ARC Review: Hooked by Liz Fichera

Hooked (Hooked #1)

By Liz Fichera 

Expected Publication: January 31st 2013 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen 

Paperback, 368 pages

Get hooked on a girl named Fred... 

HE said: Fred Oday is a girl? Why is a girl taking my best friends spot on the boy's varsity golf team?

SHE said: Can I seriously do this? Can I join the boys' team? Everyone will hate me - especially Ryan Berenger.

HE said: Coach expects me to partner with Fred on the green? That is crazy bad. Fred's got to go - especially now that I can't get her out of my head. So not happening. 

SHE said: Ryan can be nice, when he's not being a jerk. Like the time he carried my golf bag. But the girl from the rez and the spoiled rich boy from the suburbs? So not happening.

But there's no denying that things are happening as the girl with the killer swing takes on the boy with the killer smile...--Goodreads

Disclaimer: Thank you's to Liz Fichera and Netgalley for the review book! These are our honest opinions. We were not paid for this review. 

2 Stars

Review/ Rant?:

I was not feeling the novel at all. Everything seemed a bit forced and things were happening because of reasons that weren't that believable to begin with. 

I didn't understand or relate to Fred at all. Fred is Native American, but honestly for most of the novel, I forgot that she was even Native American. Was that suppose to happen? Isn't her being Native American a big part of her? The main point is the fact that she's NA... The interactions between Fred and other characters were... I have no idea how to describe it, but they just made me uncomfortable to read. Most of the book made me a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't uncomfortable as in I shouldn't be reading this uncomfortable, instead it was more of a this is so awkward uncomfortable. 

Ryan was just a huge question mark. I didn't really get Fred, but I completely did not get Ryan either. A handful of times I did, but other than that, I really didn't understand him or any of the other characters.

Also the plot. What exactly was the plot? 

I really tried to like this book and its characters, but I didn't. This novel was not for me, but hopefully you guys will like this novel much more than I did. 

Pre-Order this novel at: Amazon / B&N / TBD

Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2)

By Aimée Carter

Published: March 27, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin TEEN

Paperback, 297 pages

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry's first wife, Persephone. --Goodreads

2 Stars

Review

With all of the hype this series is receiving, you'd totally expect something extraordinarily original or dramatic, but unfortunately Goddess Interrupted doesn't stand out in that retrospect. Instead, this book is an overly dramatic, but fun read.

After all the trials Kate has gone through to get to the stage of being hitched to Henry, trouble strikes. I know! You totally didn't expect something abnormal to happen! Yes, Calliope (Hera) is insane, releasing the very daddy who ate her when she was a newborn for no reason besides what? She wants to avenge her misery with her useless husband by hooking up with Henry and killing of Kate. Of course, things never turn out as one expects when half of the cast is insane.

As you've probably figured out by now, Goddess Interrupted is the continuation of The Goddess Test (genius, yes I know). With the words of continuation, this also means a continuation of the hilarious soap operatic moments that can only happen with a straight man (girl in this case), and the insane almighty gods. With Henry kidnapped, we've lost the "Beast" of Beauty and the Beast. Now it's "Beauty" running off to find her hubby's first wife who everyone hates. Then what was already making no sense just spirals downward to become one of the most awkward and sexist books in YA history.

Basically, the author retells a Greek myth in modern times, but unfortunately decides to add tons of sexist and nonsensical situations. For example, Persephone has never loved Henry, not to mention was forced to marry him. Then when she decides that she cannot live this loveless life anymore, and falls in love with Adonis, all of the gods consider her a slut? It is understandable that this situation has happened in the past, and many people have thought the same things hundreds of years ago. But seriously! This is the 21st century, this book takes place in the 21st century, so shouldn't at least the one character born in this century (hello Kate) act like she can understand Persephone's decision. It just floored me out sexist this series could get. 

Then there's the ending. What kind of book ends with such an awkward ending that has the antagonist flash her playing cards in front of the protagonist before her plan is even in the final stages? For goodness sakes! After the sudden revealed plan, there's a frikkin' time skip that feels so out of place. One reason is because it's from Henry's point of view, and we've never had a single moment in this entire series with another narrator besides Kate, so it feels disjointed. Let's just say that there could have been a better way to end this book.

I won't deny that I enjoyed reading Goddess Interrupted. It was like watching Breaking Dawn: Part I, funny because it couldn't be taken seriously. The OMG moments were laughable, and the plot moved too rapidly to be seriously reprehensible. Still, this is definitely one of the biggest slumps of a series that I've read, but I love the cheesiness of this series so much, so I'm definitely putting The Goddess Inheritance on my to-read list.

Purchase this book: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

Review: Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Scent of Magic (Healer #2) 

By Maria V. Snyder 

Expected Publication: December 18, 2012 

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA 

Paperback, 400 pages 

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again. --Goodreads

2 Stars

Review

I read Touch of Power last year and loved it so much. It was my first Maria V. Snyder novel, the beginning of one of my latest obsessions. So when I saw Scent of Magic on NetGalley, I knew that I just had to read and review it! However, Scent of Magic failed to excite and thrill me as much as its predecessor did. My expectations for this book were so high, so I felt really let down by this book.

Scent of Magic immediately begins after the events we were left off on. Avry has discovered the cure for the disease plaguing her world, but can't fully utilize it because the concept is still quite sketchy. She additionally separates from Kerrick to hide, and meanwhile trains the army to fight against Tohon's zombies. As she stays around with the army, Kerrick tries the rally the army. Unfortunately, this is when we run into a problem: my description is exactly the same as the blurb, right? Yes, because that's all that happens!

Basically, everything I loved about Touch of Power is lost in this lack-luster sequel. The witty banter between Avry, Kerrick, and Kerrick's gang is gone when everyone is separated on their own missions to save the kingdoms. Avry seems to no longer try to take control of her life anymore, and instead leaves it up to the people that surround her; her sister, her commander and the soldiers she is around. In other words, this was incredibly boring to read.

I am hoping that this is just a filler book between an epic beginning and a grand finale. Of course I totally plan on reading the next book in the series, Taste of Death, but I sincerely hope that Maria V. Snyder will reach her A-game next time around, because honestly, Scent of Death was a scrambled jumble of events that left me feeling empty when I finished. 

E-ARC courtesy of Harlequin MIRA via NetGalley. Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley! 

Pre-order Scent of Magic here: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) by Kiersten WhitePublished: July 26, 2011 by HarperTeenHardcover, 336 pages

Add Me on GoodReads!

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. 

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. 

The prize in question? Evie herself. 
So much for normal. 

--GoodReads.

2 Stars

Review

What? 2 Stars? Why, yes, fellow reader. TWO stars. Why, you may ask? Why only TWO stars when the Paranormalcy is obviously a super amazingly awesome series that I've been hearing about from other people? Well, it's because I was quite disappointed. Seriously. All my hopes and dreams from White's stunning first peek of Evie's life in the Paranormalcy trilogy were crushed as I advanced through this book. Actually, I had been quite hesitant to continue with this trilogy because I have this thing that whenever I find a really GREAT series, I don't want to continue reading the sequels in fear that my perspective/view of the book/author would change. Has that ever happened to you? I feel like that's partially why I refuse to read Iron Knight, the 4th (FULL) book in Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

Don't get me wrong; I love Kiersten White's writing style. In fact, I WORSHIP her writing. It's easy to get through and I definitely don't have ANY trouble NOT putting down any book of hers. I'm not kidding. I was hooked onto White's hilarious, modern teenager Evie's point of view, even though it lacked:

A) a honest to goodness plot 

B) decent characters 

C) a "so-what?" factor.

Now, I shall start with point A. There's really not much to give away in the book; it basically followed Evie's life as she obsessed over her water spirit of a boyfriend Lend and talked about how she LOVED him so much that she was JEALOUS that he could would LIVE FOREVER and that she wasn't doing anything wrong when she decided NOT TO TELL HIM THE TRUTH after promising to share everything and tell no lies right to his face. Wow, Evie, WOW. Evie yearns for a normal life after being cooped up in a paranormal agency all 17-18 years of her life and gains this little pleasure. After about 1-2 months of this, Evie beings to complain about the BORINGNESS (for once, Evie is correct) of school, and displays real attitude to her snarky gym teacher. She has no friends and dedicates her entire being, or really, lack of being (she is an Empty One, remember now, kiddies) to her BF Lend-y (the water) boy *cue hearts and flowers and fields of daisies.* That's really not quite a healthy lifestyle. Not only that, but Evie is quite irresponsible and is blinded to the fact that there will be only ONE FUTURE for her and that is attending Georgetown, making Lend's babies, living the rest of (her) life with him (he's immortal, dur) and making more kissy face. She doesn't even consider ONCE that she might not get in. Well, for being such a "mature" teenager that is much more "educated" about life (namely paranormals) than other normal kids, why didn't you effin plan your life out or apply to back-up colleges JUST IN CASE?

Not only that, but the real plot actually continues in a rush. It's almost as if White finally, finally woke up from her sleep writing and finished the book in the last 30 pages! Heck, there's little to no plot and she even accepts a request from IPCA, a paranormalcy agency that Evie worked for and fought to ESCAPE from in the first book, to RETURN back to the place she STARTED. What? WHAT THE HECK WAS THE POINT OF THE FIRST BOOK THEN?!? 

Oh, Evie. You're not just an Empty One in the Soul. You are also an Empty One in the Head. *SIGH*. 

The first 300 pages doesn't even really lead up to much of a climax in the last 30 pages. I could correctly predict what was to happen next and wasn't at all shocked. Well, I suppose being an avid NCIS watcher may help in these situations, but seriously. What a disappointment. 

B) LACK OF DECENT CHARACTERS- SEE ABOVE AT EVIE RANT.

C) "So what?" factor - So Evie does this. So Evie does that. She learns about 2-3 pieces of important information. MAXIMUM. So what? Where is this leading? Where could you possibly be leading me now, White? Your stories are like your Faerie Paths. I can't get out of them without you to guide me. Please tell me reading Supernaturally led up to SOMETHING important for your third book, Endlessly. And please let it be kind of decent! I really don't know what to expect anymore....

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Time lapse: 1 hour

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Okay, okay. So maybe I'm being a little bit harsh. Well, who wouldn't be? I had expected so much, and White's lack of a plot really brought down the quality of her writing. I started to hate Evie, a character I so much admired during Paranormalcy! Evie's constant whining about life, and blindness to what was going around her really pissed me off. I certainly hope White's writing improves in her third book Endlessly if I ever read it.

Purchase here at: Amazon/ Barnes&Noble/ Book Depository