Life Before Legend

Life Before Legend by Marie Lu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I adore this series, and reading these two short stories was a treat. We get a peek at a much younger Day and June, before they became older. We see them as innocents surviving in their respective worlds. What a treat indeed.

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Charade

Charade by Nyrae Dawn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here's a pint of Make Your Heart Smile Little Romance. It's nothing mind-blowing, it's just a nice little story. Of course the characters are 1-gorgeous, and 2-damaged. But they heal each other and it all ends well. All you need is a literary spoon to dig into your e-reader. Perfect for those times when you're depressed and feeling lonely.

That's about it, really. The ebook needs some editing; there are a few typos. There's virtually zero depth and a lot of the characters behave in ways that are just ridiculous. Attempts at heart-wrenching sorrow were made. And Nyrae Dawn hasn't quite risen to the levels of Abbi Glines (who's always fun) or Colleen Hoover (who is the queen of this sort of thing). It's a quick read, moderately entertaining. It's New Adult, so be aware - and the only other thing I will say is this, quoting from the book:

"You kiss your mama with that mouth, boy?"

Yeah. Enjoy.





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Eleanor and Park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All those reviews raving about this book? They'e all right. This book is amazing.

Rainbow Rowell has managed here to take us inside a pocket of America that we all know exists, but we all left. Either we grew up and moved away, or times simply changed. Set in the 1990's, it is the story of Eleanor - a beautiful person trapped between a self-absorbed father and a mother who married a monster just so she wouldn't be alone. She is thrust into a terrible situation, as many teenagers are, at the mercy of a stepfather who hates her and siblings who need for her to defend them. It is the definition of an impossible situation.

And then there's Park, with his Korean mom, dad who looks like Magnum P.I., and brother - all forming a relatively happy family. They like each other. They have reasonable expectations.

The relationship that forms between Eleanor and Park is sweet and endearing and slow. But not slow in a "when is this going to pick up" sense. It is sensitive to their personalities. It is a sweetness that grows, timid at first and then becoming braver.

This book on audio is narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra. The voice that Lowman gives Eleanor is nothing short of amazing. It defines her in a way that is so in tune with Eleanor's description and behaviors that Eleanor absolutely comes alive, right off the page. Malhotra does Park equally well. Listening to this story was an absolute pleasure that was difficult to put down.

The plot was basically a coming-of-age romance. But the ending was surprisingly realistic. I was afraid it would be tragic; instead, it is hopeful.

Do yourself a favour and don't just read this book, buy it and put it on your shelf to read again and again. It is wonderful.

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Frigid

Frigid by J. Lynn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Boy and girl are best friends. Girl loves boy, boy loves girl but is a player. Boy and girl get trapped in a blizzard. Weird stuff happens. Weird stuff and relationship gets resolved. The end.

There you go, except for lots of sex. Which is fine in this sort of a book, and to be expected - your typical romance from Jennifer Armentrout. She's an expert at this sort of story. There's a bit of honesty and apprehension, each of the characters has a preconception that the other one misconstrues. This creates tension and moves the story along. And honestly, that would have been enough.

And then there's the weird stuff. Why the weird stuff? There didn't seem to be a point to it. The side characters involved in the weird stuff weren't well-developed. It's as if it was an afterthought - c'mon J. Lynn. Your main characters are plenty interesting enough. There's no need for crazy weird stuff to happen.

This was a quick read but decidedly more shallow than others I've read. It's your standard romance novel. Nuff said - except for this: that guy on the cover has to be freezing, standing there with his shirt open. I mean, I know he's hot and all, but . . .

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Illuminated

Illuminated by Erica Orloff
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes an author makes a valiant attempt at romance based on a legend. Sometimes it results in a long saga that lags in spots, sometimes it is completely brilliant, sometimes it is a half-hearted attempt, and sometimes an agonizing failture.

This one seems to be Weighted on the side of half-hearted. The story has such potential that it's almost a shame that it ends up being so contrived. Callie is the spoiled, pampered-but-ignored daughter of a successful Boston lawyer. She is spending the summer with her uncle and his companion in New York. The uncle is an expert in ancient manuscripts, and is working with a colleague. The colleague is agoraphobic with a stunningly handsome young son named August. And within 20 pages into the story, it is more than evident that Callie and August (who have just met) are deeply in love.

What?

Exactly. The manuscript is apparently a diary written by the son of Heloise and Abelard, legendary lovers whose story ended tragically. It is also a book written over another book, which is a palimpsest. The idea of a palimpsest is a great one and yet seems to have been completely wasted here. The themes in this book - forbidden love, tragic love, mysterious artifacts, secrets and thieves - they're all wonderful elements. Wonderful elements for a saga, which this book is decidedly not. There was no time taken to really explore the themes, the relationships, the artifacts. Honestly, this book really can't decide whether it's young adult romance or historical romance or the movie "An Affair to Remember." It's all over the place.

I had a problem with the characters being inconsistent. Callie is confident but sassy; she is rude to her uncle and then sweet. She is completely taken with August and then doesn't want to speak to him for days. The backstory with her mother and father is out of place within the story; I found myself wondering why this was such a big deal when all the other stuff is going on. We are given a peek at Callie's father through her eyes and the eyes of her uncle - but then when Callie and her father have dinner, they bounce between hating each other and being sympathetic, even loving, to the other. It was a complete contradiction of behaviour.

The same was true with August. He's completely in love with Callie, and yet as soon as something bad happens, he can't even remember her name.

Talk about drama overload.

When the adventure and search for answers finally begins, it is ridiculous. The trouble is that it waffles between two kids doing things that get them in a lot of trouble . . . except no, all is forgiven in the end. I'm not even sure why these adults didn't taken Callie and August to task for completely defying what they'd been told to do.

In the end, the fairytale wraps up nicely and the teenaged romance concludes happily ever after. Right. Because virtually every teenage romance lasts forever.

Ah well. Even with so many glaring problems, this was a light, moderately enjoyable read. It could have been a spectacular, fantastic read. Forget Heloise and Abelard - the real tragedy here is simply the wasted potential.



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Arclight

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK, let's face it. The title "Arclight" and the cover are both gorgeous. Put that with the label "dystopia" and who wouldn't want to grab it up and read it?

Arclight is yet another great dystopian tale. The basic storyline follows Marina, our protagonist, in her journey to discover who she really is. She lives in a compound surrounded by light. The light is there to keep out the "Fades," which are monsters on the outside of the light. The plot takes us on a circuitous, creepy ride to find out just what's really going on in the compound. The puzzle unfolded bit by bit and was just dark enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The action starts with a bang on the first page, and we are thrown into a lockdown situation where it's dark and there are monsters. Things are bad, children are scared, and even the adults are afraid. Guns, alarms, loads and loads of tension set the pace for the story. And a great pace it keeps until the last few pages; things come out all in a rush at that point, a bit of information overload. Loose ends are tied up, but things are generally left open for new things to happen in a sequel.

Part of the reason that the plot works so well is Marina herself. She begins as a scared, sickly girl who is unsure of everything, especially herself. She is like an egg whose shell starts to crack, and as it does, Marina emerges stronger and better. What at first smacks of insta-love with Tobin ends up being a gradual acceptance from him; we learn that by the time we meet him, he's already processed most of his bad feelings toward Marina. As such, he's taken a liking to her. That was a smart move on the part of McQuein, avoiding that insta-love trap on which so many of these sorts of stories depend.

Marina did progress to the point of confusion for me near the end. It's clear what is happening, but trying to visualize or feel it is difficult. There are more facets to Marina that she herself is working through, which leaves us as readers as divided with her feelings as she is.

Tobin is probably the most well-developed character. And yet it is easy to say this because he is the character most easy to understand. He behaves in a way we would expect. Because of this, he serves as a good anchor for the rest of the characters and action.

I love language, and this book capitalizes on it in a big way. There are characters who don't really speak, but communicate with feelings that evoke words. Because of this, the words are more complex and descriptive than they would be in regular spoken language. It was a delight to read the conversations between the speakers and non-speakers.

Some of the lesser characters could have been better developed, and the villain's demise was weak. It is possible, even probable, that these issues will be addressed in the next book in the series. But this book is clever enough; if the sequel is anything like it, it will be a great read. The world building was fantastic.

This book didn't rank up there as amazing for me. But it is a good, solid dystopian that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'll definitely be looking for the sequel.



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The Transfer

The Transfer by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Veronica Roth has done a great job here, giving us a peek into Four's life before he meets Tris in the first book in this series, Divergent.

It's a treat because we're given insight into why Four really "gets" Tris. There are things in his background that give him great insight in Tris' character and decisions. We also learn how he got his name and why.

This short novella also gives us a chance to see Four before he was really Four - when he was young and fresh to Dauntless.

While this isn't a necessary read, it is a wonderful companion to a great series.

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