Book Review: Torn

Title: Torn by Erica O’Rourke
Release Date: June 26, 2011
Publisher: Kensington
Pages: 336 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Source: Borrowed from the fantastic Neri (In the Name of Books)!

Goodreads Summary: Everyone has secrets. Even best friends.

Swirling black descends like ravens, large enough to block the glow of the streetlights. A dull roar starts like a train on the 'L', a far-away rumbling that grows louder as it pulls closer, until it's directly overhead and you feel it in your chest, except this doesn't pass you by. Verity, white-faced and eyes blazing, shouts through the din, "Run, Mo!"

Mo Fitzgerald knows about secrets. But when she witnesses her best friend's murder, she discovers Verity was hiding things she never could have guessed. To find the answers she needs and the vengeance she craves, Mo—quiet, ordinary, unmagical Mo—will have to enter a world of raw magic and shifting alliances. And she'll have to choose between two very different, equally dangerous guys—protective, duty-bound Colin and brash, mysterious Luc. One wants to save her, one wants to claim her. Which would you choose?

Maura “Mo” Fitzgerald and her best friend Verity get attacked while out one night. With Mo’s family connections to the mob, everyone assumes that she was the target of a hit that went wrong and killed Verity instead. Everyone except Mo that is because she saw the creatures that attacked and they may not have been human.

Mo is a likable, smart girl who is a bit shy but was never jealous of Verity who constantly got the spotlight and the attention. We get to know Verity through Mo’s memories and in flashbacks and the two girls have a good, solid friendship. After the attack, Mo struggles to come to terms with Verity’s death and the fact that her best friend was keeping secrets from her. One of those secrets is the dangerously handsome and charismatic Luc who may have been Verity’s boyfriend and who also holds the answers to Mo’s questions. Mo’s life is further complicated by the equally handsome Colin who has been hired to protect her but it’s hard for a girl to solve a murder mystery when her every move is being watched.

Torn is a great combination of magic and the mob. The story is fast paced and exciting. Mo finds herself caught up in the dark and deadly world of powerful magic that she never knew existed and the mob world that she always knew but tried to distance herself from.

Once you start reading Torn, it’s hard to put down. I want to know more about the world of magic that Luc grew up in and more about Colin’s back story. I loved Torn and can’t wait to read the sequel, Tangled, which comes out in February of next year. The covers of these books are so gorgeous and striking…..

Content: Profanity, kissing and violence. More appropriate for older teens.

Book Review: Redheart

Title and Author: Redheart by Jackie Gamber
Release Date: April 6, 2011
Publisher: Seventh Star Press
Pages: 294 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Source: Publisher

Enter the lands of Leland Province, where dragon and human societies have long dwelled side by side. Superstitions rise sharply, as a severe drought strips the land of its bounty, providing fertile ground for the darker ambitions of Fordon Blackclaw, Dragon Council Leader, who seeks to subdue humans or wipe them off the face of the land. As the shadow of danger creeps across Leland Province, a young dragon named Kallon Redheart, who has turned his back on dragons and humans alike, comes into an unexpected friendship. Riza Diantus is a young woman whose dreams can no longer be contained by the narrow confines of her village, and when she finds herself in peril, Kallon is the only one with the power to save her. Yet to do so means he must confront his past, and embrace a future he stopped believing in.

Redheart is a traditional fantasy novel where the main characters (Kallon and Blackclaw) are dragons. Kallon is a red dragon, the last of his kind and has chosen to live in isolation, away from humans and other dragons. Having witnessed his parents’ murder as a young dragon, Kallon is bitter and antisocial, refusing to take his father’s place as the ruler of the dragons. Instead, the dragons are ruled by Blackclaw, a scheming and despicable character with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

Despite Kallon’s gruffness, he is very likable. I understood him and loved the portions of the book told from his perspective. Even though I don’t think I was supposed to, I liked Jastin the dragon hunter as well. Like Kallon, he had some anger issues rooted in his past and makes some bad decisions and alliances as a result. Unfortunately, I didn’t love Riza as much as I wanted to. She is a true friend to Kallon who stands by him, brings him out of his despair and sacrifices for him, but she also needs help and saving a lot.

Along with engaging characters, Redheart is beautifully descriptive and exciting. The plot flowed quickly and I love the themes of destiny, faith, political intrigue and the magic of love. There is also an interesting plot twist at the end that I was not expecting. This was an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to book two of the Leland Dragon series which will be published in the fall.

Content: References to rape and the pregnancy and birth that result from it, racism (among dragons), kissing, violence

Review of Warped by Maurissa Guibord

Release Date: Jan. 11, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary: Tessa doesn't believe in magic. Or Fate. But there's something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening.

After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman.

His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa's own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa's life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.

Review: If you are looking for something different in the paranormal romance department that does not include vampires, faeries, wolves or angels, Warped is it.  This is a great debut novel by Marissa Guibord. It’s a modern fairy tale about love, loss, fate, destiny and sacrifice.

There are so many things about this book to love. I really enjoyed that Tessa’s father owns a book store and they live above it. Throw in a centuries old magical tapestry with a unicorn, time travel, the Sisters of Fate and a witch that must be defeated and you have the makings for an awesome story. I also really loved the characters, especially Tessa, Will and Opal. They are strong and likable. Tessa is very selfless and puts the welfare of her loved ones before herself. Will is very swoon worthy and in a deliciously arrogant kind of way.

The story wraps up very nicely and could easily be a standalone novel, but it leaves the possibility for more of Tessa and Will’s story to be told as well. I asked Ms. Guibord if there is a sequel planned for Warped and she graciously responded that there are no plans for a sequel right now though she may write one in the future. She also told me that her next novel is called REVEL and it's about a girl who comes to a remote private island off the coast of Maine for the summer and discovers the people living there are hiding secrets. Revel will definitely be on my TBR list.

Content:  Tessa and Will make out a bit on the floor, but that’s about it.