adventure... and their truest selves. But life on the farm takes a turn when Ivy's teenage sister gives birth - all the while maintaining her silence about the baby's father. Soon Ivy finds herself navigating the space between adolescence and adulthood as she tries to unravel a dark web of family secrets and make sense of her ever-evolving life in the segregated South.

(Image, summary, and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

The great thing about The First Lie is that it is quite an immersive read. Chamberlain has managed to give Ivy an undeniably realistic voice, and you can't help but go along with Ivy as she narrates a snippet of her life in 1958 North Carolina. Ivy is a very persuasive character, and we have to give props to Chamberlain for managing to capture that innocence so aptly. We enjoyed reading about Ivy's relationship with the people around her; with Henry, her sister and even Mary Ella.  She's a perceptive child and it doesn't hurt that she's got an engaging voice. When the novella ended we couldn't help but want more. 

The First Lie, as a prequel e-novella, has done its job of making us interested in Chamberlain's upcoming title, Necessary Lie. We can't wait to delve back into the 1950s and reconnect with the characters we have met with.

Rating: