Shattered Promises by Jessica Sorensen

A re-imagining of the YA Fallen Star series, Shattered Promises follows Gemma, a 21 year old college student who has never felt emotion, until now. After being swamped by every emotion she's never felt, strange thing begin happening around Gemma. Two new students seem to appear everywhere she is, and hulking beasts watch her, promptly disappearing as soon as she takes notice. There's more to Gemma's world than what she's always believed, and she may not have long to find the answers.

For a supposedly mature book, I found this novel extremely immature. I could tell it was a rewrite of a young adult book because the characters remained immature. Unfortunately, they didn't grow into the age they were supposed to be. Alex, who is twenty four acts like a moody teenager, and for the fits Gemma throws I would place her right around sixteen. The content warning at the beginning of the description was unnecessary, because other than some cussing and very vague descriptions of sexual encounters, this wasn't a graphic book, and I would still shelve it as young adult. Compared to a lot of NA books that are out there, this is practically Dora the Explorer.

As far as the writing goes, it wasn't terrible, especially for an india author. However, there were a lot of words used incorrectly as adjectives and verbs and such. It felt like Jessica took a thesaurus to the book and tried to replace words she used too many times, however the words she replaced them with weren't quite right. Now, I will applaud the effort because there's nothing worse than repetitive writing, however it is important when using tools like a thesaurus to make sure the words actually mean the right thing, and aren't just similar.

Let's talk about Gemma. I really liked her as a character. I felt like she was relatable and often times I would find myself asking a question, and she would ask it the very next line. Here's the deal though, she acted like a teenager, not a twenty year old. If I had read this with the expectation of a YA book with teenage characters, I would have liked it a lot more. However, I was expecting more mature characters with less of the teenage angst, and so it did leave me feeling disappointed. If I wanted to read the YA version, I would read the original.

The supporting characters never really gain any substance in the book. Laylan comes close, but he's in the book for such a short time that we never really grasp his character. I think he has a lot of potential, and I was actually upset that he wasn't in the book more, because what we do see of him definitely makes him the most mature character in the book. Aislin, Alex's sister is in short scenes throughout the book, but she's always just there, only ever contributing with a few spells.

Alex I really wanted to like, but as I said before, he acts like a moody teenager, not someone in their mid twenties. At first he is a huge jerk, and I don't mean like the sassy jerk in a lot of YA books these days that you love to hate and hate to love, but I mean actually someone I would slap in the face. He pushes her over, he lets a door slam into her, and is constantly being an ass. After he finally warms up to her his and Gemma's interactions are strange. He's always restraining her, and in an awkward way, too. Half their conversations he has her laying on her back with him laying over her talking down to her. Whenever they make out he grabs her hands and pins them above her head. Once or twice that kind of thing can be hot, but I literally mean every single time they kiss. Alex was a strange character for me, and all of his explanations were vague, took a long time, and honestly just frustrated me.

The bottom line with this book is I like the cover (anything with stars like that draws me in), and I really want to love the story, but the immaturity of the supposedly mature characters just doesn't fly with me. The plot is original and I like the emotions twist, but in the end I can't see myself spending the time continuing with the series.

Two Stars

Rosalie Williams

Shattered Promises on Goodreads

The Seer by Ariel MacArran

In the Realm, Seers are not citizens. They are no better than animals and are to be executed on sight. That's why Arissa has been in hiding her entire life, after her parents faked her death at the age of five. But when she sees a Fleet Commander being held at gunpoint in an alley, she can no longer cower in the shadows, and steps into the light to save him. Bound by honor to save Arissa's life, Jolar has no choice but to take the beautiful Seer on his mission to a corrupt and dangerous planet, where dark intentions are afoot. It doesn't take long for Jolar to realize that Seers are nothing like the Realm makes them out to be, and in the dangerous world that he has brought Arissa in to, he's going to have to give up everything to keep her safe.

"Just in case my thoughts and feelings aren't shouting it to you, my beautiful Seer–I'm madly, wildly in love with you and nothing is going to keep me away from you."

Drawn in by the beautiful cover, I picked up this book, though I'm usually not much for the Science Fiction genre, and fell in love. This was a stay-up-all-night-because-you-can't-put-it-down read, and I regret nothing. From the opening line I was sucked in to this fast-paced, intricately woven story, and wasn't released until well into the afternoon.

Arissa is beautifully innocent and strong at the same time. It was great getting to see her excitement at finally being a part of the world around her. She maintained her belief in good despite the corrupt world around her, and no matter what, she was always looking out for others.

Jolar was strong-willed and honor bound, but his character was so great because after meeting Arissa, he came to question beliefs that he had simply accepted before, and so the character development was great. It was fun to watch him softening toward Arissa during their journey, and it was intriguing how he took for granted the things that were so fantastical to her.

This is a long book, and it was chock full of action and twists and turns in the plot, it never gets boring. Honestly this was one of those books where the plot seems very narrow-minded and you assume you know the ending and how the book will progress, but it turns into so much more than that. The book has an incredible scope by the end, and it truly was breathtaking. The galaxy was well thought out and the foods and animals remained consistent, which can be hard to do in SciFi. It's clear the author had the planets, and aspects of them very well documented, because there weren't inconsistencies.

Jolar and Arissa are great together. Arissa's innocence complements Jolar's jaded attitude, so that they each make each other a better person. While they did seem to fall in love a little quickly, it didn't bother me the way so many insta-love stories do. The conversations between them flow, and the author didn't cop out by say something like, "And they talked for hours, getting to know the little things about each other" or something like that, as authors that don't know how to write chemistry do. They interract well, and maturely with each other. The only thing is I couldn't get a good read on exactly how hold Jolar is. We know Arissa is right around twenty, but Jolar's age is never mentioned, though I got the impression that he was at least a few years older than her. I would put him in his late twenties.

This was a great book, especially for a self-publisher. There were a few editing issues, but there wasn't anything chronic, which made it easy to handle. I really appreciated this book, and while there isn't another in Arissa and Jolar's story, I will look in to other books by this author.

Five Stars

Rosalie Williams

The Seer on Goodreads

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Angel Eyes is about young ballet dancer Brielle, returning home after the alleged murder of her best friend Ali by Marco (Ali's boyfriend). Depressed and cold (physically and mentally) Brielle has a hard time adjusting back into her old life, especially after meeting hot (don't worry, only his hands are hot) boy Jake, who may have more connection to her past than she first realizes.

Angel Eyes isn't a long book, and yet I was unable to finish it. I listened to it on audiobook, and it seemed like it just kept going on and on. The writing is elementary and repetitive, and the storyline is slow, adding to the laborious listen. The point of view switches between Brielle, Damian and Kanin, the latter two being angels. The switches are confusing and unnecessary. They add a lot of length to the book which it could do without. The story probably would have been better with just Brielle's point of view.

There were a lot of factor which added length to this book when it shouldn't have. 1. The point of view switches which as I said before didn't add anything to the story. 2. The long internal monologues. Brielle and both the angels spend a lot of time mulling things over in their heads, and it ends up taking way to long. As a listener of this book I found my mind wandering a lot, and when I realized I hadn't been paying attention it was sad because I hadn't actually missed anything. 3. The descriptions of the celestial are long and confusing. The idea is definitely there for this to be very cool, but the writing just isn't the caliber necessary to pull it off. The descriptions are complicated and almost vague, though detailed. It's a paradox that I just can't figure out. The author was clearly trying to convey this deep meaning about fear and how it's so difficult to get over because Brielle can see how it clings to people and multiplies like black tar blah blah blah. But she is clearly trying way too hard, and her elementary writing style just doesn't pull it off. The overall confusion of the entire book makes the storyline much too long and for listeners it just doesn't hold your attention.

Another issue is that the audiotape was divided into 8 sections, all about an hour and twenty minutes long. The first week of the book takes place in the first 5, and the last 3 are about one afternoon. As you can imagine this makes the story feel very awkward. There is no emotional connection to the story, so this long climax does nothing to you.

There is no romance between Jake and Brielle. Their conversations are awkward if they're personal, or one of them goes off on a long rant and the other just sits there listening. For example Brielle telling Jake about her "dark past" or Jake explaining everything about the world of angels to her. The explanations are long, and Jake does a horrible job, so it's no wonder Brielle is so confused the whole time!

Finally, the finale is long and boring. The descriptions are far too long to be reasonable, and half the characters you have no idea who they are. The action is stunted and badly composed. The dialogue during the fighting is worst of all. There's either a really long and basic description of the movements with no mention of sound whatsoever, or there's only talking and you imagine the characters just standing there.

Dittemore needs to go back to writing basics and review how to incorporate the 5 senses into writing to allow the reader to connect more fully with the plot and the characters. I could not finish this book, I will not finish it, and I do not recommend it. I'm giving it two stars because I liked the beginning, but it just went downhill from there.

Two Stars

Rosalie Williams

Angel Eyes on Goodreads

Born at Midnight and Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

 

Born at Midnight is the first in a series of five books. Narrated in third person by the main character Kylie Galen, the story takes place in a Texas summer camp called Shadow Falls. We first meet Kylie as her father leaves her with her icy mother, and are told that she has a mysterious stalker who no one else can see. After being arrested at an underage party, her mother ships her off to a summer camp with all sorts of strange people, who do very strange things. Derek, a boy who resembles her ex-boyfriend (but even more attractive) takes an instant liking to her. We also meet Lucas, a boy from Kylie's past who she isn't sure remembers her or not, but still has a pull on her.

A quick disclaimer, I'm doing the first two books as a single review because I read the second before I wrote about the first, and unfortunately it did change my feelings, and I can't give the first quite the glowing review it deserves.

Therefore, the first book was very good. It held my interest and I instantly liked Kylie. Unlike many heroines these days, I found her reactions to the male protagonists to be better than most. She isn't overly clumsy (for some reason YA writers think this is an endearing trait to teenage girls, let me tell you, it's not) and she's beautiful, but doesn't flaunt it (that bothered me especially in the Vampire Diaries books). But the best thing was she was nice, without being a pansy. She cares about her friends and makes good decisions by them, but doesn't act like a wimp, or pretend to be nice to everyone no matter what.

So what, might you ask, changed my mind about liking Kylie so much? Well, I'll tell you, the second book did. The storyline is good and interesting, and so in that aspect I really enjoyed the second book. I listened to it on tape and managed to finish it in two days (that's about ten hours of listening). But like so many unfortunate heroines of YA these days, Kylie couldn't make up her mind about the boy she likes until it was too late, and he couldn't be with her anymore. It's unfortunate because in the beginning I liked that she didn't lose her head over the two boys, but in the second book she falls into the trap of every other YA love triangle out there.

SPOILER ALERT!

I can't write about the part where my feelings are the strongest without getting into details, so if you don't want to know, skip this paragraph! So here we go. Lucas is gone for most of the second book, which honestly didn't bother me that much, because I liked Kylie's relationship with Derek. But, like I said before, she couldn't stop thinking about Lucas, and eventually that came between her and Derek. When she finally chooses him, he is leaving the camp and says he can't be with her until she has her feelings for Lucas sorted out! Don't get me wrong, I like both Derek and Lucas, but Derek was there for her the entire time, and so I really wanted them to finally be together! To no avail I'm afraid.

END OF SPOILERS!

The end was very good. The finale of the second tied into the finale of the first, and I can see a sort of string stretching between them, and the overall storyline of the series is beginning to be flushed out. If you're wondering, no, Kylie does not find out what she is in the second book, but we do get some more clues. I've been grappling with whether or not to google what she is, because to be honest, the suspense is killing me and the third book is currently checked out from my library. But here's what's held my hand thus far: the mystery is really keeping me interested in the story. If I find out I'm afraid I'll just get frustrated because I know, and Kylie doesn't, and that's such a big part of the story I know I'd get angry.

So there you go. I liked everything in the first book. but Kylie really lost brownie points with me in the second. Hopefully she can redeem herself in the next book, because I'm not sure I can handle more of these cliche, overprinted YA love triangle mishaps.

Born at Midnight: Four Stars
Awake at Dawn: Three Stars

Rosalie Williams

Born at Midnight on Goodreads
Awake at Dawn on Goodreads

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Halo is an interesting book. Bethany, the youngest of three angels sent from heaven to disspell the darkness dominating earth, falls in love with a human boy. Against the rules, yet somehow allowed, their love is forced to face...not much.

Let's start with the positive. The writing is very good. Descriptions are not at all too long, and give an avid idea of what is happening at all times. There's a lot of potential for this book from the beginning. Unfortunately, it's a steady decline throughout the novel.

From the first day at school Bethany isn't much of an angel. She's rude, distracted, and self-centered. While her siblings immerse themselves in projects, she doesn't even try to do what she was meant to. Gabriel expresses his doubts about her selection for the mission, and he's completely right, she shouldn't have been sent. Even if she is this young angel who connects more easily with human nature, she should at least attempt to help! Not only that, but from her first day at school she is very much human. Her angelic nature doesn't come out in her personality at all, and she's just another awkward teenager.

The angel rules aren't followed either. There are many inconsistencies in the book, and details that are later ignored. For instance, in the beginning it is explained that angels do not sweat because they have an unlimited energy source. Only a few chapters later however, she describes her sweat making her hair stick. Then she goes for a run and is out of breath at the end, which isn't supposed to be possible! These little details distracted me from the story.

Lastly, the love story. At first it isn't bad. But I wasn't surprised to find out that Ms. Alexandra was only 18 when she wrote this book. The love story is desperate and rushed, with no real chemistry between the two before they're making undying confessions of love. Bethany also chooses very abruptly to reveal that she is an angel, before there is really any cause to do so. Further on she turns into a complete Bella when they break up for a week, and that is the point in which I lost all respect for her.

There wasn't a lot of action, and I got pretty bored. The action finale is extremely short for the length of the book, and Bethany is unconscious for most of it, so really it wasn't well organized.

It wasn't a terrible book, but as far as the angel theme goes, it's one of the worst I've read. I won't be looking into the next books in the series.

Two Stars

Rosalie Williams

Halo on Goodreads

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

What makes a human being? Is it their memories, things they've done throughout their lives? Are we made up of tiny moments absorbed from other people, not really ourselves but a million faceted reflection of the world around us? Or is there something more? Are our thoughts, feelings, and desires driven by our memories or do we have souls, individual and precious to each of us? I'd never thought this through too deeply until I read the spellbinding tale of the Icarus, and it's two passengers, Lilac and Tarver.

After crash-landing on an unknown planet, Lilac and Tarver are thrown into a race to survive far more taxing than either could have ever imagined. Led across the land by mysterious beings called the Whispers, they find that the world is nothing like anything they've ever seen before. They each find something in themselves they never thought could exist, and in each other find a reason to keep on living. Both driven by the desire to signal for help, each with a different reason.

This is the best book I've read in a very long time. From the writing, to the characters, the plot and the setting, it is a rose in a briar patch of young adult novels. I'd forgotten what a good book really read like until I picked this up, and set it down not hours later, gasping for breath after finishing it.

The writing is incredible, some of the best I've ever seen. The world is painted in such bright clarity that not once was it a struggle to picture what was happening. Though not overly descriptive to the point of being tedious, I was so swept away it felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. Had I known how amazing it would be, it would not have sat on my shelf for the week it did.

This book as changed the parameters for which I rate things, and now I feel like I should go back through every book I've rated in the last year and take away a star. This book has raised the bar for literature, rivaling some of the best books in history.

Lilac and Tarver are wonderful characters. Not only are they great to begin with, both outsiders in their own worlds, but they grow too. Not just though their love for each other, but also within themselves. Lilac goes from a complaining, eager to aggravate princess, to a hardworking and stubborn fighter. She grows from a child to an incredible woman throughout the book, and you don't even feel it happening. Tarver, a war hero and self-appointed guardian also grows throughout the story. You don't realize it at first, but looking back it's easy to see that finally loving someone the way he loves Lilac allows him to truly grow into his potential as a man. Their personalities are distinct, and don't falter throughout the story.

In an attempt not to spoil the heart-wrenching action of the last seventy pages, I'll try to keep my next sentences as vague as possible, while still getting my point across.

The writing in this book is so good, they tell you things without having to say them. Feelings and emotions practically pour from the pages without you reading a word. Your mind changes with the story up until a point, and then you feel like you've been snapped out of a coma, the bleak world snapping back into brilliant, colorful focus. As a reader it was a tantalizing experience, one I can say I am grateful to have been given the chance to read.

Five Stars.

Rosalie Williams

These Broken Stars on Goodreads