Always Lost in Stories

Saturday, 11 June 2011

Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Low Red Moon is a fast easy read. The action happens really fast, Avery falls desperately in love with Ben really fast, and reconciles with her estranged Grandmother really fast. This is a new(ish) take on werewolf fiction, mixed in with the mystery of the death of Avery's parents, kind of mixed in with a re-telling of the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood.

Avery Hood has always lived in the forest with her parents, a bit of an outsider. The setting of the book is perfect- this small out-of-the-way town in the middle of the woods with all these eerie myths and legends about the wolves in the deeper forest. Avery knows the woods and has always felt safe in them in the past. The book is told from Avery's point of view, plunging straight in with the drama, describing in the first line of the book how she she was found with her murdered parents, covered in their blood, and with no memory of what happened. She has to go and live with her Grandmother, who she hasn't really spoken to much since there was an argument with Avery's father. There is a mystery surrounding the deaths of Avery's parents, and her memories only come back to her very gradually. She starts to remember seeing a flash of silver, and then piece by piece other things start coming back to her.

Then she meets Ben, the hot new boy in town. Ben and Avery eye-hump each other for about 10 seconds before they both decide that they both desperately want each other and will love each other forever. Ben's eyes flash silver when he is feeling a strong emotion, and he can't remember anything about the night Avery's parents died either. There follows the inevitable "I love Ben", "Do I trust Ben?", "I love Ben", "I hate Ben" struggle before the truth is finally revealed in a dramatic finale.

Good Points:

*The characters are good- I like Avery who tries so hard to fit in, and I like her grandmother, who obviously cares about Avery a lot and has been hurt by the rift in their families.
*The setting. The woods, the small close-knit town with it's own stories and superstitions.
*It's well written and the story flows well, keeps your interest and makes sense.
*The werewolf mythology. It's there and explained well.
*The book itself is very pretty

Bad Points:

*The speed of Ben and Avery's 'relationship'.
*The motivation of the town serial killer. Really?!

This is recommended if you run out of any other supernatural YA teen fiction to read first. It's okay.

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Thursday, 9 June 2011

The Time Will Come #18

The Time Will Come is a weekly meme hosted by Jodie at Books For Company where we can spotlight books that we have had sitting on our bookshelves for too long. Books that we really want to read but never get around to reading.

This week my book is Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton. I got given this for Christmas, and I think it looks great, and really interesting. It's paranormal, it's got a romance, it looks like something a little different, but it's still just sitting on my shelf because I have way too many books to read at the moment. I have a stack of newly published books from the library that I have to get through, plus review titles that I need to read as a first priority. But one day I'll get round to reading this I hope!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming.

Monday, 6 June 2011

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You know how, when you're watching a soap opera or a drama on the TV, and one of the characters says something like "I love you- isn't everything just perfect?" or "can life get any better?", you just know that someone's gonna die, or some massive tragedy is about to happen? This is exactly the feeling you get with this book. Chapter one starts off showing us a window into a perfect family, planning their perfect day... followed by the car accident that will change everything. Mia wakes up outside the car watching herself critically wounded be lifted from the wreck of the car.

The rest of the story is told over 24 hours from Mia's bedside in Intensive Care. Mia is badly wounded and in a coma, her family is gone. Unseen by everyone Mia watches over her body as her extended family and friends wait at the hospital for news of her progress. The narrative is peppered with memories from Mia's past- her memories of the birth of her baby brother, summer camp, the first date with boyfriend Adam. In showing us Mia's life, the author just highlights everything that she has lost. If she chooses to stay we can see how her life will change dramatically.

I loved reading about how close Mia was with her parents- the stories that they told, and little anecdotes. Her funny little brother. How Mia and Adam grew close through their shared love of music, and the choices that they faced with Mia on the verge of picking a college. The relationship between Mia and Adam is so sweet, and felt so real. By the end of the book, I really felt that I knew Mia and Adam in real life.

I absolutely loved this book- it was just perfect. I spent Sunday morning reading this and absolutely bawling my eyes out. If I'd had the next book Where She Went I would have started reading it then and there. This book will change your attitude toward life and your ambitions, and the story will stay with you for a very long time- I know it will for me. Moving, heartbreaking, sweet, and brilliant.

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Sunday, 5 June 2011

In My Mailbox 5th June 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, where book bloggers can talk about the books they've gotten the past week- whether bought, borrowed, swapped or given for review. This feature was started to increase interaction between bloggers and increase our awareness of all the new books coming out.

This week I bought 2 books-

Nightspell by Leah Cypess- I thought that this was a sequel to Mistwood (which I have but still haven't read yet). It's actually a stand-alone companion novel to Mistwood. But I don't really mind- I'm just drawn to that gorgeous cover! A few words from the cover stand out to me "warrior Princess", "haunted kingdom", "vengeance". I'm intrigued.
Trial By Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes- sequel to Raised By Wolves which I read recently and really liked. Book 2 in YA werewolf series.

Those were the books that I got this week- what did you get?

Happy reading!

Thursday, 2 June 2011

The Time Will Come #17 sequels edition!

The Time Will Come is weekly Thursday meme hosted by Jodie at Books For Company where we can spotlight those books that we've had sitting on our shelves for too long. Books that we really want to read but never seem to get around to reading.

Sequels!

Ok- I have a really bad habit of reading the first book in the series, loving it, buying the others, and then never getting round to reading them! It's a kind of book 2 block! It seems like once I've had a taster of the series I'm happy and then easily distracted by something else. I really enjoyed the first book, and really want to read the others, but suddenly the rest of the series doesn't seem as interesting as this brand new series I've found! Actually most of the books on my to-read list or wishlist are book 1 of a series. Why do I do this? Wouldn't it make more sense to finish a series and THEN start a new series? I don't know.

These are SOME of my book 2s- all where I have really enjoyed the first one.