Waiting on Wednesday: Nameless

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: Nameless by Lili St. Crow
Publisher: Razorbill
Publish Date: April 4, 2013
Genre: Paranormal

Goodreads Summary: A dark and eerie retelling of Snow White from Lili St. Crow, New York Times bestselling author of the Strange Angels series.

Sixteen-year-old Camille doesn’t remember her life before she was adopted by the powerful Vultusino family—the missing childhood years that left her scarred and silent. Now she lives a life of luxury, protected by the supernatural Mafia Vultusinos, specially Nico, her adopted brother.

But Cami knows that she is not really Family. She is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until a mysterious boy approaches her and reveals scars of his own that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her past . . . to find out where she comes from and what danger she now finds herself in.

Why am I waiting on Nameless? I love fairytale retellings! Plus, a story based on Snow White combined with the mob and paranormal elements makes this book sound like a winner. I have never read anything by Lili St. Crow and while I have seen mixed reviews of her other books, I ready to check out her writing for myself. What books are you waiting on?

Summer Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Bookhounds. This hop runs from August 1-7.

For this hop, I’m giving away an ARC of Otherkin by Nina Berry. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Book Review: Seraphina

Title: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Pages: 467 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary: Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

I have to start this review by talking about how original this book is. I’ve read other fantasy stories where the dragons are able to take on human appearance but none have ever been set in a world quite like this.

Seraphina Dombegh is a half dragon, half human girl born into a world where dragons and humans coexist only because of a very fragile peace treaty. The two races distrust each other intensely. Seraphina’s very existence is considered an abomination and must be kept secret and so her life is an intricate web of lies. Seraphina’s human father would gladly keep her hidden but Seraphina, a smart girl of enormous musical talent, is determined to live as full a life as she can despite believing herself to be a monster.

Hartman’s world building is fantastic! It’s easy to become lost in the history, the politics and the life in Goredd. This story involves several social issues including discrimination (both on the basis of race and sexual orientation), religion and bullying. Hartman does not skimp on the details that completely bring this book to life: the music, the clothes, the importance of saints in their religion, the fantastical characters – it’s all there. Her plot is well developed and the story is well written.

So with all this awesome world building and good writing, what’s my issue with Seraphina? The book starts off really well but the middle drags and drags. This is a long book and it took me quite awhile to get through it. I found myself waiting for something exciting to happen as the story slowly developed but I found myself bored and tempted to abandon the book altogether.

Additionally, I didn’t have any strong feelings of like or dislike towards Seraphina. She is likable enough character but I didn’t really connect with her. There is also my issue with Seraphina’s love interest being engaged to someone else. Granted, Princess Glisselda and Prince Lucian Kiggs are first cousins (gross, I know), but they are still engaged and Glisselda and Seraphina are friends, making the romance even more distasteful. 

While Seraphina may have been too slow for me, I’m in the minority as most other reviews I have seen rave about the book. If you love high fantasy and don’t mind a slow moving plot, Seraphina may be the book for you. The action does pick up in the end and while there is no cliffhanger, Seraphina does not appear to be a standalone novel, but the first in a series.

Content: Kissing, discrimination, bullying and violence.

My Rating: Just Fine

Book Review: Timepiece

Title: Timepiece by Myra McEntire
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pages: 336 pages
Genre: Paranormal, Science Fiction

Goodreads Summary: A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

I really liked Hourglass, the first book in this series. I don’t often read YA books on time travel and Hourglass was very cool with a plot that featured both paranormal and science fiction elements. When I saw that my library got the sequel, Timepiece, I made sure to reserve my copy so I could read it right away.

The science/time travel aspects of the plot in Hourglass were intricate and I understood them while I was reading that first book but since that was a year ago, I can’t remember what they were. I spent most of this book trying to remember how and why the whole thing worked and the confusion took away from the plot for me. However, McEntire’s descriptions of the time rips are great and the characters’ different paranormal powers are very cool.

Unlike the first book which was told from Emerson’s perspective, Timepiece is told from Kaleb’s which didn’t bother me. I did not like Kaleb in the first book. He was a cocky, self-destructive bad boy and I disliked the love triangle that was developing with him, Emerson and Michael. I’m happy that McEntire gave Kaleb his own love interest and that the reader got inside his head to see why he behaved the way he did. I finished Timepiece liking Kaleb a lot more than I did before. Interestingly enough, Emerson annoyed me in this book with her constant need to be assured and canoodled by Michael.

Timepiece is an OK book which would have been much better for me if I had read it back to back with Hourglass. The book does not end with a cliffhanger (yay!) but there are enough loose ends left to warrant another book in the series.

Content: Kissing, sexual situations and violence.

My Rating: Just Fine

Waiting on Wednesday: Broken

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: Broken by A.E. Rought
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publish Date: Jan. 8, 2013
Genre: Horror

Goodreads Summary: Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where a young couple's undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Why am I waiting on Broken? I don’t think I have read a retelling of Frankenstein and this looks and sounds like it will be a really good one. I’m also a huge fan of the cover: the colors, the composition, the beautiful eeriness of it and how the title is in the scroll work of the cemetery gates! What books are you waiting on?

Girl Name Trends in YA

I’m not a writer but I’ve guessed that authors name their main characters similarly to how parents name their children: you give them names that you like and that embody the personality traits that you want your kids to have. There are girl names that are now burned into our subconscious such as Bella, Katniss and Hermione, but what other names have you noticed beyond these?

Since the hubs and I are expecting baby #3 in December, we are currently discussing possible names for our little bean. All this name searching has got me thinking about the names of characters in young adult novels and I’ve been noticing some trends in character names. Not surprisingly, the same naming trends that I notice in real life reflect the ones I see in YA and I thought I would share them with you. I’ll start with the girl names today and do a post on boy names next week. I’m not including odd names from high fantasy/sci-fi books because I expect those to be unusual.

Classic names: This is probably my favorite category! I love classics and I‘ve noticed that a lot of authors do too. Classic names that I’ve been seeing include Anna, Violet, Grace, Charlotte, Emma, Faye, Kate, Nora, Amelia, Claire and Lily. I’ve always thought these names are so pretty and feminine!

Trendy names: By far, trendy names are the most popular in YA these days. I’ve noticed names like America, Aries, Becca, Blue, Daire, Emerson, Mackenzie, Sydney, Kylie, Skye, Nikki, Trinity, Ember, and Summer. Not surprisingly, trendy names are very popular in the real world as well.

Boy names for girls: I’ve noticed this trend on several baby naming boards and with celebrities as well. In books, I can only guess that boyish names gives female characters a tougher edge? I will admit that the names have thrown me off on a couple occasions where I read a book summary and thought the book was LGBT novel because both characters have boy names (I then saw the word ‘she’ thrown in and realized one of the characters was a girl). Some boy names for girls I’ve noticed in recent YA books include Aidan, Cole, Ryan, Pierce, Hudson, Rory, Shane and Harley.

Made-up names: This is my least favorite category. If you have a made-up name or you like them, I hope I don’t offend you but they are just not my thing. Stephenie Meyer probably came up with the most notorious made-up name ever, Renesmee, but there are many other others in YA books. Ones I have come across include: Graylee, Deznee, Breyona, Mianna and Bradalynn. I found all of these names in paranormal books, most of them self published or from boutique publishing houses. Maybe mainstream publishers are are less tolerant to unconventional names (obviously not in Meyer’s case)?

Greek names: I’m sneaking this category in. While these are technically classic names, I wanted to do a special category for Greek names because I love them and adore seeing them in YA books! Recent names I have come across include Helen, Ariadne, Persephone, Phoebe and Athena. I have a couple Greek names on my list. We shall see if one of them sticks around until December.

What naming trends have you noticed? Which trends do you like or dislike? Any girl names you see pop up in YA over and over again that I left off my list? Let me know in the comments!

Audiobook Review: Pandemonium

Title: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Narrator: Sarah Drew
Release Date: Feb. 28, 2012
Publisher: Harper Audio
Duration: 10 hours, 34 mins
Genre: Dystopia

Goodreads Summary:
I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

I have yet to read a book by Lauren Oliver that I did not like. Oliver’s writing is gorgeous and the only thing more beautiful than her prose in the Pandemonium audiobook is Sarah Drew’s narration. I loved Delirium (read my review here) and Pandemonium is a solid follow-up and a really good book. Pandemonium has is all: action, suspense, lots of emotion and of course, romance.

When we met the main character, Lena, in Delirium, we found a timid girl leading a lackluster life, believing in the government’s propaganda and waiting on the ‘cure’ to set her free. The Lena in Pandemonium is anything but timid. She is adapting to a hard life in the wilds, fiercely working with the resistance and most of all, she is very angry and with good cause. The Lenas in both books are vastly different and I love how Oliver shows the character’s growth in such a measured but brilliant way.

The plot in Pandemonium is very well executed and while a love triangle of sorts does develop, it’s well done. I am really excited about Requiem, the last book in the series, because I know Oliver will up the stakes, the action and the emotion to a whole new level. Be aware that like Delirium, Pandemonium ends with a heck of a cliffhanger.

Even if you are not a fan of dystopias, this series is really good and I highly recommend it. It is also a fantastic audiobook! I hope that Sarah Drew will narrate Requiem AND that I be able to listen to the third book instead of reading it. While I’m relatively new to audiobooks, its books like Pandemonium that make me so excited to listen to more. I’m definitely an audio fan for good!

Content: Kissing, profanity and violence.

My Rating: Really Good!