Jackaby - William Ritter

Title: Jackaby

Author: William Ritter

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

Five Line Book Review:

I picked up this book because I loved the idea of a paranormal Sherlock Holmes, however it took me quite a while to really get invested in this book, and I think that was because this felt more like watching a TV series than  a movie.  As a reader you get a pretty decent idea of the characters and who they were, Jackaby being the easiest since we all know Holmes pretty well, but I didn't really feel like I really knew any of them.  Jackaby's character was my favorite because while he did echo all the parts of Sherlock everyone loves, he was very much his own character exibiting a bit more compassion and personably attributes that Holmes lacked.  I enjoyed the diversity of characters and the legends/theories/stories presented; they made the discovery of 'who-did-it' more enjoyable, though I had figured it out a bout 3/4ths of the way in. I believe that people who enjoy Sherlock Holmes, and (in my opinion a better comparison than Dr. Who) the TV Series Grimm, this book (series) will have a lot of appeal.

Rated:  PG

Genre: Fiction - Mystery

Rating: 4 Stars

Roomies - Lindy Zart

Title: Roomies

Author: Lindy Zart

Synopsis from Goodreads:  

Graham Malone is my roommate, my personal eye candy, the reason I get up in the morning smiling (that could be from the illicit dreams I have about him too, I suppose. Let's move on.). He's also beautiful to look at, but his heart is where his true beauty lies. Take away the exterior and the interior still shines. 

I love him. I mean, I'm pretty sure I do, having never been in love before. Anyway, it seems legit. 

And now his brother Blake is here, and, well, he's the complete opposite of Graham. Sarcastic, brooding, and totally available. But he's leaving soon, and Graham's the one I want. I shouldn't have to remind myself of this, right? I wouldn't have to if Blake would quit looking at me like I'm something yummy and he's starving.

Here's a toast to roomies; the ones you should never fall in love with. Or something.

Five Line Book Review:

Roomies was “laugh-out-loud” fun, romantic read; filled with plenty of sarcasm, wit, antics, broody jealous guys,  strange parents, a love triangle, and a bit of forgiveness and reconciliation.  The voice of this book, Kennedy, is self-proclaimed immature (and she is), she is very ‘blonde,’ can’t drive worth a lick and deflects meaningful conversations with banter and sarcasm; but she becomes very insightful at moments as well, which would usually seem strange but somehow worked for her character very well.  It actually redeemed her, because let’s face it; she sometimes even got on my nerves, especially when she was absolutely oblivious to Graham’s  (roommate) obvious adoration for her.  Graham was likewise just as oblivious, which resulted in a lot of heated moments, and even a macho “you’re mine” up against a door; but with every two steps forward it seemed like we took three back on the whole “I don’t want to mess this up” train.  Of all the characters, Blake was the only one who wasn’t actually blonde (ditzy, or otherwise…what’s up with that, Lindy Zart….why was nearly everyone blonde?), this dark brooding male was equally as appealing as Graham, and he basically knew what was what from the very first day.

Rated: PG-13 – sensuality, cussing (actually, if this were a movie it would be R, because the F word was used multiple times… in one paragraph), alcohol

Genre: New Adult

Rating: 4 Stars

The Summer I Gave Up Boys - Kassandra Kush

Title:  The Summer I Gave Up Boys

Author: Kassandra Kush

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

A summer love novella 

Kaliyah Simon just broke up with her cheating boyfriend, and now that summer break is here, all she wants is a quiet, boy-free summer. To focus on work, reading, and her tan. But then she meets up with her old high school nemesis, Isaiah Winters, on the way home, and he seems more interested in being friends than enemies. Can Kaliyah lower her walls and get over seven years of pushing Isaiah away and find out what it would be like to actually be with him? 

With her best friend going boy-crazy, a twenty-first birthday looming on the horizon, Isaiah continually showing up on her doorstep, and an ex that seems to want her back, Kaliyah’s summer promises to be anything but quiet.

Five Line Book Review:

What do I read when the snow falls outside, a book about summer love of course!  The Summer I Gave Up Boys is a fun, short novella about Kaliyah and Isaiah, apparently "mortal enemies" since High School with just enough spark to be something more.  I enjoyed the chemistry between Kaliyah and Isaiah, which is evident from the very beginning.  It was fun watching these two banter and bicker at each other, however if this were a full length novel I would have been really disappointed by how quickly Kaliyah dropped her resolve and went for Isaiah.  In a book that would be perfect for one of those Summer anthems with several other short stories, the story of Kaliyah and Isaiah made me smile, at times even laugh, and gave me the happy feeling of a decent HEA without a lot of drama.

Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson

Title:  Kiss of Deception (The Remant Chronicals - Book 1)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love. 

Five Line Review:

Kiss of Deception is a little bit hard for me to rate, because while part of me felt just a bit “eh” about the whole thing, another part of me could NOT.STOP.THINKING.ABOUT.IT.  I love the concept, the story of a young adult standing up for her rights and even wants and need; but then having to face the consequences of those actions. Lia was a  strong and growing character, and I felt like I grew right along with her – I felt the injustice of an arrange marriage, her confusion as she was starting to discover her gift, and then her devastation at realizing the chain of events that has followed as a result of her running away.  The LOVE TRIANGLE (yes, of course) was beautiful, I was trapped between Rafe and Kaden, and had a very difficult time “choosing” a side, because throughout the first half of the book, both boys kind of made my heart melt.  All of that sounds great, so I’ll tell you what was wrong;  this book felt like it just draaagged on forever without a whole lot of action, and even that little bit kind of felt flat to me, which could have been the result of how long it took to get from Point A to Point B.

The Jewel - Amy Ewing

Title: The Jewel (The Lone City Series, Book 1)

Author: Amy Ewing

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

Five Line Review:

In a cross between The Selection by Kiera Cass and Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien, The Jewel is a story with a class system and bit of rags to riches (Selection), where the rich need something from the poor in order to survive (Birthmarked) and of course forbidden romance (both); this book was right up the dystopian-lover's alley!  While I enjoyed this book, I cannot say that it was among my favorites.  The relationship between Violet and Ash seemed to fall short for me for some reason, perhaps the "passion" moved too quickly?  The politics are what kept the book interesting for me more than the romantic interest, which is a bit unusual, however I was invested in plot and wanted to know what exactly what was going to happen next.  And in true 'series' form; the cliffhanger, while wasn't a big shocker given the foreshadowing, left me sitting on the couch with mouth hanging open thinking, "Nooooo...."

Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Maggie Stiefvater

 Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Book III of The Raven Cycle

Author:  Maggie Stiefvater

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.

Mothers can disappear.

Visions can mislead.

Certainties can unravel.

Five Line Review:  (May contain spoilers for The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves)

Once again, Maggie Stiefvater writes an absolutely captivating piece of artwork.  In this somewhat darker and a bit creepy third book she takes our favorite characters Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah, and leads us deeper into Cabeswater's mysteries; this time they are not only in search of Glendower, but also in search of Maura (Blue's mother).  Maggie will probably always be one of my favorite authors simply because her writing is so detailed and beautiful that there are moments where I feel like I'm reading a song or a painting, and yet at the same time I'm sucked into another world with friends I don't actually have, having an impossible adventure.  In the case of The Raven Cycle, I hate sort of knowing what's coming without knowing how, when, and if it will be permanent - but that is also a part of the appeal of this series.  I know that Maggie will not fail to satisfy, whether it be a "HEA" or a bittersweet ending, I trust her to tell the story as it should be told. 

Rated:  PG-13 - mainly for cussing
Genre:  Young Adult - Mystery, Paranormal, Romance
Rating:  5 Stars

Introductions

Hello to the book reading world!  While this blog may be new, I am not new to the blogging world! I have been doing book reviews for probably 7 years now, on and off.  Sometimes I've just jotted down a few thoughts on a book, most of the time I've put together a page worth of thoughts, included a synopsis, and other formats.  The concept for this blog has been lingering in the back of my head for a while now, mostly because I've been wanting to simplify the review process (for myself).  Recently, I read an author confession that basically confirmed my idea.  This author was wondering what the deal was with all the frills and lace, what he/she really wanted was a few lines about their book - not a novel, or book report.  A review shouldn't be this long drawn out process.  It should be a 'why I liked it' or 'why I didn't like it' kind of moment.  No spoilers, no need for synopsis due to goodreads, Amazon, BN, etc. (No synopsis for my reviews that is.  If I decide to start taking on book release blitz, etc - then of course there will be synopsis included.)  This spot, and all of my reviews from this point forward are going to be simple, short and sweet.  5 lines at the very most.

I just created this blog - it's not pretty just yet.  Hang with me for a little bit while I get things established!

Anita  - formally known as anitaloves2read  at www.iloves2read.blogspot.com