All Broke Down (Rusk University #2)

All Broke Down by Cora Carmack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let me just start by saying that I love this series. Cora Carmack has a winner with these books about football - because they're actually about football!

This second book features Silas, a guy with a troubled past who falls for Dylan - a girl from a good family who's a perfectionist with a heart. The strength of this book is these two characters who are more like real life people than not.

The synopsis for this book paints Dylan as a self-confident, driven activist who fights for worthy causes. In reality, she's more like an insecure good-girl who would like to live a little but is scared to death of disappointing her parents. Silas, on the other hand, is a good guy from a bad family who's just trying to escape his upbringing. And he has a bit of a temper. He's not an upstanding kind of guy; he's trouble. But he's trying.

One of the things I liked the most about this book was the way Silas kept refusing to let Dylan "fix" him. I also liked the way Dylan wouldn't take no for an answer. For all her insecurities, she was able to face what she wanted and had the courage to at least try. The deal they make that starts the romance is a bit far-fetched. Or maybe not, depending on the way you look at it. If Silas is a player who'll do just about anything to get this girl, then it's believable. If he's really serious about what he's agreeing to, then probably not. But you've gotta like a guy who's willing to look at himself and the mistakes he's making that are costing him dearly - and deciding to do something about it. And why wouldn't he when it involves a girl he wants?

And once again there's football! College football with real players doing real plays and talking about the real mechanics of the way the game is played. Silas doesn't just "go to practice." We get a look at the kinds of drills he does and how he deals with the various coaches. The football coach is tough on him. So while this is a romance, it's not just a romance. It's got some grit to it.

Cora Carmack has a good thing going here. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

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Transcendence

Transcendence by Shay Savage
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a surprise.

Here's a riveting story told from the perspective of a prehistoric caveman named Ehd who has no capacity for language. He's actually missing a part of his brain that connects objects with words and sounds (the author explains this in a prologue). But, he happens on a 20th century girl who has inadvertently dropped through time. She's scared to death, for obvious reasons - and he's, well, a caveman. He's lost his tribe and is starving, barely surviving. He's finally caught something to eat, realises he's forgotten his spear, goes back to get it, and there's a girl screaming for help in a pit he's dug. And it's no girl like he's ever seen before.

The beauty of this story is that Ehd is telling it. Because he has no capacity for language, he doesn't get it when the girl starts talking. To him, she's just babbling nonsense sounds. In fact, there are times when he stops and just puts his hand over her mouth because she's giving him a headache. And of course this translates as very funny because, well, he's acting like a typical . . . caveman. Because he is one. Literally.

Ehd also has some pretty basic ideas about what life is about. Again, he's a caveman. For him, things really don't go much beyond eating, sleeping and reproducing. But here's the thing: things really do go beyond that. Just because Ehd doesn't have language doesn't mean he isn't capable of communicating and feeling. The story grows into a study of the beautiful relationship between these two people that develops over time. It's a romance, certainly. But it is infinitely more than that - it's the story of two people who come to love and understand each other without any capability to do it in a traditional way.

I read this in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. It has stayed with me and I've already re-read parts of it - especially the epilogue - a couple of times. It's sci-fi, it's historical (sort of), it's a romance, it's fantasy. There's even a marginal element of magical realism involved. Mostly, it's fabulous. It's a beautiful, new take on NA/Adult romance. Read it and get to know Ehd. He will surprise you.



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Reason to Breathe (Breathing #1)

Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is not for the faint of heart.

Emma seems to be your run-of-the-mill high school junior. She's obsessive about her grades and a star athlete. She's also been sent to live with her aunt and uncle and their two children - and her aunt is abusive. The woman is truly randomly and illogically evil. I began to suspect mental illness in the end.

It's a hard story to read. Emma stays quiet about the abuse for her own reasons. The story is probably pretty accurate in terms of reality; high school kids may have a limited scope sometimes in terms of long-lasting consequences, but they generally have a good foundational reason for the short-sighted things they do. But Emma as a character knows exactly what she's doing and why. It was oddly comforting to read that she knew she could go into any office and report her aunt, but chose not to do so.

This is a completely character driven story despite the glaring social issue. And the characters behave like typical high-schoolers. There are parties, hook-ups, homework and homecoming games. It is set in an affluent neighborhood in Connecticut, so there are all the typical rich-kid toys as well. The side characters are enjoyable and the love interest is every teenage girl's perfect guy.

While this book moves along at a relatively good pace, it did seem to slow at times. It takes place over about a year, so there were non-specific lengths of time where nothing really happened. There is also a relationship that happens that I couldn't wait to get past. It involved the immaturity of teenagers in high school - but that's what the book is about. So a young-adult audience would probably find it much faster paced than I did.

This isn't one of those books that really examines an abused child as much as it's a story about a girl. She just happens to be abused. There's a lot more going on in her life than the abuse, so the story is rounded out as a YA contemporary romance more than social commentary. This book doesn't try and teach anything to the reader other than to portray a young girl in a terrible situation who thinks she has no options.

It does end on a massive cliffhanger. Fortunately all the books are out in the series, so there's no waiting to get to the next one. This is one that's hard to put down, leaving you grasping for the next book. Thank goodness there's more to Emma's story than just this one.

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Raging Star

Raging Star by Moira Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Justice is finally served in the post-apocalyptic old west, and it is not pretty. While things might seem to have gone off on somewhat of a tangent in Rebel Heart (the second book in the series), it all comes together in this book.

Saba and Jack are back and they are out to overthrow DeMalo. And athough things move at a somewhat slow pace, they do move steadily to a conclusion that to some might seem anti-climactic. Young has taken the route of high and low points in the story leading to one final high that resolves, rather than having things build to a big showdown that then ends happily. The thing that makes this whole series stand out is that Young captures the feel of the old west, where life is cheap and pretty much hardscrabble. People die. That's just life and there may not be any rhyme or reason to it, so it's best not to think about it too much.

The characters are all there; Jack, who stays true to his fickle, cowboy self. Nero, who is the pet we all want. Emmi who is still the sweet little sister who is growing up but still going off half-cocked in her efforts to be one of the big kids. Molly, who takes the path of least resistance to benefit herself but is still loyal. Creed, who can't decide whether he wants to be in charge or just get down to business and kill the bad guy. Tommo who is much more than we thought we was. DeMalo, who is charismatic and evil and whose methods are questionable but whose intentions are good. Lugh, who - let's face it - nobody ever really liked anyway.

And Saba. Saba, who is such a basic person who just wants things to be simple. Why can't people just be plain bad or good? Why can't justice be a clear-cut thing? Saba, who is conflicted because her emotions can cloud how she sees people's intentions. Saba, who is guilt-ridden because of her impulsive actions in the past. Saba, who is constantly second-guessing herself. Saba, who can't be honest with anyone and is driven crazy trying to keep secrets. Saba, who has to go sit and think things through. Saba, the reluctant leader by default. Saba, who is such a study in extremes, fiercely loyal and ready to rip the head off anyone who threatens those she loves, but can't decide if that makes her weak or strong.

This is one of those books where people will either love it for what it is, which is like a rollercoaster, or hate it because it seems anti-climactic. It's both, depending on the way you view it. The colloquial language may have stood in the way for some; for me it was charming and easy to translate. It just added to the atmosphere of the old west. And the paranormal aspect of the story added just the right amount of mysticism to it.

On audio, this is narrated by Heather Lind who really does capture the voice of Saba. Here that colloquial language made sense and the phrases used fit perfectly with the feel of the story. My only complaint was that thing narrators do when the scene calls for people yelling and shouting - they "whisper-shout." This might work in a studio booth where the sound control is limited. But it sure does dampen the action when people are getting killed and characters are screaming their heads off. I'd much rather the narrator turn away from the microphone and yell and have a sound person drop the volume rather than have the narrator hiss as if people in hiding are trying to call to one another. When shots are fired and people are falling out of buildings and running for their lives, nobody is whispering.

Raging Star wound up things in the Dustlands with something between a bang and a whimper. Regardless, it was a satisfying conclusion to a great series and ended on a note that was right in line with the characters. It would make a great movie with the right casting. It offers complex characters who contrast well against a barren, desolate post-apocalyptic landscape. Ultimately it's a great story and worth the read.


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Archer's Voice

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is chick lit done really, really well.

Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of chick lit.

It's the story of Archer, who is mute because of an accident that happened when he was seven years old. He's a hermit living on the edge of town and generally avoids everyone in the town where he lives. They all think he's "not right." Bree comes to town because she's trying to get past a robbery that happened in her dad's deli - the thief murdered her dad and nearly assaulted her and she has PTSD as a result. This is the story of their romance.

Let me be clear here: this is done so well. The writing is wonderful. The plot is enjoyable with lots of drama. The characters have depth and the author spends a lot of time letting us get to know them before they get to know each other. There's a shocker ending. And the romance is fabulous.

But here's my problem with chick lit in general: all the conflict in the plot comes from external influences and circumstances. There's never any conflict between the two characters. It's usually the two of them against the world in some fashion or another. This tends to turn it into a sappy mess of infatuated people saying "I'll love you forever" and various other platitudes. Then there's an epilogue where they're 5-10 years down the road and living happily and "oh, I'm so in love with him even more than I was when I met him." That's nice and all but please. That's not real life. Of course in these sorts of novels it's not supposed to be real life.

But everything we read has an effect on us, influencing us in some way or another. These sorts of books done up so neatly tend to feed the idea that there really is a knight in shining armor for every misunderstood princess. Books of this sort don't have to hold all the problems of real life - otherwise we'd never read them. But having some connection to reality is in order. There is another book which has a main character with this same disability: What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor. It's YA but done so well; it's a much better version of this book. The connection to reality in that book is what this book is missing.

Archer's Voice is a good, entertaining Lifetime movie. If you're in the mood for one of those, then this is your book - because it is exactly that, done really well. Excellent for the beach. It will tug on your heartstrings and make you swoon. For me, it was like eating too much sugar - I felt a bit queasy at the end.






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Black Ice

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Black Ice: I'm not sure of the reference here, since it doesn't appear in the story. There's a blizzard, but no real black ice, which is found on roads and is difficult to see when driving, causing many auto accidents in icy weather. Regardless, this story sure did make me cold.

This is your basic, average YA contemporary murder mystery. We start with the actual murders, setting the stage for us to wonder whether it was Colonel Mustard with the knife or Mrs. Peacock with the gun, as it were. We cut immediately from there to Brit and Korbie, two spoiled, ditzy, wealthy high school girls. They're headed out to go hiking in the Grand Teton mountains while staying at a family retreat owned by Korbie's family. Brit's been in love with Calvin, Korbie's brother, for years. After a brief relationship 8 months prior, he broke her heart and she hasn't gotten over him. He'll be there hiking with them and Brit wants to rekindle the relationship. But on the way to the cabin, Brit and Korbie run into a blizzard and have to leave their jeep to find shelter. They're taken hostage by a couple of guys who insist to be escorted down the mountain and the adventure begins.

The plot here was relatively predictable and it wasn't hard to figure out the killer. However, that happens about halfway through the story. There's a lot of action between the time the killer is established and the resolution of the story, making the predictability a bit less. It was well-paced in terms of the events happening and the action scenes were done relatively well. And once we established the killer, things got dicey and the suspense built as our heroine tried to escape the killer.

Things got problematic for me when it came to character development. Brit, the main character, wasn't stupid. She didn't have a lot of confidence but she was extremely capable, so it's not that she wasn't sympathetic. The trouble was this: Fitzpatrick used Brit's inner monologue to let us see the way she figured things out. This was interspersed within the action, which was like seeing things in slow motion. It threw the pacing off completely. If we had been shown her thought processes as the action happened rather than been shown something, then have her internal monologue think things through, then another piece of the action, etc. we wouldn't have felt as if we were dragging her along to get to the heart of the mystery. There were a lot of "come on already!" moments.

The story had great bones; the concept was good. But the execution was lacking; the method Fitzpatrick used to tell the story bogged it down. She did a relatively good job of establishing Brit as a shallow, spoiled brat who needed to grow up; it was probably more realistic than not. All the elements of taking Brit from silly and foolish to capable and strong were there. They just didn't translate well in the telling.

The other characters were (surprisingly) better developed. While I never liked best friend Korbie, I didn't see much of her. Calvin was multi-layered as were the two bad guys. But the real, honest villain was the weather. It was more threatening than anything else.

The story did have a rather convenient ending and was pretty unbelievable. That said, I liked it. It gave me a very satisfying ending without being trite or sappy.

On audio, the book is narrated by Jenna Lamia. She is fantastic and made the story better than it otherwise would have been. She's a favourite narrator of mine and Fitzpatrick was really smart to have her do this book. She was an excellent choice for the voice of Brit.

Because of the maturity of the writing and the method used to tell the story, I'd call this book very YA. For it's target audience, it's a great story. It falls far short of amazing but at least it doesn't try to be more than it is, which is an entertaining mystery. If you want a book that won't wring you out from the tension and suspense but reads like a movie on Lifetime, this is it. It's a nice way to spend an afternoon.



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Through the Ever Night, Round 2

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Post re-read 1/15, I have to say that I enjoyed this even more the second time through. The story is great - it's just the writing that bothers me slightly. It's things like this:

"He returned to the clearing and organised the handling of the slain raiders. First they stripped the valuables from the dead. The tribe would reuse weapons, belts and shoes. Then they loaded the bodies on horse carts, making one trip after another over the sandy trail. At the beach, wood was stacked to form a pyre. When it was ready, he dropped the torch that lit the wood, speaking the words that would release the souls of the dead to the Aether. He did this with some amazement at himself. Here, in the aftermath of battle just as during, neither his voice nor is hands wavered."

In this paragraph, we get a description of what is happening, and we get the barest hint of what Peri feels as he's doing it. But it's so short and clipped, giving the feeling that you're reading an account of what happened and you aren't really living the event as it happens. That would be fine if we hadn't just "lived" the event that happened previous. There's no presence to this description, just words.

Here's another example:

"Then it was time for him to do his own work. He started from the western edge of his territory and made his way east. He found the Tides, every one, in the stables, in the fields, at the harbor, and looked into their eyes and told them he was proud of what they'd done today."

A lot happens in that paragraph. And what is happening is personal, intense. Again, this reads and feels like just an account of the event. It carries none of the presence or atmosphere of what Peri is doing or the way it is affecting and changing him. It's one of those things that for me, as a reader, seems better left out if it couldn't be better written.

There were a couple more examples of this that I marked as I was reading - but they are essentially the same as what I've described above: a basic description of an event that needs to either be given more presence, more weight, more feeling - or just eliminated.

Beyond that, this is a great story. I'm sticking with my original rating of 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 - but I'm as anxious as ever to get going on the third book. As grateful as I am to Rossi for not ending this second book on a cliffhanger, she certainly left me desperate for the conclusion. And that's really, really good writing.


ORIGINAL REVIEW:

I'm calling this one a solid 3.75 stars, rounding up to 4. It's definitely a "middle" book. But it's a good middle book, in that it both continues the story well and sets up the next book. No cliffhanger ending (THANK YOU Veronica Rossi). I will definitely be reading the third book in this series.

The characters remain consistently solid, but show growth. Aria, in particular, has really matured in this story. She is older, more focused and has gone light years beyond the scared little girl she was in the first book. She's developed both her abilities and her fighting/survival skills. She's not a stupid girl doing stupid things. She has a quiet strength that I really, really like. If I had to endure the Aria of the first book to get to this Aria, it was worth it.

Perry has also grown. This book is more of a cerebral journey of him rising up and becoming the leader of his people. He still seems a bit shaky to me, with all the loss he's endured. He seems grounded, but there is definitely a lot of turmoil he'll have to work through in the next book.

The secondary characters were good as well. I especially like Reef; he seems to serve as a solid father figure to Perri. Talon and Cinder serve their purposes, and I'm glad they don't take up any more of the action than they do. For them to just give purpose to the plot is enough.

And as for the plot, it's done pretty well. I think Rossi was going for a true emotionally draining experience here - and while I felt involved, I didn't feel drained. I wasn't tired after going through the adventure with all these characters. This is the reason I would define it so clearly as a "middle" book. It's good action, the plot is well-developed, things move along quickly and in a way that makes sense. And these are things that need to happen. But in the end, it's all a very good setup for the conclusion.

A very enjoyable setup, I have to say. And again, a huge thank you to Veronica Rossi for 1-no love triangle, and 2-bringing Perri and Aria back together positively at the end. She has proven to be an author who cares about her readers and their emotional investment in her characters. Thank you for not leaving us hanging.

I definitely recommend this as a read you'll enjoy, especially if you've read the first book. The third should be spectacular.

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Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seriously, this is a debut novel? Seriously? No wonder this woman is famous. It was amazing.

Originally I picked this up as an audiobook. I didn't love the narrators and as soon as I realised the book was written with email formatting, I knew I needed to read it in print. It just didn't translate well to audio - so if you're debating between the two, you should go with print. It's a much better read.

The thing about Rowell's characters is that they are real; this is such a refreshing departure from the perfect people of NA contemporary and chicklit. Lincoln is a pretty average looking guy, attractive but not drop-dead gorgeous. He's tall but not slender and lanky - he's built like a tank. He lives with his mom - but is he really a mama's boy? He is just moving through his life in a rather comatose fashion, taking the path of least resistance. Is he over the love of his life? Was she really the love of his life? Will there ever be another? He's such an endearing, sweet guy. Watching his moral dilemma over reading the emails of his co-workers just made me smile. And watching him fall in love with a woman he'd never even seen - where is this guy in real life? I want to marry him!

Rowell has this really unique way of allowing her characters to exist in the contemporary world while rising above it in a way that is just magical. We root for these characters. We want the movie ending. And surprisingly, they do too. Rowell's characters are rounder, softer, sweeter. They don't have the edges that many contemporary characters have. And while that may put some readers off in terms of realism, I found it wonderful. I couldn't put this one down.

It's hard not to love a book when you love the characters so much. This is Rowell's real strength, her real gift. What a storyteller. What a story.




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This Shattered World

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here is solid proof that two are better than one when it comes to Megan Spooner and Amie Kaufman and writing. This second book in the Starbound series gives us new characters in a different setting but within the same galaxy and the same basic bad guys.

Although there is a distinct tone to these authors' writing, the feel and atmosphere of this sequel is very different from the first book. Here we have a colonized world that's stuck in its evolution, colonists who've been denied what they were promised, a crushed rebellion trying to rise again. It's a nice package that plays out beautifully. There are themes of racism and prejudice here, but it's not the standard stuff. Rather than being a story of an oppressed people rising up to fight for their freedom, we have a situation much like the American Revolution. Government sends colonists and makes them unhappy by controlling the way they live. Colonists rise up in rebellion. War results. And then there's all that weird stuff with the whispering . . .

The characters were an absolute pleasure. They're really conflicted, which makes them complex, which makes them fascinating. The way they evolve, especially with regard to what they've been taught versus what's actually true, is probably the best part about this book. Additionally, there is a multi-cultural cast, and kudos to the authors for making it truly diverse.

One of the plot devices these authors use is an event written at the head of each chapter. In These Broken Stars it was an interrogator asking questions for a debriefing report. In this case, it's dream sequences related by someone who isn't having the dream. The dreams are very abstract, so they only added to the intrigue, and it worked far better here than it did in the first book.

Ultimately, it's not really fair to compare this book to the first one, since it's a completely different story. The main characters from These Broken Stars make a cameo appearance, but this is really Jubilee and Flynn's tale. That said, this book didn't have that jaw-dropping twist that made These Broken Stars so amazing. I kept waiting for some supernatural things to blow my mind and that just didn't happen here. It wasn't quite as original an idea this time. The goals of our protagonists seemed vague and didn't resolve conveniently. But don't get me wrong - there is some serious tension maintained in the story. I was never completely convinced that both characters would survive. The ending, while action-packed and full of suspense, leaned toward the predictable without becoming cliche. The romance remained in the background, which again gave ammunition to the tension.

Worth noting: Kaufman and Spooner have an amazing ability to write a scene. Whether it is one involving the characters having no options to escape the bad guy or being at war within themselves, it translates beautifully to print. Apparently these two authors play out scenes with each other in their writing process. If this is the result, then ladies, it's working!

The audiobook was narrated by Donnabella Mortel and Callard Harris, with the dream sequences done by Lincoln Hoppe. They embodied the characters beautifully. They distinguished the other character voices nicely. These narrators are true voice actors that brought the story to life.

This is such a unique series, a departure from the standard scifi/fantasy/dystopian. The voice of the story is so refreshing - it will be a long and painful wait for the next book in the series. As usual, we need that sequel now!



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