BkRv :: Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me

BOOK REVIEW ::

Spellcaster

Cara Lynn Shultz
@CaraLynnShultz :: website




YA | Witches| Series Book 2

FIRST LINE :: eARC :: You probably don’t remember me, but I remember you. And you and I have a common enemy.












 SUMMARY :: from the B&N website

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although…it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a seventeen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain—especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close….

But something dark and hungry is using Emma's and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in überspells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

REVIEW ::
I was a bit skeptical to see where Emma and Brendan end up in Book 2 since everything appeared mostly peachy keen at the end of Spellbound, but channeling the reliability of Kim Possible with a dash of charm from a naked mole-rat named Rufus, Cara Lynn Shultz has delivered an impressive sequel that is sure to delight readers.

THE GOOD BITS
{Different focus than Book 1} Spellbound had been all about the forbidden romance where Emma and Brendan had to figure out if they could be together. Once that drama was squared away, Cara Lynn Shultz was able to take Spellcaster in a new – and dare I say, BETTER – direction. With the romance angle dialed down to simmer, the heat gets cranked up for some delicious stew of trouble! Vengeance is the name of the game, and Emma and Brendan have to figure out who is out to take advantage of their true love.

{And the award for best lines goes to…} Seriously, it has been a while since I have encountered a book that makes me laugh out loud because the writing is just ridiculously fun. Despite the suspense and dark undertones of Spellbound, Cara Lynn Shultz somehow sneaks in some marshmallowy lines that I have to share with you, dear Readers, because they make the story all the more memorable.

From page 12 :: ARC :: I couldn’t help it: Brendan was abs-olutely pec-tacular, horrible puns intended and very accurate.

From page 82 :: ARC :: As much as I wanted to support Gabe, Brendan and I avoided school functions like the plague. Hell, the fact that you just got mugged, attacked, demonically assaulted, whatever that was, on a school trip proves that you and school functions go together like peanut butter and razor blades.

From page 132 :: ARC :: Brendan, to Emma :: “[T]his is your life, not an episode of Kim Possible where we can bring the bad guy to justice in thirty minutes.”

From page 139 :: ARC :: Brendan, to Emma :: “You’re a diamond and she’s…a Twinkie wrapper.”

THE BAD BITS
{Predictable villain} If you like to be in utter suspense like an Agatha Christie mystery, then Spellcaster will not be to your liking. The villain was more or less obvious early on in the story, so while Emma and Brendan seemed surprised or obliviuos, I was already yelling at them. In a concerned citizen sort of way, of course. The more important thing, though, is that the ending was NOT predictable – Cara Lynn Shultz left enough room to bend the story to where she wanted it to go without choosing the obvious solution.

{One random change in POV} Angelique takes over one chapter of Spellcaster, and readers get a glimpse inside her head as she recounts what happened when Emma was incapacitated. Not a bad thing, and there is a fair warning that Angelique will be telling a story. Furthermore I cannot think of any other way to divulge said information than how Cara Lynn Shultz does it. Then again, after reading from Angelique’s POV, I almost expected her or Brendan to jump in on the first-person narrative a few more times during Spellcaster – but that does not happen.

THE OVERALL
While I may not remember the exact details of Spellbound, this was not terribly necessary to enjoy Spellcaster. Cara Lynn Shultz’s writing continues to sparkle in a most delightful manner, and she has definitely earned a spot on my permanent must-read list.

DISCLAIMER :: NETGALLEY
RELEASED MARCH 2012 BY HARLEQUIN TEEN (HARLEQUIN)
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES :: SPELLBOUND

Monday Mini(BkRv) :: 12 - 13

:: 12 :: 

BOOK REVIEW ::
new girl
Paige Harbison
@paigeharbison :: website




YA | Contemporary

FIRST LINE :: The panoramic view outside the windows of the bus showed a world that wasn’t mine.

SUMMARY :: from the B&N website

Welcome to Manderley Academy

I hadn't wanted to go, but my parents were so excited. So here I am, the new girl at Manderley, a true fish out of water. But mine's not the name on everyone's lips. Oh, no.

It's Becca Normandy they can't stop talking about. Perfect, beautiful Becca. She went missing at the end of last year, leaving a spot open at Manderley - the spot that I got. And everyone acts like it's my fault that infallible, beloved Becca is gone and has been replaced by not perfect, completely fallible, unknown Me.

Then, there's the name on my lips - Max Holloway. Becca's ex. The one boy I should avoid, but can't. Thing is, it seems like he wants me, too. But the memory of Becca is always between us. And as much as I'm starting to like it at Manderley, I can't help but think she's out there, somewhere, watching me take her place.

Waiting to take it back.

REVIEW :: What is with the growing popularity of books that go bump in the night? new girl follows this dark vein as we follow New Girl into a new school where the queen bee Becca rules with an iron fist despite the fact that she has vanished into thin air. Paige Harbison expertly builds the tension slowly but surely as it dances around the question of Becca’s current whereabouts – not to mention, New Girl’s actual name. If I had to describe new girl using other books, I would probably say it is a chimera of here lies bridget, choker, and all those “new girl at boarding school and rooms with the weird girl” stories. All the jealousies, heartaches, and spine tinglies will help to suck readers into new girl as the story behind Becca’s disappearance resurfaces and threatens to pull New Girl into dangerous waters.

DISCLAIMER :: NETGALLEY
RELEASED JANUARY 2012 BY HARLEQUIN TEEN (HARLEQUIN) 
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES :: NO.

:: 12 :: 

BOOK REVIEW ::
Finding Fiona
Emily Ann Ward
@emilyannw :: website




YA | Sci-Fi | Novella

FIRST LINE :: Smoke choked her lungs and made her eyes water.

SUMMARY :: from the publisher

The victim of a brutal attack, Fiona remembers little about her life until she meets someone who claims to be from her past. He tells her that her parents were killed for a human replication machine. He's shocked to discover she's still alive since her body was found in the wreckage of the fire.

She soon travels to her old home in New York to figure out what happened to her and her family. She needs to find out who she is, but more importantly, confront the men who killed her parents.

This coming-of-age scifi novella is full of mystery, action, and romance.

REVIEW :: Finding Fiona sounds promising – I mean, who doesn’t find human replication fascinating? Not to mention, a big baddie who is willing to kill for this discovery? – and Emily Ann Ward delivers some definitely thrilling moments, but overall I feel that the story still needed a little more oomph to really make it stand out on the shelf. I did not quite buy into how Fiona finds out about her past; the set-up was all too convenient. For example, I don’t know how many teenagers would willingly pick up American Physics on their spare time. The characters had potential, but I wish they had a few more quirks to make them more personable and less perfunctory to the storyline. Fiona and James had a past worth mentioning, but where was all that tension when they have to reconnect and work together? Perhaps I expected too much from this novella, but I think Finding Fiona had great potential to being a stand-out if it turns into something full-length.

DISCLAIMER :: LIBRARYTHING
RELEASED DECEMBER 2011 BY CREATESPACE (SELF-PUBBED) 
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES :: NO.