Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Publishers: Harlequin Teen
Published Date: May 22nd 2012
From: NetGalley
My rating: 2.5 out of 5

Synopsis:

I don't do dangerous.  

Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back.

Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me....

Review:
The First 20%
The first 30% were somewhat interesting - minus Sam constantly drooling over Bishop. We learn most of the story in this section.

The Main Characters
Samantha and Carly have been best friends since Kindergarten. A fact that is told to us no less than 3 times. I got it the first time! Once Sam meets Bishop they have this instant 'got to touch/want to touch/shouldn't touch' thing going on. It got a little sickening after a while that she couldn't think straight or coherently in his presence. For someone who claims later in the book to not really want a romance she certainly acts against her character. I thought her 'quirky' comments were a little forced sometimes and didn't get the impression of a 'natural' person underneath. When the Source suddenly declares that she is in fact Sam's Aunt I was surprised (when I shouldn't have been) that out of the blue Sam has all these fears and doubts about Bishop's quest, and decides to believe this 'so called' Aunt. There is a small back up story about her parents but it all seemed a little vague and flaky.

Bishop is supposed to be the swoony-worthy romantic interest. Honestly he just came over as a little annoying. His dialogue with Kraven was a little weak. Nothing original in their brotherly hatred of each other. One line near the end opens up the reason why they dislike one another but again it was vague. Bishop suffers through most of the book with the 'crazy's' thanks to an angel on the opening end that made him 'Fallen' and gave him a soul. And I swear the amount of  'shadows' that pass before or behind his eyes - he should be wearing sunshades permanently.

The Story
If I'm honest I think the story could have been crammed into three chapters max. The story hinges on Samantha and her quest to get her soul back. Bishop searches for the Source. But the Source was a little lame. One woman who was always in the same place, easy to be found, if Bishop had looked more closely. And the Source is also Samantha's Aunt.
I got bored of the same conversations that went round and around the characters in big circles. I also got tired of Sam narrating the same things again and again, and then again in later chapters. Editing maybe?
If you check my 'Angel' category, you'll see that I've read quite a few of the leading Angel books. This didn't really come close.

The End?
The ending is satisfactorily plot-finishing. However it does lead into a neat storyline for the next book.

Overall
I downloaded this book about a year ago on NetGalley but didn't get round to reading it. When the next book Wicked Kiss was available I figured I'd better read the first one. I was a little disappointed with the storyline, I thought it weak in places. Too much emphasis on the 'chemistry' between the two main characters which dragged on. I wanted to like this one but it just didn't gel with me. I hate writing bad reviews, it makes me feel guilty, but I must be honest...

Despite all the negative I will be reading the next book for story continuation...

-CBx

 

You can reach Michelle Rowen here:
Web   Twitter  Facebook  Goodreads

Latest Blogs from our Favourite YA Authors - 28th December 2012

Here's a weekly round up of blogs from our favourite YA authors:
x

• Aimee Carter - Contest Winners!   21st Dec

• Alexandra May - Happy Holidays – Enter my Holiday Giveaway! 23rd Dec

• Alyxandra Harvey - Scavenger Hunt winner! 12th Dec
  

• Amy Plum - I’m Kicking off the EpicReads Author Takeover 22nd Dec

• Andrea Cremer - RISE Sneak Peek!  3rd Oct

• Becca Fitzpatrick - Hush, Hush, Movie News 5th Dec

• Cara Lynn Shultz - Hurricane Sandy 30th Oct

• Carrie Jones - Amnesty International   27th Dec

• Courtney Allison Moulton - A Dance with Darkness Giveaway  27th Dec

• Cynthia Hand - Some Frequently Asked Questions   13th Dec

• Jennifer L. Armentrout - Tours and Booksignings 3rd Oct

• Jeri Smith-Ready - Weekend of Legend goal posts and prizes! 7th Dec

• Julie Kagawa -Merry Christmas! 24th Dec

• Kiersten White - Favorite Reads of 2012  20th Dec

• Kimberly Derting - THE ESSENCE Release and Signing News!   18th Dec

• Lauren Kate - Kissing Frogs   19th Dec

• Marilee Brothers - Midnight Moon 24th Dec

• Rachel Hawkins - Links And Shizz! 6th April

• Rachel Vincent - Confession  28th Dec

• Richelle Mead - Indigo Spell stuff AND the Bloodlines Book Club  23rd Dec

Is there an author you'd like to see updates from?
Just let us know and we'll add them to our list!

-CB xx

Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Publishers: Razorbill
Published Date:  January 11th 2011
From: Bought
My rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming

Review:
The First 20%
I've had this book in my TBR pile for so long! I found the story quite difficult to understand from the first few pages. Not the going onto the spaceship and being frozen but the backstory. The Why. Told from two point of views-Amy and Elder-we get to know about Godspeed, it's purpose, and the lies that Elder is being told. He figures out a vital clue right near the beginning just in time to set his-and our-minds working through the truth and lies. The biggest question is who unfroze Amy, and why?

The Main Characters
Amy is quite a young character, a little naive. Born on Earth she comes from a life that we all know. Boyfriend, best friend, school etc. But Godspeed is so far away from anything she's known and right from the start she's confused. Her friendship with Elder isn't an easy one. Her friendship with Harley is better, and its through Harley that we grasp the finer points of life on Godspeed. Once Amy understands the environment and why the workers are they way they are, because of the drugs, she begins to take a stance. But the thing that drives Amy is that soon, one day, she'll be able to unfreeze her parents. She misses them so much, which is one thing that Elder can't understand.

Elder. Well, the whole concept of Elder/Eldest was completely creepy. But in no part of the story did I feel like I couldn't relate to Elder. I felt so sorry for him. He had a good childhood, of sorts, but where we arrive in the story is vital to him. He isn't supposed to question anything, but he finds himself questioning everything. And when he finds Amy all reason falls away. For someone so young, he was a great inspirational character. Only he's still the youngest person on the ship.

Harley really appealed to me. He's happy but then shows a really sad side. He'd amazed at the smallest things. I wondered what Harley would be like without the drugs but he really kept Amy together when she was falling apart. 

The Story
So, most of the occupants of Godspeed are given drugs to keep them compliant. I figured this out before it came up. The constant drug taking was something that didn't sit well, and in the end this factors into the downfall of Godspeed. Eldest has been leading the people for so long, but he hasn't been telling anyone the truth. He constantly lies to everyone, keeps them in order, allows a Season to interfere with his final plan, and constantly tries to bring Elder to heal. He's the ultimate dictator. Amy and Elder, with the help of Harley discover so many secrets that soon they're both on Eldest's list of people he wants to pop off. The creativity behind the story is awe-inspiring. It isn't so much the story itself but the processes that the author has put in place to help us understand life on a busted spaceship. The self-sufficiency, the history of the Plague, the creepy Elder/Eldest thing and the creation of the drugs. All these tiny threads weave a great story together.

The End?
Obviously there's another book after so it can't possibly be the end! However we do resolve a lot of issues in the final few pages.

Overall
I'm a sci-fi fan so this book initially appealed to me. I would say its for a younger Young Adult audience than Mature Teen. But, overall I would definitely recommend it!

-CBx

 

You can reach Beth Revis here:
Web   Twitter  Facebook  Goodreads

Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Publishers: Atria Books
Published Date: November 13th 2012
From: NET GALLEY
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Review:
The First 20%
From the initial first few pages you get the gist that Nastya's hiding a huge secret. I found it a little difficult to relate to the characters or even find some semblance to piece them together. It actually took me until the teacher announced it in class to realise that Nastya doesn't talk. The narrative is very clever and is told from two point of views, Nastya and Josh's, and at first Josh came over as being a random character with only a few references to the girl who dresses like a russian whore. The incident with the shoe in the pavement was when the threads started coming together.

The Main Characters
Nastya isn't a likeable character in the beginning because she doesn't like herself. She's a complete loner, only wears black, slutty clothes at school and hides away when she's at home. She bakes cakes and biscuits alot and runs around her neighbourhood at nighttime. Gradually we're given sneak-peeks of who she is as a person and you start to grasp that her secret, the reason she puts up such a barrier against the world, is going to be awful. Her relationship with Josh comes along so randomly when she turns up at his house one night. She doesn't talk so can't answer any of his questions. As her barriers fall thanks to good friend Drew I wanted to constantly give her a big hug. In the end, after her self-destructive mechanism she is an absolute heroine in the truest sense.

Josh is someone that we all knew at school. In my head he was such a big, assuming, but quiet character. He didn't take any crap off anyone, he didn't mix well with others for the sake of it either. He was like a thirty-something in a teenagers body. His past constantly drives him and he's so afraid underneath his armour.

Drew, again, is someone we all know. A typical man-whore. Parties, drinks, then sleeps with any girl. Except when you get to know him you realise that its all just a lie. And there's a reason why he keeps his persona so open and out there. There's nothing like being spurned by love. Drew warms to Nastya, even though she gives him no reason to. He tries his moves and fails. But then he's so invested in trying to crack her that he and Josh form a united front and agree to help her.

The Story
The narratives keep the story flowing well. As Nastya becomes bolder around Josh and Drew her ability to keep up her pretence fades and she does become a nicer person. We're drip fed little morsels of Nastya's tragedy. Josh confesses much of his history all at once. But in hindsight it does open the book up once you know why one of them is so screwed up. Josh and Nastya try so hard to not have any physical relationship and when they succumb it ends up ten times worse between them. In fact it backfires completely. But most of the book you just feel so sorry for them and the shitty life hand they've been dealt.

The End?
Of course it has to get worse before it gets better, and it gets a lot worse for Nastya when she finally faces the murderer. I think the story reached its pinnacle but what I loved was Josh and Drew at this point. Their unreserved feelings for Nastya were so heart-warming. And in the final conclusion it ends where it should. A happy place.

Overall
To begin with I thought I wouldn't get on with it. This book is not a happy one. There aren't too many laughs or funny moments. And the premise is actually very dark right from the first page. Two screwed up teenagers who try to get along with life, and no hope of seeing a way out of the dark. The relationships flowed naturally, nothing forced. The family element was pretty special. But they coped so well in the end. It made me glad that they were glad!! Yes, this is a very good story, stick with it!

-CBx

 

You can reach Katja Millay here:
 Twitter  Facebook  Goodreads

That Long?

My last post on here was in October. I'm so ashamed I let it go so long. My mother had a stroke in June and since then my priority has been her. I'm an only child and my father passed away a couple of years ago. I've still be reading, I've got through SOOO many books, but blogging hasn't been possible and I really missed it.
My mum is doing tons better, she has regular carers and I've moved back with my husband. Hopefully mum will make a good recovery, all the doctors say so.
So, Everyone I'm back now! Merry Christmas and here's to a great 2013!
Missed you, Charlotte Black xxx

Review: If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

Publishers: Simon Pulse
Published Date: August 28th 2012
From: Publisher
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

Review:
If I lie captures your attention from the start. The first thing you realise is that Quinn is one of the strongest females in the world, and I don't mean of the muscular kind. How she had the courage to get out of bed every morning was startling.

The book takes you through how difficult her life has become after a picture of her was posted onto Facebook, shirtless, kissing a guy who was not her boyfriend. Her boyfriend being the town hero and now currently MIA on his tour of Afghanistan.

In Quinn's case a picture tells a thousand stories, but none of them are the correct one. Carey committed Quinn to a secret days before he left to go on tour and now Quinn is stuck with the backlash.

Jackson got nearly everything right in this book. The school friends all turn on Quinn like a pack. She gets bullied. Her own father is blinkered by the betrayal. Her only saving grace is George, an elderly war veteran.

What I was disappointed with was the portrayal of Blake. Considering he grew up with Carey and Quinn and was effectively the third wheel his character seemed too awkward around Quinn. I would have thought he would have done more to defend her but he stayed away at her asking and didn't question it. I think lots of people would agree that if a friend was suffering such horrible abuse day in day out you would intervene more hastily than he did. Just saying. I know he did his bit but I didn't think it was enough.

Anyway, as the story carries on we get more back story and the eventual reveal (which I guessed way before!). The wrap up clears everything over but leaves us hanging a little at the end. I would have wanted just a little more romance than was promised.

However, all in all this is a very powerful book, a great example of how rumours and gossip and PICTURES can ruin peoples lives if you assume you know the story - never assume you know everything...
-CBx

You can reach Corrine Jackson here:
Web   Twitter  Goodreads

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publishers: HarperTeen
Published Date: April 24th 2012
From: NET GALLEY
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Review:
 A dystopian world where a Prince seeking a Princess chooses a girl from the ordinary people. But America Singer already has a love but has no choice in entering The Selection. The results may or may not be her downfall. Only time and an unexpected friendship can decide.

The storyline for The Selection is nothing new. Quiz shows around the world have at some time featured girls or boys being chosen for dates. It just so happens that this book chooses a Prince for that same task.

The dystopian aspect provides a very different backdrop for America’s expected invitation to join 35 girls of similar age and varied backgrounds on a quest to become Maxon’s bride.

Of course nothing goes to plan. Maxon intervenes when the guards at the palace refuse America access to the gardens. And America gets her first introduction to the Prince before anyone else does.

The storyline whips us through the process for the selection as more and more girls drop out for one reason or another.

Maxon is very charming as the much publicised Prince. His relationship with America is easy, unforced and appears to be perfect for both of them. But America still has feelings for her past love, and when Aspen finds himself working in the palace her mind starts a reverie of complicated thoughts. Does she like Maxon even though she’s told him that she’s unavailable? Can Aspen steal her heart again so easily?

The Selection is an unexpected love story with a cliff-hanger so huge it was hard not to be frustrated at the ending.
-CBx

 

You can reach Kiera Cass  here:
Web   Twitter  Goodreads