Tag: 2 stars

Vlog Review: Haven

Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Haven

Kristi Cook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Pages: 416
Source: Simon and Schuster’s Galley Grab
Ratings: 2 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
One month into her junior year, sixteen-year-old Violet McKenna transfers to the Winterhaven School in New York’s Hudson Valley, inexplicably drawn to the boarding school with high hopes. Leaving Atlanta behind, she’s looking forward to a fresh start–a new school, and new classmates who will not know her deepest, darkest secret, the one she’s tried to hide all her life: strange, foreboding visions of the future.
But Winterhaven has secrets of its own, secrets that run far deeper than Violet’s. Everyone there–every student, every teacher–has psychic abilities, ‘gifts and talents,’ they like to call them. Once the initial shock of discovery wears off, Violet realizes that the school is a safe haven for people like her. Soon, Violet has a new circle of friends, a new life, and maybe even a boyfriend–Aidan Gray, perhaps the smartest, hottest guy at Winterhaven.
Only there’s more to Aidan than meets the eye–much, much more. And once she learns the horrible truth, there’s no turning back from her destiny. Their destiny. Together, Violet and Aidan must face a common enemy–if only they can do so without destroying each other first.
Review in the vlog below. WARNING!!! CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS!!




Somethings in the vlog I didn’t mention. I didn’t hate this book, I just had a lot of issues with it that made me not enjoy it. I felt Haven was well written with the exception of the “you knows”. I liked that Violet was all moody and gloomy like Bella Swan, and instead was her own character.  I failed to mention that I hated the hot and cold of Violet and Aidan’s relationship. One moment Violet was all lovey dovey and then would completely ignore Aidan and then wonder why he isn’t talking to her. That was extremely annoying. 


Here are some highlights from my Goodreads feed for Haven that basically sum up my feelings on this book:

Page 42 – I find myself talking to this book.   

Page 230 – Beautiful use of the phrase “you know”: “Well, I figured she was jealous of you anyway. You know, about Aidan. Not that they’ve ever…you know.”

Page 243 – WTF!! “I was supposed to be frightened. But there was no denying that I was totally turned on.” This is seriously wrong. 

Page 272- “I guess my breaching his mind had cured the vampire version of a hard-on he’d been suffering from.” WTF 

Page 347- (AFTER THE LICKING) “By the time he finished, I was reduced to a quivering mass on the bed, panting and squirming.” This girl has serious issues.

Page 387 – That was fast. And anti-climatic

Here’s what people who thought differently from me said: 
Miss Page Turner’s City of Books – “In my opinion, a very good novel is always marked by a very good writing style. Cook applied a writing style that supported the story very well. Although I noticed serval word repetitions, I find Cook’s writing just right.”
My Reading Room – “Fun characters, a plot that sucks you in and great storytelling make Haven one of my favorite YA books this year.”
The Book Sp(l)ot – “The beginning of the book was  a fast, engrossing read that really drew me in. Then, a little bit of the middle did go a little slower, but definitely stick with it because the ending (and middle/end) really gets going again and draws you right back in!”
The Crazy Bookworm – “Haven is very magical. It wisps you away from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life and transports you into this whimsical place. Not all of it is lollipops and rainbows though, there is a great deal of suspense.
Between the Covers –  “Haven was a quick, enjoyable read. Cook’s writing easily engages the reader, finding just the right balance of description and action and refined style and teen voice that brings the story to life. 

Review: Firelight

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf1 Comment
Firelight
Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Pages: 336
Ratings: 2 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.
Firelightwas an intriguing concept that was not executed in the best way. I really wanted to love this book because the idea of this race of people descended from dragons called draki was something that struck me as very fresh and interesting. However, I was deeply disappointed in Firelight.
For me, Firelight was Twilight. Seriously. I am not a huge fan of Twilight and I  dislike when things are compared to Twilight but the whole time I was reading about Jacinda and Will, I couldn’t stop drawing the comparison. The relationship between Will and Jacinda was very reminiscent of Bella and Edward. At one point, Jacinda even says that Will is an “addictive drug”, something to keep her draki alive while it is slowly dying from the harsh, desert environment. Sounds eerily familiar to Bella being Edward’s brand of heroin. At times, Jacinda and Will’s relationship seemed a bit rushed and all over the place. The focus of all the characters was mainly on Jacinda and Will and I felt like all the secondary characters got pushed into the background and were only brought back up again when need and were never fully developed. Along with that, I felt Will and Jacinda were very one-dimensional and I could not see past Jacinda’s narration. Everything revolved around her and her problems and at points I just want her to stop complaining so the story could continue. I was glad to see that towards the end of the book, though, that Jacinda started to change and see past herself and accept other people’s emotion, she started to become a stronger character I could respect a bit more.
While I really enjoyed the idea of Firelight, the writing was constantly distracting me. I felt like the entire book was composed of very short, fragmented sentences that distracted me from enjoying the book. I was engaged by the draki way of life and wanted to know more about the hunters and draki, but the writing kept getting in the way. I frequently had to read this book in short bursts because the writing would annoy me and take away from my enjoyment of the story.
The ending of the book was a bit anticlimactic. I felt like for the first novel in a series, Firelight did not leave a strong enough impact. I was left with more questions at the end of the book than I would have liked and I really wished that more descriptions about draki and draki life were provided in the first book. A first book in a series needs to wow me to make me interested in continue reading the series. Unfortunately, that was not the case with Firelight. I might check out the sequel to see what happens next and to see if more is explained but I won’t count on it.

Review: Infinity (Chronicles of Nick #1)

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Infinity

Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: May 25, 2010
Pages: 448
Ratings: 2 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
 At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.
Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.
But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu.
As if starting high school isn’t hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?
I was really hoping to like this book, but I was sadly disappointed. The plot hand so much potential but the writing style got in the way.
Infinity is the first in the Chronicles of Nick series and is a prequel to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s adult series Dark Hunters series. This was Sherrilyn Kenyon’s first YA novel and I feel it was an unsuccessful transition. While I enjoyed the plot, the writing style got in the way and made me not want to continue reading the book.  I was confused when I first started the book because of the point of view. While it was third person, it focused mostly on Nick and showed all his thoughts. When the story suddenly jumped and focused on some other secondary character it was extremely confusing, since the book focused mostly on Nick and felt at time like it was from Nick’s first person point of view. I wish it was told from Nick’s point of view because he was an interesting character and had a great personality and this series is about him becoming who he is later in life.
While I had a problem with the point of view of the story, I also had a problem with the writing style. It felt overly simplified at times, like it was dumbed down for Sherrilyn’s readers. There were phrases like “massive loser dork” and “ coolest awesome dork” that made me cringe. While writing for YA does have a different style then adult writing it does not mean it has to be written poorly.
While I was distracted by the writing style for most of the book, I really enjoyed the plot. While the book started off slow, I was drawn in by the mystery of who Nick really was and why students at his school were being turned into living zombies. The end had plenty of zombie fighting action which is always a plus. The characters also drove the story. While I did not like some characters, I loved others, such as Bubba and Nick. Nick had a great, unique voice that was entertaining to read and Bubba was just one of those great secondary characters who has a strange obsession with zombies.
Unfortunately, the plot wasn’t strong enough to hold my attention the whole way and I felt, at various times, like I was forcing myself to finish the book. I feel if I have read Sherrilyn Kenyon’s adult books then I would have enjoyed this book more, but I have not read those books. When the second book in the Chronicles of Nick comes out, I most likely will not check it out.