Unremembered

Unremembered by Jessica Brody
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amnesia is a tricky thing. It plays out oddly because it comes in such a variety of conditions - nobody ever really forgets everything they ever knew. It's often like reformatting a hard drive in that there's some kind of basic structure set up. People usually remember what most objects are and have a cursory knowledge of what's going on and why and how.

It's also a clever plot device. In this case, it works as the basis for a great sci-fi story about Violet, an amnesiac girl who is the lone survivor of a plane crash. She wakes up in the water surrounded by bodies and one of her first thoughts after being found is "what's a plane?" She's only 16 so she's placed with a foster family after a couple of days in the hospital. She finds that numbers comfort her and that she always wants to run away from trouble. She has no feel for societal cues in interaction, which is always entertaining in its honesty no matter the story. And then there's the strange boy who keeps showing up no matter where she is, telling her she needs to remember. It's kind of creepy.

She has violet eyes, so everyone calls her Violet. Then she learns her name is Sera, short for Seraphina.

Jessica Brody did some smart things with this book. Because amnesia is such a spotty thing, she covered a lot of plot holes with it. There were times I wondered why Sera would remember some things and not others. But overall I have to admit that what seemed like an inconsistency could be attributed to overall amnesia. Points to the author for that.

You'd think this book is all about Sera finding out who she is, and it is. But as the story unfolds it becomes much more sci-fi, well done because it's not overly predictable. Although I wasn't surprised by the way the plot went, I was somewhat ever-so-slightly-surprised by the twist at the end. It's a good hook to continue the rest of the series.

The secondary characters here are interesting and likable. Zen is a bit exaggerated, but that's probably because I thought he was a lot more mature when we first meet him. Violet/Sera's foster family is delightful and her foster brother, the geeky Cody, provides some funny moments. He's a thirteen year old boy who's written really well. In fact, all the characters are written well except for maybe the villains, who are rather one-dimensional. There's a showdown near the end with the bad guy that seems slightly cliche. For as clever as the plot is with the whole amnesia thing, solving it edges on cliched, predictable territory. It's not enough to derail things, though. My hunger for the next book is sufficiently whetted.

On audio, this book is narrated by Julia Whelan. I'm not a huge fan of her style because I don't think it works for every book she does. But she was great for Unremembered. I don't care overmuch for the way she voices male characters because it sounds forced. But it wasn't distracting enough to drop the audio and continue in print.

Overall this was a great read. It's light enough to enjoy and complex enough to stay interesting. And it was memorable, which is remarkable for a book about amnesia.


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Someone Like You

Someone like You by Addison Moore


I regret that I had to DNF this one at about 20%. On audio the narration is wonderful from Kate Rudd & Luke Daniels. But a couple of things bugged me.

First off, Ally (the main character) vascillates between "I want him he's so hot" and "I hate him for no good reason." Hot, cold. Hot, cold. Make up your mind already!

Secondly, the scenes are really drawn out. In the beginning of the book Ally is set to go on stage as a stripper. She's going on, she's not. This is a bad idea so she's going to change her mind. But she doesn't. She steels herself with champagne and nearly falls down and nearly throws up. But she doesn't fall down, she stumbles. Then finally she falls. She never does throw up. I hate being led down a path thinking something's going to happen only to find that it doesn't. That's manipulating me as a reader and is something I detest.

Lastly, the way this is written. So many metaphors! It's clever for a chapter or so. But beyond that, it just got old. Really quickly. As in I quit listening at about 20% (2 hours).

I wanted to like this a lot; it's a good premise. But sadly, it just fell flat for me.



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Under Different Stars

Under Different Stars by Amy A. Bartol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That cover and that title. It promises a great story and boy does it deliver.

This really was a cover buy for me. I couldn't resist it when I met the author and had her sign the book. I put it on my shelf, thinking 'oh, she's a self-published author and it might be good and might not, likely not.' Nine months later when I saw that it was out on audio and narrated by Kate Rudd, I decided I'd give it a go. Kate Rudd is a well-known, experienced voice actor. There was no amateur narrating here.

What a surprise! I find self-published authors to be rather hit and miss - and this is a bullseye. It ranks right up there with all the great urban fantasies from the big publishing houses. In fact, they're foolish to have passed on this one.

This is the story of Kricket. She's a runaway foster kid, having been orphaned at age six and shuffled from one home to the next. At sixteen she got fed up with the system and struck out on her own. We meet her at her job as a janitor. She has a dependable, good group of friends and a roommate who works at a bar. Because she's underage, the bar pays her (under the table) to clean up and run supplies up and down from the basement. She's got a fairly good gig going and soon, when she's eighteen, she can stop hiding from Social Services and move on with her life.

And she's got an uncanny knack of knowing when people are lying. It works every time.

While on the train going home from work, some wealthy guys in trench coats find her. They insist she come with them and she's having none of it, lying about her name and where she's from. As she's technically a runaway, she's not about to own up to who she really for fear of being put back into the system. Later that night she's approached by another guy in a dark coat and she runs again, right into the arms of the first guy. He kidnaps her and the story goes from there.

Kricket is established from the start as a capable, strong character. She's independent and feisty and smart. She's easy to like. She doesn't take foolish chances or make dumb mistakes, which is refreshing. Oftentimes an author will write a character like Kricket but then have her behave in short-sighted, idiot ways that endanger herself and others. Not so here. She gets hurt in real-life ways that disable her - she doesn't just keep going for some ridiculous "oh I can't give up" reason. She's tough but is willing to admit when she's had enough. When she faints or gets tired, it isn't overly dramatic. There is depth to her without all the damsel-in-distress rescues. Bartol also initially gives us a physical description of Kricket as a tall girl, 5'10", with blonde hair. She's not devastatingly gorgeous, just average, moderately pretty. But when she gets to Ethar, it's like she's gone to giant land. Everyone is taller and as the gravity is less, they're stronger on the whole - and of course they're all exceptionally beautiful while she's just ok. Kricket becomes the small girl that everyone wants to rescue. It's a fun change because Bartol plays that standard YA heroine both ways.

Trey, the other main character and love interest, is a soldier. He's confident, in charge, quick to action. He has a mission to collect Kricket and bring her back to his home world, Ethar. It's pretty clear from the outset that he likes her. But Bartol was smart to make this character a soldier; oddly, it alleviates most of the hero-rescuing-the-damsel problem. It's in his military interests to keep her safe, so whenever she isn't, he makes sure she is. From the outset he's a competent leader of a small band of soldiers. He delegates much of the saving of Kricket to them; he knows she's valuable and he's got a mission to accomplish. Getting her there in one piece is important but he's focused more on the getting there than having her in one piece.

But don't get me wrong, there's clearly a romance developing here. It progresses at a nice pace, neither rushed or needlessly protracted. The fact that Trey's a focused, disciplined Army Major just makes him more appealing. It's fun to see the interplay of his impatience with Kricket and his more than obvious attraction to her.

The secondary characters of Jax and Wayra are very entertaining. They add a wit and charm to the story that just enhances the action. Although Kricket gets a translator injected, much of the language the guys use is foreign. The way they explain things and the vernacular they use are just funny most of the time, especially because they talk and joke like typical men who are soldiers.

The bad guy is painted rather grey; we don't like him but he does have his merits. Kricket gets caught in the middle of a lot of political maneuvering and is forced to make difficult choices. Soon the villain, although clearly a villain, becomes just one of a few villains. The complication makes things lively.

The ending is a good one, satisfying while readying things for the next book in the series. It certainly was enough to whet my appetite for the next book. The audio is so well done, only enhancing the action. Since I have the print book I went back a few times and just re-read what I'd heard. As a person who primarily listens to books rather than read the print, I found this to be better on audio. Kate Rudd is able to put us right in the middle of the action, distinguishing each character's voice. What a pleasure this was.

I hope this series gets more hype, because it really does deserve it. It's a great story, well-written and more people should be enjoying it. If indeed it was pitched to a publisher and they turned it down, it was their loss.




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Lies Beneath

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MacLeod Andrews has now officially made me very afraid of mermaids.

Lies Beneath is aptly titled; it is a very dark book. The mermaids in it are monsters who rob humans of their positive emotions while drowning them. They are also very particular about their promises and agreements - it is highly unwise to break one. They are vicious and not only are they not forgiving, they hold grudges. In this case, a "family" of mermaids are pretty upset about their mother's death and are seeking vengeance on one Jason Hancock.

I loved that this book was told from Calder's perspective. He's a typical guy with three crazy sisters, often the only one thinking with a level head. Oddly, when I read mermaid I thought girl - so this was a nice departure. The book starts off with Calder being called home from the Caribbean to Lake Superior, MI and nagged to death by his oldest sister Maris. He's resentful and brooding, joining with his sisters in their mission to avenge their mother's death. But Calder is a little different in that he wasn't born a mermaid, he was created one. He's the key player in the plan to kill Jason Hancock, but Maris isn't happy with how long it's taking. So she takes matters into her own hands and skews Calder's plan.

As the romance develops between Lily Hancock and Calder, the characters of Pavoti and Maris are further explored. The way the character development worked overall with the world building was done extremely well; it never felt like info-dumping for the sake of furthering the plot along. There were twists throughout, making the book unpredictable. And the romance was nicely handled, unfolding slowly and appropriately.

On audio, the book is narrated by MacLeod Andrews. He is quickly becoming one of my favourite voice actors. He was able to give Calder a wry humor that really defined Calder's character. He didn't really distinguish the voices of the women vocally, but they were each distinct in Andrews' phrasing. Overall the narration just enhanced the story and made it more appealing.

This first book in the series is the only one available on audio. Hopefully the successive books will be released, because this is an interesting story that Andrews could only make better.



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Captive (The Blackcoat Rebellion #2)

Captive by Aimee Carter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This sequel to Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1)? Good try. A for effort.

Captive continues the story of Kitty Doe, who lives in a caste society where your status is determined by an aptitude test and then tattooed onto the back of your neck. Because of some political issues involving the purported death of the daughter of a ranking government official, Kitty is kidnapped and her rank is changed. She is "masked" to look just like the daughter and set up as a puppet to further a corrupt official's quest for power.

This second installment involves Kitty's demand to both be able to bring down the corruption and further a brewing rebellion. She gets into a lot of trouble and sent to a prison camp. More trouble ensues and Kitty continues to work to help the rebels.

Kitty is the most frustrating, irritating, brainless main character ever. She's resourceful, but she's also impulsive and short-sighted. People in charge trust her and she manages to betray that trust time and time again in the interest of doing a good, useful thing. She never seems to learn from her mistakes - or even pay for them! She's stubborn and rebellious for the sake of being stubborn and rebellious; it continues to mystify me throughout this story as to why any of the secondary characters would bother to pay any attention to her at all.

The plot follows a great arc; the story is solid. The world building is average. This has all the potential for another interesting fantasy, but it is completely ruined by this main character. She is surrounded by good secondary characters who are infinitely more interesting (and capable and smarter) than her. This makes her actions even more pointless and rash, throwing the whole thing off.

The love interest is bland and given no power. Even the impact of the villains are diminished by their trust in Kitty Doe. This is really a shame, because many of the secondary characters are so strong. In fact, the rebellion itself is strong. Sadly, even those characters in control of it question Kitty's involvement and the necessity to keep her involved. When they don't trust her, why should we as readers?

With a strong main character this book would have been amazing. As it is, it is marginal. Aimee Carter seems to be able to write a great story - but her main characters need work. This is a missed opportunity that is just a waste. The story is strong enough to warrant reading the last book in the series; hopefully Kitty Doe will have undergone a major personality change and be smart and responsible. Probably not, but we can always hope.

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Between the Lines

Between the Lines by Tammara Webber
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ever wonder what happens on the set of a movie with young, hot stars? Somebody should make a movie about that. Or write a book - which is exactly what this is.

I wasn't sure about this one going in; I'd had my eye on the series for awhile because I like the author's other series, Contours of the Heart. I didn't know just how high-school-soap-opera-drama this would get. Sometimes books of that genre are so exaggerated that they edge into the ridiculous territory. I generally prefer my books sans eye-rolling.

However, this was a pleasant surprise. Soap opera drama yes, but not in a bad or overdone way. Emma is a young actress who's been relatively successful. She's also just a normal girl with a normal best friend. Her life is full of being on movie sets and doing commercials, but she's pretty level-headed about it. She seems grounded, which is refreshing. She gets a big break to be in a major movie starring Reid, who is The Hot Guy Right Now. She's an innocent when it comes to celebrity, he's an old pro. He's also a selfish, self-centered player who uses people and things. There are other major cast members and while we get Emma's first-person perspective, the whole cast of the movie is central.

I liked the character of Emma a lot. She's really more unfamiliar than wide-eyed and that made her believable. This is a character-driven book, so we get a lot of the personal interaction and not as much of the movie acting. Reid is so obviously a jerk - and again, Emma is believable because 1-she knows he's a jerk and a player and 2-she's innocent enough to be flattered and somewhat level-headed when he pursues her. There is family drama, best friend drama, previous relationship drama - and yet it all plays out in a way that doesn't seem forced or trite.

This book feels realistic. Probably the best thing it does is dismantle celebrity. There's a nice romance (or two or three), some characters to love, some to hate, some to root for, some to pity, all of whom are entertaining. It moves along nicely on schedule with the filming of the movie.

The ending sets up nicely for a sequel. This is one of those series that sneaks up on you; even though I wasn't blown away by the story, I find myself thinking about the characters several days after having finished the book. I find myself wanting to keep going with the series. A good book is a memorable one.

On audio the book is narrated by Kate Rudd and Todd Haberkorn. They give the story a voice and presence that enhances it. They made it all the more enjoyable.



Tammara Webber has quickly become one of my go-to authors. It's nice to know that when she publishes something new, I know it will be worth reading.

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A Thousand Pieces of You

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Move over, time travel. Parallel universes are where it's at.

Who among us doesn't love to think about how life might be in a parallel dimension? The possibilities are endless and varied, as Claudia Gray has so aptly shown. A Thousand Pieces of you is one part sci-fi, one part historical, two parts romance and one part murder mystery. And it all works together to make a great story.

Marguerite is our main character. Her parents are both physics professors and her mother invented a device called The Firebird. This enables a person's consciousness to jump into alternate universes, inhabiting the duplicate person there. The parents also have two grad students, Theo and Paul, both treated like members of the family.

Everything begins with Marguerite mourning the death of her father and chasing his killer across an alternate dimension in London. Marguerite and Theo are chasing Paul, the alleged murderer. Things are interesting and get even more interesting as the three jump from dimension to dimension.Things stay interesting because of the differences in the universes, all caused by the choices made there. One can have flying cars and transporters while another can be just entering the industrial revolution. Another could be as similar to the universe of origin with only slight changes, like the color of a shirt or paint on a wall.

Gray handles the science of all this relatively well, although I did have a few problems with it. In stories like this, an author needs to establish certain rules and stick to them. This is tricky at times because of the way things need to be explained. Plot holes can occur when an author breaks her own rules.

This happens a few times. For example the Firebird is worn as a locket around the neck. Gray established a rule of travel wherein physical objects can't transfer; only energy can go between dimensions, hence the travel of the consciousness of a person and not the actual physical person. There are no dopplegangers in the dimensions when they travel. But, the Firebird travels with the characters and appears as a physical object around their necks. So do physical objects transfer or not?

Another problem arises in separating the Firebird from a traveler. It causes the traveler to forget who they are and allow the person in that universe to stay the same. Otherwise the traveler is in control - except where does the person in that universe go? This was never adequately explained other than to say that the person had no memory of the traveler inhabiting their body. This rule was broken when one of the travelers was separated from his Firebird - and yet he had memories of the person he was inhabiting while that person was in control.

Also lacking an explanation was the way the travelers were able to track one another and even direct their travel. Apparently this was just something the Firebird could do - but how? Was it a setting on the device? Did it communicate with the traveler somehow? It never made much sense to me.

Beyond the rule breaking, there were some conflicts in the way the main character behaved. There were times that Marguerite wasn't proactive in changing her circumstances. She had a mission to continue to search for her father's killer - but for a big chunk of the story she just waited around until events aligned rather than going out and making things happen. To some degree this was limited by the societal rules and limitations of dimension she was in. But it seemed contradictory to me because she was so committed to her goal. Granted, doing this within the plot allowed for the exploration of one particular dimension and lent to character development and the establishing of the romance. It was interesting and exciting. But for me, it seemed contradictory to Marguerite's character on the whole.

The overall character development here is great, especially because you have varying versions of each person. Death is relative; someone may die in one universe but be alive in the next - so how does that affect the grief process? Gray capitalizes on the similarities and differences in each person to further enhance the plot. It makes for a story that it hard to put down.

In the end, this was a great story. There's no cliffhanger (thank you Claudia Gray!) but the ending certainly leaves room for the continuation of the series. It's a great idea executed relatively well, especially when plots like this are so tricky to achieve. I really liked it despite its problems. I'll be reading the sequels.


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