Mini Review: Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer

David Levithan's work and I have a tumultuous relationship. Although I find his style and passion both beautiful and earnest I have often found that his penchant for pushing his beliefs on the reader abrasive. This seems funny to me because 90% of the time I agree with what he's saying, it's simply his delivery that I am at odds with. As for Andrea Cremer, I am not familiar with her work so I was able to go into Invisibility without prejudice. I was excited to read this book and to see how the authors worked together to build such a unique storyline.

Unfortunately I was mostly disappointed. At first the story was great. The main character, Stephen, was pretty well-developed in the first few chapters and his relationship with spunky Elizabeth opened up a world of possibility. Throw in her adorable brother, Laurie, and I was sure I was in for a good time. Sadly the book quickly developed into a rushed supernatural plot line that seemed too convoluted for the earlier storyline. It just didn't fit. The last section of the book was a mix of insta-love dramatics and info dumps. All in all I was just disappointed. This book could have been something extraordinary but instead it was just strange and rushed.

Review: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Author: Jessica Brody

Genre:  Sci Fi, Fantasy

Pages: 320

Published: March 5th, 2013

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"The only thing worse than forgetting her past... is remembering it.
When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.
Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.
Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.
Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?" ~Goodreads

This book surprised me in a lot of ways.  First of all, before I read the description I thought it was going to be just straight contemporary.  Girl loses memory in plane crash, boy finds girl, boy tries to convince girl they were in love, girl eventually remembers (probably after another blow to the head), everyone goes home happy.  Cut and dry, simple.  That's what I was expecting.  That is not what happened.  I started reading this book at around 2 A.M.  As I read the last words of the prologue I shot up in bed (like literally sat straight up) and said to no one in particular "What?!".  Then I was hooked.  

LIKES:

• WTF just happened:  as mentioned previously this book was full of surprises and I love it when a story can keep me guessing.  Most of the surprises were well-timed and exciting and I loved that.  Some of them could have been left out as well but overall I was happy with the level of excitement in the story.
• Great Pacing: at no point while reading this book was I bored.  The microscopic chapters probably helped with this.  There are 46 chapters in this book but they fly by at lighting speed, in a good way.  Brody obviously knows how to tell a story without unnecessary padding.
• Sera and her crazy brain: I really don't want to give anything away so you'll have to excuse me if this review is a bit vague, but let me just say that I really liked Sera's voice.  She isn't a normal amnesiac.  She's actually always been a  little different.  Therefore she has a unique world-view and when you throw in a crippling case of amnesia, trust issues and all kinds of strangers the outcome is pretty intense.  This isn't a "sit down and cry" kind of story, but it is one that makes you question what makes us who we are and Sera is a great example of that.

DISLIKES: 

• My brain hurts:  this is a problem i often have with sci fi books.  Some of it was a bit convoluted and a lot of it was hard to grasp.  Perhaps if I had more of a background in science (or even science fiction) for that matter, I would have "gotten it" more easily.  As it was, I struggle through understanding a lot of the technological stuff that was going on in the story.  I think it could have been done more simply.
• Not exactly insta-love: Okay, so Zen and Sera have known each  other for awhile and they are in love, at least until she loses her memory, but the intensity of Zen's feeling and Sera's willingness to reciprocate just didn't impress me.  I guess I just didn't see the plausibility of the extent that Zen went to to get Sera back.  That sounds heartless (and I will have you know that a certain college professor of mine used to say I was "cold" when it came to logic - I think we were talking about nuclear war at the time) but I just wasn't feeling it.
• Don't rush the ending:  I really felt like the author piled way too much information into the last several chapters, tied up loose ends and then boom, it was over.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel like there was much of a pay-off in the end and it didn't sit well with me.

There are supposed to be at least two more books in this series.  Honestly I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I think that if the ending were different this could have been a stand alone novel and that would have been fine.  However,  I will most likely pick up the next one as I did really enjoy the writing style and the story, for the most part, was entertaining.  

Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Author: Myra McEntire

Genre: paranormal, science fiction, romance

Pages: 390

Published: June 14, 2011

Publisher: Egmont USA

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?" - Goodreads

Set in a little Southern town after the untimely deaths of Emerson's parents ,  Hourglass, is the perfect mix of  sad, spooky and fun.  Emerson isn't crazy, but everyone thinks she is and maybe she's beginning to believe that too.  Her ability to see ghosts has been disrupting her life for four years and her brother is willing to do anything necessary to help her.  But Emerson is tired and suspicious of the endless stream of specialists she is sent to.  That is until she meets Michael and becomes part of The Hourglass.   

There are so many wonderful things about this book: the plot line is gripping, the character development is fantastic and, did I mention, GHOSTS! Emereson's character is great.  She is so funny and quirky even while she is trying to come to grips with the fact that she may be losing her mind.  Her narration is very realistic while somehow being whimsical and strange as well.  The romance in this book is also a lot of fun.  While there isn't insta-love (yay!) there is an immediate attraction between Em and Michael which develops over time into a relationship.  Their love isn't perfect, they argue and yell, they feel unsure about their futures together and they know they have issues that need to be worked out.  That being said, they are great as a couple and a ton of fun to read!

As far as cons go, there aren't many.  First, I wasn't 100% happy about the time-travel aspect at first, I would have liked to have seen more ghosts, but it grew on me.  Now if I could just wrap my head around theoretical physics we'd be in business.  Mostly though, I'm just a little concerned that the next book is going to turn Em and Michael's relationship into a love triangle.  The introduction of Kaleb and his forwardness near the middle/end of this book do not bode well for book 2, and I really don't like love triangles.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this one.  It was so much fun to get into and I really felt and attachment to the characters.  I can't wait to read Timepiece.  

Review: The White Oak by Kim White

Author: Kim White

Genre: paranormal, fantasy

Pages: 326

Published: April 9th, 2012

Publisher: Story Machine Studio

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Source: NetGalley - I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"In The White Oak, the first book in the Imperfect Darkness series, Cora Alexander falls through a sinkhole and enters the underworld still alive. Her living presence threatens the tyrannical rule of Minos and the infernal judges who have hijacked the afterlife and rebuilt it, trapping human souls in a mechanical, computer-controlled city that lies at the core of the earth. To survive, Cora must rely on her untrustworthy guide, Minotaur, an artificial intelligence built by Minos. She is helped by a mysterious voice, and by Sybil, underworld librarian and author of each person's book of life. Sybil's collection holds the key to humankind's intertwined life stories. When Cora's own book is destroyed, Sybil gives her a magical golden pen and sends her to the underworld city to write her own destiny. Along the way, Cora finds the ghost of her dead brother, Lucas, a genius programmer who alone is capable of finding the chink in Minos's armor. But will he be able to get Cora out alive, or will they both succumb to the seemingly inescapable underworld trap?" - Goodreads.com

 I'm not usually one for super technical fantasy stories.  I like fantasy but I'm not usually attracted to the "sci" part of sci-fi.  However, I had heard such great things about this book that I decided to give it a try and at first I really liked it.  About 1/4th of the way in, though, it lost me.  With that beautiful cover and the plot's mythological theme I really wanted to love this book, but it was just a little too strange and the plot seemed to be so convoluted at some points that I felt like giving up.  The main character is Cora.  She falls into a sinkhole at her abusive father's funeral and ends up in the underworld.  We find out that she has something to do with a prophecy (which is never really expounded upon enough)  and she becomes something of a fugitive.  All the while there are ghosts, mechanical beings, and a shifty AI named Minotaur as well as a terrifying and confusing underworld society (seriously, if it is really anything remotely like this, I need to find a way to live forever).  Cora must make her way through this awful place and find her twin brother while trying to dodge obstacles put in her way by those who fear the prophecy.  So with that out of the way, lets get down to business.

LIKES:

I really liked the first part of the book.  It really starts off with a bang (or, you know an underground cave collapse, something like that).  The action at the beginning is really great and it feels like the story takes shape very quickly.  Once Cora makes it to the underworld things start to fizzle a little but there are still a couple of characters that are pretty cool who are introduced here.  Chief among these is Minotaur.  He is an AI that can change into anyone.  Because of he programming he pretty much knows everything about everyone and is a very believable doppelganger.  While being entertaining, he also adds some depth to the story.  He has a deep loyalty to his maker, Minos, whom he calls Father, but the affection is not returned and this really makes him a sympathetic character in a way even though he doesn't really have emotion. Unfortunately that's pretty much where the positives ended for me.

DISLIKES:

I seriously don't know where to start.  I had so many problems with this book.  Lets just jump right in with the main character and her brother.  Cora, to me, was boring.  She was fairly emotionless (when she lands in the underworld she isn't surprised by anything, doesn't she find all of this a little strange?), and I didn't feel like I got to know her at all.  In addition, her relationship with her twin brother is completely lacking in connectivity.  You get the feeling that they are supposed to be super close, but when they are together they just kind of fall flat.  In fact at one point in the story they are discussing Cora escaping from the underworld so she can, you know, live and Lucas is all "don't leave me here" it's just kind of lame. I just couldn't care for them at all and when I don't care about the characters I don't care about the story. Aside from the characters I had real problems with the plot itself.  Basically there wasn't really a defined story line.  It seems like the author wanted to play around with mythology but didn't really explore it fully.  There were so many different things going on at once that it was easy to get lost and by the end of the book I was so confused that I didn't even really care that the whole book was, for all intents and purposes, an intro to the next book. I was just glad it was over.  As far as the mythological aspect goes, it was completely overshadowed by a jumble of other genres and way too much detail on things that didn't really add to the story (there is a whole page that basically describes Lucas coding a video game, no thanks).  And the ending...I can't even really call it a cliffhanger, it was more of a is-my-kindle-malfunctioning-where-is-the-rest-of-the-story ending.  Basically, I just didn't care for this one.  There is going to be a series but I really don't think I'll be reading it.  Let me know if you've read this what you thought.  I would love to have some more opinions, maybe I'm just missing something, or maybe this one is over my head.