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Velveteen by Daniel Marks Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

It’s unfortunate that Daniel Marks’ YA debut Velveteen didn’t get quite the attention it deserved when it first came out. Velveteen takes a walk on the macabre side and feels quite unprecedented in the YA market. It mashes up horror with paranormal, as the machinations of the residents of Purgatory are explored in this novel. While I am not usually one who LOVES weird books, I have to say that I was totally won over by Marks’ world building and prickly characterization. I definitely would like more people to read this, especially because it’s one of those books that could use a sequel.

Velveteen by Daniel Marks | Good Books And Good Wine

Velveteen opens with the sixteen year old main character, also named Velveteen but Velvet for short, haunting this super creepy guy. Turns out the creepy guy is Bonesaw, a serial killer who brutally murdered her. Now, Bonesaw has another girl. As Velvet is a ghost she can’t really do much except mess with Bonesaw’s things. I have to come right out and state that the opening chapter is one of the most exciting openings for YA in a long time. Yet, the book takes on a whole new direction in the chapters to come. Velvet is currently trapped in Purgatory, which is this run down sort of parallel universe where people go if they have unfinished business. Residents of Purgatory do not get a free ride though, each person must perform a function or a job. Velvet serves as part of the salvage team, which basically means she is a member of the elite. Yet, all is not entirely sunny, you see, there’s a faction of revolutionaries known as Depaturists who want to change the way Purgatory is run, among other things. Finally there’s a new guy in Purgatory, Nick, whom Velvet is undeniably attracted to. As you can see, homegirl has A LOT going on.

If you like prickly characters who are kind of guarded, chances are you will love Velvet. She’s very compelling. When we meet her, she’s hellbent on extracting vengeance and fortunately this does not change for much of the novel. She’s consistent and I liked that. Velvet is the kind of girl who seems to hate everyone except her very close friends. She also does not let guys get very close to her. ALSO. She is the leader of her salvage crew, so she’s actually quite competent and capable and far from the simpering too stupid to live sort of paranormal heroine. Further, Velvet has a healthy dose of teenage angst. When all of these elements combine, it’s like the ideal main character for me to read about is created. Not everyone will love Velvet, but I absolutely did.

Daniel Marks definitely is a great wordsmith. I really liked the images he conjectured of Purgatory. It’s a world where paper is extremely valuable and used to craft birds. People enter via train/subway. Residents live in these really weird looking dormitories constructed of whatever the collectors could obtain from the living world. The station masters are the ones who are in charge. It’s actually an intricately constructed world, and one that I definitely would not mind revisiting. Further, while Velveteen is very long, it’s actually quite the page turner. I found myself utterly engaged by the two plot threads — that where Velvet hopes to extract revenge on Bonesaw, and that where Purgatory is besieged by revolutionaries. It’s very dark and creepy and wholly fascinating.

The romance adds a bit of a nice light touch to Velveteen. I liked that Nick the love interest has a bit of a devil may care debonair sort of attitude, although he is also a teenager like Velvet. He’s incredibly confident and maybe comes off as a little arrogant, but it strikes a nice balance with Velvet. She’s the sort of character where it would only make sense that she engage in a relationship with someone who is just as headstrong as she is. I thought their mutual attraction totally made sense and did not come off as contrived or forced. Plus, their kissing scenes are totally adorable and do add a bit of swoon to this dark young adult book.

After finishing Velveteen, I actually hopped onto goodreads to see if there was going to be a sequel. As of now, it doesn’t look like there is, but my fingers are crossed. If you are looking for a book that leaves you wanting more of it’s strange, fascinating world then you absolutely should read Velveteen by Danny Marks. Velvet, Nick, and the rest of the salvage team are definitely worth meeting and spending almost 450 pages worth of time in their company.

Disclosure: Received for review via Amazon Vine.

Other reviews of Velveteen by Daniel Marks:

A Reader Of Fictions – “the whole of the story was so delightfully fresh and funny”

Alice Marvels – “Atmospheric and superbly written”

Hobbitsies – “something different and weird and original and creepy.”

Paper Valentine | Brenna Yovanoff | Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

It’s hard for me to find the precise, exact words to convince you to read Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff. Like, how do I write the best argument possible without going all flailing arms and neon signs on you? You guys, I liked The Replacement, but I utterly LOVED Paper Valentine. I found myself highlighting passages on my Kindle, and hopping onto g-chat to hash out theories and OMGs (Thanks Christina at Reader Of Fictions, you are THE BEST EVER). Friends, I loved every single element of Yovanoff’s latest and am happy to report that she’s one of those authors who has grown over time.

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff | Good Books & Good Wine

It is freakin’ hot in the city of Ludlow, but heat isn’t exactly the only unfortunate thing. You see, there’s been a rash of murders of pretty, young innocent girls. To make matters worse, main character Hannah is haunted by the ghost of her best friend Lillian, who died of anorexia six months ago. Although Hannah is not a girl detective in any way, shape or form, she feels compelled by the murders and finds herself obsessed with the girls and finding out who killed them. Lillian tries to help, but she’s not exactly omnipotent. On top of that, Hannah is kind of a popular girl but she’s becoming attracted to Finny Boone, a boy who is very big, kind of scary and lumbering and also not exactly in the smart classes. He’s legit a wrong side of the tracks sort of person.

While I am likely making all the elements of the plot and story of Paper Valentine sound convoluted, have no fear, the story actually flows WAY better than I am able to describe it. Like, the thing that I LOVED about Paper Valentine was that it was dark without being weird and unrelateable. I didn’t feel at a distance from Hannah because she dresses differently or anything. Instead, I found Hannah to be quite likable, despite her faults. I mean, she’s the sort of character who lets other people railroad her and walk all over her, but as this is a coming of age book, she does grow and start to own her voice and feelings. And quite frankly, I love books where characters start off kind of quiet but then learn to speak up for themselves. It’s kind of the best as far as payoff goes. ALSO! Hannah is actually a good person, she’s kind and genuine, but she often is overshadowed by her more flashy friends.

I’d totally be the worst reviewer ever if I didn’t mention Hannah’s family. Clearly authors must be listening to our complaints, because Hannah’s family is VERY present. She lives with her mom, tattooed stepfather, and little sister Ariel. Her stepfather is legit the best, sure he comes off as scary but Hannah and Ariel see him as a father and he makes them pancakes and listens to them and proves appearances can be deceiving. Hannah’s mom is the worrywort sort which makes sense, because hello if some psycho is running around killing kids OF COURSE THE PARENTS SHOULD WORRY. Thank goodness logic applies to this book. THEN. There is Ariel. Who is super annoying and super adorable. She’s constantly talking and never ever shuts up, but the thing is even though her and Hannah fight sometimes, deep down there’s that sisterly bond there and it’s heartwarming.

OH OH OH and you guys of course there is swooning involved. I will say that I didn’t quite have the sense of Finny that I do with other male leads, because he’s not the main focus of Paper Valentine. While Yovanoff does a great job developing Finny’s character and again showing us appearances can be deceiving, the main focus is on Hannah and her development which is not catalyzed by a boy. So yes, there are swoons and some kisses, but this is NOT a kissing book.

Instead, it’s fairly suspenseful and scary. Like, omg, when I found out who the killer was, I almost put my Kindle Fire in the freezer a la Joey Tribbiani. Of course, I decided against that and hashed my feelings out over g-chat. Still, I legit could not believe who the bad guy was but then was like IT IS ALWAYS THAT GUY. And I realize I’m being super cryptic, but that is kind of the point. Anyways, if you are captain oblivious like I am, you’ll be surprised.

Finally, Brenna Yovanoff has so much talent. Y’all, I honest to goodness highlighted things in Paper Valentine because I loved the style of writing, not to snark on later like with other books. Seriously, maybe because she is critique partners with Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton, but I felt that, like those authors Yovanoff has this way with words that gets right to the heart of meaning. Like, Paper Valentine does not use 100 words when ten will do, but at the same time it doesn’t feel too sparse. It’s the sort of book where if you were to read it out loud the words will just roll off your tongue. Frankly, if words, characterization and coming of age do it for you, I think you ought to get yourself a copy of Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley

Other reviews of Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff:

Charlotte’s Library – “I was rather pleased with how much I enjoyed it.”

Cuddlebuggery – “To me it felt like Hannah’s life was tucked away from the conflict separately and safely, so it was hard to get invested in the climax.”

Pure Imagination – “Recommend it if you’re looking for something with mystery and vivid writing.”

Books by Brenna Yovanoff:

The Replacement
The Curiosities

Girl of Nightmares Kendare Blake Book Review

by Allison L

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake picks up a few months after Anna Dressed in Blood concluded yet Cas still hasn’t been able to move on from what happened. He is racked with guilt and confused about the emotions that he is feeling regarding Anna. Oh, and there is also the fact that he is being continuously plagued by nightmares and visions of Anna being tormented and/or tortured. Are these all in his imagination? Or are they real? And if they are real what do they mean? Cas will not rest until he finds out.

If you look back on my review of Anna Dressed in Blood, you can see that I really enjoyed it. I thought that Kendare Blake did a wonderful job writing a book that completely took me out of my usual element. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the same way about its sequel, Girl of Nightmares, even as badly as I wanted to. I can happily say that I was able to receive some sort of closure to the characters, in particularly the character of Anna, but otherwise I have to admit that I felt a little let down.

MINORS SPOILERS AHEAD! Read at your own risk!
Or just click this link to read about Anna Dressed in Blood!

Admittedly while the premise of the story sounds very promising, it took me a while to get into it, and even attempt to enjoy it. I think my main problem of Girl of Nightmares was the characterization of Cas, and the way that he was to put it simply was a huge ass to anyone he came into contact with. In the first book, you were able to witness Cas going on this journey where he removed himself from this phase of being a pompous jerk to someone who actually has compassion and human emotion. For the majority of Girl of Nightmares, it felt like he had taken a million steps back as a character. He was back to being even more a jerk than before and was at times very obnoxious. I can understand that he was very upset over what had happened with Anna, and that he was determined to find her again but, at the same time, he didn’t have to be such a brat about it because it definitely was a turn off for me.

Oh, and another turn off? The complete turn around of the character of Carmel. Again similar to Cas, Carmel went on a little bit of journey in the first book. To me it was as if she had outgrown her insecurities and her bitchiness and had accepted the fact that she was interested in someone who wasn’t part of the “cool crowd” and that she had become friends with someone who was a ghost killer. But all of sudden in book number two, all the insecurities and the harsh bitchiness is back again! Granted, I can understand that maybe she realized that she was in a little over her head with this whole ghost killing business but at the same time, there were so many other ways to handle it. It was disappointing to read about because I expected more from her as a character.

There were still some enjoyable things for me within Girl of Nightmares. I still really enjoyed the way it was written. Once again, Kendare Blake did a wonderful job of explaining what was going on in this book. In fact, I think she may have even done a better job this time around. There was a lot of attention being paid to the background story, and to how everything was connected with each other. At times, it was a little bit too much but, it was also nice to have all the information right at my hands. I do wish it was a little bit more gritty though. For the most part, I also enjoyed the way that the character of Anna was written (although I wish there had more scary Anna scenes), and the fact that she (and others) was questioning rather or not she should be rescued. There was so much more on the line for her this time around! I think that might be one of the reasons why Cas irritated me so much. He simply did not understand what was at stake for Anna, and how the results not only affected her but him as well.

Overall, I am happy with the conclusion that I got from Girl of Nightmares. I feel that it did wrap things up and allowed me to have some closure while still expanding and changing some things I would not have necessarily expected. At the same time though, I can’t help but feel that I would have really lost anything if I had decided not to read it. I do however recommend it to those who read and enjoyed Anna Dressed In Blood, and who are interested in finding out how everything is wrapped up.

Disclosure: Borrowed from local library

Other Reviews of Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake:

Lady with Books: “It lacked the grit I saw in the first book and left me feeling unsatisfied.”

Bunbury in the Stacks: “I was very happy with the ending that Kendare Blake wrote for Cas, Anna, Thomas, Carmel, and all the rest…”

The Book Smugglers: “I enjoyed this sequel very much but interestingly enough, I thought it was a different animal to its predecessor.”

For Love and Books: “I highly recommend both Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares to just about anyone! Even if you are like me (a wimp who sleeps with the lights on after something scary!) you will lose yourself in this world and be turning pages as quickly as possible to find what comes next!”

Something Strange And Deadly Susan Dennard Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

My attention usually perks up when someone mentions zombies. Throw 1876, the post-Civil War era into the mix and you have me as a reader hook line and sinker. Something Strange And Deadly by Susan Dennard adds a unique spin to the paranormal zombie genre via setting. Further, it is an example of strong characterization. Something Strange And Deadly does not take a turn for gimmicky, but instead is a genuinely good book and unique story.

Something Strange And Deadly Susan Dennard Book Cover

The walking Dead are plaguing Philadelphia. As if Eleanor Fitt didn’t have enough to worry about, what with being her formerly wealthy family’s last hope in achieving prestige again, she now has to worry about if the Dead have her brother Elijah. Eleanor must turn to the Spirit Hunters for help — speaking of which she’s totally attracted to one of the Spirit Hunters, Daniel, the problem is he is below her class. Meanwhile, her mother is trying to foist her off on Clarence Wilcox, one of Philadelphia’s most wealthy bachelors. As you can see, Eleanor has a lot deal with. Luckily, she’s quite the plucky heroine.

Eleanor is headstrong and brave for her time period. She does not simper or wait for others to take action. Instead, Eleanor is the sort of female who takes the bull right by the horns. She’s very loyal to her brother and also does her familial duty despite not exactly loving it. PLUS! When the walking Dead show up she doesn’t cower in fear or faint, but instead thinks with a clear and logical head. She is a pleasure to read about.

Something Strange And Deadly does an excellent job providing readers with a sense of place and time. In the book, Philadelphia is holding an international exhibition and so many tourists are in the city taking in the new sights and technology. The exhibition also brings the spirit hunters to Philadelphia. Dennard does fabulous work in making the technology of 1876 seem new and wondrous. Beyond the machinery of the age, Dennard also incorporates the constructs of social structure. Class divisions are illustrated in the dialogue — for example Clarence Wilcox, who is one of Eleanor’s rich and wealthy suitors, speaks using formal speech patterns. In contrast with Clarence is Daniel, one of the spirit hunters, Daniel is working class and thus employs a lot of slang and contractions in his speech. I thought this was an interesting way to show that people of various classes spoke differently.

For a long book, clocking in at 388 pages, Something Strange And Deadly by Susan Dennard is rather engaging. There are not very dull moments. Instead, the book has an interesting plot, plus there is an air of mystery as to the identity of the necromancer raising the dead. The dialogue is not clunky or weird or out of place — even with the class divisions. I also found the characters to be quite likeable.

The romance within Something Strange And Deadly is subtle. It’s not quite in your face. Eleanor doesn’t spend the entire book pining or fantacizing about a certain character. She does entertain notions of kissing the character, but it’s not something that happens on the first page. Instead she gets to know her love interest and through working with him and assisting him, she then decides that she’s into him. It’s quite the slow burn and very swoonworthy when she realizes she has feelings for him and he for her. I will say, this book is light on physical interaction between the two characters. It’s not a kissing fest by any means.

Susan Dennard’s Something Strange And Deadly was an unexpectedly good read. It has a unique concept. It’s got such a cool setting. There’s a romance that is neither instant nor overwhelming. The main character is someone to cheer for. The stakes feel real. If you’re looking for a young adult paranormal book where the girl doesn’t fall in love with the zombie, check out Something Strange And Deadly, it is well worth your time.

Disclosure: Received for review via a few sources — Amazon Vine and also from publisher, holla!

Other reviews of Something Strange And Deadly by Susan Dennard:

365 Days Of Reading – “a fun romp through an alternate history (with zombies)”

Cuddlebuggery – “mixes aspects of Steampunk with good ol’ zombie fun.”

Hobbitsies – “I just wasn’t grabbed by it”

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1 and #2 Charles Gilman Book Review

by Allison L

Professor Gargoyle is the first book in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series written by Charles Gilman. It is a VERY fun , a little creepy, and equally cute middle grade book. Anyone else remember The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series? They had stories like Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots and Werewolves Don’t Go To Summer Camp. Tales from Lovecraft Middle School reminded me of those types of stories except with a more paranormal and fun twist. In a way, they’re like a modern day Goosebumps!

The main character of the series is a boy named Robert Arthur who is a victim of redistricting. At the beginning of the new school year, all of his friends will go to Franklin Middle School on the north side of town while Robert must attend the new Lovecraft Middle School on the south side of town. He knows no one there except for Glenn Torkells who is the bully who has tormented him practically forever. Lovecraft Middle School has its perks though as it is a completely new school with new classrooms, new equipment, and a gigantic new library with never been touched books. Yet things aren’t exactly as they seem at the school. There are rats in the brand new lockers — and there are some very strange teachers — and children seem to be disappearing left and right! And that is only the beginning…

Side note #1: HOW AWESOME IS THIS COVER?!? So cool!

Professor Gargoyle is a really quick paced story. I felt like I was being taken on a journey with Robert as he attempted to uncover what was really going on at his new school. There is just enough detail where you can picture what is happening but it still in a way leaves you with the ability to imagine the story in your mind as you would like. There are also some really engaging illustrations created by illustrator Eugene Smith through out the book which really help the characters and the storyline come to life. I really do think that all the images were one of my favorite parts of reading the story. They made it so much fun!

Another thing I really enjoyed about Professor Gargoyle was the way that Charles Gilman brought in the insecurities of a young boy trying to fit into a new school. It was all very realistic feeling. Also, the fact that there was a “bully” in the story, I think will make it very relatable to middle grade readers. I especially loved how all of this was blended in with the magic of the school. Magic is a pretty big part of the school but the magic doesn’t necessarily come from just the characters. The location and the setting are also very important to the story. There are definitely some H.P. Lovecraft undertones in the story as well which were fascinating. Oh, and the ending is a fabulous cliffhanger which sets up the second book in the series PERFECTLY!

Side note #2: AND HOW AWESOME IS THIS COVER?!? Once again, so cool!

Book number two is called The Slither Sisters, and it really continues with the magic and fun of series. I don’t want to say too much about it because I’m afraid I will wind up giving away spoilers. I can say though that the second book in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series is not a slump! I was able to read this book in one sitting, and truly enjoyed it. Just like with the first book in the series, Charles Gilman refuses to talk down to the reader, and instead allows them to use their imagination while still instilling how important reading is for the mind. It is cute, and spellbinding and entertaining, and I’m really looking forward to the third book in the series called Teacher Pest which comes out in May 2013!

Disclosure: Received for review from the publisher for an honest review.

Other reviews of the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series by Charles Gilman:

A Bookish Way of Life: “Tales From Lovecraft Middle School is a must read for all fans of YA fiction – especially ones who enjoy captivating reads about monsters, different dimensions, and middle school dramas!”

Amanda’s Writings: “This was a great read, and I highly recommend it to lovers of middle grade novels and people looking for a quick and entertaining read.”

Alexis Loves Books: “Strange, quirky, weird and cute – Professor Gargoyle was a read that I was pleasantly surprised by.”

The Twelve Justin Cronin Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

You know how sometimes it can feel like you are reading a book for pretty much forever because it’s a book that is SUPER long and outside of your usual genre of choice? That feeling totally happened to me while I was reading The Twelve by Justin Cronin, sequel to The Passage which I actually really enjoyed and read within a matter of days instead of months. Unfortunately, The Twelve did not quite compel or immediately hook me the same way that The Passage did. I was just not that into The Twelve.

The Twelve Justin Cronin Book Cover

Justin Cronin’s sequel opens just as the virus is getting off the ground. Instead of revisiting the characters from the end of The Passage we meet a whole new cast of characters. Most of the beginning of the book I was wondering what was going on with Amy, Peter and Alicia. The new characters are comprised of a war veteran, a teenage girl and her brother and a bus driver named Danny among others. These characters are the survivors after the virals have killed or infected most of the people around them, and so they are in desperate search of a safe haven and civilization. Eventually we do come back to the characters from The Passage, but The Twelve sort of takes a convoluted path to get back to Amy, Peter and Alicia, among others.

I was not at all attached to the new characters in the beginning of The Twelve. We get a brief amount of time with the characters and the chapters alternate between quite a large amount of people. I felt like I never got to intimately know Danny, the bus driver or April the teenage girl and what made them tick as characters. I did, however, enjoy the development once we got back to Peter and Alicia. Alicia is probably the most interesting character as she struggles with her humanity. She endures the worst possible thing for a person to go through and it changes her. It makes her tragic and vulnerable, yet her strength is still there. Even Amy gets to change quite a bit and the result is fantastic. She really comes into her own and it is definitely a game changer as far as the storyline goes.

I thought the world building in The Twelve improved upon that of The Passage – I mean, it was consistent, but added to the richness of the horrifying world Cronin has created. We get to see the worst and the very best of humanity in Cronin’s viral-filled world. We have the contrast of two societies — one society that is run by civility and order and equality. The other society is in thrall to viral overlords. It’s quite an interesting contrast, especially when the two societies overlap. I also enjoyed seeing how the virals adapted because of their dwindling food supply. It was quite an interesting touch.

The Twelve starts off a bit slow, the first 200 pages took me months to get through, honestly. I never really felt compelled or a pull toward finishing the book. However, once the book starts it’s cresendo and we really get down to the action I was unable to set it down. I found myself engrossed and repulsed. There are some very disturbing, very violent scenes. If you don’t have the stomach for it, that’s fine but I just wanted to put out there that The Twelve might make some people uncomfortable. Personally, I thought it was an interesting depiction of how brutal the world has turned in the wake of suck your blood instead of romancing you vampires taking over.

Personally, what prevented me from really loving The Twelve was all of the sexual violence. I know, I know grown up books have sexual violence. And I am not here to say yes, censor books. I just want to say that I thought it was kind of gratuitous. Like, it made me sick to my stomach and I skimmed through those parts because they honestly really bothered me.

Anyways, I did like the end of The Twelve and would have liked it to just resolve right there. However, there are threads left tangled, so it’s pretty obvious there’s going to be a third book. The ending though, does resolve quite a bit and it would have been a nice logical place to end. Alas, I know I’ll pick up book three but I’m not exactly on edge for it or anything.

Disclosure: Received for review via Amazon Vine.

Other reviews of The Twelve by Justin Cronin:

The Book Smugglers – “Sometimes, expectations can be a bitch.”

Coffee And A Book Chick – “I had this eerie and remote sense of detachment”

Kimba The Caffeineated Reader - “The characters in this trilogy have been superbly fleshed out.”

Other books by Justin Cronin:

The Passage

Ten Gretchen McNeil Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Clearly, Halloween is in the air y’all. The other week I gobbled up Ten by Gretchen McNeil in about 15 minutes. Actually, that’s hyperbole. HOWEVER, I did manage to actually read Ten on my lunch break and then after work, when usually I spend lunch eating and decompressing, so there is that. The fact of the matter is, Ten managed to hold my attention through a very intense, very busy, very stressful two days and I definitely can appreciate that.

Alright, so if you are awesome chances are you have read And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which is THE BOMB y’all. If not, that’s okay, but you should TOTALLY read it RIGHT NOW because it’s almost Halloween! Anyways, the plots are very similar. The main character, quiet, snarky Meg gets an invite to an exclusive party on an island. Along with nine other teenagers, she goes to the island for the party because the most popular girl at school is the host. Unfortunately, only one other house on the island is currently being inhabited and that’s all the way on the other side. So, anyways, once at the house they find that it has a satellite, food, beer, and music. Of course, the teens get their party on. Eventually, they come across a homemade DVD which is all about vengeance and how ten teenagers will pay. THEN one by one each teen starts getting MURDERED. AWWW YEAH.

There are obviously ten central characters in Ten by Gretchen McNeil. Like, I don’t remember the names of all the characters, but the MAIN FOCUS characters are Meg, the main character, Minnie her best friend who is apparently bipolar and off her meds, and TJ, this boy that Meg and Minnie are fighting over. I liked Meg for the most part, but I thought she seemed a bit callous at times and less than kind, because she is very snarky. That’s not to say that being imperfect is bad, it’s not, but I don’t know that I would want to be friends with Meg. Minnie was super annoying and kind of selfish, she very much wanted all of the attention on her and was all about attention from boys. Because I don’t really know a single thing about bipolarity, I won’t comment on that aspect of Minnie’s character. TJ was alright, but at moments kind of super cheesy and overall not very memorable.

If you are looking to have the daylights scared out of you, Ten might do it. There were bits where my pulse was racing. HOWEVER, I did happen to text a blogger friend when I was about 150 pages in to complain about only 2 people being dead so far. I thought the methods of death were pretty gruesome, so if you’re into that (HOLLA scary movies!!), you’ll like this book. Some bits are kind of tame though, and other parts I was like REALLY THIS STRETCHES BELIEVABILITY SO MUCH.

While I find Agatha Christie to be very readable, I thought that Gretchen McNeil did a pretty decent job presenting the story on the level of young adults. Ten is very fast paced and gripping, even though I did not want to become best friends or makeout buddies with the characters. I like that Gretchen McNeil’s prose isn’t bogged down with flowery descriptions or anything, rather the plot takes center stage. Sure, the atmosphere is well done, but there aren’t pages and pages about how it was a dark and stormy night, instead we get RIGHT TO THE ACTION and the point. Frankly, I think actually teenagers will probably appreciate that.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil is definitely a season-appropriate read and totally best read on a dark, rainy day, FOR THE MOOD. However, if I am being 100% honest, I think that it does pale when compared to the great dame of murder mystery, Agatha Christie. I thought, unlike Christie, the ending took the easy way out when it could have gone the full nine yards. In fact, I was kind of expecting a certain ending after reading And Then There Were None, and was let down. BUT, I think that if you come in without preconceived notions and expectations, you might really like Ten by Gretchen McNeil.

Disclosure: Received for review.

Other reviews of Ten by Gretchen McNeil:

Anna Reads – “I decided to lady up and give Ten by Gretchen McNeil a try.”

Chick Loves Lit – “Maybe I’m not as much of a wuss as I thought!”

Hobbitsies – “It is a perfect creepy thriller for this time of year”

Zom-B Darren Shan Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

I am bizarrely attracted to books about zombies, even though they scare the living daylights out of me pretty much every single time.The reason behind my zombie book attraction is that I can hand a book to Tony and no matter the cover, if it’s about zombies, he will read it and then we fulfill my intellectual fantasy of talking about books. When I saw Zom-B by Darren Shan glimmering in piles at BEA, I knew I should probably pick it up because it’s about zombies and it’ll give me something to talk about with Tony. Unfortunately, we both ended up not exactly being huge fans.

Zom-B starts on a rather high note. There’s an author note imploring that people not spoil and so, I won’t spoil the twists here, except to say I found them disappointing. I found myself utterly engaged by the prologue, in which there is utter pandemonium. You see, there’s this zombie outbreak and this kid sees his mom and dad pretty much eat each other. And so, being terrified he runs away to this man who seems powerful and unaffected by the zombies, hoping the man will save him. Unfortunately, the man is the kid’s doom. And y’all, if the entire book was as horrific and addicting as the prologue I would have loved it. BUT, instead we end up in England, where news of the zombie outbreak in Ireland is on TV. B and the friends of B think it’s just a publicity stunt and not real, and so they go on living their lives as normal, until you know, the zombies show up. But, most of the chapters that we get are pictures of B’s life, from B’s abusive home life with a racist father, to school, where B does not do well and acts like a total racist, like B’s dad.

Frankly, I thought B was one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever come across. B is rude. B is mean. B is racist. And, okay, I get that B is a product of their upbringing, but it’s upsetting as a reader with modern sensibilities to read about a kid who is so blase about making racist comments and who thinks it’s cool to pick on kids of color, just because dad does it. B does some very awful things within the book, and frankly, I was kind of glad that B got what was coming to B.

Luckily, Zom-B by Darren Shan is a very quick and easy read, so even though I didn’t like it, it’s not like a whole lot of my life was wasted reading it. The chapters are incredibly short. There is full page art, which unfortunately my copy did not have the final art. ALSO, each new chapter begins on a black page with white writing. It’s really a cool effect which makes for a page turner. Plus, even though I found the characters to be rephrensible, I cannot deny that the book is action packed and even though I didn’t like it, I bet another person totally will.

Disclosure: Received for review at BEA 12.

Other reviews of Zom-B by Darren Shan:

Cheezyfeet Books – “It was tense, knowing that any minute a zombie could pop up, knock one of the characters out, and eat their brains.”

Book Probe – “Darren Shan’s writing voice and “plot” may have deepened the ravine and furthered the distance between myself and the book.”

The Readiacs – “it seems very hollow and hungry for violence … just like its zombies”

Dracula Bram Stoker Audiobook Review

by April (Books&Wine)

‘I vant to suck your blood’ does not actually appear in the book Dracula by Bram Stoker. Sad, I know. But you guys, despite all my pop culture influenced ideas pertaining to Dracula, it was a pretty damn good classic vampire book. For real, this is the book that started it ALL. I bought my copy of the audiobook back in March, but decided to not listen to it until fall, because you know, HALLOWEEN and all. Apparently my timing is legit, because fall was the perfect time to listen to this all-star narrated audiobook.

Y’all, shit is about to hit the fan AND GET REAL with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Okay, so the book opens with Jonathan Harker who is a solicitor , right. Harker goes to Transylvania to negotiate the purchase of a house in London for his client, Count Dracula. As Harker doesn’t have Bram Stoker telling him what’s up, he doesn’t realize just how shady Dracula is before going to Transylvania. However, after a few nights in the count’s castle, Harker realizes that yes, Dracula is HELLA CREEP and he needs to get the F out of dodge. Jonathan BARELY escapes. Then, then, then, after a few chapters we are back in good old England where holy crap a fricken boat runs ashore with NO CREW. WHAT THE WHAT. Okay, so in jolly old England, Harker’s wife Mina is just hanging out with her best friend Lucy Wesenra when they find out that Dracula has been stalking them, and Lucy has these weird bite marks on her neck. THEN OMG insane asylum rambles and rallying the gang for a good old fashioned staking. You guys, can you tell that I am practically raising jazz hands in the air over this noise. It is so creepy, I LOVE IT.

As for the main players in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, there were some I liked more than others. For instance, I think that Jonathan Harker makes a passable opening main character. You can tell he is scared shitless at what’s going down in Dracula’s castle and I like that. I was incredibly partial to Mina Harker. Y’all, you’d think ladies of the very late 1800s would be weak and boring, but Mina comes out with guns blazing. She wants to help bring Dracula down by any means possible, plus she deeply loves Jonathan. I respect that, yo. THEN there is Van Helsing who is kind of a vampire expert, you might say he is a precursor to Buffy. I like him because he takes action, he knows that when there’s a vampire on the loose you don’t sit on your ass but get up, stake the bugger and stuff it’s mouth with garlic after chopping off the head. Who am I kidding? I LOVED Van Helsing too. Okay and I’d be remiss without mentioning Lucy Westenra who is Mina’s BFF and more with my image of late-1800s ladies. She’s weak and innocent and kind of boring and only turns interesting towards the end. Finally, John Seward, he’s this guy who runs the insane asylum, but he’s consumed with this patient who calls Dracula ‘master’. He’s the one who calls in Van Helsing. Frankly, with the exception of boring Lucy, I could dig the characters of this book.

Fans of epistolary novels rejoice! Bram Stoker’s vampire novel is told through letters and diary entries and various other ‘primary documents’. I have to say, the epistolary format really heightens the horror of the book. I think it’s because the characters start out in disbelief, much like the reader and then as the lurid tale continues they find out that, indeed, those scary events are happening for a reason. Plus, as a reader you can kind of piece it out as the characters piece it out and I think it just adds drama, in the best possible gripping sort of way. I thought Dracula was really accessible, the way that it is written. And honestly, I was expecting straight up prose, not letters and diaries, so it was much appreciated by this reader to get a little surprise when it came to writing.

By today’s gory standards, Dracula is probably not all that terrifying. However, that’s when you go in with a modern sensibility. If you go in like I did, relaxed and just letting the story take you where it will, you’ll find yourself freaked the hell out. Like, I remember starting it and being like, hey I’ve seen the Mel Brooks version of this, no need to be nervous. But then, we get Lucy walking around like a loon, ladies visiting in the night and GHOST SHIPS and shit if I didn’t gasp with alarm a few times.

What really cemented the experience of reading Dracula by Bram Stoker for me, was that I got to read it at a time and place of my choosing, I wasn’t required for school or anything. Plus, I listened to the full cast Audible audiobook edition. I’ve only listened to two full cast books, this one and Swordspoint. What I find is that I liked Dracula so much more than Swordspoint because it never felt gimmicky. There were no trashy sound effects. It was just each character narrator with the documents. I wasn’t jarred by the transition of the voices from document to document. Plus, the full cast is VERY competent. The narrators consist of: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, Katherine Kellgren, Susan Duerden, John Lee, Graeme Malcolm, Steven Crossly, Simon Prebble and James Adams. Y’all, these narrators totally know what they are doing and kept me utterly engaged and not bored during this classic. Dracula by Bram Stoker is 15 hours and 28 minutes on audiobook, but it just zooms by.

Disclosure: Purchased copy.

Other reviews of Dracula by Bram Stoker:

Capricious Reader – “That first section of the book was enough to hook ME, it should be enough to hook YOU.”

Literary Corner Cafe – “It’s so rich, so haunting, so tragic, so supremely human that once I picked it up, I just couldn’t put it down.”

Chrisbookarama – “Dracula is over the top melodrama with the gasping and the swooning”

Literate Housewife – “the true stars of this audiobook are Simon Vance and Katherine Kellgren”

The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

You would think that a book featuring the Amish and vampires would be totally campy? You might even write it off, like I did at first. But then, you’d definitely be missing out on The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle an excellent story featuring the vampires of yore, the scary suck all your blood kind. The Hallowed Ones took me completely by surprise. I thought it might be entertaining and kind of silly, but instead I was utterly captivated by main character Katie’s story as she questions her faith in a world facing the vampire apocalypse.

The Hallowed Ones opens with Katie looking forward to Rumspringa. Rumspringa is the time in an Amish teenager’s life where they get to try life on the Outside before being baptized in the Amish faith. It allows them to get the Outside out of their system and so that they know full well what they are giving up after baptism. Unfortunately for Katie, she won’t get her rumspringa. Instead, she will find a world torn apart by vicious vampires. Yet, the Plain folk remain untouched. To stay safe, the Bishop commands that nobody come in and nobody leave. However, when a stranger finds his way onto the Plain folk land, Katie takes him in out of compassion. Will she unwittingly unleash an evil on her fellow people?

I cannot praise Katie as a character highly enough. As she is Amish, I thought she would be kind of a stick in the mud and preachy. While Katie starts the book rigid in her faith, we see that she’s actually not a stick in the mud. Instead, Katie has a killer sense of humor, often making me laugh. She is courageous, and does put a lot on the line to do what she believes to be the right thing. Even when that right thing is counter to what the Bishop orders. Further, Katie is intelligent and can think for herself. She does a lot of questioning in The Hallowed Ones both of the rigid orders and her faith.

What I loved about Laura Bickle’s The Hallowed Ones and what seemed to set it apart from other young adult books, for me, was the use of faith as a theme. The discussion and examination of religion and belief never gets preachy. I never felt like I was being asked to convert to Christianity or anything. Rather, Katie’s faith is tested. She finds herself constantly questioning her religious doctrine and what’s going on in the Outside. She questions the Bishop’s insistence that the Plain folk are chosen because they were spared. I thought that Katie’s faith was pretty strong because it stands up to testing. It just felt true and real. Faith also plays a huge part when it comes to the vampires. The glimpse of the different types of faith is very well done by Laura Bickle.

Another fantastic element incorporated within The Hallowed Ones is folklore. The vampires in this book are the sort where you have to stuff their mouths with garlic and chop their heads off, but you also need to stake them. I found the inclusion of the Hexenmeister, one of the characters, to be utterly fascinating. You see, the Hexenmeister goes around painting signs and hexes on the buildings of the Plain folk. Almost everyone in the community lets him be, assuming he’s a little bit crazy. He plays a pretty sizable role, though. Plus, Alex, another character, is obsessed with folklore. His stories about old religions are perfectly weaved in the plot and were one of my favorite parts.

You might be entirely skeptical of The Hallowed Ones based on it’s premise, but please don’t write it off. You would definitely be missing out on a fabulous read. It’s my hope that The Hallowed Ones does not end up flying under the radar, but that it truly gets the attention and buzz it deserves. Trust me, if you’ve think you’ve read it all when it comes to vampires, you haven’t.

Disclosure: Received for review

Other reviews of The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle:

The Allure Of Books – “Whoa mama, y’all. Laura Bickle ain’t messin’ around.”

Carina’s Books – “Because it was epic. And awful. And perfect.”

Stitch – Read – Cook – “kept me on the edge of my seat”