Review: Breathless

Breathless by Brigid Kemmerer
Kensington Teen, 65 Pages
Published: April 30th 2013

Too many secrets. Not enough time.

Nick Merrick is supposed to be the level-headed one. The peacemaker. Since it’s just him and his three hotheaded brothers against the world, that’s a survival tactic.

But now he’s got problems even his brothers can’t help him survive.

His so-called girlfriend, Quinn, is going quick as mercury from daring to crazy. Meanwhile, Quinn’s dancer friend Adam is throwing Nick off balance, forcing him to recognize a truth he’d rather shove back into the dark.

He can feel it—the atmosphere is sizzling. Danger is on the way. But whatever happens next, Nick is starting to find out that sometimes nothing you do can keep the peace.


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brigid Kemmerer is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Her books have a quality to them which is so raw and real, something that a lot of people don't quite manage to achieve. She also has a knack for broaching difficult issues with a sensitivity and tact that is a true credit to her and her writing. In this sense, Breathless is no different to her full length novels, and my only problem with this novella is that there wasn't enough of it for me.

Nick Merrick has always been the standout character of this series for me. I adore him. While his brothers are relatively open books, Nick has a calm, quiet, brooding strength about him, he is complex, with secrets that he keeps under lock and key. Secrets which, through the course of the novella, are slowly revealed to us.
I've always found him to be a hugely compelling personality, and the emotional struggle that he faces in this novella is both heartbreaking and beautiful in equal measure. The (albeit brief) insight we are given into his hopes and dreams help to flesh out a character who has in some ways, always been a bit of a secondary character, overshadowed by his larger than life siblings, and in particular his twin brother. Here we finally get to see the first sparks of Nick coming into his own, and it is delighful. His character & emotions which bubble up through the novella come to boiling point in a scene which is sweet, romantic, and just steamy enough ;)

Quinn is another character who comes into her own here, and we are shown a completely different side to her than we have been before. Breathless belongs to both Nick & Quinn, and I was honestly surprised by how much I liked her by the end of it. Not a character I hate, but also not one I particularly liked, Kemmerer spun me around completely. Sharp, brash Quinn is shown to have a different face than the one she shows the world, and the glimpse into what she thinks, feels & suffers will throw a grenade at the opinions previously held of her. Well done Brigid: I already loved Nick, now you've made me love Quinn too!

One thing I don't think I'll ever be able to fault this author on his her writing style. It is fluid and compelling and you can't help but always want more of it. Breathless had humour, drama and excitement, not to mention scenes which were sweet & sad in equal measure. In all, a lot to pack into a 65 page ebook.

If you're already a fan of The Elementals series, then you have no doubt already read this one. If you're not, then this might just make you one.

View all my reviews

Review - Forsaken by Jana Oliver

Forsaken
By Jana Oliver
Macmillan Children's Books, 422 pages
Published: February 7th 2011

"Riley Blackthorne.
Kicking hell's ass one demon at a time...

Riley has always wanted to be a Demon Trapper like her father, and she's already following in his footsteps as one of the best. But it's tough being the only girl in an all-guy world, especially when three of those guys start making her life more complicated:

Simon: the angelic apprentice who has heaven on his side; Beck, the tough trapper who thinks he's God's gift, and Ori, the strikingly sexy stranger who keeps turning up to save her life.

One thing's for sure - if she doesn't keep her wits about her there'll be hell to pay..."
- from the book

4.5 out of 5

From the blurb, this book would probably be billed as a paranormal romance. It is in part, but that's not remotely the focus of the tale.
As a girl fighting demons in a man's world, Riley Blackthorne already has a fight on her hands trying to prove she's good enough, but when a routine capture goes wrong, Riley is started on a path that will soon have her world spinning out of control.

I fell in love with the characters in this book. Each one has their own distinctive personality, which blend seamlessly together to create a fantastic ensemble cast.
Riley has a 'never give up' attitude which has you wanting her to succeed from the word go. She isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in, or fight for what she wants. She goes through a lot in this book alone, and you can't help but feel for her. Eventhough she is a very contained character, when she lets her emotions show, it's thrilling and heartbreaking at the same time. She shows such incredible strength throughout that you can't help but admire and be inspired by her.

As stated in the blurb, Riley has several love interests in this book, some of whom were a little less impressive than others. Let me start with Beck. Oh Beck. I loved you, I hated you, which only made me love you more. He is an incredibly complex character, who feels highly protective of Riley, and although he constantly keeps her at arms length and pushes her away often, there are emotions there under the surface that you will be begging to explode. He has hidden, sensitive depths and I can't wait to read more about him. His POV sections were some of my highlights of the book, as they allow us to see both Beck & Riley in a completely different (and highly illuminating) light.
Simon on the other hand. Well, there was just something about him that didn't sit well for me. Yes, he was sweet and charming, and obviously cares for Riley, but I couldn't in all honesty, figure out the big attraction to him. Their relationship felt almost rushed, and I didn't feel myself as drawn to him as Riley appears to be, and as perhaps I should've been.

This book definitely has a feel of the tv show Supernatural about it, which was not a problem for me, because I love that show. It has appeal for adults as well it's target YA audience, because it's a bit grittier than your average YA novel.
I loved the fresh take on demons & how the humans of the book interact with them, showing a world that is tough and slightly mercenary, but which has it's bright spots too.

Thrilling and action packed, I would definitely recommend this book, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

Review - Secret Lives by Gabriella Poole

Secret Lives
By Gabriella Poole
Hodder & Stoughton, 288 pages
Published: August 6th 2009

"The Darke Academy is a school like no other. An elite establishment that moves to a new exotic city every term, its students are impossibly beautiful, sophisticated. and rich, and the more the new scholarship girl Cassie Bell learns about the Academy, the more curious she becomes.
What sinister secrets are guarded by the Few - —the select group of students who keep outsiders away? Who is the dark stranger prowling the corridors at night? And what really happened a year earlier, when the last scholarship girl died in mysterious circumstances?
Cassie quickly discovers that a little knowledge may be a dangerous thing, but knowing too much can be deadly."
-From the book

3 out of 5

Starting at a prestigious boarding school as a scholarship student already has Cassie Bell feeling like an outsider, but when she starts to uncover the secrets of the exclusive Darke Academy, she starts to feel even more lost at sea.

I found this a difficult one to review, because I have mixed emotions about this book. I neither loved it nor hated it, but there was something compelling about it. The plotline was something I've seen before, but there were definitely elements which I hadn't seen, which was a pleasant surprise.

At times it was a little predictable (it was obvious from the start who the respective villains and heroes were), but I think that's part of it's charm. You weren't constantly second guessing character's actions. While I found it took a little time to get to the main action, the time up until then wasn't dull like it could've been, and we learn things about the characters which help to flesh them out and make them more rounded individuals.

It sometimes felt as though the motivations behind certain actions, as well as the backstory for most of the characters, weren't very well developed, but as this is the first in the series, I'm hoping we get more insight in future books. Several characters (Ranjit & Isabella in particular) had the potential to be great stand out characters, however they lacked the depth fully required for this, which was disappointing.
The quality of the narrative and descriptive passages was something I loved, making this a smooth and enjoyable read. While I wouldn't rush to recommend this book, I also wouldn't try and dissuade anyone from reading it.

Review - Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Hysteria
By Megan Miranda
Bloomsbury, 352 pages
Published: February 14th 2013

"You wanted him.
You needed him.
You killed him.

Life can change in an instant.
Fear can take you to the very edge.

Mallory's old life is dead. Her boyfriend is gone; his blood washed from the kitchen tiles. Still it stains her mind. She can't ever go back.

Monroe Prep School is her new start. But everyone thinks they know what happened that night.
They think they know her. They don't.

Secrets are deadly.
Secrets are the only real currency".

- From the book
4 out of 5

Hysteria, simply, blew me away. Just when I thought it was heading in one direction, Miranda would make a u-turn and head in a completely different direction. Sometimes this was confusing as hell, but on the whole, it just added to the suspense and thrill of the ride, emulating Mallory's thought process. There were some things that I saw coming, but that wasn't a disappointment. Actually it was a nice change of pace, to know what was going on for a change, in addition to upping the tension. You know what's about to happen, and are willing the characters to figure it out too before it's too late.

There are two storylines running almost simultaneously in Hysteria, which compliment as opposed to distract from each other, and the ending does a great job of tying all those loose ends together. I know the ending will please some readers but may disappoint others. I was in the former category. There are several unnerving scenes of bloody handprints which definitely upped the tension throughout, and those combined with a series of flashbacks to the events before Mallory came to boarding school give us just enough to keep questioning what the heck is goings on.

The characters were engaging and believable, and their reactions to specific events were very realistic. Mallory herself is a contradiction in terms. Brave but shattered, she has been through something traumatic, and as intended, she sometimes comes across as slightly unhinged. Like Mallory, we are kept guessing as to what is real, and Miranda does a fantastic job of keeping us guessing.
There is romance there, it was sweet and just what you'd expect from the characters, but it was more in the background than upfront, which I think in this case was the way to go, leaving the main focus to be Mallory's struggle with right and wrong, real and not real.

I'm not sure what else I can say without giving any of the story away, but if you're looking for a creepy, Soul Survivors type of psychological thriller, then this is the book for you.

Review - Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

Nothing Like You
By Lauren Strasnick
Simon Pulse, 224 pages
Published: October 20th 2009

"You think he's yours but he's not I thought.
"You think he's yours but really he's mine."

When Holly loses her virginity to Paul, a guy she barely knows, she assumes their encounter is a one-night stand. After all, Paul is too popular to even be speaking to Holly...and he happens to have a long-term girlfriend, Saskia. But ever since Holly's mom died six months ago, Holly has been numb to the world, and she's getting desperate to feel something, anything -- so when Paul keeps pursuing her, Holly relents. Paul's kisses are a welcome diversion...and it's nice to feel like the kind of girl that a guy like Paul would choose.

But things aren't so simple with Saskia around. Paul's real girlfriend is willowy and perfect...and nothing like Holly. To make matters worse, she and Holly are becoming friends. Suddenly the consequences of Holly's choices are all too real, and Holly stands to lose more than she ever realized she had.

- Goodreads description

1.5 out of 5

After reading other reviews on Goodreads, it appears that I may just be the only person in the world who didn't like this book.

If I was to describe this book in one word, it'd probably be predictable. That's not always a bad thing, but with this book, it wasn't just one thing that you could forsee, it was a lot.

I really wanted to like Nothing Like You, but I can't really feel much for it. Maybe I've been spoiled by the other contemporary YA books I've read recently, but I just found this rather...bland.

This had a lot of potential that I don't feel it lived up to. It could have been something amazing but sadly, for me, it wasn't. It felt like the plot kept getting stuck, so the author just went for the easiest (and unfortunately) most obvious way to move the story along. Also, the end felt like it was lacking in, well, everything to be honest. It didn't feel much like a resolution. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting hearts, flowers & a chorus of birds, but it just seemed far too abrupt. I know it was to drive home the 'actions have consequences' and not everything works out riff, but it just felt like there should've been more after it.

I really can't seem to find anything redeeming to say about Holly. I'm sorry, but I really couldn't connect with her at all. She grated on me pretty much the entire book, I wanted to hit her so many times and tell her to get a grip! More than once I found myself thinking 'seriously?' when she was all 'oh woe is me' over Paul. She's possibly the only fictional female I dislike more than Bella Swan, and if you knew me, you'd know that that's something I never thought I'd see myself type. It wasn't until near the end of the book where I actually felt something for her. It wasn't until that point that she seemed to have any real depth, as opposed to just being a swoony naive little girl.
Describing Paul is quite easy to do. He's a douchebag, pure and simple. At first I thought he might actually be a little bit of a nice guy, but those illusions were quickly shattered. There's not really much else I can say without breaking into a long list of swear words and insults.
Saskia & Nils were actually better characters than Holly & Paul in my opinion. They seemed have more depth, and Nils in particular was just much more likeable.

The one thing I will commend Strasnick for in this book is her approach to the death of Holly's mum. It's never directly broached (we know she died of cancer, but her death is never actual put into any detail like it has been in other YA books) so all we see is the aftermath. Holly isn't treated with kid gloves all the time, like many other grieving characters have been in the past, and she hasn't either gone off the deep end with grief, or become a stoic zombie. She's in the void of confusion inbetween where you're never quite sure what's going to happen. I thought this was very well handled, and it was a refreshing change from the norm.

Sadly however, that wasn't enough to make up for the disappointment I felt with the rest of the book. An ok read if you want to kill time and don't want to think too much, but it won't be going on my 'to recommend' pile

Review - Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden
By Tabitha Suzuma
Definitions, 418 pages
Published: May 27th 2010

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

- Goodreads description

4.5 out of 5

Let me start by saying that every copy of this book should come with a pack of tissues. I cried like a baby.

This won't be everyone's cup of tea. In fact, the subject matter will probably put the majority of people off it. Since I finished the book I've read a lot of other reviews to see what other people thought, and most of them tend to not actually be reviews, but comments on how they'll never read the book because of the relationship between the characters, or readers opinions on how 'sick' it and people who like it are. We all know there's an incest ick factor, and while it did make me squirm a bit at first, it was well handled, and written in a way that didn't glorify it. We know it's wrong and we know it can't end well (admittedly I didn't expect that kind of ending!). If these characters had been written as friends, or any other non-related acquaintantces I don't doubt that there'd be more rave reviews for it. But it also wouldn't be as poignant, or as heartbreaking.

There are no words to describe how phenomenal I think this book is. Given the subject matter, it could easily have come off as sordid and 'wrong', but it was brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed.

The characters are wonderfully written, you can't help but develop an emotional connection with them, and really care about what they are going through. Even the minor characters (while some make decisions with devastating consequences) you can't help but feel for.

The relationship between Maya & Lochan isn't normal. We know it's wrong, they know it's wrong, heck even the blurb tells us it's wrong, but despite all that you can't help being drawn in by this couple and wanting them to have the love they crave. And it is love. Not some weird obsession, but love. This is the forbidden love of all time. You can keep your Edwards & Bellas, this is so much more intense & evocative.

This tale of one of the biggest taboos out there has been written brilliantly. While we are reminded throughout that they are siblings, that's never seen as the most important thing. That title goes to the strength of their love, that eventhough it's impossible is maintained throughout. It's a testament to Suzuma's writing that as the reader you feel compelled to agree with them that they should be free to love eachother as they wish, as opposed to feeling that they should be stopped.

My only (tiny) peeve about this book is the ending. It was so heartbreaking, and I really wanted to see more about how it affected the other siblings. Yes, it is written from Maya's POV, but I didn't feel like the other brothers and sister were shown as being in the same place emotionally, like I would've expected them to be after that conclusion.

Seriously though folks, major tissue warning for the end of this book.

I think the important thing to take away from this book (or to take into consideration when wondering whether or not to read it) is the message it sends about intolerance. I don't think anyone will sit down after reading this and say 'yes, their love was 100% right, how dare people not see that'. Despite what I've put earlier in this review, that's not my opinion either. What I think however, is that anyone who reads this will agree that ultimately, intolerance was what destroyed this couple. Maybe if the other characters in the book had thought about what would and had happened before jumping straight to horror then things would have ended differently. That philosophy can be applied to pretty much any situation going. What I'm basically trying to say is tolerance is key, with a little more tolerance in the world, maybe there would be more shades of grey, and less pain and hatred. That's one of the big things I brought away from this book.

Review - Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

This is my first real review, so don't expect it to be brilliant. I certainly don't. Until I find my writing vibe this is pretty much how it's going to go, so bear with me :)

Going Too Far
By Jennifer Echols
Pocket Books/MTV Books, 245 pages
Published: March 17th 2009

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

- Goodreads Description



3.5 out of 5


Initially I had reservations about reading this, mainly because it seemed pretty obvious what would happen. Rebellious teen kid has to ride around with young attractive cop, sexual tension ensues. Yup, pretty much what happened.

I liked the characters to a certain extent. Meg is rebellious and has a thing for alcohol and douchebags. She does however have the right amount of nice girl left in her for her not to be annoying. I thought the parts with her & Tiffany were incredibly sweet and tender. As I read through this I did wonder a lot, what could have happened to make her turn out like this, and when you find out, I think it's as much a shock to the reader as it is the characters. Unlike a lot of other rebellious female characters I've read, I didn't want to smack her in the face a lot of the time, but I also didn't have any real emotions towards her until she tells John about her past. I loved the part near the end where she gets Tiffany to help her dye her hair. The way one seemingly insignificant thing had such meaning and symbolism was a vital part of Meg's character starting to grow up at last, and that one scene and the implications behind it were definitely my favorite part of the book.

Now John. He's a character that confuses me. When we're first introduced to him, we're given the impression that he's an older guy, Meg definitely believed he was at first. When it's revealed he's not, it wasn't really that much of a shock (after what I'd gleaned from other reviews, I'd already gathered that this was meant to have a teenaged romance in it) but when I read his backstory some of it was surprising. His connection to the bridge was a little predictable in my opinion, given how (do I really want to use the word obsessed? Yes, yes I do) obsessed he is over it, but I get why his reactions to what happens there with Meg are so strong. He definitely grew on me as the book progressed, much more than Meg did.

As a side note, is it really bad that I liked the supporting characters of Tiffany & Will much more than I liked Meg & John. I just felt that their characters (while being very similar to each other in a lot of ways) were more well rounded, and more real than Meg & John, eventhough we hardly saw them.

Downsides

I didn't love this book. I liked it, plain & simple. While I didn't dislike it, there was nothing outstanding about it, nothing that would make me say to someone else 'you have to read this book, right now'. There were also a few things that I had issues with:
1) John's age. Am I the only person who thought he was really young for a cop? I know you get young police officers, but this young? Maybe someone who is a police officer/knows someone who is can clarify the age limit for me. This was one of those niggling little things that bugged me all the way through reading this. If he'd been a couple of years older I probably wouldn't have any issues with it, but like I've said, it seems a really young age for the job in my opinion.
2) The coupling. Five days to fall in love? It all happened way too quickly for me, especially for two people (one of whom for definite) never looked twice at each other before. It's teen fiction so I know fast falling is kind of the norm, and I'm being picky, but it did annoy me a little that they're expressing their love for each other so quickly.
3) The ending. I don't usually have issues with the endings of YA books. There's usually a romance element in all of them, and most of them have happy endings. This happy ending was far too rushed for my liking. Yes the book had to end, but I thought everything was resolved a little too fast. One minute they're arguing, the next it's shiny happy people all over...

May the Odds Be Never in Your Favour

Ok, not strictly speaking a post about a book, but it is related, so I'm allowing myself to get away with it, mwha!

This was going to be a rather long, convoluted post about The Hunger Games movie, how I thought it compared to the book, what was different etc......but I currently have a hyperactive Springer Spaniel jumping on my feet trying to get me to play with him. He says hi.

Soooooooooo instead, I'm just going to post a few of my main thoughts about it. I'm going to see it again next week (mainly due to the fact that I spent most of the advanced screening fuming about a certain line that movie Gale didn't say) So I'll update/post something new after that which should be a bit more detailed.

Here goes......

I've heard massive amounts of complaints about how the film was shot, the use of jump cuts, handheld cameras & jerky steadicams as opposed stationary tripods and tracks. As a former film student, I enjoyed the cinematography (what can I say, my inner nerd rejoiced), I think it was cleverly done, emulating how the cameras in the arena would've moved, and the jump cuts imitating Katniss' confusion from the Tracker Jacker poison.

A lot of the actors (in my humble opinion) didn't really look how I expected them to, but played the characters pretty much EXACTLY how I pictured them, especially Cinna. In hindsight, Lenny Kravitz & Wes Bentley were the perfect castings as Cinna & Seneca! (on a sidenote Seneca Crane's Beard! That's gotta be worth a few months of Trending Topics alone!)

My only real (and rather infuriating) complaints are with regards to the removal of 2 pieces of dialogue: Gale's "Katniss, remember I..." line as he says goodbye had our whole entire group shouting at the cinema screen, especially as it was replaced by the (rather pathetic in my opinion) line "I'll see you soon". I was also a little annoyed and disappointed that they cut out the conversation between Katniss & Peeta on the train home about how much of what happened in the arena was real & how much was acting. For me they were both really important parts of the series.
I don't know, it just kind of felt that they were downplaying the Katniss/Gale relationship and amping up the 'reality' of Katniss/Peeta far too early, just because we know how it's going to end. Not a happy bunny about those parts :S

Nic, psycho dog & my now sore foot
xoxo

Jessica Rules the Dark Side - Eleusinian Mysteries giveaway

Check out Brodie's interview & giveaway post here for the brilliant Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

When Jessica Packwood found out she was a Romanian vampire princess, she had the shock of her teenage life.  Turns out that was the easy part.  Now, married to Prince Lucius Vladescu, she has to claim her throne and convince a vampire nation she’s fit to be their queen.  But Jess can’t even order a decent meal from her castle’s Romanian staff, let alone deal with devious undead subjects who would love to see her fail.

And when Lucius is accused of murdering a vampire Elder and imprisoned without the blood he needs, Jessica finds herself alone, fighting for both their survivals.  Desperate to clear her husband’s name and win his release, Jess enlists the help of her best friend Mindy Stankowicz and Lucius’s mysterious Italian cousin, Raniero Lovatu.  But both of them are keeping some dark secrets.  Can Jess figure out who to trust – and how to  rise to power – before she loses everything, including the vampire she loves?

Full of romance, mystery, and danger, the highly anticipated sequel to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side shows that sometimes a princess has to earn her “happily ever after” – with a sharpened stake in hand.

 Also, make sure you check out the first book in this series Jessica's Guide to Dating the Dark Side