Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

As I sit here, attempting to put my feelings into words, I keep hearing a little scene from Wayne’s World (yes, I know):



I do not feel worthy to try and use my measly words to describe the beauty of Laini Taylor’s “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”. Nothing I could say could even begin to make you realize how wonderful and magical this book is. Laini Taylor is a master seductress - her words will draw you in with their beauty and then they will never you go. Weeks later, you’ll still thirsty for her words.

Karou is an art student in Prague. She fills her sketchbooks with magical creatures and tells her friends stories about them. Little do they know... these demonic creatures are actually real and are the only family that Karou’s ever known. She is able to take care of herself, attends great art school and has a wonderful best friend, but something feels like it is missing. It’s like part of who she is has been taken away. When she meets Akiva, a fire winged angel, something in her snaps. She instantly feels connected to him, despite the fact that at their first meeting, he tried to kill her. He feels it too and as they are faced with this strange and intimate connection, they find something extraordinary that may save a world that Akiva knows and one that Karou is soon to remember.

See? I cannot do it justice. I told you. Enough with my blabbering. Go read this book. NOW. I know you’ll love it. When Ms. Taylor’s magical world finally releases you, come back here and tell me what you think.

I received an ARC from the publisher, Little Brown, for review. This book is on sale now! Ms. Taylor will also be joining us on Authors are ROCKSTARS! later this month.

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

I always feel like I need to preface my reviews of contemporary YA with “I’m not usually a contemporary fan”... but let’s face it, while I do tend to gravitate towards paranormal/fantasy/historical/science fiction, if it is well written, I’m going to read it and love it. I will try not to continue using “I don’t usually read this” as a way of saying “OMG THIS IS GOOD”. I’ll just stick saying “OMG THIS IS GOOD!”

So, let me start out with, OMG THIS IS GOOD. Haha. Seriously though, “Shut Out” was a ton of fun. I read the entire thing on my plane trip from Long Beach to Seattle for KidLitCon. I laughed out loud quite a few times. I think the guy sitting next to me was jealous that I was so entertained and he was stuck watching morning programming on TV. For those of you who didn’t watch the book trailer (shame on you. It has ah-mazing voice over if I do say so myself. Hehehe!), this story is about a girl who is tired of fighting for her quarterback boyfriend’s attention. He’s obsessed with the rivalry between the football and soccer teams, as are all the players. When one of the soccer players gets hurt due to a prank gone awry, the girlfriends band together and form a pact to not “put out” until the rivalry ends. Along the way, our heroine, Lissa, and the young women learn a lot about themselves. She knew that putting teenage lust in check would be difficult, but the sexual tension between Lissa and soccer player, Cash? Well, she never saw that one coming!

This book is just plain FUN. If you’re looking for a sexy, sassy book, then check out “Shut Out” by Kody Keplinger. You won’t be disappointed.

And yes, I am totally going to post the trailer here ONE MORE TIME since it’s cute and I voiced it. Deal with it. ;)



“Shut Out” by Kody Keplinger was published in September of this year by Poppy (Little Brown). I received a finished hardcover from the publisher for review.

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healy

If you’re looking for something to read that is very different from your run of the mill paranormal, then you should check out “Guardian of the Dead” by Karen Healy. This book takes place in New Zealand and is full of beautiful descriptions of the lush landscape and unique cultures. A lot of the book revolves around Maori myths, which I found fascinating. I’m not familiar with this culture at all, so I loved learning their different origin myths. Despite its refreshingly unique setting, I found this book tedious to read.

Here is part of the description from Goodreads.com:
Set in New Zealand, Ellie's main concerns at her boarding school are hanging out with her best friend Kevin, her crush on the mysterious Mark, and her paper deadline. That is, until a mysterious older woman seems to set her sights on Kevin, who is Maori, and has more than just romantic plans for him. In an effort to save him, Ellie is thrown into the world of Maori lore, and eventually finds herself in an all-out war with mist dwelling Maori fairy people called the patupaiarehe who need human lives to gain immortality.

My problems with this book:

• Overwhelming - This applies to the cast of characters, the overall plot line (by the time I got ⅔ through, I just felt enough was enough!), the amount of myths being thrown at me, you name it. This book is overwhelming and it left me feeling agitated throughout reading it.
• Romance - It kind of fizzled out for me after a lot of the mystery is revealed and I didn’t like the way it ended.
• Boarding school - I am tired of this plot device.

Despite its faults, it is an interesting read that many people seemed to really enjoy. Perhaps if I didn’t have a bunch of other books waiting for me that I am dying to read, I would have enjoyed this book more. By the time I finished, I was just happy to be done so I could move on to something else.

I received a copy of “Guardian of the Dead” from the publisher, Little Brown. It was just released on paperback this month.

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

I’ve been having a hard time writing this review. I enjoyed “Forgotten” by Cat Patrick while reading it, but as it came to an end, I found myself disengaging from the plot line. Ms. Patrick is a very talented writer and I hate to put a negative vibe out there because as I said, I did enjoy “Forgotten”, but the plot line was very ambitious and I just feel like it was missing...something. I’m not quite sure what that something is though. I enjoyed the ride and would definitely recommend it despite this weird hang up of mine.

Everyday is a new day, but we always come into it knowing what happened the day before. For London Lane though, all she has is a note. For some reason, London remembers things from her future, but not from her past. It sure doesn’t make high school life or friendships/relationships easy. Talk about awkward! To top it all off, London is plagued with nightmares and she can’t determine who they are about or the “when” these nightmares come from. She decides it’s time to dig into her past beyond the notes and journals she keeps for herself. To quote goodreads.com, “Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.”

“Forgotten” is such an interesting read and as I mentioned before, an ambitious concept. I really enjoyed watching London unravel her past without being able to access the memories locked in her mind. Ms. Patrick’s writing is splendid. She took on a lot with this novel and I think she handled it quite well. I fell in love with the characters and the romance between our heroine and Lucas. It’s just SO sweet. I absolutely love friendship based romance and this one is delightful. The book started to lose me towards the end, partially because I wanted to stay focused on Cat and her life rather than on the conflict presented. It wasn’t like Ms. Patrick’s writing wasn’t engaging (I cannot emphasize enough that this book is so well written!). I don’t know why... I’m just a weirdo.

Seriously, this book is really interesting and a great read for anyone who enjoys a good psychological drama and/or romance. It is unlike any other book on the market right now so read it for a complete change of pace. I’m sure you’ll love it!

I received a copy of “Forgotten” from publisher. It is published by Little, Brown for Young Readers and was released on June 7th of this year.

Huntress by Malinda Lo

We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful... err, wait, wrong story. :) Let me start again, we’re to see the FAIRY QUEEN! Ah, there, much better. “Huntress” by Malindo Lo is a book that you want to go check out today. It’s honest-to-goodness fantasy at its finest, not any of this pop fantasy or paranormal stuff (which I love, but I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea).

“Huntress” is essentially about two girls who didn’t know each other, but are brought together on a journey to save the world. For awhile now, the world they live in has been acting... strangely. Winter has been progressively getting longer and longer.... this year, it just never ended. Crops aren’t growing, people are starving, and the government is unraveling due to the chaos. Taisin is a talented sage-in-training who has a vision that a girl, Kaede, is to join her on a mission. What it is.. isn’t clear. After a visit from the King, it is revealed that they are to embark on a trip to the kingdom of the Xi and their ruler, the Fairy Queen.

The book is a little dense... not due to overwhelming subject matter, but just because it is primarily about this band of people on a trip and about the relationship developing between the girls. It is light on the action, heavy on the character development so it just is a slow read. Not a bad thing, just a “FYI” for those who like more action based fantasy. There is still a lot going on and some great action sequences towards the end that are worth the wait!

Malindo Lo does an exquisite job developing the relationship of Taisin and Kaede. When I try to think of a way to describe it, I visualize a scene from the book where Taisin finds a flower and uses her energy to make it bloom and thrive, despite the lack of sun. What Malindo Lo did is just like it.. she started the book with a frail connection, put it into awkward circumstances for developing romance, but she worked her magic. It then grew and blossomed into something extraordinary. It’s beautifully done. Way to go, Ms. Lo!

My only real problem with the book is that she writes from third person limited most of the time, but then all of a sudden she throws in someone else’s view. It’s just a bit jarring. It mainly goes back and forth between the two girls, but occasionally another character chimes in. It got a little confusing.

Overall though, a REALLY enjoyable, solid fantasy novel. I really enjoyed it and now really want to read her other novel, “Ash”. Fantasy fans, add this one to your “to read” list, pronto.

I was provided with a copy of “Huntress” by the publisher to review. It was released this week by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Go get a copy at your local bookstore or online today. Seriously. Why are you still here reading this? GO FORTH AND PURCHASE “HUNTRESS”. ;o)