Book: Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany

Expected Publication is March 19, 2013 and Will Be Published by Washington Square Press

E-book from NetGalley|370 pages

Series: No

Genre: Fiction: Chick Lit

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Summary: Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be? At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.

Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life.

Heart Like Mine was a quick but enjoyable read, and I liked it.  The story itself was an interesting one, and I liked the relationships between Ava, Grace and Kelli.

I found myself really drawn into Kelli’s story- partly because we’re not sure how she dies, and partly because we see only a handful of flashbacks of Kelli.  I think it’s the whole mystery of her death and her past, which we get bits and pieces of throughout the book.  And it is sad that she never got the answers she was looking for.  Of the three main characters, I found myself relating to Kelli the most.

I could relate to Ava in a lot of ways, but I never got the sense that she was mature beyond her years.  In fact, she seemed a bit younger than her 13 years.  I think it’s because we see her life after her mother dies, and because we don’t really see her life with her mother.  And while Ava’s mad at her mother for leaving- which is understandable- a lot of the things she’s done didn’t really show how mature she was.  Again, sort of understandable, because she’s lost her mother and is experiencing and feeling things that she (in my opinion) doesn’t know what to do with.

As for Grace…she was an okay character.  Grace has her own story but I just wasn’t as interested in her story as I was with Kelli, and, to some extent, Ava.  I kind of feel for her- I mean, she goes from not wanting kids and not considering dating a guy who has kids to getting engaged to a guy and not having a huge role in Max and Ava’s life to having a huge role in their life after the death of their mother.

Overall, I liked the story, and how Ava wanted to like Grace but also wanted to be loyal to her mother by not liking Grace.  And I did (sort of) like seeing Grace come to terms with her role in Ava and Max’s life.  I liked that Grace and Ava narrated the novel, with flashbacks to Kelli’s life.  It worked well, and I liked seeing how they both learned bits and pieces of Kelli’s life and their reactions to everything that happened.

Final Thoughts:

I liked Heart Like Mine.  It was definitely heart-warming at the end, and while some things weren’t completely resolved, things were headed in the right direction for all the characters.  You get drawn in, and you can’t help but want to see how things work out for the characters.  Heart Like Mine gets 3 stars.

Book: Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Published September 2011|Published by EgmontUSA

E-book|Borrowed from the library|361 pages

Series: Ashes Trilogy #1

Genre: YA: Post-Apocalyptic

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Summary: It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling post-apocalyptic novel about a world that could become ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

After listening to Drowning Instinct, I knew I had to read Ashes!  Ashes was an interesting but strange book that was hard to put down.

You can’t go wrong with zombie-like people and an EMP that destroyed electronics and killed people.   There are so many unanswered questions, and I really want to know what happens next, especially with that ending!  I’m not surprised that there was a cliffhanger.  Let me tell you, that was one cliffhanger I was not expecting!

I’m really impressed with what Bick did with the zombies and the Zap.  It’s an interesting combination- and one that’s a nice change from the typical zombie story where there’s some illness or something that turns people into zombies.  Plus, the only technology that works seems to be from the good ‘ole days, which means you’d need some serious survival skills.  I really feel like making sure I’m prepared for an earthquake now…

But back to the book.  It’s really creepy in that “this could really happen” kind of way.  Not necessarily the zombie part but the electromagnetic pulse part of it.  Although, if you think about it, something like that would have to have an effect on people.  But I was completely drawn in, and you can’t help but think about what you’d do if you had no way to figure out what was going on.  If people Changed…if people dropped dead…if you had a brain tumor and couldn’t smell but all of a sudden you could smell and you did feel better.

The characters are also great.  Alex is definitely a really tough character, but I couldn’t help but love Tom and Ellie…and I think I may have a soft spot for Ellie’s grandpa…even though he had a really brief appearance.  We meet quite a few interesting characters along the way, and about halfway through, we end up in a town called Rule, where there is a community doing what they can to survive and make it through.

As much as I enjoyed the book overall, I think I enjoyed the part of the novel that takes place in the woods more than when Alex arrives in Rule.  Things are pretty well-paced through the book, and time passes reasonably well, but…I don’t know, Rule just didn’t seem as interesting as the time surviving out in the “wild.”  Maybe we’ll get the back story on Rule, because there is more to Rule than what we get in  Ashes.  It definitely felt like two different books, so while I wasn’t surprised that Alex would find her way to a surviving community, I was surprised at how truly different things were once Alex arrived in Rule.

Final Thoughts:

Ashes was a quick, fun but really creepy read.  I’m amazed at the world Bick created and the characters that populate a world where an EMP destroyed technology and killed and changed people.  I didn’t particularly enjoy Alex’s time in Rule, but I have the feeling there’s a lot going on in Rule that we never saw.  Ashes gets 4 stars.

Book: Renegade by J.A. Souders

Published November 2012|Published by Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC

E-book|Purchased for my Nook|352 pages

Series: Yes, Elysium Chronicles #1

Genre: YA: Dystopic

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Summary: Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb… and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Renegade was a pretty interesting read.  You’re reading it, and you’re drawn in by the cover, which is so beautiful, and by the end of it, you’re wondering how a world that seemed so idyllic and amazing was such a strange, messed up world.

I love the details and how imaginative everything is.  The gardens seem beautiful, and at first glance, it seems like an interesting and beautiful place to live.  Evelyn remembering the memories that had bee altered by Mother…I loved how that unfolded and how she slowly started to remember things.  And then the ending happened.  You can be sure I’ll be reading the next one to see what happens and how everything will play out.

I liked Evelyn, Mother was creepy and mysterious and Gavin…I really liked Gavin.  I thought he was really interesting, and things really started to change for Evelyn when he stumbled into Elysium.  Evelyn…poor thing!  She is pretty resiliant, I’ll give her that.  You got glimpses of who she was in between all the brainwashing and I just wanted to know if she would make it through okay.  Which she does, in case anyone was wondering.

As for Mother…goodness!  The lengths she’ll go to in order to get what she wants and to create this society that’s perfect and obeys her every word…it’s horrifying and creepy and you know there’s more to her story than what we got.  Seriously, I LOVE the details and how layered this world is.  I really felt like Souders put a lot of thought into how Elysium formed and thought about all the little details that make it work.

And no dystopic novel is complete without a romance!  I’m not sure about Gavin and Evelyn yet, but I’m sort of intrigued with them as a couple because Evelyn’s been raised (and trained/brainwashed) to believe that Surface Dwellers are evil, while he tries to convince her that how she grew up and the world that she lives in is…well…kind of crazy ridiculously weird.  I like them as friends, but I think I need a little more time before I decide if I like them as a couple.

I liked that it was set underwater, which REALLY needs to be used more as a setting!  It worked really well, and something about the book being underwater totally added to the creepy mysterious of the book.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Renegade.  I didn’t LOVE it, but I found it to be a really fun but creepy read.  The details are great, with a lot of different characters who are interesting and mysterious and likeable.  Renegade gets 4 stars.

Book: Eona by Alison Goodman

Published June 2011|Published by Penguin Group

E-book|Borrowed From The Library|399 pages

Series: Eon #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

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Summary: Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon’s army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona’s power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the self-styled “Emperor” Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power–and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic only Alison Goodman could create.

As much as I liked Eon, I loved Eona!  There are so many twists and turns and I liked that I didn’t know what was going to happen!  Just when I thought things were going one way, something unexpected would happen, and I would totally be caught off guard.

Did things end up how I expected?  Of course they did, but I was really surprised by how they got there.

I was pretty surprised with how I liked Lord Ido more than I expected, Kygo less then I expected and not sure if I liked or disliked Eona.  Dela was a great character that I really liked reading throughout the novel, but for the most part, I was surprised by the characters.

Let’s start with Kygo.  I get his frustration with Eona, but he was just plain wishy-washy.  He’d act all noble one minute, but next thing you know, he’d come out with some plan that Eona wouldn’t know about until he thought it would be a good time to know…or if Ido somehow managed to get him to tell Eona.  Granted, Eona had her own secrets that she shared with Ido or kept to herself, but you also saw how conflicted she was.  With Kygo, I just got the sense he was using her in a slightly better way than Sethon would have used her, and I felt like we only saw one side of Kygo.  His resistance to Ido helping was understandable, but also annoying.  When you have 2 dragoneyes left, and one needs to be trained by the other, it’s usually a good idea to let that happen.  And trusting Eona would be a good idea too…

Ido was really interesting.  He’s still the bad guy- although he seems to have a little bit more good in him than Sethon- but he’s a lot more likeable  than I ever expected.  He and Eona have this really interesting relationship that was set in motion at the end of Eon, and we really see it in Eona…especially with the connection they have because she healed him, which is interesting but also something that no one can explain.  Goodman does a great job at making him more likeable…even when he does what you’d expect from him in the end.

And we can’t forget about Eona!  There were times when I liked her and times when she was so irritating!  I did like that she was conflicted about things but her insistence on constantly being right got a little trying at times.  I totally get why she hid certain things, and in the end, I really do think she did the RIGHT thing.  But she, along with Ido, had a lot of character…and while I don’t usually do the team [insert guy here] thing, I think I kind of like her and Ido together.  Granted, I don’t think either guy is a good fit for her, but Ido is a slightly better fit than Kygo.  At least for me.

A lot of things from Eon made so much more sense in Eona!  I really loved how things were explained, and while a few things were unresolved and that there were no clear answers for some things, I didn’t mind at all, because some things may never be known.  Things did wrap up a little too nicely, but I’m glad things ended the way they did.  I’m kind of surprised there are only two books in this series, but I think it works as 2, because things HAPPENED.  It’s definitely a lot more eventful than Eon.

Final Thoughts:

I loved Eona!  There’s so much going on, and while the characters were irritating at times, they also had a lot more to them.  I loved that the book picked up where the first one left off.  Eona gets 5 stars.

Book: Entangled by Nikki Jefford

Published February 2012|Self-Published  by Nikki Jefford

E-book|From NetGalley|142 pages

Series: Spellbound #1

Genre: YA: Fantasy/Mystery/Paranormal

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Summary: Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

I liked Entangled a lot more than I expected.  I’m always intrigued with magic and witches and warlocks, and add in a mysterious death and trying to bring back the dead, you have a novel I really want to read.

Let’s start with…characters!  Charlene and Graylee seem to be polar opposites. There’s a lot of potential for the two of them, but I just felt like I didn’t get to know them very well or get a good sense of their personalities, other than Charlene being the popular, evil one and Graylee being the nice but not too popular, good one.  I’m hoping we see more of who they really are in the books to come.  As for the other characters, Raj and Adrian were definitely interesting, and I really liked them as characters.  As for their mom, she was just…frustrating.  Like, she didn’t seem to care that Charlene destroyed Graylee’s things or that Charlene blocked Graylee’s magic for years.

The Magic: I was intrigued by the magic, and how modern it felt.  There are no wands or brooms in sight as far as magic is concerned, but there does appear to be a code of ethics, which fit but was also intriguing.  I really wish we had more details about the magic and the magical community.

The Plot: I was intrigued by Charlene and Graylee residing in the same body…but with the girls switching places every 24 hours.  It’s a really weird Freaky Friday kind of moment, and you’d think there would be some sort of melt-down on Graylee’s part when realizing that she’s in her twin’s body.  I kind of wish there was some sort of reaction on Graylee’s part- and even on their mom’s part, who pretty much leaves them to figure out how to take care of it themselves.  I get their mom gave up her magic, but still…I feel like there’s something that their mom could have done to help them.  Things seemed to drag on at times, and other times, things felt rushed.

The Ending: It was abrupt, and things seemed to wrap up a little too well.  But it’s also the point when I started liking Entangled.  Up until the ending, I wasn’t sure if I liked Entangled or not.  But…I am really curious as to how things are going to work out.

Final Thoughts:

While I enjoyed Entangled, I still have mixed feelings.  I just really wanted more world-building and details about the magic, and seeing Graylee and Charlene have distinct personalities that were more than good but not popular and evil popular girl.  Still, I really like the premise, and I want to know the answers to all of my unresolved questions!  Entangled gets 3 stars.

Book: And All The Stars by Andrea K Höst

Published October 2012|Self-Published by Andrea Höst

E-book|From NetGalley|296 pages

Series: None

Genre: YA: Science Fiction

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Summary: Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

I loved And All The Stars!  I was intrigued by the summary, and it’s so much more than what I was expecting.  I am so glad I got a copy through NetGalley!

I thought the idea of aliens coming down, building the spires and people who are dyed blue and dyed green and the people who are left alone or are too scared to leave their homes to be really interesting.  You’re immediately thrown into this world where the En-Mott have a master plan, and you’re literally watching everything unfold, but not completely understanding why they’re here and what they’re really up to.

And All The Stars was so hard to put down, and I loved how I wanted to keep reading so I could know what happened!  It really is an interesting take on alien invasions, and I was taken by surprise so many times!  And All The Stars was not predictable AT ALL, which was another great thing about reading it.

There’s just something about reading the apocalypse AS it happens, instead of after it happens.  It really is refreshing to see what’s going on in real time, and there’s also something about a group of people banding together, establishing new relationships and having to trust strangers while trying to survive something completely unknown and catastrophic.

I LOVED a lot of the details.  You have some people who are dyed blue and are always really hungry, and they don’t get along with the people who are dyed green.  I loved the idea of the Spires that appeared at several places all over the world and the different cycles.  Sometimes we don’t get all of the details, and while that would normally bother me, it DIDN’T in And All The Stars.  It just worked really well, and I liked how I didn’t completely know what was going on.

The characters were great, and I loved Maddie.  All of the characters were great, and one thing I really loved was that they were all drawn together because of what was going on and remained optimistic.  At a time when a lot of people would have remained divided, they banded together to figure out their abilities and save the world before it’s too late.  I like that there’s optimism and hope in a world where people were slowly becoming divided.  I loved that they all had something to contribute and that they worked well together.  You really did get a sense that they were in it together, and everyone was equally important.  It’s a nice change from a lot of other books where everything falls to one or two people.  Maddie was a great narrator, and I’m so glad we got to see things through her eyes.  She’s such a creative person, and I loved how artistic she was, always drawing and sketching.

So, a couple more things!  We have an epilogue, which I liked.  You see how things are changing and getting better.  I still have a lot of unanswered questions, and it’s kind of fun to think about what will happen next.  But there’s a part of me that wants a sequel so I can revisit Australia and spend more time with these characters and see the aftermath of what’s happened.

And Australia as the setting was also cool and unexpected.  I would never think of setting an alien invasion/apocalypse in Australia but it was another thing that worked well.  I can’t really explain why I liked it being set in Australia, I just know I liked it!

Final Thoughts:

And All The Stars is a breath of fresh air!  I haven’t come across anything like it, and it was such a fun book to read.  It’s an interesting mix of watching things unfold while not getting all of the details, but it works really well, because Maddie doesn’t know all of the details, and her perspective is pretty limited.  And All The Stars gets 5 stars!

Book: Where She Went by Gayle Foreman

Published April 2011|Published by Penguin Group

E-book|Borrowed from the library|168 pages

Series: If I Stay #2

Genre: YA/Contemporary

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Summary: The highly anticipated sequel to the “New York Times” bestselling and critically acclaimed “If I Stay” 

Picking up several years after the dramatic conclusion of “If I Stay,” “Where She Went” continues the story of Adam and Mia, from Adam’s point of view. Ever since Mia’s decision to stay – but not with him – Adam’s career has been on a wonderful trajectory. His album, borne from the anguish and pain of their breakup, has made him a bona fide star. And Mia herself has become a top-rate cellist, playing in some of the finest venues in the world. When their respective paths put them both in New York City at the same time, the result is a single night in which the two reunite – with wholly satisfying results.

After listening to If I Stay, I knew I had to read Where She Went to see what happened to Mia.  And while I really liked If I Stay, I just LOVED Where She Went.

Where She Went takes place 3 years after If I Stay.  We see what life is like for both Adam and Mia, but Where She Went is seen through Adam’s eyes and we learn what happened after Mia decided to stay.

I just…I loved that we learn about Mia’s recovery through Adam’s memories.  Life has taken them in very different directions, and at the start of the novel, they are no longer a couple.  In fact, they broke up several years earlier, and that’s another thing we learn as the story progresses- why they broke up…and the happy ending for them…because they end up getting back together!

It’s such an emotional book- in some ways, it’s just as emotional as If I Stay, because you see the aftermath of Mia’s decision and Adam’s promise.  And in some ways, it’s even more emotional because you see how much things have changed.  Just thinking about Where She Went is making me all teary-eyed!

I’m kind of feeling like nothing I say can describe how heart-breaking but completely amazing this book is.  Where She Went has some similarities to If I Stay, and it’s pretty much in the way both stories are told.  You see Adam reflecting on the last few years, and past and present are woven together really well, in the same way you see Mia reflect on memories of her family and struggling with the decision to live or die.

It’s so hard to believe that Where She Went takes place over 2 or 3 days, because so much happens.  But it didn’t feel like everything was crammed together- everything just worked so well and unfolded so naturally.  I really do love how we learn things in bits and pieces.

And I SO COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY LOVED all of the songs at the beginning of each chapter.  They’re from the fictional Shooting Stars album and they…I can’t even begin to describe how much I FELT just reading them.  I so wish they were real songs…and knowing me, I’d be a complete mess if I listened to them.

It’s so weird that I got a lot more emotional reading Where She Went.  I mean, it’s pretty much about an angsty musician, and you’d think the one where a girl is in a coma and loses her parents and brother would have me crying throughout the book.  That’s what you’d think, right?  And yet Where She Went…there’s just something about the pain Adam’s in- the despair, the sadness, the anger- you feel it all, and you just can’t help but FEEL for him.

I totally wanted to dislike Mia in Where She Went.  Y0u see how confused Adam is, and that he has no clue as to why Mia broke up with up him, or what’s going on with her.  It all makes sense in the end, and while I understand why she acted the way she did, I just didn’t like her as much as I thought I would.  Don’t get me wrong, I like her, and find her interesting, but there’s something so much more interesting about Adam’s story.

Final Thoughts:

Is it obvious that I loved Where She Went?  Because I do!  It’s a little weird to me that I loved Where She Went SO MUCH MORE than If I Stay, but I really did like it a lot more.  If I were to do a favorite books of the year list right now, Where She Went would most certainly end up on that list.  It’s an emotional roller-coaster, and I just love that we see past and present and how the characters got to where they are.  And the songs really added to Adam’s story and made it more heart-breakingly real.  Where She Went gets 5 stars.