Autonomous ~ Andy Marino (earc) review [@DisneyHyperion]

Autonomous

Disney Hyperion
April 03, 2018

398 pages

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William Mackler is about to go on a road trip of a lifetime. After winning a contest—and nearly dying in the process—he becomes the proud owner of Autonomous, a driverless car that knows where you want to go before you do. #Worthit! To sweeten the deal he gets to pick three friends to go with him on a cross-country trip to see their favorite band. For William, a reckless adrenaline junkie, this is the perfect last hurrah before he and his friends go their separate ways after graduation. But Autonomous is more than just a car without a steering wheel. It's capable of downloading all of the passengers’ digital history—from the good, to the bad, to the humiliating. The information is customized into an itinerary that will expose a few well-kept secrets, but it will also force William to face some inner demons of his own. Think you know Autonomous? The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?

Autonomous is a bit like KITT, the car from Knight Rider meets 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL with just a bit of the TARDIS thrown in (namely some spatial bits). Really, it's everything that seems cool about self driving cars, only turned so that they will now really creep you out.

Readers know from the very beginning of Autonomous that there is something a bit (or more than just a bit) sinister about the car. That it is not only this amazing technological wonder. How much that is true is what you get to find out as you read.

For me the characters' ages (just graduated high school), their personalities their actions, and the book's tone did not quite match up with each other. It felt like their ages were older so that they could be facing certain challenges or have certain issues, but then, somehow, the book also felt younger. (Though, it's hard for me to identify how or why as there was language, actions, thoughts, etc that were definitely not younger.)

Discovering what a 'thinking' car was capable of and what that could mean when you put four teenagers, with their secrets, lies, expectations, and desires inside it and gave it full access to their social media (and any other digital information) was interesting. It could be fun and unsettling. It could also be predictable (you kind of knew what two characters were up to long before the others.)

Mainly, there was a disconnect for me between the gravity of the characters' actions/issues/challenges/decisions/actions and any consequences or repercussions. I liked what the author was saying about people and relationships through Autonomous and the group's road trip, but for all of the, often, very serious things the characters were dealing with, things were just too okay at the end.

Still,t his can be a fun read for older readers not looking for anything too heavy, for those who aren't sure they like the idea of driverless cars who can 'think' and 'talk' to each other.


(maybe 3.25 stars)





digital review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

It's Always the Husband ~ Michelle Campbell (earc) review [@StMartinsPres]

It's Always the Husband
St Martin's Press
May 16, 2017
336 pages
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Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny. They first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, even though they are as different as three women can be. Twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge . . and someone else is urging her to jump.

How did things come to this?

As the novel cuts back and forth between their college years and their adult years, you see the exact reasons why these women love and hate each other—but can feelings that strong lead to murder? Or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband?

I no doubt deserved my enemies but I don't believe I deserved my friends. -Walt Whitman --epigraph to It's Always the Husband.

I don't know if I actually liked anyone in It's Always the Husband. Some of these characters were frustrating, irritating and, really, pretty bad people. So, maybe they all deserved each other?

The first half (well, 48-49% according to the ebook) took me forever to read.  I had trouble understanding why Kate, Aubrey and Jenny were friends as college roommates but even more so as adults. They reminded me a lot of the girls in Lauren Saft's Those Girls except that they were older (first by just a year or two, then by decades). When a character's almost forty and calling her supposed friends of twenty years, "these losers" (pg 97) it not only feels weird that they still voluntarily spend time together, but also juvenile.

As much as we can see how screwed up the girls are, as they start at Carlisle College, it's also hard to understand why they accept what they do, are grateful for some of the things they are or treat themselves and each other how they do. (Especially when it come to Jenny, with Kate and Aubrey it can be disconcerting but easier to understand.)

That said, the second half of the book, Part Two, is where they mystery really comes in and where the story really got compelling and much easier to read and be pulled into. I can also, objectively, see that all of Part One, all that we saw of the girls and their relationships, was crucial to Part Two.

You had to have seen all of the love, all of the hate and to understand why these people all seemed to be part of each other's lives - whether or not they wanted to be or liked it. I still didn't like the characters but they mystery was great. Thanks to the earlier part of the book, you knew all of the different possible suspects and all of their possible motives. Even as things come together we discovered eve more of just why these characters were so, so bad for each other.

The characters and some of their relationships weren't for me but I can't deny how well it all played into making a great mystery. I look forward to what this author publishes next.









review copy received, via NetGalley, from publisher

Beautiful Broken Girls ~ Kim Savage (earc) review [@khsavage @fsgbooks @fiercereads]

Beautiful Broken Girls
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
February 21, 2017
336 pages
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Mira and Francesca Cillo—beautiful, overprotected, odd—seemed untouchable. But Ben touched seven parts of Mira: her palm, hair, chest, cheek, lips, throat, and heart. After the sisters drown themselves in the quarry lake, a post-mortem letter from Mira sends Ben on a quest to find notes in the seven places where they touched. Note by note, Ben discovers the mystical secret at the heart of Mira and Francesca's world, and that some things are better left untouched.

That is me when it comes to how to write this review . . . and to (or because of) the book's ending. There was a lot I did really like about Beautiful Broken Girls. I thought author Kim Savage created some really intriguing, complicated and unique characters. Ben's past and how it plays into the decisions he makes and the way others view him made him an interesting main character and different than I first thought he was.

I liked how the 'mystical secret' of the Cillo girls was introduced and what it was. Seeing things both from Ben's point-of-view and more directly from Mira's let you see not only some of the truth, but also how appearances and assumptions can affect how something's perceived.

This author does a nice job giving us characters that are flawed or 'damaged' in some way and putting them into a story that transpires rather differently than you first expect. It was true with After the Woods and here, as well. What was going on in Francesca and Mira's lives, the secrets they were keeping could be a bit strange, but thanks to the parts narrated by Mira, you can understand it. (Or some of it.)

The ending just did not make sense to me. I knew what they were doing, but why exactly they were doing it and how it really fit within the rest of the story just wasn't there (for me, at least). There was not the resolution, for either the characters or some of the questions posed in the novel, that was needed. It was not the ending I wanted for the book and still has me scratching my head.

I do like the ideas Kim Savage has, her writing, the characters she creates and the different pieces of their pasts and presents. Beautiful Broken Girls didn't become a truly finished puzzle once those pieces were assembled but I will read more from this author.




See my review of Kim Savage's After the Woods 





review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

Last Seen Leaving ~ Caleb Roehrig (earc) review [@MikalebRoehrig @FierceReads]

Last Seen Leaving
Feiwel and Friends
October 04, 2016
336 pages
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Flynn's girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can't answer, and her friends are telling stories that don't add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January's boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

The first person narration of Last Seen Leaving felt a bit off, to me, as a reader. The Flynn that we saw through his actions, his dialogue and his reasoning did not seem to fit with Narrator Flynn. The word choice and sentence structure - a lot of metaphors, referencing things like Torquemada and thumbscrews, words like credulous - didn't match up to the fifteen-year-old who could seem naive and immature. I do recognize that some of his thought processes could be justified by a desperation to find answers, to know the truth but they still created a disconnect between the narration and who Flynn otherwise seemed to be.

The mystery part of the novel was very predictable and seemed to follow similar themes to several other mystery/thrillers I have read recently. (Though, that could just be that I've been reading a lot of them so similarities were inevitable and if you don't read many you won't recognize things.) I did like that there were several characters you had reason to doubt, question and wonder about.

Flynn was not my favorite character when it came to being an amateur detective (he jumped to too many conclusions and many of his decisions seemed rash and not terribly logical) but I did like the sort of coming-of-age side of the story with his character. There was some nice balance with him trying to uncover the truth of what happened to January while also trying to figure out how truthful he could be about - and with - himself. It was an interesting and unique side to the story.

I'm not sure how I feel about exactly how the mystery all came together and if some things really made sense but for the different characters involved it was an eventful and satisfactory resolution.

Though the mystery felt formulaic and not as suspenseful as I would have liked and Flynn's character didn't quite match the narration (by Flynn's character), Last Seen Leaving is an enjoyable read that kept me reading. I appreciated the diversity of the author's characters, racially, sexually, economically, etc and how some of that played out in different parts of the book.







digital copy received, for review, thanks to publisher via NetGalley

The Assassin Game ~ Kirsty McKay (earc) review [@SourcebooksFire @kirkybean]

The Assassin Game
Sourcebooks Fire
August 02, 2016
336 pages
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Who will be left after lights out?

At Cate's isolated boarding school, Killer is more than a game- it's an elite secret society. Members must avoid being "Killed" during a series of thrilling pranks, and only the Game Master knows who the "Killer" is. When Cate's finally invited to join the Assassins' Guild, she know it's her ticket to finally feeling like she belongs.

But when the game becomes all too real, the school threatens to shut it down. Cate will do anything to keep playing and save the Guild. But can she find the real assassin before she's the next target?

Originally published in the United Kingdom by Chicken House in 2015 under title: Killer Game.

Between The Assassin Game and Sanctuary Bay, I'm starting to wonder just how many secretive, isolated boarding schools are hiding out on islands out there.  The setting works for The Assassin Game, though. Their isolation is partially by geography - tides, access to the mainland, etc - and partially by design of the school's founder.

It makes sense that the students created the Killer game and that they continue to play it year after year, with it still meaning so much to the players and the school society as a whole. Adding in their near lack of internet connection and cell phones and it sets things up perfectly.

The mix of game and then real danger was a bit off for me in this one. Cate is so thrilled to be chosen to be a part of the game, accepting things whether they're humiliating or demeaning of just weird and really going for them. That could work but next to how unsure of herself she seems she ended up feeling more desperate.  I didn't dislike her, but it was hard to connect with her character.

I'm not sure how much her character - her personality and love of the game - affected how I felt about the story and how much it was the tone of the book, itself. There wasn't that sense of foreboding, of impending danger that I wanted. Whether it was what happened (or didn't), Cate's interpretations and reactions to those things, or a combination, I'm not sure.

I never quite understood why Vaughan showed up at Umfraville, but that may be something I didn't get about UK vs US schooling.

The Assassin Game has a fantastic setting and set-up and a fun premise. The main character was  bit too dramatic and/or committed, enthusiastic and there wasn't that suspense and tension I was expecting.









received, via NetGalley, from publisher for review

How to Disappear ~ Ann Redisch Stampler (earc) review [@AnnStampler @simonteen]

How to Disappear
Simon Pulse
June 14, 2016
416 pages
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Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she's pretty sure she can get away with anything...until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette's house. Which is why she has to disappear.

Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A's and athletic trophies can't make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price.

As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices.

How to Disappear was a tricky one for me to decide how I felt about it. The premise sounded great to me - I like novels when characters have to disappear when they go against who they're trying to be, and when there's attraction between two characters that shouldn't have it. It didn't quite work for me this time, though.

I really liked that Nicolette and Jack's character's were such great mirrors images of each other. He is the guy everyone expects to be bad, dangerous and immoral but is trying to prove to everyone (including himself) that he can be a good guy, that he can get the good grades, do the team sports, go to college. That he's not his dad. Nicolette is the girl with the dad trying to do it all right for her, but she's not the good daughter that maybe should lead to.

I had trouble reconciling Nicoleete's character with all that we learn and hear about her. She's the girl everyone likes, her dad thinks she's a good girl, but she loves to party (enough that a friend's older sister would know what she usually wears out). Once we get to the end, I did understand who she was, but during the book I didn't.

I thought things when Nicolette was on the run were too easy for her. She seemed to have an odd knowledge of what to do, how to get away (again, part of why I couldn't get a handle on her character). She was able to get work without an ID, had enough money, got burner phones, changed her look, etc. It didn't fit with who she's been in  Ohio.

The romance itself was awkward and kind of uncomfortable to read about. Some of it was how quickly the two were completely enamored with each other and how strong their bond was supposed to be. It was absolutely all built on lies. They lied about their names, their pasts, their families, why they were even in that town. Then they had some sexual encounters that were also uncomfortable (between Jack's actions and Nicolette's thoughts). Altogether, it didn't spell lasting relationship to me - though it was supposed to.

At the same time that I felt all of that, I can see that How to Disappear is a book that will work, probably very much so for other people. I do recommend that you give it a try if the book description interests you.







received, from publisher, for review via NetGalley

The Leaving ~ Tara Altebrando (earc) review [@taraaltebrando @bloomsburykids]

The Leaving
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
June 7, 2016
432 pages
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Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back--with no idea of where they've been.

Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to.

Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back. Everyone wants answers. Most of all Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story.

I love the premise of The Leaving and how we're introduced to the characters, including our three narrators, Avery, Scarlett and Lucas.  Five now teenagers returning home after eleven years missing is something you think would be joyous, filed with happiness, tears and relief. There is some of that here, but it's all tinged with the uncertainty of what happened, why. The five of them are back, but with no memory of what happened and now they have to figure out what that means - about their past and their present, future.

I think The Leaving was  not enough one thing or another for me. It was a mystery, thriller and really is mysterious and thought provoking, but without enough resolution. There were some nice twists and turns, in what's discovered and how the characters feel about it. One revelation about a character, in particular, I saw coming a long way off but liked seeing how/when others figured it out. Ultimately, there were too many questions left unanswered for my taste.

It was also a character-centric story, with them learning what the five (not six) of them being back meant. How to be a part of the world again, with no memory of the last eleven years, with peoples' different expectations and beliefs about who they were, where they'd been, and if they were telling the truth about forgetting. It's smart how Avery was added in, her being Max's sister and needing to know what happened to him, being a part of the group but not, at the same time,

You can understand the characters wanting to figure out their relationships - past, present, even future - but the romances were weird. I get the one(s) that involved the time the characters cannot remember. That works on their feelings of identity, emotion, what to trust. The current romance between two characters seemed to be there because one wanted it to be (though I was never really sure why?) and because they said so.

This was an enjoyable read that definitely pulls the reader in, but there was not enough resolution for me. The mystery is done well - with bits that seem too strange, but then somehow and and work - but we don't get enough answers. I think knowing more, at the end, would have impacted how I felt about the characters, too.



(between 3 and 3 1/2, really)

Another Book You May Also Enjoy: The Last Good Day of the Year by Jessica Warman




received, for review, from publisher via NetGalley

The Secrets of Lizzie Borden ~ Brandy Purdy (earc) review [@KensingtonBooks]

The Secrets of Lizzie Borden
Kensington
January 26, 2016
384 pages
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In her enthralling, richly imagined new novel, Brandy Purdy, author of The Ripper’s Wife, creates a compelling portrait of the real, complex woman behind an unthinkable crime. Lizzie Borden should be one of the most fortunate young women in Fall River, Massachusetts. Her wealthy father could easily afford to provide his daughters with fashionable clothes, travel, and a rich, cultured life. Instead, haunted by the ghost of childhood poverty, he forces Lizzie and her sister, Emma, to live frugally, denying them the simplest modern conveniences. Suitors and socializing are discouraged, as her father views all gentleman callers as fortune hunters. Lonely and deeply unhappy, Lizzie stifles her frustration, dreaming of the freedom that will come with her eventual inheritance. But soon, even that chance of future independence seems about to be ripped away. And on a stifling August day in 1892, Lizzie’s long-simmering anger finally explodes… Vividly written and thought-provoking, The Secrets of Lizzie Borden explores the fascinating events behind a crime that continues to grip the public imagination—a story of how thwarted desires and desperate rage could turn a dutiful daughter into a notorious killer.

I think I went into The Secrets of Lizzie Borden expecting something other than what it ended up being. I love historical fiction that gives us a more personal look at women that we know all about without really knowing (for example). The closer to fact, the better.

Perhaps that was where I ran into trouble with Secrets. Brandy Purdy does a very nice job imagining Lizzie Borden's life - from her very early years, through to 1892 and then through the rest of her life. It all seems like it could be real, from how it fits together, how its written. Only, I read a nonfiction Lizzie Borden book right after Secrets and a lot of this novel seems to be untrue. (Including several of these that are in the book.)

Aside from the truth versus fiction question, though, The Secrets of Lizzie Borden was too focused on Lizzie's sexuality for me. Especially given the time period, the lead-up to the murders presents an entirely plausible motivation.  It was the way the actual murders - along with specifically 'why' - felt almost like an afterthought, sort of the also ran event of the book, that disappointed me.

There was the a broader why in the Lizzie we get to know prior to the murders and then there is a great look at how the murders, the trial and the publicity, or, really, the notoriety impact the rest of Lizzie's life. I wanted the section of the book immediately before and after the murders to be stronger.

The first person narration, does, at times, make Lizzie a sympathetic character. It is easy to see where she feels maligned or misunderstood or where she isn't exactly as her father and society wish her to be. There are also times when you just do not like her.

Whether it fits with history or not, I thought Lizzie's character was interesting. Particularly that she was so accepting of a woman's role and the expectations of young girls and women. After readign books like These Shallow Graves it was an interesting change of pace.

I think of The Secrets of Lizzie Borden as the more salacious examination of Lizzie Borden and her life. It was not quite the book I was looking for, but is historical fiction on a compelling subject who, more than a century on, still captivates us. It is easy to read The Secrets of Lizzie Borden and imagine that is who Lizzie Borden was and how her life took place.







digital copy received, for review, thanks to publisher, via NetGalley

The Heir & The Spare ~ Emily Albright Tour (earc) Review + Cast + Fav Quote + Giveaway [@_EmilyAlbright_ @The_FFBC]

The Heir and the Spare
Merit Press
January 18, 2016
288 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit, British Literature, New Adult
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Family can be complicated. Especially when skeletons from the past pop up unexpectedly. For American Evie Gray, finding out her deceased mother had a secret identity, and not one of the caped crusader variety, was quite the surprise. Evie’s mom had a secret life before she was even born, one that involved tiaras.

In this modern day fairytale, Evie is on a path to figure out who her mom really was, while discovering for herself what the future will hold. Charged with her late mother’s letters, Evie embarks on a quest into her past. The first item on the list is to attend Oxford, her mom’s alma mater. There, Evie stumbles upon a real life prince charming, Edmund Stuart the second Prince of England, who is all too happy to be the counterpart to her damsel in distress.

Evie can’t resist her growing attraction to Edmund as they spend more time together trying to unravel the clues her mother left behind. But, when doubts arise as to whether or not Edmund could ever be with an untitled American, what really ends up unraveling is Evie’s heart. When Evie uncovers all the facts about her mom’s former life, she realizes her mom’s past can open doors she never dreamed possible, doors that can help her be with Edmund. But, with everything now unveiled, Evie starts to crack under the pressure of new family responsibilities and the realization that her perfect prince may want her for all the wrong reasons.

Review:

The Heir and the Spare is sort of a blend of What A Girl Wants, The Princess Diaries and The Prince and Me. Evie really only knows her mother - who died when Evie was 6 - through the letters she receives each year, on her birthday.

As part of her 'quest' to do what some new, separate letters have planned for her and to, hopefully, learn more about her mother, Evie is attending Oxford. The school where her parents met and fell in love may just hold some romance for Evie, as well. The more Evie delves into her mother's past and the more the relationships she's formed in England develop, the less sure she is about everything.

Here's the thing: I didn't really like Evie. I'm not sure if it was that the inclusion of her thoughts (in italics) in the novel made her significantly more immature than I would expect of a nineteen-year-old who got into Oxford, or if it was that she didn't seem to do things enough for herself. Either way, I did not love her. Even when she is supposed to be doing something for her, I felt that it was too based on someone else, what they thought or did or expected - or even who they were/had been.

But I liked Suzy and Caroline and Edmund and Preston (who I think I may have liked most). It was a bit unbelievable that Evie did not recognize Edmund at first (I thought a made up country or lesser known one would have been more understandable than England here) but his reaction to her not knowing was one of my favorite parts of the novel.

I don't know if I bought Evie as an Oxford student (but maybe that was just because I didn't click with her) but why she was there was a nice element to the story. The trips to London and the bits about those with titles made it feel more like England.

The romance was cute and sweet - though frustrating and stuck in place quite a bit, too. I did not love one of the main characters (Evie) but the others helped to make up for that. I wish there was some sort of prequel or sequel to The Heir and the Spare that focused on Preston and a girlfriend, or some of the other characters; I really would love to see/know more about them and their lives.

Then, this last thing that I am not sure fits a review but I needed to say it: The sexual/relationship ethics of the book bothered me at times. There is an attempted sexual assault that seems to have no repercussions, a character is glad for an interruption because, "If we'd gone much further, I'd never have been able to stop," and there is a student/teacher relationship that no one seems to take issue with. They are, mostly, small things and don't impact the story or who the characters are (much) but they still feel a little squicky.

The Heir and the Spare is a fun twist on that normal-girl-falls-in-love-with-a-prince story and the added element of the mystery around Evie's mother, her past, and what it means for Evie is something new. There were some characters in this book I really would like to see more of, somehow.





Dream Cast:

This Guy as Edmund

Seriously, I have no idea who he is - it's a hairstyle photo - but I still pick him. If it needs to be someone that's an actor/known, then Chris Hemsworth or Alex Pettyfer. . .

or Alex Pettyfer as Edmund

Holland Roden as Evie

Juno Temple as Suzy

Zach Boerig as Preston

Vanessa Morgan as Caroline

Favorite Quote:

"It was Emily Post on crack meets Martha Stewart on acid." -pg 216 (earc)







About the Author:

Emily Albright's debut novel, THE HEIR AND THE SPARE, is releasing January 18, 2016 from Merit Press.

She's a writer, a major bookworm, a lover of romantic movies, a wife, a mother, an owner of one adorable (yet slightly insane) cockapoo, and uses way too many :).

website

Giveaway:

Win (1) of (2) finished copies of THE HEIR AND THE SPARE by Emily Albright
(US Only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

tour schedule

The Trouble with Destiny ~ Lauren Morrill (earc) review [@laurenemorrill @randomhousekids]

The Trouble with Destiny
Delacorte
December 8, 2015
272 pages
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It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey...

With her trusty baton and six insanely organized clipboards, drum major Liza Sanders is about to take Destiny by storm—the boat, that is. When Liza discovered that her beloved band was losing funding, she found Destiny, a luxury cruise ship complete with pools, midnight chocolate buffets, and a $25,000 spring break talent show prize.

Liza can’t imagine senior year without the band, and nothing will distract her from achieving victory. She’s therefore not interested when her old camp crush, Lenny, shows up on board, looking shockingly hipster-hot. And she’s especially not interested in Russ, the probably-as-dumb-as-he-is-cute prankster jock whose ex, Demi, happens be Liza’s ex–best friend and leader of the Athenas, a show choir that’s the band’s greatest competition.

But it’s not going to be smooth sailing. After the Destiny breaks down, all of Liza’s best-laid plans start to go awry. Liza likes to think of herself as an expert at almost everything, but when it comes to love, she’s about to find herself lost at sea.

There were elements of The Trouble with Destiny that could have spelled trouble for me: While I understood why the Athenas needed to be on the cruise and a part of the competition, it seemed overly convenient that, of ten groups participating, two were from the same school. (With a third from their rival high school.) Maybe if that third group hadn't been mentioned or there was more said about the selection/criteria? Or, perhaps, it's just one of my pet peeves and no one else cared.

The idea of a cruise itself, though, was quite fun. It removed the characters from their everyday life and location and gave them not only the ship itself, but its amenities, a more confined setting and took away any complications from home or families. It put the characters in a sort of bubble. A very large, quite well appointed bubble, but still a bubble.

Liza clearly did not need the isolation in order to focus on the band and how much they need to win; it seems to be all she can think about. At least, at first.

Her character was one that I don't know why, precisely, I liked, but I did. She is incredibly anxious, but you can tell how much she wants her band to succeed, to win. It is clear she cares about her friends and keeping their relationships, tie together going. Even if it does not always show itself in the best way. She was distracted much, much too easily by a boy and it seemed obvious - only not at all to Liza - how that was going to end.

Even with Liza's obliviousness and the predictability, I did really like her and the story was cute. Some of what Liza learned about herself and how she came to those conclusions, added a nice bit of something more to the story. It was not all that I was expecting but it was sweet and fun and our main character being a marching band's drum major was something unique and different that played into her character well.









received, via NetGalley, from publisher for an honest review

Doctor Who: System Wipe ~ Oli Smith (earc) review [@bbcdoctorwho @PenguinUKBooks]

Doctor Who: System Wipe
Penguin Books Limited (UK)
November 17, 2015
160 pages
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The Doctor finds himself trapped in the virtual world of Parallife. As he tries to save the inhabitants from being destroyed by a deadly virus, Amy and Rory must fight to keep the Doctor's body in the real world safe from the mysterious entity known as Legacy . . .

System Wipe was a bit like Doctor Who meets Wreck It Ralph (and this spoilery third thing).

The idea of the Doctor being trapped in a virutal world - while Amy and Rory are in danger in the real world - sounded like a lot of fun.

I liked that the virtual world was not a straight, direct interpretation of the real world. How things operated were just different enough. I liked how the fact that it was virtual so the usual rules of physics, etc need not apply. That the Doctor (and others) were like gamers with abilities related to their 'levels' and skills was a nice addition.

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Amy and Rory are separated from the Doctor for the majority of the story but i thought it worked well. All three are still part of the action, still in danger and still have to do something to save the day. Having them apart, though, lets readers see the virtual world and the real world, at the same time.

It did not always feel like a Doctor Who - at least not one starring the Eleventh Doctor, though. Our known characters (the Doctor, Amy, Rory) did not quite feel like the characters we know. At times, I actually pictured Ten and not Eleven as the Doctor. I am not sure if it was the dialogue, actions or that I defaulted to that and the character didn't bring me out of it.

Somehow, it felt like the how, what and why in System Wipe should have been the most logical of the three Doctor Who novel adventures I read. Yet, I still don't know that i completely get it; it didn't quite come together like I wanted.

System Wipe was still a fun, creative tale, just not quite as strong as I was hoping.








digital copy for review received via NetGalley, from publisher

Tell the Story to Its End ~ Simon P Clark (eac) review [@sipclark @StMartinsPress]

Tel the Story to Its End
St Martin's Griffin
October 20, 2015
208 pages
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In this beautiful, haunting debut, a boy is whisked away to the country in the wake of a scandal, and finds a captivating creature in the attic whose attention comes at a sinister price.

"Tell the story to its end," says Eren with a grin.
His yellow eyes are glowing like embers in the night.
"When I reach the end," I say, "what happens? You'll have the whole story."
"Hmm," he says, looking at me and licking his lips with a dry, grey tongue. "What happens then? Why don't we find out?"

People are keeping secrets from Oli. His mum has brought him to stay with his aunt and uncle in the countryside, but nobody will tell him why his dad where his father is. Why isn't he with them? Has something happened? Oli has a hundred questions, and only an old, empty house in the middle of an ancient forest for answers. But then he finds a secret of his own: there is a creature that lives in the attic…

Eren is not human.
Eren is hungry for stories.
Eren has been waiting for him.

Sharing his stories with Eren, Oli starts to make sense of what’s happening downstairs with his family. But what if it’s a trap? Soon, Oli must make a choice: learn the truth—or abandon himself to Eren’s world, forever.

Reminiscent of SKELLIG by David Almond and A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness, TELL THE STORY TO ITS END is richly atmospheric, moving, unsettleing, and told in gorgeous prose. A modern classic in the making.

Tell the Story to Its End (originally published as Eren) was an interesting, curious read.  It starts with that conversation between Eren and twelve-year-old Oli, then moves between the telling (Oli's story of coming, form London, to the countryside) and conversation between Oli and Eren.

Oli thinks his stay in the countryside is going to be boring. He is used to life in London, full of tall buildings, his friends and things to do. His grandmother's old house - now inhabited by his uncle, aunt and their dog - has its secrets, though.

Including Eren.

I really enjoyed certain scenes in Tell the Story to Its End. The myths and lore that are involved in the story and how they are told and what they impact, were great fun. The stories, along with the language used to tell them, was incredibly creative and captivating. Sentences like, "The snow was soft and it crunched like a lamb's skull as he walked . . ." (pg 47) are, yes, creative, but also weird and disturbing, too.

The different tales that are a part of Tell the Story to its End are all imaginative and caught my attention. I liked the characters - Oli, his family, the other children he meets - as well. As vignettes or individual scenes, I liked the book. As a whole, though, it did not feel cohesive. I did not feel as part of a complete story, a novel, as much as I wanted. Something kept me from being engrossed in the story as a whole.

While this novel's was not a perfect fit for me, I am interested in reading what the author publishes next.








digital copy for review received, via NetGalley, thanks to publisher

A Thousand Nights ~ E.K. Johnston (earc) review [@ek_johnston @DisneyHyperion]

A Thousand Nights
Disney Hyperion
October 6, 2015
336 pages
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Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

The beginning of A Thousand Nights, the sort of introduction to our characters and the world, felt a bit long to me. It did not pull me into the story, though I could understand the necessity.

Once we knew that our (unnamed) main character has been taken as Lo-Melkhiin's bride and once she does not immediately die, as she's expected to, I started to like her. While something about the story was not ever my favorite, maybe because I am unfamiliar with the tale, maybe just because it was not, I liked the characters.

Having so many characters go without names, referred to as 'she' or 'my sister,' 'my sister's mother' or 'serving girl' took some getting used to. Especially since we knew Lo-Melkhiin's name. Yet, I really liked our main character. She wad determined and smart, she had a fire about her and wasn't going to give up, even when put into alife where everyone (even she) expected her to die incredibly soon, if not immediately.

The magic, the 'powers' in A Thousand Nights were hard to make sense of. Somehow it felt like I was missing some bit of information, or some something. The story didn't quite click for me.

I liked the glimpses into Lo-Melkhiin's wife's life with her father and her family. We learn about life in the desert, her relationship with her sister and how their family lived. It adds to who she is now, in the qasr and to her survival.

I am not that sure about all of A Thousand Nights but I loved the parts focused on the main character, her determination, her instincts and knowledge and who she was.






digital review copy received, thanks to publisher, via NetGalley

Never Said ~ Carol Lynch Williams (earc) review [@Carol_writer928 @@Zonderkidz]

Never Said
Blink
August 25, 2015
308 pages
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For as long as she can remember, Sarah’s family life has revolved around her twin sister, Annie—the pretty one, the social one, the girl who can do anything. The person everyone seems to wish Sarah—with her crippling shyness—could simply become.

When Annie suddenly chops off her hair, quits beauty pageants, and gains weight, the focus changes—Annie is still the star of the family, but for all the wrong reasons. Sarah knows something has happened, but she too is caught in her own spiral after her boyfriend breaks up with her and starts hanging out with one of Annie’s old friends.

Annie is intent on keeping her painful secret safe. But when she and Sarah start spending time together again for the first time in years, walls start to break on both sides … and words that had been left unsaid could change everything

For years, Sarah's family has seemingly revolved around Annie, their star. Now, with Annie no longer getting on stage, with her weight (purposely) increasing and her friends no longer coming over, they all seem lost.

Sarah wants them to figure things out. She wants to be able to tell their mother to stop haranguing Annie about her weight. She wants to know what to say to Annie. But her anxiety keeps her from giving voice to anything, to standing out in any way.

As much as the focus seems to be on Annie, her leaving pageants and popularity behind and her weight gain, Sarah's anxiety cannot be ignored. As she says, "I'm scared of being alone -- almost as much as I am of being with others." (pg 44) It's much more than being nervous to give a speech or in crowds. Sarah feels sick if she has to speak to a teacher or if it seems too many people are looking at her.

Her anxiety adds an interesting level to the story. It allows some of Annie and their mother's interactions to go unchecked, even when you'd expect someone to speak up -- even when Sarah wants to.

I am still not sure how I feel about their parents, their workaholic father and ignorant, image conscious mother. Part of me thinks they fit 'roles' too much and didn't seem like real parents and/or people. Another part, though, thinks that they were just horrible and unnoticing enough to feel real.

The ending felt a bit rushed (though at less than 300 pages of story and with so much story, made that's not unexpected. We know something along the lines of what happens, is coming. I was expecting something a bit different, based on things Annie said, but I think it was logical and fit.

Never Said isn't a novel that solves all of the characters' problems or gets them all fully to where they need to be. It introduces us to the characters and their troubles. It beings mending relationships and, perhaps, repairing some damages but they still have a ways to go and work to do.









thank you to the publisher for my review copy, via NetGalley