Review: Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick

Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Source: Audiobook


Synopsis from Goodreads:
There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. 

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism. 

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

My two main thoughts upon finishing this book? WOW! And YIKES!

This was so, so good. I love it when a book really moves me, and I root for the characters, and the story stays with me all day until I can get home and can pick it up again. It is so gripping, profound and completely compelling.

This book is actually told as a police report as Jenna is telling her side of the story of what happened. All the chapter headings are "Folder 1, File B" etc.  And with Jenna telling her story into the police tape recorder you really got a sense of her as a person- her sarcasm and intelligence shine through, and you also get a real sense of how much she is hurting.

The book has a certain inevitability. You already know what has happened, but it was interesting to read the motivatations behind it- everything is not as black and white as it would first seem- and the whole book is a justification, and a defence of their actions.

It all feels like a big build-up, getting increasing more intense, and building up to something huge. This increasing tension is completely compulsive- I was hooked, and did not want to put the book down. It always feels just on the cusp of something dramatic, and the anticipation builds and builds.

I loved the main character Jenna- she is so timid and vulnerable when it comes to standing up for herself, but still so brave and strong in coping with what has happened to her in the past. She is completely relatable, and I felt for her so much. She is a character starved of love, and just struggling to get through the next day, and her voice in telling her side of things is so assured.

But because we only see her side of the story, and she so obviously strongly believes everything that she is saying, it is hard to know exactly what to believe. But I actually liked this- the lines become so blurred that it really comes down to the reader to make their own mind up.

Jenna's story and the way she tells it completely re-defines the definition of a victim, and just goes to show that nothing is as it appears on the surface. This is a dark but beautifully written, powerful and controversial contemporary novel. I am confused and bereft, but I adored it, and I know it will stay in my mind for a long while to come. Fantastic.

Showcase Sunday 8th July 2012

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This is a chance for all us book bloggers to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

More book goodies to read this week! I got-

Bought:

• Just For Fins by Tera Lynn Childs. This is book 3 in the Fins series. Mermaids! I really like this series- it's quirky and fun, and very lighthearted. This is the US cover.

• Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent. This is book 6 in the Soul Screamers series, which I just love, and I can't wait to dive into this one. 

Won:

• Advance copy of Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. I seriously jumped up and down and stroked the cover for about 20 minutes when this came through the door! I'm really looking forward to reading this, it sounds amazing. 

Thanks to Rosy at The Review Diaries for hosting this book giveaway. 

That was all the books I got to read this week. What did you get?

Happy reading!

Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Source: Publisher via Netgalley


Synopsis from Goodreads:
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him

First line:

"I hadn't killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that. Sure, I'd wanted to, but too many suspicious drownings got people talking."

This is a book with a boy narrator, a curse, evil murderous mermaids, and the creepy ethereal setting of Lake Superior. It's got betrayals, families, and a love story between characters that are odd but so likable.

I liked that it was told from Calder's point of view, as a male perspective made a nice change in the YA paranormal genre. Calder White is a merman who tries to live his life independently of his family, but is compelled back to his home- Lake Superior by a strong pull to be near the lake, and by family allegiances.

These mermaids are seriously creepy- they love to hunt and kill and feed off of people's emotions- off of their happiness and life energy. Calder has a litte more humanity than the others because he is a created merman, and not born to it like his adopted sisters, who take pleasure out of killing for fun. They are cruel and pretty brutal.

They are out to get Jason Hancock because of a broken promise from decades ago, and they are determined to collect their debt by killing him- or any members of his family. They come up with a long-term plot to get close to him through his daughters and lure him onto the lake so that they can finish him off and finally get their long-awaited revenge. Calder is tasked with getting the eldest daughter Lily to trust him and to get close to the family. But his job becomes more difficult as he actually grows to really like Lily.

I loved the setting of Lake Superior, as it's described as such a beautiful but deadly place, and there is a well-told saying "Lake Superior doesn't give up it's dead" which is said by different characters throughout the book, and which has particular significance to the mermaids who can get away with their crimes. It has a very unearthly vibe to it, and it was fascinating to see Calder explore all the old wrecks at the bottom of the lakes in places where divers couldn't reach.

This was an engaging and fun read, with a love story that developed and grew on me. I liked Lily's quirky, geeky personality, and Calder's mad evil sisters! The mythology was a very different and refreshing take on mermaid/ siren lore, and I liked the history of the Hancock curse as well. It wasn't as dark as I was expecting, and it is a tad predictable but I enjoyed it.

Thankyou to Random House and Netgalley for the review copy.

From the Review Pile #7

This is a weekly meme hosted every Thursday by Stephanie at Stepping Out of the Page where we can showcase books that we have either bought, borrowed, or been given for review that we haven't gotten around to reading yet.

I got his book a few weeks ago (thank you Random House and Netgalley!) and it sounds amazing. I think I'll  read and review it closer to the release date though.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Goodreads
Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?


Due to be published September 2012

Has anyone read it yet? What did you think of it?

Showcase Sunday 1st July 2012

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This is a chance for all us book bloggers to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

I got some pretty amazing books this week. I got-


From the Library:

• Insurgent by Veronica Roth. 

FINALLY! I have been so desperate to read this one since it came out a couple of months ago. It has just bumped to the top of my TBR pile! This is the sequel to Divergent. 

• First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.

This is the first book in an urban fantasy series. It is getting awesome reviews, I'm looking forward to reading it. 






Kindle freebies:

• Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L Bryan. 

This is an indie author that I've heard nothing but good things about, and this book looks like a lot of fun. I have the first book in the Paranormals series by this author as well, but haven't had a chance to read it yet. 

• Playground by 50 Cent (Yes, the rapper).

I'm a little skeptical about this rapper writing a YA fiction novel, but also a little bit curious as well. The subtitle is "The mostly true story of a former bully". Hmm- I shall reserve judgement until I read it. 

Audiobook:

• Changeling by Philippa Gregory.

Philippa Gregory's writing is so addictive. I absolutely loved The Other Boleyn Girl books, and this is her first fiction for teenagers, a historical mystery with paranormal elements to it. 

For Review:

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.

*Squeeee and a happy dance!* I'm so thrilled to get this which from the blurb reminds me a little of Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (one of my all-time favourite books ever), and all the early reviews I've seen so far are positive. It is a fantasy story with assassins and kings. (I have to say though, I think the American cover is prettier).

This is due to be published in August 2012.

Thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for my review copy. 

That was all the books I got this week. What did you get to read?

Happy reading!