Tag Archives: reviews

Book Review: Fallen Too Far

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Fallen Too Far CoverBook: Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines

Self-Published December 2012|Pages: 445

Where I Got It: Nook store Series: Too Far #1/Rosemary Beach #1

Genre: New Adult Romance/Contemporary

You can find Fallen Too Far on Goodreads|You can find Abbi Glines on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: To want what you’re not supposed to have…

She is only nineteen.

She is his new stepfather’s daughter. 

She is still naïve and innocent due to spending the last three years taking care of her sick mother. 

But for twenty-four year old Rush Finlay, she is the only thing that has ever been off limits. His famous father’s guilt money, his mother’s desperation to win his love, and his charm are the three reasons he has never been told no.

Blaire Wynn left her small farmhouse in Alabama, after her mother passed away, to move in with her father and his new wife in their sprawling beach house along the Florida gulf coast. She isn’t prepared for the lifestyle change and she knows she’ll never fit into this world. Then there is her sexy stepbrother who her father leaves her with for the summer while he runs off to Paris with his wife. Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous. He is also getting under her skin. She knows he is anything but good for her and that he’ll never be faithful to anyone. He is jaded and has secrets Blaire knows she may never uncover but even knowing all of that…

Blaire just may have fallen too far.

I really enjoyed Fallen Too Far!  There were parts that made me so mad, especially in terms of the secrets kept, and there are definitely a character or two that I could not stand!  But…i think they were supposed to be that way…

Fallen Too Far is definitely addicting, and I loved the tension between Rush and Blaire.  I definitely felt for Blaire, who’s trying to fit into a world where there are rumors circulating about her, and secrets that no one wants to tell her.  At one point, I sort of managed to figure out what the secret was, but couldn’t completely pinpoint it until it actually happened.  I didn’t care if the secret was a little predictable, because I just wanted to know what it was after it being mentioned so much.  I also don’t blame Blaire for reacting the way she did, because I’d probably react the same way.  Well, not completely, but to a certain extent, I probably would.

Actually, if I paid a little more attention, I probably could have figured it out completely.  And no one wanting to tell her, because it wasn’t their secret to tell made me so angry, because they all had an idea, but it was infuriating that they didn’t tell her what rumors were out there.

Anyway: I’m not sure how I feel about Blaire and Rush.  They are definitely very different, and yet…they can’t stay away from each other. There is a certain something about them, but I don’t have strong feelings about them either way.  I’m hoping that they’ll grow on me in the next book.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Fallen Too Far, and I’m officially an Abbi Glines fan after reading Fallen Too Far!  Rush and Blair didn’t quite click for me, and no one talking about secrets was a little irritating, but overall, things are complicated but complications are why this book was addicting!  Fallen Too Far gets 4 stars.

Book Review: The Exodus Towers

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The Exodus Towers CoverBook: The Exodus Towers by Jason Hough Published August 2013 by Del Rey|Pages: 544

Where I Got It: I own the paperback!

Series: Dire Earth Cycle #2

Genre: Adult Science Fiction

You can find The Exodus Towers on Goodreads|You can find Jason on goodreads,  facebook, twitter and his website

Goodreads Summary: The Exodus Towers features all the high-octane action and richly imagined characters of The Darwin Elevator—but the stakes have never been higher.

The sudden appearance of a second space elevator in Brazil only deepens the mystery about the aliens who provided it: the Builders. Scavenger crew captain Skyler Luiken and brilliant scientist Dr. Tania Sharma have formed a colony around the new Elevator’s base, utilizing mobile towers to protect humans from the Builders’ plague. But they are soon under attack from a roving band of plague-immune soldiers. Cut off from the colony, Skyler must wage a one-man war against the new threat as well as murderous subhumans and thugs from Darwin—all while trying to solve the puzzle of the Builders’ master plan . . . before it’s too late for the last vestiges of humanity.

I definitely want to acknowledge that I know Jason, and he’s a pretty awesome guy, so I’m at least a little biased.  But I genuinely loved The Exodus Towers!

Certain things definitely were not what they seemed, especially with the Builders and all of the events that they had planned.  And the structures that appeared…they are definitely different, but they’re also kind of cool.  The differences between Belem and Darwin caught my interest, and I liked seeing how things were different for both groups.  And how certain people from Darwin caught up with Belem.

The cool thing about Belem is that part of the gang finds a new group of people who managed to survive just as long as the settlement in Brazil.  It’s good to meet some new survivors and how their story intertwines with those from Darwin.  I liked seeing the different perspectives, because you really get to know the characters better and you get a little more into their head.

Middle books always make me a little nervous, because I never know what to expect, but I am so glad that The Exodus Towers that exceeded the really high expectations The Darwin Elevator set.  We see more of the Jacobites, who were introduced in The Darwin Elevator, and they are much more important than I could have imagined.  I can’t wait to see how their story plays out.  I’m really glad that this book isn’t a bridge between the first and third book.

There’s a lot of action, and Jason does a great job with keep you wondering what’s going to happen next.  Like, we have yet to see the Builders, and I’m hoping they make an appearance in The Plague Forge because i really need to know what they’re up to!  We’ve seen SUBS and their technology, but I’d really like to know what their plan is.

Final Thoughts: I’m definitely excited about The Plague Forge, mostly because I want answers!  I love the mystery of the Builders, and how there are more immunes than anyone expected.  And I loved seeing the characters deal with new (and more pressing) challenges.  The Exodus Towers get 5 stars.

Book Review: Goddess

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Goddess CoverBook: Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Published May 2013 by HarperCollins|Pages: 432

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Starcrossed #3

Genre: YA Paranormal/Greek Mythology Re-Telling

You can find Goddess on Goodreads|You can find Josephine Angelini on Twitter, Facebook, and her website

Goodreads Summary: Goddess brings Josephine Angelini’s haunting, deeply romantic Starcrossed saga to its breathtaking conclusion.

Helen Hamilton, a Scion—the offspring of a Greek god and a mortal—is fighting her destiny. She refuses to accept that her life will echo that of the tragic Helen of Troy.

In Goddess, Helen must find a way to return the furious Greek gods to captivity on Olympus without starting a war and bringing death to more Scions and mortals. The Oracle warns that Helen will be faced with a traitor. It appears that Orion could be the one to betray her, although he captured her heart guiding her though the Underworld. She must decide if it is Orion she truly loves, or Lucas, whose life hangs in the balance.

Goddess is the last book in the Starcrossed trilogy, and I’m sad to see it end.  This is what the other two books have been building up to, and Goddess is such a good ending to the series!

What I love about Goddess is how well Angelini brought different stories together.  You have Greek mythology, of course, but you also see a bit of Guinevere, in the form of flashbacks.  Goddess is the book where we see the downfall of Troy, and the role the original Helen played. This is the book where we really see the connections between past and present, and I liked seeing how cyclical everything is in this world. The flashbacks worked really well in Goddess, and they really added to what was going on and put everything in context.

There were a lot of moments where I was angry and sad and happy.  I get why some of the characters acted the way they did, but it still made me so upset with them!

And since Goddess is a really unique twist on Greek mythology, prophecies are interpreted wrong, and things don’t go right for everyone at times.  I really liked how Helen and (most) of her friends came together to overthrow the gods and put an end to the cycle started so long ago.  I reakly do appreciate the creativity that went into how Helen managed to do what she needed to do.  And her ability to Descend into the underworld ended up being really interesting!  Especially because of Helen being a Worldbuilder and all.

I kind of wish the book had focused a little more on the entire group.  We do get to see different points of view, but Goddess is really Helen’s story.  I get why, since she seems to be the only one who can actually *do* anything…with a bit of help from the other characters, of course.  I liked that they were a team, and while that does come through in Goddess, I wish we saw a little more of it, because I really like everyone working together as a team.

I’m glad things worked out for Helen and Lucas, and I was sort of intrigued by Daphne’s lies that kept them apart.  I get why, but it really made me not like at her times.  Still, her story is a bit sad, and I did feel for her in the end.

Final Thoughts:

I loved Goddess, and Helen really is more confident in her abilities and in herself.  The final battle wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was a really creative way around things, and I’m glad that (mostly) everyone got their happily ever after.

ARC Book Review: Palace Of Spies

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Palace Of Spies CoverBook: Palace Of Spies by Sarah Zettel

Expected Publication Is November 5, 2013 by Harcourt Children’s Group|Expected Number Of Pages: 371

Where I Got It: it’s an arc from netgalley.com- this hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: Palace Of Spies #1

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

You can find Palace Of Spies on Goodreads|You can find Sarah Zettel on Twitter, Facebook, and her website

Goodreads Summary: A warning to all young ladies of delicate breeding who wish to embark upon lives of adventure: Don’t.

Sixteen-year-old Peggy is a well-bred orphan who is coerced into posing as a lady in waiting at the palace of King George I. Life is grand, until Peggy starts to suspect that the girl she’s impersonating might have been murdered. Unless Peggy can discover the truth, she might be doomed to the same terrible fate. But in a court of shadows and intrigue, anyone could be a spy—perhaps even the handsome young artist with whom Peggy is falling in love…

History and mystery spark in this effervescent series debut.

Palace Of Spies was a fun and interesting read.  Peggy is an interesting character, and I liked how her story was connected to her mother’s story, and how Peggy discovered what was going on with Francesca, who she was impersonating.

There’s a lot of intrigue and mystery, and I was definitely kept guessing throughout the book.  The mystery itself wan’t surprising, but I did like how we got there.  I liked the historical setting of the book, and I thought Zettel did a great job at showing how you have to be careful of who you can trust, because mysteries are everywhere.  And anyone could be a spy, and just when you think you know what’s going on, you’re taken by surprise.

I like that you get a pretty good idea of what’s going on without getting lost in the details, but I do wish that Palace Of Spies had a further reading section or something about Zettel’s inspiration for the book, because at some point, I’d like to read more about this period.

Even though we spend a lot of time with Peggy, and she’s pretty interesting, I also feel like we don’t get to know her very well.  It could be that we’ll get to know her better in the rest of the series.  I was also a little surprised that she didn’t seem to know much about Francesca’s life before impersonating her.  She seemed pretty well-versed in court etiquette but it also seemed like no one took the time to tell her who Francesca was, and what she was like as a person.

I’m not completely sure about Peggy as a spy, but I’m hoping she grows into her duties as spy throughout the series.

Final Thoughts:

I liked Palace Of Spies, and I think there’s a bit of adventure, with mystery and intrigue. I was actually reminded of Gail Carriger’s books, so if you like her. I think you’d like Palace Of Spies. Palace Of Spies gets 3 stars.

ARC Book Review: Bellman And Black: A Ghost Story

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Bellman & Black CoverBook: Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield

Expected Publication is November 5, 2013 by Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books|Expected Number Of Pages: 305

Where I Got It: an arc from netgalley.com- this hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: None

Genre: Adult Fiction

Bellman & Black can be found on goodreads|You can find Diane Setterfield on goodreads and Simon & Schuster’s Website

Goodreads Summary: As a boy, William Bellman commits one small, cruel act: killing a bird with his slingshot. Little does he know the unforeseen and terrible consequences of the deed, which is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to be a man blessed by fortune—until tragedy strikes and the stranger in black comes. Then he starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, William enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business.

And Bellman & Black is born.

Bellman & Black definitely had an interesting premise, and it had a great Victorian/Gothic/creepy vibe, but unfortunately, it was an okay read for me.

Setterfield did a great job with the Victorian/Gothic vibe of the book, and I wish there was more of a ghost story in the book, because…I was kind of expecting more of a ghost story.  If it’s there, it’s really subtle, or I somehow managed to miss it.  I was hoping for more of a connection between the opening scene and what happened throughout William’s life, but unfortunately, it just never came together for me.  I honestly didn’t get the connection between the two, and I was hoping that there would be some sort of explanation by the end of the book.

There was a lot of descriptions in the book, and all of those descriptions felt very overwhelming and hard to get through at times.  There’s quite a bit of detail in how Bellman’s mill is run and quite a bit of detail in the business Bellman opened with Black, and there were a couple points where I skimmed over the details.  You get all of these details, but when Bellman starts losing people, you barely got anything.

I also found that I didn’t care about what happened to the characters.  For me, there wasn’t anything that made me care about what happened to them.  It also took a while for the Bellman & Black part of the novel to even start, and I was disappointed that it took a while to see the creepy business deal they made.

Final Thoughts:

Bellman & Black wasn’t what I was expecting, and it’s just not the book for me.  The details made the book hard to get through at times, and I was definitely expecting more of a ghost story.  Bellman & Black gets 2 stars.

ARC Book Review: Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always

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Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always CoverBook: Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always by Elissa Janine Hoole

Expected Publication Is November 8, 2013 by Flux|Expected Number Of Pages: 363

Where I Got It: an ARC from netgalley.com- this hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always on goodreads|You can find Elissa Janine Hoole on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: Cassandra fears rocking the family boat. Instead, she sinks it. Assigned by her English teacher to write a poem that reveals her true self, Cassandra Randall is stuck. Her family’s religion is so overbearing, she can NEVER write about who she truly is. So Cass does what any self-respecting high school girl would do: she secretly begins writing a tarot-inspired advice blog. When Drew Godfrey, an awkward outcast with unwashed hair, writes to her, the situation spirals into what the school calls “a cyberbullying crisis” and what the church calls “sorcery.” Cass wants to be the kind of person who sticks up for the persecuted, who protects the victims the way she tries to protect her brother from the homophobes in her church. But what if she’s just another bully? What will it take for her to step up and tell the truth?

I am definitely intrigued with Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always, and I found Cassandra fairly easy to relate to.  In the sense that it was hard for her to be herself and speak up.  I also liked that she struggled with her English assignment because she wasn’t sure who she was and because she was scared to share the pieces of her that she was scared to share with other people.

There are a lot of issues in Sometimes Never, and there were times when I felt like there were too many issues going on.  It does come together (mostly) in the form of cyber-bullying, and you get a pretty good idea of what it’s like for everyone involved, especially for Cass and Drew.

I do wish we got more of the belief’s of Cass’ church, and what they believe.  You get a pretty good idea, but it would have been nice to see more of a contrast of Cass’ atheism and the beliefs of her church.  Also, we the get basics on why her family joined this church, but it’s another thing I wish we got more of, because it’s another thing that would have contrasted well with Cass’ beliefs.  Still, Sometimes Never isn’t preachy, and there the balance between Cass and her parents was pretty well done- even though it needed a little extra something. At least, it did for me.

It was pretty easy to see how Cass got herself into a little bit of trouble, and while she knew what the right thing was, it was also to easy to see why/how she got into the trouble she did.  And I know she never imagined the trouble her blog could cause, I also totally get why she needed to have place where she could have a different identity.  What started out as an innocent act of rebellion went so horribly wrong, and Poole did a great job with showing the impact cyber-bullying has on both the victim and the by-standers.

Sometimes Never is definitely about her journey, and it’s definitely predictable, but I did like seeing Cass change over the course of the novel.  I liked seeing how she was scared to be herself to sharing pieces of her life with her family, even though they aren’t accepting of what she has to say.

Cass was irritating at times, especially because she acted however people expected her act.  While I totally understand that, and while it didn’t bother me for the most part, it was a little trying at times.

Final Thoughts:

I liked Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always, and it’s a good look at a teen who starts a blog as a relatively innocent act of rebellion that later gets out of control.  There are a lot of issues in Sometimes Never, and I wish the book had focused on a few of them, because the number of issues that pop up are overwhelming.  Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always gets 3 stars.

ARC Book Review: Sorrow’s Knot

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Sorrow's Knot CoverBook: Sorrow’s Knot by Erin Bow

Expected Publication is October 29, 2013|Expected Number Of Pages: 355

Where I Got It: It’s an arc from netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way. Promise!

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy

You can find Sorrow’s Knot on Goodreads|You can find Erin Bow on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: In the world of Sorrow’s Knot, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry and nearly invisible, something deadly. The dead can only be repelled or destroyed with magically knotted cords and yarns. The women who tie these knots are called binders.

Otter is the daughter of Willow, a binder of great power. She’s a proud and privileged girl who takes it for granted that she will be a binder some day herself. But when Willow’s power begins to turn inward and tear her apart, Otter finds herself trapped with a responsibility she’s not ready for, and a power she no longer wants.

Sorrow’s Knot is definitely interesting, and I absolutely loved the mythology and stories in this world.  There’s a very Native American feel to the book, and I was pleasantly surprised by that because I typically associate fantasy with a medieval feel. I’m actually really curious about what myths Bow looked at (if any) and what her inspiration for the book is, because the whole premise is really imaginative and detailed.

I really liked the ghosts that Bow came up with and the story behind them.  It’s definitely creepy and haunting, and their story is definitely different than anything else I’ve seen.  The stories that Cricket shares, and the seemingly small world they live in, is definitely different.  This society is all female (except for Cricket), and they, for the most part, live in a part of the forest.  The world definitely opens up to Otter at one point in the novel, and it was interesting to see how the world changed for her.

It took some time getting into Sorrow’s Knot, and it wasn’t until halfway through that I got really interested in what was going on.  Things do move at gradual pace for quite a good chunk of the book, and while it’s worth it in the end, I also wish that I found the first half more interesting.

I really am struck by how much I loved the world building.  I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to the characters.  They were okay, but Bow created such an intriguing world, that I really couldn’t think about anything else.  It really is the star of Sorrow’s Knot, and I really can’t help but gush over how much I love the idea of magic in the form of knots and cords.  I did feel like the characters were a bit overshadowed by all of the world-building.  I will say that Cricket actually added a really nice balance in such a female-dominated world.

Final Thoughts:

As much as I loved the world of Sorrow’s Knot, and all of the stories that this society had, it also took me a little too long to get really interested in what was going on. Sorrow’s Knot gets 3 stars.

Mini Book Review: Rooftoppers

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Rooftoppers CoverBook: Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Published September 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers|Pages: 278

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from a friend

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction/Adventure

You can find Rooftoppers on goodreads|You can find Katherine Rundell on Twitter

Goodreads Summary: Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible. So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Paris to look for her mother, starting with the only clue she has – the address of the cello maker. Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers – urchins who live in the sky. Together they scour the city for Sophie’s mother before she is caught and sent back to London, and most importantly before she loses hope.

Rooftoppers is such a cute book!  I liked Sophie and I totally wanted to adopt her.

She definitely had quite an adventure going to Paris to look for her mother, who everyone else thought to be dead.  I also liked the idea of orphans and runaways living on the roofs of buildings all over Paris.  I loved her relationship with her guardian, Charles, and how he let Sophie be who she was, even though others thought it wasn’t proper for a single man to be raising a young girl, and that she wasn’t acting the way a young girl should.  But I love that Sophie’s a free spirit, and that she believed her mother was still alive, even when others believed it wasn’t possible.

And so Sophie finds herself in Paris, where she meets Matteo and his group of rooftoppers.  They help her find her mother, while having some adventures along the way, and I did like seeing Paris from a very different perspective than what you’d normally see.

I’m a bit conflicted about the ending.  I mean, I didn’t like that the book just kind of ended with Sohpie meeting her mom, and that we got a little bit of what happened with Sohpie after finding her mom.  Especially because that’s what the book was building up to.  But it’s also a good place to end the book, and you’re wondering what did happen.  So it being a little open-ended is both interesting and slightly annoying.

Final Thoughts:

Rooftoppers is cute and charming, and I couldn’t help but like Charles and Sophie.  Rooftoppers gets 4 stars.

Gilmore Girls 3×4: One’s Got Class And The Other One Dyes

Posted in Season Three, The Gilmore Girls Project by

One’s Got Class And The Other One Dyes originally aired October 15, 2002.  This episode was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Steven Robman.

Gilmore Girls Season 3 Graphic

 

This episode opens with Lorelei and Rory at Luke’s, where Lorelei is telling Rory about the silly premonitions she’s been having about her own death.

Let’s see…band practice in the music shop isn’t working out for the band, so Lane has to figure out a way to get to Hartford for band practice a few times a week.  We see Lane try to ask her mom, who tells her about all of the schools Lane is applying to. They’re all religious and approved by their minister, and Lane decides it’s time to rebel…by dying her hair purple.  Lane freaks out at the last minute, when her mom gets home, and realizes she can’t let her mom see her hair, so Rory has to go back to the beauty supply store to get Lane’s hair back to normal.  Rory seems really annoyed with Shane in this episode, but other than Rory helping Lane, we don’t see much of her in this episode.  At least, there’s nothing that really adds to Rory’s story.

Lorelei also gets asked to speak at Stars Hollow High about her success in business, and promises to get Luke to speak as well.  The talk, however, doesn’t go so well, because they keep asking questions about how Rory and how different Lorelei’s life would be.  Debbie Fincher, who asked Lorelei to speak, clearly is not happy with how this talk went, because afterwards, she and a group of moms find Lorelei in town, and aren’t happy that Lorelei was preaching about how it’s okay to get pregnant at 16. They think she should have fended the kids off and changed the subject, which clearly didn’t work for the kids.  They, of course, think she’s a horrible mother, but Lorelei isn’t going to ignore something or sugar-coat it just because it’s uncomfortable.

Luke and Jess also have a talk about how Jess isn’t treating Shane well, and how Jess isn’t going to wait around for someone, hoping she’ll change her mind and suddenly notice him.  He leaves the diner, and the episode ends with Lane and Rory and Lorelei coming up with a plan so that Lane doesn’t have to quit the band.

Thoughts:

The one thing I really have thoughts on is the scene with the moms and Lorelei. Lorelei did try to get back on topic, but it clearly didn’t work.  I can understand why the moms are upset.  I mean, it’s something that they’d want to talk to their kids about themselves.  At the same time, though, ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away, and Lorelei being honest and open about it is very her.  Admittedly, the moms don’t seem like to the type who would really talk to their kids about teenage pregnancy or anything like that.  They seem like the kind of moms who try to ban books because the material isn’t appropriate for teens.

Actually, as far as the Luke/Jess conversation goes, I think Jess does have a point, even if he was being kind of jerky about it.  And that’s pretty much all I’m going to say, because of future spoilers.

Actually, I want to talk about Rory for a second.  I’m getting really annoyed with how annoyed she is with Shane.  For someone who’s insistent that she wants to be with Dean and is in love with him, she’s clearly not over the whole Jess thing.  She really does not to make up her mind…and that is all.

Favorite Moment:

Lorelei seeing Lane run around town with bleach in her hair

Pop Culture:

Lawrence Welk, Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen, U2, Jimmy Buffett, Leave It To Beaver

Episode Rating:

I liked this episode, but not a lot happens to move things along.  It’s pretty much a throw-away episode, but it had it’s funny and interesting moments.  This episode gets 3 mugs of coffee.

Book Review: Shine

Posted in Audiobooks, Books by

Shine CoverBook: Shine by Lauren Myracle, Narrated by Elizabeth Evans

Published January 2012 by Brilliance Audio|Run Time: 8 hours, 59 minutes

Where I Got It: Audible.com

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Shine on Goodreads|You can also find Lauren Myracle on Twitter and Facebook

Goodreads Summary: When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

While the premise of Shine was interesting, I wasn’t sure of it at first, because I’m not the biggest fan of someone trying to discover why their (former) best friend died.  But I liked Shine more than I was expecting, because the story is more than just Cat trying to figure out who attacked Patrick severely enough to put him in a coma.

Shine really gets into this very small, closely knit town,  I loved seeing what life was like in this small town, and what it was like for people living in this town.  It definitely felt realistic, and sadly, Shine is a book that I can see happening- mostly because it does.  There are so many different issues in Shine, and they are what takes center stage.  Patrick’s attack is what puts everything in motion for Cat’s change over the course of the book.

I wasn’t crazy about Cat’s secret.  It is why she’s no longer friends with her friends, and why she keeps to herself.  I certainly understand why she acted the way she did after it happened, but other than showing that we all have our secrets and that people can change, I’m not really sure why it was important to introduce it into the book.

I think my favorite moment of Shine was when Beef (which is a nickname, in case you’re wondering) wanted to know why Cat cared about what happened to Patrick, even though she hasn’t been friends with him in years.  Which is a good point, and I felt like we didn’t really get to see why she cared.  She can care about why someone would hurt Patrick, and while it didn’t same fake or anything, I also wish we saw why she cared.  Considering that there are so many other things going on, I felt like Cat’s investigation wasn’t a big part of the novel, even though we did see her poking around and asking people questions.

Robert really grew on me by the end of the book, and I’m not sure how I feel about the rest of the characters.  There certainly is a cast of characters, and there is certainly an assortment of them.  They’re all pretty distinct, but for some reason, I’m feeling really neutral about most of them.  They did come to life throughout the book, and really added to the overall character of a small Southern town.

Speaking of the setting: for some reason, it didn’t feel like the book was set in North Carolina.  I got more of a rural Tennessee or rural Kentucky, or maybe even a rural West Virginia vibe from the book.  But considering my traveling adventures are limited (and limited to the West Coast), I could be totally off on this.

I also liked that the mystery wasn’t obvious, and that you’re not completely sure what happened until you find it out.  Looking back, there were parts of it that weren’t a big surprise, but overall, the mystery of Patrick’s attack was really well-done.

I actually liked the narration, and something about Shine worked really well as an audio book.  One part was hard to listen to, but other than that, I thought Elizabeth Evans did a great job narrating.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Shine, and was pleasantly surprised that the book was more about life in a small town, rather than a story of a girl who wants to know who hurt her childhood best friend.  I didn’t completely love it, but it is a great story.  Shine gets 4 stars.