Review: Need

Zara White’s just moved into wintry Maine territory, a far cry from sunny Charleston. She’s been sent to live with her grandmother after the death of her stepfather, and finds herself struggling to adjust to the slew of new faces, and the unsettling feeling of being watched…

It’s not a bad first effort on Jones’s part – Need holds readers in veritable suspense for the first half of the book, which is more fluff than fantasy. While some obvious references are dropped here and there, the protagonist only discovers that the guy she’s got the hots for (Nick Colt) is a shapeshifting werewolf midway into the book. And it’s not just him, either. Her grandmother’s a weretiger. One of her newly acquired buds is a were-eagle. The school administrator is a werebear. And if things couldn’t get any weirder, Zara discovers that pixies aren’t all like what she’d imagined.

I’m kind of undecided to this point on the kind of audience Jones was shooting for – early into the story, I was under the impression that it was targeted to teens (tweens, even), given the high school setting and the varying degrees of “youthful innocence” her characters harbored. Come on. “Crap” isn’t even a halfway decent swear word, yeah? Additionally, the Romeo to Zara’s Juliet was too… virginal. Not all of the characters were bad, though Jones could have veered away from the trap of creating characters that fell into overly defined stereotypes: the typical bad boy (Nick), supportive best friend (Issie), creepy love rival (Ian), queen bitch (Megan)… The list goes on.

The story’s pace does pick up some after Zara finally finds out about the supernatural, the disturbing truth about pixies (and the lengths they go to feed), and the identity of her real father. Throw in kidnappings, multiple snowstorms, and a short (if action-packed) rescue mission, and you have Need.  Fluffy at the start, with a darker twist wrapping up the story.

Recommended to those craving a quick urban fantasy fix. It’s no literary gem, but a passable read.

Plot/originality: 3/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Writing style: 2.5/5

Total score: 8/15

Review: Clockwork Angel

For those with a masochistic streak running through your veins: this book will undoubtedly satisfy.

I did try to be objective when I picked up Clockwork Angel, the first book of Clare’s newest Infernal Devices trilogy. Let it be known that I kept my mind wide, wide open, despite the fact that I knew it was the prequel to Clare’s craptastic Mortal Instruments trilogy. Writing is a skill that only gets refined with time and practice, eh?

… Well, probably not in Clare’s case. I expected only to be mildly entertained (at most) by her latest foray into urban fantasy. Clockwork Angel, however, was so unimpressive that I may actually have been impressed by how unimpressive it was.

The entire story reads like a very long, convoluted piece of fanfiction with stilted, predictable characters popping up every now and then to remind the readers of their presence. Characterization, in particular, bothered me to no end – while it is apparent that Clare attempted to inject some personality into them by inserting some “witty” repartee here and there, it completely failed to resuscitate the flatlining story. The main character (Tessa Gray) is a blatant Mary Sue that will doubtlessly trick younger, inexperienced readers into “relating” with her predicament. In fact, Clare’s heroines seem to be largely interchangeable; no-one would bat an eyelid if Clary (the protagonist of the shitfest that is The Mortal Instruments trilogy) strolled along and took Tessa’s place.

No one.

Plot-wise… there is little to say other that the fact that it was entirely unremarkable. The story draws on numerous parallels with The Mortal Instruments: Shadowhunters, Downworlders, the Clave,  and so on. The story opens with Tessa being trapped under the instruction of the Dark Sisters, forced to live in prison-like conditions until Will Herondale comes to her rescue. An American girl trapped in Victorian London, Tessa/Clare describes the landscape as droll, dark, grimy… not exactly the most flattering picture, and Clare seems to deliver very forced “English” mannerisms to all her characters. Tessa plays the malleable, self-sacrificing heroine to the snarky (surprise, surprise), dashing hero, and it has to be said that her complete lack of personality serves her well as a cardboard cutout protagonist. Super awesome ability of being able to inhabit ghosts of the past? Check. Self-deprecating “I’m plain and won’t ever be as pretty as the other side characters, but I’m actually too critical of myself” complex? Check. A noble mission? Check. Astonishing heritage? Check (Spoiler time: GET OUT OF HERE SHE’S A WARLOCK)

The plot only gets more convoluted and painful as the story meanders along. One can only imagine the yawn-fest that follows the decidedly uninspiring first chapter (one can only imagine because I refuse to recount every excruciating plot “twist” that Clare whips out), but I will tell you this: it’s one hell of a cure for insomnia. Clare’s pretentious writing style will either have you snoozing or frothing at the mouth.

Do not read. Seriously. Every copy of Clockwork Angel sold will only spur Clare to reach a higher level of mediocrity (if such a thing may be imagined). Remember: Every time someone gushes about how awesome and well-written this book is, a fluffy kitten dies.

See also: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass

Plot/originality: 1/5

Characters: 1/5

Writing style: 1.5/5

Total score: 3.5/15

Review: Kisses from Hell (anthology)

Sunshine by Richelle Mead (10/15)

Those who have picked up Mead’s Vampire Academy series will be familiar with the setting and characters of Sunshine – in a world inhabited by Moroi (full-blooded vampires), Strigoi (vampires gone evil) and Dhampirs (half-blooded vampires serving as guardians to the Moroi), trouble strikes a cruise boat when a Strigoi attack sends a boat of vacationing Moroi into a frenzy of chaos.

Eric Dragomir finds himself questioning his future as the sole heir of the royal Dragomir line, and running into Rhea Daniels turns out to be the best part of his vacation. Things aren’t exactly boding well for him, though. He doesn’t make the best first impression, and he already has a girlfriend. She’s engaged to someone else. And there’s a crazy feeder lusting after his newfound romantic interest…

Mead’s writing style is engaging, with interactions between characters coming to life in this refreshing short piece. The concept of Eric and Rhea ditching their significant others in a heartbeat to run off into the sunset was stretching it a bit thin (you can’t help but feel bad for Stephen, Rhea’s fiancé). But hey, that’s paranormal romance for you. Recommended to fans of Mead’s work.

Bring me to Life by Alyson Noël (13/15)

Alyson Noël, author of The Immortals series of books, spins a chilling tale centering around budding young artist Danika Kavanaugh, a seventeen year old with a rebellious streak a mile wide. She finds herself flying to the UK as one of the winners to a prestigious art contest, which is a welcome reprieve from the stresses of home. The manor she’s staying in, the servants that appear to become more and more youthful every time she sees them, the strange, vivid dreams, her strange attachment to the place – unsettling, to say the least. And to top it all off, there’s an attractive, mysterious guy on the scene…

Bring me to Life is a brilliantly written story, with a plot twist that you definitely won’t see coming. Dark and chilling to the core, with the appropriate doses of mystery and romance to match. An excellent read!

Above by Kristin Cast (6/15)

I…

I didn’t know quite what to make of Above. I dove into the story expecting something in the lines of the House of Night series (which Cast co-wrote with her mother, P.C. Cast). What I got, however, wasn’t even close.

Above centers around Rheena, a girl trapped “Below” with her parents. When she unexpectedly gains access to “Above”, she finds herself assaulted with the sum of her greatest fears. But all is not lost – a handsome stranger by the name of Sol finds her and falls in love with her. But then she’s found once again by her pursuers, and Sol exacts his revenge…

Got all that? Yeah, I didn’t either. Cast writes the entirety of Above in something closely resembling poetic verse. I say “closely” because the formatting of the story was all over the place. Messy and confuzzling, Above is a real head-scratcher.

Hunting Kat by Kelley Armstrong (8/15)

Katiana (Kat) is a genetically engineered vampire, the product of years of experimentation by the Edison Group. Her vampirism kicked in 6 months ago, but to her chagrin, Kat has yet to feed on a real human. Her wish for more freedom from her strict vampire guardian, Marguerite, unexpectedly comes true in the worst of ways – Kat winds up in a car crash and gets recaptured by lackeys of the Edison Group.

Trapped in a van with two other captives, Chad and Neil, the three formulate a plan to escape. When Kat starts thirsting for their blood, though, things get a little messy…

I didn’t enjoy Hunting Kat as much as I did the other stories (Above excluded). The plot mostly fell flat, with the action sequences stilted and unremarkable. One of the weaker stories of this anthology.

Lilith by Francesca Lia Block (9.5/15)

Lilith stands out from mainstream paranormal fiction in that it’s told largely from a male point of view. Paul Michael lives a painful, teenaged existence. The bullying at his high school has forced to to escape into an imaginary fantasy world of his own, a planet where he isn’t maladjusted or mocked relentlessly for how he looks.

All that changes when the new goth student, Lilith, turns up at his school. He’s instantly drawn to her, and the fact that she’s a vampire doesn’t even faze him. A series of blood-exchanging rituals sends him off-kilter – he’s stronger, thinner, he doesn’t smell quite as bad – but he can’t quite put a finger on what Lilith’s motives are…

Lilith certainly tells it from an unexpected source – it’s hard not to feel sympathy for Paul Michael and his trauma from the bullying. The story ends abruptly, leaves the reader hanging with a certain sense of dissatisfaction. If you’re the sort that gets bothered by depressing endings, this one isn’t for you.

Review: Insatiable

It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Meg Cabot – she’s well-known for her young adult fiction series (the most famous being The Princess Diaries). Those closely acquainted with her amusing, somewhat self-deprecating writing style will be pleasantly surprised by Cabot’s latest foray in adult paranormal fiction.

Insatiable is a fast-paced, entertaining read that puts readers in protagonist Meena Harper’s shoes. Meena has a odd “gift” – she knows when and how people are going to die. Her life’s thrown in chaos when she’s introduced to real-life Romanian prince Lucien Antonescu, a dark, brooding character that captures her interest. What she doesn’t know is that Lucien is… well, a lot more bite than bark. And to top it all off, the attraction’s mutual…

Throw in a vampire war, a love rival (Alaric Wulf, a very yummy demon-hunter charged with the extermination of all that is unholy), multiple kidnappings, plot twists galore, and you have a real page-turner. Cabot manages to blend her unique brand of humor into an action-packed romance that manages to avoid the terribad cliches we’re all too familiar with in adult paranormal fiction. Side characters were portrayed realistically, though there probably could have been more focus on the Lucien-Meena-Alaric love triangle.

Do be prepared, though – Insatiable is a far cry from Cabot’s other works, which have been largely geared towards children and teens. The story contains numerous sexual references, though there’s no flat-out smut involved.

All in all, an enjoyable read. Look out for its sequel, which will be hitting shelves in Summer 2011!

Plot/originality: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 4/5

Total score: 11/15