#ummm-really?

[waitingonthesidelines]

Enshadowed- Kelly Creagh

Read on August 28, 2012

Grudging 3 stars. I'm so damn annoyed. The ending was just...AAARRRGGGHHH!  I figured that reading through long descriptions of where Isobel was and what she was doing would eventually get me answers to all those questions I had in the first book. I really wasn't expecting to be ending the book with a shit load of new questions. Let me make it clearer. I read Nevermore a long time back in maybe December last year and so I didn't remember quite a lot of details from the book. I did my homework and went through my review and a few others to help me refresh my memory. Even though it was useful, I still had trouble remembering the exact detail of a previous event; but thankfully the author has given tidbits of information of those events whenever the need be.  The main problem with the book, apart from the disappointing ending, was the detailed description of every damn scene that had less to do with any eventful happening but more to do with getting a clearer picture of the situation; which appreciated in the case of the Dreamworld, were downright annoying otherwise. Initially, I was very patient and read every line so that nothing goes amiss but when I realized that there was too much useless dwelling into what Isobel and everyone around her was doing, I started skimming through the lines to see if something, anything interesting happened at all. The story starts with Isobel having recurrent dreams about Varen which she can't seem to recall when she wakes up. She knows that he's trying to leave her a message somehow but what troubles her is the impossibility of it since she had cut the line between the Dreamworld and the real world. Shadows haunt her and she has many unpleasant encounters with Pinfeathers and in one instance Bess herself. She is distracted, depressed and worrying everyone around her. Her only hope is catching Reynolds on Edgar Poe's birthday but for that she has to convince her parents to let her go to Baltimore. That's pretty much the introductory synopsis. The prologue covered the death of Poe and that had me very excited in the beginning. As the story progressed, I was waiting for a quick pacing and something remarkable to happen but my wishes were left to drown in a pool of annoyance and disappointment.  ** minor spoilers ahead** Bess turned out to [Lilith, the demon queen, the harbinger of death and mental instability, the succubus who ensnares her prey by seduction]. It explained a lot of things about how and why Varen was the target as was Poe but yeah there was a little eye-rolling that followed. Pinfeathers appearance in the mortal realm made little sense to me. His connection with Varen changed him? What happened that he became less evil and more considerate and amiable? How could he and the other Nocs even come to the real world? Pinfeathers said something like, "she taught us.." but why? Varen made an appearance for a maximum of three times in the book along with a guest appearance in the epilogue. His behavior made sense to me, somewhat, but I can't seem to remember why I even cared if he was stuck there. He wanted it himself, just as Gwen mentioned. I could understand why Isobel felt so determined to bring him back. It was guilt mixed with love and blah blah blah but wasn't she as clueless as ever?  Isobel wasn't as irritating as she was in Nevermore but her brain remained uncooperative even this time around. If not for Gwen and her little brother Danny, she would have either gone crazy herself or drove everyone else crazy, including me. For all her big talks about saving Varen, she had no idea how she was even going to contact him, let alone find him and get him out. Gwen's reaction in the beginning hearing about Bess was believable but how nonchalant and helpful she acted later on didn't match up to her initial response. Gwen was the funny, perky bff as usual but her intentions to help Isobel staying aloof only proved her character to be a mere convenience for the whole story line. Danny was adorable. The only times I giggled a little was because of him and Gwen. Isobel felt a twitch in her left eye. “Danny, just spit it out and move already.” “If it makes it easier for you to understand,” he said with a sigh, adopting a tone one of his computer screen characters might use with any nameless underling, “I shall hereafter employ the usage of smaller words more digestible to your limited heathen mortal palate.” Makes me wish I had a younger brother. *sigh* Anyways, Isobel's parents had a lot of involvement in the story and her father was an amazing support for her. I was glad to see that Isobel felt guilty about her decisions and didn't act like a brat who only cared about the love of her life hurting her family as if they meant nothing.  I'm still not done with the confusing parts so let the questioning begin: -Who put Varen's jacket outside Isobel's cupboard? -Remind me the significance of the bird on the jacket again? Anything to do with Poe's raven? -Why was Isobel hearing that woman [who turned out to be Varen's mother] sing? -What was with Brad's cryptic message? (I felt bad for him though. He was a jerk in the last book but still...) -Why did Pinfeathers decide to show Isobel that memory? And how did he even know about it? -What's the deal with Reynolds? Are we ever going to find out?  -The ending...... just what?  I'd like to talk about the ending in length. Varen is definitely not the guy who Isobel left and he clearly is over her or doesn't wanna leave or whatever it is that happened to him, but how does [him pushing her off a cliff] end up with [her body in the real world when she had clearly left the mortal realm through that tomb?] Also, how did she [ in her astral form finally get back to her body?] How is that even possible?  How much longer do I have to wait to know real answers? I went through all those pages of insignificant blabbering to get what in the end? More questions? Another cliffhanger? I'm getting tired of all the mystery and illogical scenes that hold no semblance to what really was happening.  As you might have already noticed that I've written a full review rambling about everything I disliked. Why the 3, if grudging, stars then? Even though the scenes ended up being very long, there was a spooky feely to them which I enjoyed. It was clichéd, like the TV turning up on its own, the radio streaming the haunting melody, the book shutting on itself, but I liked it. It fit in the situation and the concept of controlling dreams and the confusion that Isobel faced not knowing if something was real or in her head felt realistic. I don't understand how Isobel finally [found her way to Varen, like was that door a secret passage or did it work because of Reynolds being present?] but the descriptions in the ending chapters held me captive.  Let's just hope that I get some sensible answers in the next book or I'll do some serious damage to the books.

[waitingonthesidelines]

Girl of Nightmares- Kendare Blake

Read on August 08, 2012

Whoopety whoop! The series ends! Actual rating: 3.5 stars.  I liked it and I didn't like it. It doesn't make sense but there were things that made me dislike and like the book at the same time. First off, I'm going to say that Cassio deserves a pat on his back for his much improved behavior in the sequel. I thought I'd be somewhat glad to see Cassio turned into a pathetic loser but it grated on my nerves even more than his cockiness. It went on for more than half the book and at times I felt like shaking him till he admitted how stupid he was being. However, in the end I can't complain. Someone had to do what he did and well I wouldn't really have been heart-broken if he died trying but yeah.. I'm glad that he's alive.  I'm going to start by giving the boy some credit, considering how blatantly I took him as a nuisance. He was more like:   He didn't really thank Thomas enough for all the efforts he put in but at least he accepted that he couldn't really do anything without his help. I felt partly bad for Thomas in the beginning because the guy was still made out to be unobservant and oblivious. It didn't stay that way for long. As the story progressed, he was given more importance by Blake and I liked how it went down for him. Carmel was feisty as ever and even though she did pull-out a bitch move somewhere in the beginning, she made it back on my good graces real soon. I'm not sure how I feel about Jestine. She was clever and ambitious but I don't think I cared about her enough to like her. Cassio's mom did a round-about turn. She was not very overly concerned since the beginning and her attempts to stop Cassio from doing something reckless were always half-hearted (Who would blame her? Cassio's angst and stupid love-lust for a ghost made it highly impossible to get anything inside his head) but in this book, she was downright robotic and should I mention conveniently missing? Gideon's appearance was hardly significant.  The first half of the book and the remaining half felt like two different books entirely. Through the entire first half, Anna makes so many appearances and drives Cassio completely crazy. I can't say that I felt bad for his sanity. All I felt was mild agitation towards his so poorly executed plans. Seriously if Thomas didn't have his back with the witch mojo, he'd be as good as dead or worse, in an asylum. I was also annoyed to see how the city folks were still as zombie-like as ever; raising no questions and simply dusting off anything bizarre under the rug. Maybe it wasn't something worth giving much notice, but I would have liked to see more activity on a realistic level. The only part that I really liked in the first half was Thomas and Cassio's visit to Aunt Riika. I clearly hadn't seen that coming.  I guess all of us had very well predicted that this sequel was going to be about bringing Anna back from hell; but Blake pulling out all the Order of Blah Blah Blah BS on us was something I wouldn't have expected in a novel that's supposed to be about ghosts. There were some lame-ass attempts at trying to be spooky in the first half but later the book turned out to be all about secret prissy British cults. Even the voodoo was missing! *gasp* I was looking forward to finding out more about the athame and I'm not sure that I like what I know about it now. I am not even sure if where Anna was stuck was actually Hell. It was some void where nothing existed and now I'm as confused as ever only with newer doubts. [I can't understand how someone from previous generations was able to go there and be back after drawing enough metal to forge the athame. Which then brings up the question of how the Order knew that such a metal could kill ghosts or loch-monsters? Was it all dark magic? If yes, then still I'm not satisfied with what I know of the athame. Also, was that void the private monster space/plane/lounge? of the Obe-what's-his-name thingy? I guess so but it's just left for discussion I suppose. ] Another slight detail that bothered me about the book was the number of blond-haired characters. I guess other than Anna and Cassio's mother, almost everyone was blond with streaks of gray or white or red. What's with the love of blondes? On second thought, why do I even care?  Anyways, now moving on to the parts I liked. I liked the scene in the Suicide Forest. It was so terrifying that I felt shivers down my spine. . . . . BAZINGA! xD It didn't even make the visualization seem scary. There could've been more goriness, but it was still something that had me on the edge of my seat. I liked the ending for sure. Cassio is actually one of those guys who could keep up a really brave front for everyone and appear to be the hero on the outside but when shit hits the fan, he looks like he'd wet his pants. It was hilarious in the previous book but endearing in this one. It added to the individuality of his character. If he didn't appear scared or didn't freeze up when he did, it would feel unnatural. I had my qualms about the hell, but it made sense after I finished reading. It seemed like the right ending.  I still don't understand why Anna stopped appearing soon after the ritual but everything that happened after the confirmation that Anna was caged in Hell, was unpredictable. So even though I didn't like the Order being included in the storyline, it did make up for the missing plot-holes. I didn't like the book enough to round the rating up to 4 but it definitely left a better impression than the last one did. That said, this book is disappointing on the account that it started off as horror and ended as..I don't even know what it ended as. Maybe witch hokum? 

[waitingonthesidelines]

Gone, Gone, Gone- Hannah Moskowitz

Read on August 06, 2012

Sometimes while I’m reading a book, I keep thinking that is it a story to tell; which in itself is a clue that I’m not into the story but then if it isn’t all that bad, I finish it. After I’m done, I reconsider my thoughts and for Gone Gone Gone my thoughts are that it really wasn’t a story to tell and damn it I want my hours back! I could have read a perfectly decent story or something that was funny. It’s a story about two boys who are screwed up in their own ways and have no one else other than each other and then they are together and happy..but that’s not an issue. My question is: What did the shooting spree have anything to do with it? What had 9/11 to do with it? It could have been a story in perfectly normal circumstances and nothing would have mattered. Was it just something to draw the public in? Or was it something that Lio and Craig could fight over? There were many other incidents that hardly made sense to me; for instance, why did Lio have to get drunk and then ramble infront of Craig? Did it have any significance in their budding relationship? Most of the story felt like incoherent mumbling to me.  Craig is a guy who can’t get over his ex-boyfriend Cody, whose father’s death made him unstable. He still loves him and thinks that it was his fault that he couldn’t fix him. So he gets a lot of pets that he can love and fix as if that would make his hurt over Cody any better. It’s his idea of dealing when in actuality, he isn’t. He breaks down over every other thing and basically chatters like if he doesn’t get the words out they’d strangle him or something. Reading his monologue made me feel like I was listening to a really high fella talk incessantly.  Ew. I hate that word. Like girls have animals in their pants or something. I have no desire to know what girls have in their pants but I do really hope none of it is alive, and I don’t think even newborn kittens in a girl’s pants could make me go down there. This is so gross. Why am I still thinking about this? I hate karate. ^ This is an example of Craig rambling on and on. It was cute at places but then it was just nonsense. I agree with what he just said ^ there and now it has got me wondering why it’s called a pussy. Is it..what I’m thinking it is? If it’s not then I think I just have a sick perverted mind; which is normal, right? Please tell me it’s normal. Ugh! Now my brain is thinking other things I don’t want to be thinking. I hate you for making me think so many things Craig! Damn you!  I need to calm down… . . . . . Hm. I’m back. Alright, so Lio…  Lio is a very shy guy who survived cancer when he was really young and his twin didn’t and his mother left his father and he has a million sisters and he loves them all very much. He’s been getting therapy for about seven years and he has many emotions locked up inside him but he opens up to Craig; starts loving him infact, which is sweet and at the same time confusing. I understand why both of them need each other. For Craig it’s because he thinks Lio is some broken kid he has to fix, which is really messed up and for Lio, Craig is the only person he can relate to. This is what confuses me. Why is it Craig? Because he thinks that Craig can fix him? Or is it because he hasn’t ever opened up to anyone before as he has to Craig through IM? I can’t even pinpoint anything that I exactly like about this story. As I’ve already mentioned, it doesn’t feel like a story that needs to be told. Oh wait! I know what I liked about this story. ANIMALS! There were so many pets! I remember crying myself to sleep when one of my dogs went missing in 5th grade. I was so miserable that I woke up and went out barefoot calling out his name and miracles of miracles he came back! After a few months though, he disappeared again and never came back again. Not really a charming story but the point is that I could relate to Craig and his obsessiveness over finding all his pets. He might have had different reasons too but then he did love them all and it was a lovely thing.  Now this brings me to other characteristics of these guys. Why does Craig think he’s invincible? I don’t really get it. I don’t understand how he can’t be scared at all when people are dying so close to his vicinity; where on the other hand, Lio is totally freaked out about it. Lio’s fear stems from his near death experience I guess, but Craig’s fearlessness doesn’t make sense to me. Was it because he thought it wouldn’t matter if he died because he was so upset about so many things already? What was it? I think I’m more confused than I was when I started with the review and I don’t have answers to any of my questions aaaand it sucks. I really need a book now that makes me laugh my ass off. Coping mechanism or whatever. 2 stars.

[waitingonthesidelines]

Pushing the limits- Katie McGarry

Read from August 03 to 04, 2012

I thought it wasn't ever going to end. Pheww..I'm done. When I started this book, I knew it had nothing original to dish out. Same old, girl too smart, with a messed up life/past/troubles meets a dark, brooding, hot bad-boy who makes her go oooolalala while her brain screams, "Stay away" with his own issues; cue some cliché music, and ta-da guy's a goner, first time falling for someone after being a one-night-stand kinda guy and girl has her trust issues but obviously falls in love with his caring, considerate, ahemm passionate concern. I don't know why I expected to be impressed. Maybe 'cause I had great time reading some light novels with emotional drama like Perfect Chemistry, Easy and such... Who knew I would be annoyed by the romance part of the novel that actually adds up spice to the otherwise monotonous stories?  The only problem that I had with the story was with Echo and Noah's romance. To be honest, even their characters seemed to be too unoriginal for me to like. Echo is a whiny, uptight teenager with authority issues and no back-bone whatsoever. She loathes her step-mother who used to be her babysitter and blames her dad for ruining their family after her brother died and her mother lost her marbles. She lacked self-confidence and tried too hard to please others. I was unimpressed. Okay, she had gone through some serious damage because of her mother and that reflected on her personality but frankly, her pity-card got old real fast. She had friends that treated her as shit. Lila, her best friend was better than the rest but even she didn't deserve to be called a best friend. All her friends wanted her to pretend that she was okay when she clearly wasn't and she let them. It didn't sit well with me and it took too long for her to realize that she had to please no one else other than herself. Besides, she let everyone push her; be it her father, her ex-boyfriend or Noah. Her father was a control freak, her ex-boyfriend a hormonal teenager whose dick guided his actions and Noah, well, pushy. There was this one scene, where Echo's playing pool with Noah, which btw was really hot, a girl playing pool? mmm..me likey and Noah just pushes himself into her personal space. Okay, yeah, there was a lot of sexual tension so she allowed herself to let him tower over her but seriously? You're with a guy you hardly know and you're allowing him to push you in a corner only 'cause he's hot and giving you the butterflies? No. You don't. You bash his teeth in, umm..maybe that's too violent but you don't let him crowd you. This is what young girls don't understand. You never know if the guy is actually a psycho behind that entire pretty facade.  Anyways, speaking of Noah, I think the author tried too hard to make him look like a bad boy in the beginning. Really, unnecessary use of the word "fuck" doesn't make anyone wicked or bad. If it does, then I sure as hell am the most bad-ass chic you'll come across. *flips hair* Gah! My distractions never end. Noah is a pretty decent guy. He smokes pot and that's cool. What's the big deal if he isn't bashing someone's head while he's high or isn't damaging public property or isn't doing it intentionally to kill himself? He's the stereotypical guy talking about ass and big tits in the beginning and skipping classes, flipping a big flying bird to the authority. He's messed up too because of being thrown from one foster care to another and not being able to keep a watch over his brothers. The story was going somewhere with these two somehow helping each other in moving on. Buuuut...what ruined it was Noah and his nymph *hint* Echo. Noah and his smiling siren every freaking time he breathed the same air as his nymph gave me a head-ache. There was this instant attraction towards her after he realized that she had a messed up past just like his. Yeah, you connected, understood each other, and this is what you call infatuation. In the early stages of a relationship, it's obvious that both parties won't be able to get their hands off each other and keep thinking about their happily ever after but it was too much from Noah's side. I mean, his monologue, and all the talks that started or ended with "baby", "siren", "nymph", "temptress" were too much. It only got worse when they decided to break up. [ He asks her to freaking marry him!! Are you fucking kidding me? The only consolation was that Echo's reply was a big, fat no.] However, there were things that I liked. I liked Noah's love towards his brother. The story was predictable from the beginning but it was still good to see how he realized what he could and couldn't do for his brothers. The parent's card always works on me in any story. Echo's repressed memories and her insecurities made sense. I still don't feel compassion for her, but at least she took charge and made things work in the end. I was mildly annoyed with Noah and Echo's comparison of Mrs. Collins as a Labrador or was it a golden retriever? Anyhoo, I found it rude that they referred to their adorable therapist as a dog and imagined her wagging her tail and stuff.  The character that I truly liked was Isaiah. I didn't like how things were resolved between Echo and her mother but at least that gave her a new insight on other things. Her father made mistakes and so did Ashley and her mother but Echo put the blame on them for far too long. It was selfish, but she realized that, even if it was in the last chapter or so. Even Noah didn't give credit to Carrie and Joe (his brothers' foster parents) for a long time. I understand that their decisions were tough but the story dragged on through it too much. I think the unnecessary break-up of Noah and Echo could've been done without. Also, the school breaking stunt the author pulled out in the end was so useless.  I can't bring myself to rate this book more than 2 stars. 

[waitingonthesidelines]

City of Lost Souls- Cassandra Clare

It's over then. I just feel relieved that's it's finished other than any other emotion. There was nothing happening at all. The only action that I saw was in the last chapter and some scenes that I liked in the epilogue otherwise this book was completely focused on the so-called side characters. Jace and Clary did not play any role in this book and every time they did appear, all they did was make out and it was grating on my nerves. I skimmed through nothing hoping that something interesting would happen but it was just the same and I felt so detached to it mostly other than being mildly annoyed.  Clare has a way of writing that keeps me hooked up to the story and I'm a fan of her series but this book felt so unnecessary. I feel like everything should have been wrapped up in a trilogy and even though the next book seems to be the final showdown, I feel like this book just dragged to build the premise for it. I wasn't bored but I wasn't on the edge of my seat either.  What kept me entertained or let's just say occupied was all the plotting and the hard work that Simon, Magnus and the gang did. Luke was out of this story and I missed his presence. I love Simon and Magnus and it really hurt to see Magnus break things up with Alec. I was also hoping to gather as much tidbits as I could from Brother Zachariah. I just have this feeling that I'm going to be inconsolable after Clockwork Princess.  Anyhoo, the plot wasn't really interesting. I just liked how the "good team" did everything to save Jace. Clary just enjoyed getting chummy with her boyfriend and bonding with her brother. Also, what's with Clare and incest?! I mean, is it necessary for Sebastian/Jonathan to devour his sister or want to devour his sister? Isn't he wicked already? Does the incest factor make him any more evil? Why bother? WHY?!  I'm really surprised to see Maureen given any importance. I also can't understand how a thirteen year old, recently turned vampire able to kill a centuries old vampire. Even if the surprise element is taken into consideration, it still is a long shot. Also, the ending held promise but otherwise the story simply dragged.  I don't even have anything more to say which is shocking cause usually I have so much to talk about or rant after reading this series. Grudging 3 stars.

[waitingonthesidelines]

Saving June- Hannah Harrington

Read from July 29 to 30, 2012

Oh well, oh well.. What a disappointment.  I’m not sure how to go about this. I think I’m in the minority for disliking this book. I had great expectations. I was expecting a younger sister finding answers to why her older sister committed suicide. I was expecting some kind of revelation or change or a moment of instant clarity or anything that would count. I got nothing.  I’m going discuss things in length from the top. -I don’t know who June is. I mean I know her name and family and a few traits about her but all of that had nothing to do with her actual personality. I thought that maybe I’d get to learn more about her as a person. The story is from Harper’s pov and it starts and ends with her frustration and anger over her sister’s suicide. The purpose might have been to get her to move on and finally come to terms with what happened and what was left behind but the whole journey did nothing for me. As I’ve already pointed out, I was hoping for some reasons as to why June did it, but there’s nothing and maybe it adds to the reality of the situation that how you never really know why someone decides to end their life; but all I got was a story from the side of an ungrateful person who, to put it nicely, is nothing but a selfish bitch.  -Harper. I don’t like her. I don’t hate her but she is not my favorite person. As a sister, she really had nothing to say about June. When the story is all aboutSaving June, with a road-trip to California from Michigan hoping that she could do something for her sister, she doesn’t really indulge in any memories of how she was and how they grew distant or well, anything. There is a lot of “I’m mad at her for leaving us”, “How could she do that to me or anyone?”, “I miss her, oh I’m sad now, wait, no, I’m angry”, “I don’t cry, I’m a rock with no emotions, oh look I’m a mess in the middle of nowhere in front of a person who barely knows me”, “I hate myself, I hate myself so much *insert a lot of screaming, glaring, bitching around* Gah! Fuck my life.” And the constant, “Jake is so annoying, no Jake is charming..Oooh he has beautiful green eyes. He is an enigma, he’s a dick, no he understands me, what? I’m going to punch him.” But that’s all, so yeah, that’s all of Harper and the story for you.  The thing is I relate to her on so many levels and I find it so damn frustrating. I can relate to being numb, to hurting yourself just to feel something or forget about something, to not wanting to be touched, to being angry at everyone and everything for no apparent reason, to snapping at someone who really cares about you all the time, to intentionally hurting someone whom you care about just because you know it will matter and you can’t bear them looking out for you, to pretending that you don’t care, to being scared on the inside but putting up a face. It seemed similar and I don’t know. It was so much like me and yet she was an entirely different person. I’m more like June to my family, with everyone having high expectations and thinking I’m doing great or that I’ll do great; I should like this book because I relate to it on somemany levels right? But I don’t. In fact I kinda hate it.  -Jake. The whole deal with him paying up for gas for the entire road-trip was a far-stretch. Okay, June did help him get his shit together and he felt he owed something to her, but then taking her sister and her sister’s bff on a road-trip like three thousand miles away? No, I can’t buy that. Jake is the most likable character in this whole story. A definitely crush-worthy guystrange that I didn’t really develop a crush on him, mysterious, green eyes, with the I’m-just-out-of-bed look, so yeah, totally hot. But that’s not all. He is a serious guy, funny sometimes, but his passion for music was what I liked the most about him. And he plays the guitar!!! *swoon* And that’s what good music does. It speaks to you. It changes you.” Jake leans in toward me a little closer, voice softening. “What I’m trying to say is, it’s just nice, I guess, knowing that someone else can put into words what I feel. That there are people who have been through things worse than I have, and they came out on the other side okay. Not only that, but they made some kind of twisted, fucked-up sense of the completely senseless. They made it mean something. These songs tell me I’m not alone. If you look at it that way, music…music can see you through anything.”  My favorite scene from the book is when they are in their first leg of the journey and chilling out. There’s a bonfire which brought out memories from 6th grade. It’s my favorite because Jake plays the guitar and sings! I mean, wow, a bonfire with a guy playing the guitar and singing and wow. My second favorite scene was when he writes a song for Harper. That is something that would just turn any girl into a puddle. If a guy does that for me, preceded with a concert of my favorite band, preceded with maybe sky-diving or something, I would, I don’t know, name a star after him or something, or maybe get a temporary tattoo of his name over my heart or well, let’s get real, just die happy with my heart bursting out of my chest.  -Laney. She was a good friend. She had her issues but she looked out for Harper. I mean how many friends actually understand you without really having to say something to them? How many friends always have your back? There was this one scene, where Jake lashes out on Laney and even though I appreciated Harper asking Jake to apologize; she pretty much ruined everything by making it about her and drawing all the attention to herself when in fact it was Laney she had to be concerned about.  There were some scenes that felt pointless to me, for example, the whole protest thing. I hate protests, parades, well anything that has to do with a crowd, except for maybe concerts. I don’t know why it was covered in this book. I can understand that the sight-seeing and trying out new things happen to lift up anyone’s spirits; but I don’t know what most of the trip had anything to do with her saving June. Maybe it was what Jake said, that she was doing everything that June would never get to do and in some way it might mean something that I’m not able to get inside my head. It just didn’t make sense to me. I feel that it was more of a saving Harper trip. She needed some time out and June’s California dream served as a nice excuse. She ditched her mourning mother, treated Jake and Laney like shit for most of the trip and they let her because well, she was grieving. I don’t get it and I don’t like it. The writing style was good and there was only one scene where I felt anything emotionally.  I think I’m done.

[waitingonthesidelines]

Dreamless- Josephine Angelini

I might have been quite displeased with majority of the book but the ending truly had me gripped. When the book started, I felt smothered by Lucas and Helen’s doe-eyed looks and their need to be with each other when they knew that they were cousins. They aren’t actually cousins but they don’t know that! What the heck! I felt a need to gag at their love for each other. It wasn’t because they were cousins and so deeply in love, I’ve read Jace and Clary reach second base knowing they were real siblings but it was because their romance was choking me. It was really too much and I was waiting for the new love interest to be introduced. The plot was mainly limited to finding the Furies and ending the Scion’s curse for more than half the book but in the end it turned interesting. I must admit the last few chapters have changed my mind about rating this book with a single star. I actually pitied Helen. She tried really hard and even though she is too good-natured for my taste, I really sympathized with her situation. I don’t hate the love-triangle in this book actually. Instead, the things that really bothered me were the pacing and the vomit-inducing romance between Lucas and Helen in the beginning and then the weird jumping around from one scene to another. I have read books that switch between characters and scenes even more frequently but it felt sort of uncoordinated to me. Maybe it’s just me but it was really terrible in the beginning. Either it turned better during the end or I got so used to it that I could hardly complain. So, Helen literally went through hell in the entire book. The initial descriptions of her days in hell were bland and boring. I was looking at the pages half the time and willing myself to either read faster or the book to become more bearable. There were times when I wanted to pick up another book and give up on Dreamless but I think I deserve a pat on my back for holding on. Initially even Orion couldn’t make the book any more interesting, but later he sort of grew on me and I sure as hell like him better than I ever liked Lucas. The later descriptions were better and I found myself looking forward to more of their Underworld trips. I think it’s quite obvious that what Helen feels for Orion is nowhere near to what she feels for Lucas and even the one kiss that they had near the river Lethe should hardly be counted. It was like a friendly kiss and nothing steamy. Their kiss when Helen had almost killed Orion under the influence of Furies was sexier IMHO. Helen’s growing affection towards Orion was relatable and I was actually happy for her finding at least someone to talk to. Everyone had abandoned her and put so much responsibility on her shoulders during the first three weeks. It wasn’t even a shock when they later found out that she was dying. Lucas was mostly out of the picture and when he made an appearance, I could actually see a headache coming.  The other characters seemed to be there but barely there. There was hardly any mention of what Daphne’s real plans were other than her blood oath. I’m not even sure why Daphne lied about Helen being Ajax’s daughter in the first place. Who’s her real father anyway? Moving on, I don’t even know why the prologue had to be from Zach’s perspective. I don’t even understand how he would have run into Automedon and would’ve decided to play master and slave. Also, how did Ares promise to give Automedon his brother or whatever that meant? I’m not even sure how Helen just after realizing that she was the Descender started waking up in Underworld. There should have been some sort of a ritual, don’t ya think? Oh, and what about the dark side of Lucas? What’s that supposed to mean?  Apart from all my questions, I had another problem with the book. There were so many things that the author did just because they seemed too damn convenient. I’m going to make a list: -Helen was going through the worst days of her life and the author conveniently took her Dad out of the picture so that the main character wouldn’t have to deal with parent drama. Her dad’s worries seemed too distant. I mean, if Helen looked as bad as it was made out to be in the book, isn’t it the responsibility of the only parent to take better care of his kid and give her more attention and demand her to take more rest or something?  -Just to make Claire and Matt important characters in this book, the author conveniently made the twins fall in love with Helen’s two best friends. It felt like she couldn’t find any other way to make them important. Claire has been a decent enough best friend throughout these books. She was side-tracked cause of Jason hovering around her all the time and it sure did annoy me. Matt was fine. I don’t exactly care about many of the characters to be honest. -Kate finally knowing about Helen as a demi-god was so hastily done that I would have entirely missed it if I weren’t paying even a little attention and the reaction of Kate was hardly even brought up. I know there were major things going on rather than focusing on that but even then I couldn’t help but notice how conveniently Jerry was left unconscious through his daughter’s revelation.  I didn’t even care much about Zach but I do feel that his death was unnecessary. It felt like just for the sake of all that went down in the last chapters, someone should’ve died and that just happened to be the traitor. I guess the saying, “Curiosity killed the cat” fits rightly here. I don’t know why I find that funny. I do have a morbid sense of humor.  Also, Automedes (such a strange name) death went down in a single line. I think he deserved a better death. If Lucas and Helen’s constant attraction can take up so much of the book, then I sure as hell want one of the bad guys to get a proper closure.  I’ve done a lot of complaining in my review but the final blood-bounding of all the Houses after the Furies had been cleverly chucked out of the story, was a nice twist. It feels like the author diverted our whole attention towards what was only the first step of the main plot. It was neatly done. The bigger plot was hidden all the time and I feel better knowing that I did not give up on the book. That said, I still can’t say that I liked it. Yes, I’ll be looking forward to the next book but this book is a 2.5 for me. 

[waitingonthesidelines]

ExtraNormal- Suze Reese

Umm… Could the ending get any more cheesier? Everything in the end was so perfect and hard to digest after all the troubles that Mira thought she was dealing with.  First off, the book started with a blunder. The Backstreet Boys album’s named Millennium not Millennia and I think the lyrics were wrong. Then there was that mistake with Lacey’s name. If I ignore this, there are so many other things that left me with a lot of eye-rolling and yawning. So Mira is an alien and is on this special mission from her planet with her mom on Earth. They are supposed to keep an eye on a couple named Stones who are currently high-school teachers. The said couple is planning to take over the world or something along the lines because of the superior powers that these aliens have over us Earthians. They haven’t done anything that could down-right get the authority’s attention but there is definitely something fishy going on.  So, this is the main plot and it isn’t even that interesting. I wanted to read this book because it had something to do with another planet and worm-hole. So, this planet that Mira is from is like Earth, the third planet from the Sun having the same dimensions and stuff, but the people there are highly evolved and use a lot of magnetic power and are superior to the people on Earth because they can stream each other and can control and compel other humans and can feel emotions. I’m no master in the complexities of the Universe, in fact no one is, and even though there is a likelihood of such a solar system existing, the thing about the species there and here sharing the same DNA was just too much fantasy. I would have understood if it was put up like a parallel universe theory but it wasn’t.  Moving on, there wasn’t much suspense building up. Many times the book felt predictable, many times I had no idea what was going on. Becca felt like a useless addition and her parents were AWOL most of the times. Then there was her brother, whose name was Trevor, and I have no idea how Mira got his name when she never really had a conversation with Becca about anything. It just felt like one of the glitches out of many other in this book. There was so less info about Mira’s life in her planet. All we get to know about is a few random facts about the planet, a little history, a little about food and the ethnicity. Geery, Mira’s best friend seemed like the only sane person. The whole you-cannot-contact-a-male was too much and her parents pushed it to a limit. Their reasons weren’t convincing enough. Also, I simply hate it when there is this love-at-first-sight involved in books. I didn’t feel any romance through this entire book. Mira just falls for the guy and Jesse, the guy, just falls for her. The whole opposite poles attracting each other like a magnet theory being the reason for their mutual attraction at first sight was plain stupid. There never was any real conversation between them. I still don’t know why Everett choked Mira when she went to that party. I don’t know how Jesse miraculously appeared at that party to save her ass. I don’t even know why Jesse bothered up with all the secrets and how he so easily believed that Mira was from another planet. Also, it felt like he took his being a half-breed alien pretty well. Maybe he had time to cope up but there was no anguish or curiosity or anything that we get to see from Mira’s POV. Mira’s relationship with her friends and everything felt forced and it was like she never had any homework and she never needed much sleep. Also, another glitch was the time zone in the planets. We have no idea how many light years away Mira’s planet is and sure the revolution and rotation around their Sun is same like Earth’s but still, all of it felt so weakly put up. It feels like the author just put loose fragments into a story without giving much thought to anything.  The only scene I liked was when Everett finally confessed to being a nafarian and was torturing Jesse. Jesse was on okay guy only being creepy in the beginning and a love-sick dumb-ass the rest of the time and I didn’t enjoy him being tortured but that was the only scene where something happened. The ending felt too rushed up and then there was all rainbows and stars and merry news and shit.  I am not going to read the sequels and I’m very disappointed and I did not like this book if it wasn’t clear from the rest of my review. So only 2 stars.