Review: Splintered

Title: Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Publication date: January 1, 2013
Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams)
Source: Netgalley

Rating: 3.5 stars

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Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

The description of this book, like a delicious cake you might find at the Mad Hatter's tea party, was utterly irresistible. But here's the thing: appearances can be deceiving. Reading this book was like salivating over a delicious dessert only to find, when eating it, that the icing was too sweet and the cake too crumbly.

Splintered is the story of Alyssa Gardner, a descendant of Alice Liddell, who suffers from a family curse of spiraling into Wonderland-esque insanity. But events unfold, realizations happen, and Alyssa learns that Wonderland is absolutely real, but much dangerous and twisted than the Lewis Carroll story.

While in theory this book sounded like the coolest thing since nutella, the actual read was less riveting than I'd imagined. I think the author tried to include too many aspects, trying to afford each one equal attention that, in the end, the story was smothered by it. The descriptions of the Wonderland creatures, though brilliantly envisioned, were too detailed and lenghthy and were overwhelming to process. The overemphasized love triangle distracted from the plot and led to ill-timed frisky moments just for the sake of romantic development.

As for the characters, I couldn't connect with any of them. Not even the heroine despite being in her head for  nearly 400 pages. Here's the thing: I felt like Alyssa could have been such an epic character. The girl loves to skate, wears colorful dreadlock extensions in her hair, has electric eels for pets, and makes beautiful mosaics out of dead bugs. HOW COOL IS THAT? But unfortunately, my reaction to Alyssa ended up being rather MEH. Didn't love her but didn't completely hate her either. So many of her thoughts were taken up by her unrequited love for Jeb and hatred of his girlfriend and it was just annoying to read about!

I know this book is advertised as having a love triangle, however, despite Alyssa's attraction to Morpheus, it was obvious that Jeb was always the main love interest... And oh how I wished he wasn't!! No offense to the Jeb fans out there, but he was by far my least favorite character in the whole book. I found him to be way too controlling and overprotective (in a whether-you-like-it-or-not kind of way). And at times even douchey. I tried to like him, I really did! But nope. Just couldn't do it. Every time he showed up in a scene, I would mentally groan.

You know when you're reading a book and the main character and love interest have a Moment? Their eyes meet, there's romantic tension, and the whole time you're like:

And when they finally do...

Ye-ah, that wasn't the case with this book. Each time Jeb and Alyssa had romantic moments, it was just awkward to read about. I can't really explain it but it was almost like watching PDA in the real world.

What's more, there is a time and a place for making googly eyes at your crush. And that time, dear Alyssa and Jeb, is not while you are worrying for your survival with crazy creatures trying to hunt you down!

Personally, I much preferred Morpheus's character. The guy was twisted, mysterious, morally questionable.... and I kind of loved it! (Le sigh. I suppose I've always had a thing for the bad boys).

I will say that the world-building was probably the shining gem of this book. This Wonderland that Howard has crafted is so different from that of the original story... and I absolutely loved it! The sheer creativity and imagination that went into creating this twisted land with bizarre customs and grotesque creatures is truly laudable. From the wacky traditions to the Wonderland afterlife, I was fascinated and I dearly hope that there might be another book in the future exploring more of Wonderland.

All in all: I know most of this review has been me talking about the negatives of this book, but I really did enjoy reading this. Yes, the love triangle really wasn't my cup of tea, but I am really glad I read this book because the adventure was action-packed and the world-building was mind-blowingly fantastic.
If you're into Alice retellings, or just retellings in general, then I definitely recommend this book.

Review: His Black Wings

Title: His Black Wings
Author: Astrid Yrigollen
Publication date: November 2012

Claren Maidstone has been forced to flee her childhood home after the death of her parents and a vicious assault from a sadistic young man who intends to marry her. Claren changes her identity and finds employment as an assistant to the handsome Fredrick Lowood, a generous yet mysterious benefactor. However, she soon finds out his generosity comes at a price. Fredrick wishes for Claren to befriend his disfigured son who resides in seclusion at their estate, Westwind.

Fredrick Lowood knows what the history books do not teach, that the Grand Council built this new world of peace and beauty on hidden blood and greed. He has plotted for years to bring down the family that enslaved his own people. Suddenly, he has the last living heir in his grasp.

Etrigan Lowood rejects the world that forces him to hide. He is powerful, plagued with a terrible dark beauty: WINGS. It is these wings that carry him out only at night to watch the unwanted intruder in his home. A creature of refined instinct yet little social grace, he is strangely captivated by Claren but knows nothing of how her family’s dark past is intertwined with his own . Through their blossoming friendship, Etrigan realizes he still retains his human heart and yearns for Claren’s love.

Kurten Wandsworth is the only son of the Mayor of St.Marhen. Kurten lives his life fueled by cruelty and lust. Whatever he wants he takes and he wants Claren to be his wife even it if kills her. Scarred by Claren he hunts her down mercilessly until he can set a trap which she will never be able to escape from.

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His Black Wings is definitely one of the most creative retellings I've ever read. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales, and when I was offered the chance to read this book, I jumped at it!

Astrid Yrigollen has done a fantastic job weaving the elements of the classic fairy tale in a steampunk, futuristic Victorian setting. Sounds a bit strange, I know, but somehow Yrigollen makes it work. The actual story takes place in the future, but the mannerisms and dress of the characters are all reminiscent of the Victorian era. In short, Yrigollen has created a world that is completely unique and interesting.

I will say that the progression of this story was a little... fractured. There is constant switching of POVs between Claren's first person view and the omniscient narration of scenes between Etrigan and his father. Oh, and then there's a rather abrupt switch to Kurten's POV for a chapter. I feel like the flow of the story could have been better, especially when the world-building was finally explained; for 2/3 of the book, I had been full of questions on the origin of the Victorian steampunk world and, rather abruptly, the plot is just paused as the background info is thrust at you. It was nice to learn about the backstory, but the problem was that I felt bombarded by information. It was a lot to absorb in a short amount of time and could have been integrated into the story better.

There is a great cast of characters in this book, all of them bringing something different to the story. Claren was a good protagonist who was very brave and selfless. She came across as a Mary Sue at times, but considering the fact that she represents Belle, I cut her some slack. And then we have Etrigan. Ah Etrigan, I have such mixed feelings about you. On the one hand, I didn't like how possessive and, at time, rude he was. But on the other hand, he was the Beast, so this characterization was pretty spot-on. By the end of the novel, though, I did end up liking him. And I liked him and Claren together.

Something that I really loved about this book was how interesting the secondary characters were. They all had a distinct personality that kept the story interesting. From the hilarious rivalry between Horace and Dekker to the dark nature of Kurten Wandsworth, I was enraptured and entertained. I might even go so far as to say that the secondary characters were my favorites!

On a side note, I found it a bit hard to really connect with the characters. Personally, I really like being able to connect with characters, to get inside their heads; it makes the reading experience more enjoyable. With His Black Wings, even when I was reading from Claren's first person POV, I felt rather detached, as if I were seeing the story unfold from afar as opposed to being in the middle of the action. I think this is really a personal preference, though. I'm sure some people prefer this style of narration since it's similar to reading a fairy tale.

So....
Rating: 4 stars*

All in all: Despite my little critiques in the review, I really did enjoy this book! It's a really cool and unique twist on the Beauty and the Beast story. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys retellings, or fairy tales in general. Or Victorian-era books. Or just someone who's looking for something new and refreshing in a world where so many ideas are overused.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Painted Blind

Title: Painted Blind
Author: Michelle A. Hansen
Publication date: May 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Createspace

Seventeen years old and agoraphobic, Psyche Middleton vows her dad will never see the risqué photos she took during a summer modeling stint abroad, but one of them ends up on a billboard in her Montana hometown. Now everyone—especially her dad—can see it. And yet, somehow, those are the mundane things in her life because she is about to fall unexpectedly, head-over-heels in love with Erik, a mysterious young man who rescues her from a crowd of admirers, and who she’s never actually seen because…he can make himself invisible.

As strange as this may seem, it’s about to get even stranger. Erik takes her to his palace in an idyllic kingdom, and she is swept into the beauty and culture of his world, but his affection has one condition: she may not see him. Overtaken, intrigued, and still not wholeheartedly believing he’s real, Psyche is going to have to decide if she can love him blindly; because if she can’t, she may lose him forever.

Despite my undying love for Greek myths, there is one key characteristic about them that I absolutely detest: insta-love.

Think about it, how often does anyone in Greek mythology actually take the time to get to know their love interest? (If you can name just one, then I owe you cookies.) That's why I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful character depth and romantic development in Painted Blind.

As someone who is well-acquainted with the Psyche and Eros myth, I loved how Michelle Hansen brought this story to the modern world while still retaining the principle elements of the myth. The concept was brilliant and creative and actually quite believable.

Psyche was a very relatable heroine. Sure, she makes some mistakes and she definitely has her own baggage to deal with, but all that just makes her realistically flawed. There were moments when I didn't like something she did, and more than one occasion when I got annoyed by how all the guys were clambering to help her, but overall, Psyche's bravery and perseverance shined through, and I had no problem seeing her as a real girl, as opposed to just a name in a myth.

And speaking of the guys in this book....
holy wowza, there was a whole menagerie of hot males!
All of them were really interesting characters, and NO, I'm not just saying that because I'm a book-boyfriend-obsessed girl. Hansen did a fantastic job making each one of them memorable and unique, giving them back stories that made me want to learn more about them. However, the one who really stole the show, was Eros (AKA Erik), god of love. I mean, obviously! In most retellings of this myth (and in the actual myth), Eros is this really vain and shallow jerk, but in this book, he was so real. He had insecurities and talents and a past that influenced him. He's not the kind of guy who actively seeks out attention. Instead, he's the kind of guy who tends to hang back, quiet and mysterious, and oh my gosh so darn swoon-worthy.

For me, the romance between Psyche and Eros was a whole heck of a lot better than insta-love. As a couple, Psyche and Eros had a lot of hurdles to get through, and when you have to work through stuff like that, you get this wonderful little thing called DEVELOPMENT. Me gusta.

Now I can't end this review without talking about the world-building because OH MY GOSH, it's just fabulous. Hansen expertly weaved together the mortal world and the gods' realms seamlessly! In this one book you get to see so much of the Olympian realm, with each setting beautifully and vividly described.

Rating: 4 stars*
All in all: Amazing! I really really hope Michelle Hansen decides to write some more myth retellings in the future because, if this book is any indication, she'd be really good at it!

*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Giveaway + Cover Reveal: His Black Wings

His Black Wings is...

Beauty and the Beast set in the future during a Victorian era revival. 

The Grand Council has brought the world peace, but will it last?

Malice, revenge and lust are not easily defeated...

Claren Maidstone has been forced to flee her childhood home, following the death of her parents and a vicious attack from a man who intends to marry her. 

She assumes a new identity and finds employment as an assistant to the handsome, Fredrick Lowood. However, Fredrick's generosity isn't without a price and Claren soon finds herself forced into a strange friendship with his disfigured son. 

Unaware of how Claren's past entwines with his own, 

Etrigan Lowood begins to yearn for her love. 

Unfortunately, the past is not far behind.

Is his love for Claren enough? 

Or will Etrigan remain alone with his black wings... 

My Thoughts:
I am loving the manga vibe of this cover! And the colors too! As for the story, pshhhh you had me at "Beauty and the Beast," AKA one of my all-time fairy tales. I can't wait to read this book!! X)

About the author:

Astrid Yrigollen is a self published author of young adult and children's books. Astrid started her writing career when she begun work for the international video game giant, Sega of America. Working her way up the ranks, she began writing companion guides for games. With a love for writing fiction since childhood, she took her short stories out of storage and had her first story ever written published. It was only after that she found out that first stories are never published! She has resumed writing full time and has succeeded in putting out the titles, The Doughnut Tree, Mysterious Pootkins, and The Mosswoods--to name a few. Her short stories have appeared in the literary journal of Threshold Press and Shock and Awe Magazine. 

Connect with the author! 

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Review: Destined

Destined 

By Jessie Harrell

Published November 17th 2011 by Mae Day Publishing

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined

Rating: 2 stars

I like Greek myths. A lot.

And I really really enjoy many retellings of them. (I mean, I make it no secret that I’m absolutely crazy about the Percy Jackson books…)

But this book was somewhat of a let-down for me.

The Psyche and Eros myth is one of my favorites, but I just didn’t enjoy this retelling of it.

The ironic part is that I probably didn’t like it so much because it was written so much like an actual Greek myth.

Here’s the thing: Greek myths? Pure awesomeness. You get your epic battles, famous heroes, and all sorts of juicy scandals. But what you don’t get very often (hardly ever, really) is character depth.

You rarely get to really know a character—get inside their head and understand their thoughts. And that’s totally understandable because so man ystories were passed down orally, and let’s face it, you can’t make an oral story last hours and hours just to give a character some relatable-ness. In fact, it’s pretty much expected that many Greek mythological beings are flat characters.

This is why I usually like retellings—because the author can give the gods/goddesses/satyrs/nymphs/etc. real personalities. Make them relatable.

Unfortunately, I did not get this in Destined.

The characters were all very much one dimensional and I could not relate to any of them at all. Which, to be fair, may have been the author’s goal—retelling the story in a very traditional way. If it is, then bravo, Jessie Harrell, you have done a spectacular job.

I, personally, just didn’t really like this style of storytelling.

Eros starts off as an arrogant, privileged, snobbish god. Which he was  supposed to be, because when he fell in love with Psyche, it’s literally like he had an entire personality makeover! He was head-over-heels in love with the girl, always worrying about her, trying constantly to make her happy, etc.—thinking about someone other than himself, for once.

While Eros, god of Love, didn’t exactly make me swoon in the book, he was okay. He did some sweet things... I didn’t exactly not like him.

I just had no idea what he saw in Psyche.

Let’s just say it’s pretty apparent that magic was used for him to be that infatuated with her.

Psyche was supposed to be this beautiful (check!), selfless (check-ish!), all-around wonderful human being (okaaaaay….). But most of the time, she just really got on my nerves.  

Psyche was very naïve and easily influenced by just about everyone. She had no trouble jumping to awful conclusions about one of her friends, or Eros—believing him to be some monster that was readying her for dinner, when in fact, all signs pointed to exactly the opposite! It’s also quite evident that she’s been spoiled. Case in point: when she prepares to go on the journey that will placate Aphrodite and hopefully get Eros’s forgiveness, the first thing she does is go home and take a nice, hot bath and eat some awesome desserts.

O_O   REALLY, Psyche? Really?

To be fair, I did want to be inside the character’s head…

I just really did not like what was inside Psyche’s cranium.

While this book really was not up my alley, I must admit that it stayed extremely true to the myth. It even took place in ancient Greece! (But, really, that just made it all the more awkward when the characters talked in a contemporary vernacular….) The story followed pretty much exactly what happened in the actual myth, just retelling it in a more modern, teen-oriented way.

If you like Greek myths/retellings, then this book might really interest you. Or it might not. I really do think it’s a personal preference kind of thing. For me, it just didn't work.

Review: Juliet Immortal

Juliet Immortal
by Stacey Jay

Published August 9th 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

 -goodreads

“She will fight for light, and he for dark,
Battling through the ages for loves sweet spark.
Wherever two souls adore truly, you will find them, lo,
The brave Juliet and the wicked Romeo.” 

Rating: 3 stars
Review: 
Hrmm..... where to begin. The thing is, I really really really wanted to love this book! I was so excited about it for months and months! And when I finally read it......
It kind of fell short of my expectations. 
Don't get me wrong, the book was extremely creative and original. Heck, I wish I could think up a twist to a timeless love story like that! I really feel like the premise of the book--Romeo vs. Juliet, fighting for soul mates, etc--was SO brilliant and had so much potential ....it's just that the actual storyline just didn't really live up to it.


Jay's Juliet was fine. I really liked how she worked to reconcile her own bitterness and hate from her death with being an Ambassador of Light. I loved that she had hate in her heart, but at the same time was truly a good person: strong, kind, and selfless. 


Romeo, oh evil Romeo, where the heck were you when I was reading Shakespeare's play?? I know he's supposed to be all evil and a Mercenary and everything, but I actually really liked him. OKAY, so he did have some kinda evil moments, but the thing is, it's hard to hate a character that already hates himself so much for a past mistake. He was definitely a complex character.... and, unfortunately, I'm kind of a sucker for those.


The part of the book that really bothered me was...... okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it:
I did not like the love story aspect of the book! 
GUYS. This almost never happens. Oh, and just to clarify, I'm talking about the Juliet-and-Ben relationship here. Nothing against Ben, really--the guy is definitely someone a LOT of girls would fall for, and believe me, he had his swoon-worthy moments..... but I just didn't see the connection, y'know? With Juliet and Ben, it was a total love-at-first-sight kind of thing. And I'm just not a fan of the whole instalove relationship. I didn't really see them falling for each other and connecting. And that really bothered me. Like,througout the entire book.

A part of me really wanted Juliet and Romeo to somehow end up together--because, come on, they're freaking Romeo and Juliet! Even if the technicalities of their love story wasn't all that lovely and technically Romeo was evil, they're so iconic as the greatest love story couple that I just really wanted them to somehow salvage the love story! And maybe, I would've been okay with the fact that Juliet did fall in love with someone else... but there wasn't even an actual connection between Juliet and Ben! I ended up being more excited for the Romeo-Juliet scenes than the Ben-Juliet scenes!

On another note, though, I will be reading the sequel, because hello? Romeo Redeemed? A whole book about bad boy Romeo? Oh, I am so there! Unfortunately, I'm not all that excited because be his turn to fall in love with someone, and of all the people, it had to be Ariel. Don't know how I feel about that yet, but we'll see...  
 

Review: Sweetly

Sweetly (Fairytale Retellings #2)
by Jackson Pearce

Published August 23rd 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

SWEETLY is a modernization of Hansel and Gretel and a companion book to SISTERS RED.

Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again.

Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel.

Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.
-goodreads

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review:
I freaking love fairytale retellings, and I must say, Jackson Pearce has done great job with this retelling! I loved it! I enjoyed Sisters Red, but it's got nothing on this book.

I love how Pearce takes these nice little fairy tales that we all know and love from our childhood and then adds her own little dark spin on it. It makes for quite an addicting read, that's for sure. If you're expecting some light, fluffy innocent read, then think again because this book is intense. It's got  characters who have experienced some seriously messed up problems, action, and mystery--boy does it have mystery! I was up reading into the wee hours of the night trying to figure out just what the "truth" was.

I can definitely see how this is a companion book to Sisters Red. You don't have to read one right before the other, but they both happen in the same world and deal with fenris. Pearce's spin on the witch in the story was really creative and totally unexpected.

As for the characters in this book, I really enjoyed the motley gang, especially Gretchen. She starts out as a scared girl, but seeing her evolution through the book into someone so strong and fearless was awesome. I really enjoyed how despite all the fairytale elements in the book and in Gretchen's life, she was still very real and relateable! 

This book combines so many elements that I want in a good read; a little bit of fantasy, some fairytale elements, great characters, suspense (trust me, it's got a lot of that!), and romance. Okay, maybe I wouldn't mind if there was a little more romance... but that's just me. Regardless it was still a great read.

And, OH! That cover! Is anyone else experiencing some serious cover love? I am in love with the whimsical/semi-creepy look! I think I might like it even more than I do the cover of Sisters Red! 


Bottom Line: You should read this book. And believe me, this book will leave you wanting more retellings from Jackson Pearce. I really hope she decides to write another one!