Bring Me to Life - Evanescence

Unraveling
Unraveling. Book 1

Author: Elizabeth Norris
Pages: 445
ARC Acquired from: HarperTeen via EpicReads

Description from Goodreads:
Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.

First Sentence: "I can tell the exact moment Nick steps on the beach."

Review:
Unraveling is one of the books I've been waiting for, not just because its an Apocalypsie book, but also because it seemed like it would be awesome. However, I also went into the book with a healthy dose of skepticism. I really feared it was going to be a melodramatic, typical YA novel. Why? Because the cover kind of looks like a CW TV show. The first sentence definitely had me worried. Immediately after that, it was pretty apparent that Unraveling is a whole different animal. 

Contradicting what I just said, the opening of Unraveling definitely made me think of the television show Roswell, in which Max saves Liz's life. Later, he's able to show her his memories of her and she can see how he feels. I imagine that the show must have served at least somewhat as an inspiration, and, if not, Norris should probably go watch it now. Anyway, cheesy at is, I enjoy Roswell, and Unraveling is better and more intense than Roswell.

The countdown opening each chapter is a device that has been used before, and I think Norris uses it quite effectively. There was an immediacy to all of the events in the book.  At pretty much no point in my reading was I bored or not reading as quickly as I could because I needed to know.

I love Janelle from the outset because of her independent mindset and how she doesn't let the high school drama get the better of her. Plus, she judges her boyfriend for sending a grammatically incorrect text message (grammar is hot!). I would judge her for liking the guy, but she mostly doesn't; she just wants to have fun, which I can respect so long as she does so responsibly. 

YA heroines are known for doing a lot of really annoying stuff. One such thing that particularly aggravates me is just accepting huge news without any curiosity OR being super curious but not asking anything, and generally acting in a stupid banner based on completely absurd guesses. If they do ask and are rebuffed, they usually give up. Janelle, however is totally unlike those heroines. Janelle pesters people for information until she learns what she wants to know; even FBI agents have trouble not spilling the beans to her. Thank goodness for a heroine who's proactive!

Another thing I really appreciate about Unraveling is in the details. We really get to see Janelle's life, rather than solely focused on romance or the mystery plot line. I know who does the laundry in what way in her household and mundane facts like that. I also really enjoyed the school scenes, such as one in which the AP English class dissects a scene from a novel. Most books skip over the actual learning part of class, but Norris didn't, and I loved how much it felt like one of the good discussions from my AP class. Rather than school just being a place for romantic drama to happen, it's also a place to learn. Props.

With all of the dystopias out there right now, I'm really surprised the publisher or Norris herself didn't try to make this into one. Certainly, it's counting down to an apocalypse, but the book definitely comes off more as a science fiction detective story than a dystopia.  Also, the science in this was SO COOL.

Another thing that I loved about Unraveling, because I really seriously don't have anything not loving to say about this book, is the humor throughout.  Although the book is seriously intense all the way through, like holy-shiz-what-just-happened-oh-snap intense, Norris has woven humor throughout the whole book. Janelle and most of the other teens are snarky wise-cracking sorts who deal with the shit that is GOING DOWN through jokes. Of course, the book might not be as humorous to people who don't love sarcasm, but I do, and I think everyone should.

I should really wind up this review, because I've stayed up til 1 already finishing (because I HAD to) and my alarm's going to go off at 6:30. So here are the final points:

1) Elizabeth Norris rocks my socks and I will be reading everything she writes subsequently.

2) Unraveling is amazing. You should go buy it/borrow it/cajole someone into buying it for you/find one of the copies that was rock-the-dropped and read it ASAP.

3) Unraveling comes out April 24. You have two weeks to figure out where you can get a copy. The 24th is a good release date for Unraveling, since that's the number of days Janelle has to save the world. Funny that.

Rating: 5/5

Favorite Quote: "Life is a fragile thing. Apparently the whole world is fragile too."

Note: This song isn't perfect tone-wise, but I just cannot resist, since it fits the opening so perfectly.

"How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
until you find it there and lead it back home"

Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine

Grave Mercy
His Fair Assassin, Book 1

Author: Robin LaFevers
Pages: 549
ARC Acquired from: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

First Sentence: "I bear a deep red stain that runs from my left shoulder down to my right hip, a trail left by the herbwitch's poison that my mother used to try to expel me from her womb."

Review:
Because of the cover (pretty dress), I was really excited about this one. Then I saw a lot of mixed reviews around the blogosphere and put on my skeptical cap. Thankfully, I'm in the group of people that just ate Grave Mercy up and looked around for more. It's kind of funny, because I started reading this and Candlewax at the same time, the latter of which was compared to Cashore; I ended up giving up on Candlewax and think Ismae is way more Katsa-ish.

To that end, let's discuss Ismae, shall we? She may be a nun of sorts, but she kicks ass like a serious mofo. She's the kind of girl who hides a crossbow in her skirts. A Crossbow. No joke. Of course, she doesn't live in a society that respects strong women. She is married off at a young age to a brute, but refuses to accept his abuse. She would have been killed, but was rescued and sent to a convent where daughters of Mortain (the death god/saint) are trained to kill. It made me so sad to watch her trade being controlled by her father to being controlled by the convent. Watching her mature throughout the book was a pleasure.

Duval is completely amazing. I love him and would not mind having one of my own. He's so supportive and caring of the people that he loves and so distrustful of anyone else. He's incredibly intelligent and focused. He reminds me a lot of the hero from Touch of Power, who I also adored. His relationship with Ismae grows in a very natural way. He is so freaking swoon-worthy.

Grave Mercy is quite long. Reading it took me three days, which, given my record, is like forever, at least with my primary book. The length has turned some readers off, but I, personally, never felt like the book dragged at all. One complaint was that we didn't get to read about the training of the killer nuns, but I was okay with missing out on that.

Robin LaFevers is definitely a new favorite author for me. I want book two, Dark Radiance immediately! Apparently, it's going to be about Sybella, rather than continuing Ismae's story. Although I love Ismae, I think I approve of the decision to move to a different character. I wonder if we'll get Annith's story in book three. I hope so!

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "'There is no shame in scars, Ismae.'"

"You justify
Those that died
By wearing the badge and your chosen white"

Secret - The Pierces

Cross My Heart

Author: Sasha Gould
Pages: 262
ARC Acquired from: Delacorte BFYR via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Laura was sent to live in a convent as a child. Her parents could not afford to give her a dowry without reducing the marriage prospects of her elder sister, Beatrice. Laura hates life in the convent, so she is thrilled when she finds out that, after years there, she now gets to go home. She imagines a life with her sister. When she gets home, she discovers that her sister has died, has drowned despite her excellent swimming skills. Not only that, but she has been brought home to marry her sister's odious older fiancee. To escape this awful fate, she makes a bargain with the Segreta, a secret society of powerful women. They save her, but there's always a price...

Review:
My heart went out to Laura from the beginning. How could I not feel for all of the poor girls that were thrust into convents for such awful reasons, regardless of the girls' own inclinations. Laura's narration was rather heartbreaking. As you start reading, it's just so evident that she is completely without hope for her own life; she has given up entirely. So young and her life is already effectively over. Although she is not the brightest (and she lacks worldly knowledge because she spent so many years in the convent), Laura does the best that she can, and, because of this, she made a good heroine. The hero was pretty great, too, but I'll leave him a surprise.

Secret societies aren't generally my cup of tea. This one, though, I found much more scintillating than usual. What I loved was that it was a group of women, marginalized in society, but controlling Venice behind the scenes. No one is safe from the actions of the Segreta, even the Doge, the ruler of the city. Of course, they're just as corrupt as male political groups, but I do like to see women getting revenge on the patriarchy.

I also found myself doing a lot of thinking about courtship in that time period. Of course, I knew already that fiancees were regularly swapped to a different child, as though they are interchangeable, and that marriages were arranges after only a handful of meetings. So, none of it was new, but, for some reason, I found myself really thinking about the reality of living that life. Even the guy she gets a crush on, she only meets him a couple of times before they begin an illicit relationship of exchanging letters and talking when they catch a moment alone. Given the limited freedom women had, relationships escalated so quickly.

Cross My Heart is well-written and entertaining. If you love young adult literature or historical fiction, you'll want to get your hands on this one. I know I'll be reading more novels by Sasha Gould! Plus, look at the pretty cover!

Rating: 3.5/5

"Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead"

Aurora - Foo Fighters

ReVamped

Author: Ada Adams
Pages: 298
Review Copy Acquired from: Ada Adams via Amazon (Kindle Gift Copy)

Brief Summary:
Dawn Fairchild is rare, even for a vampire. She was born a vampire, while most are made (or turned). This gives her additional strength, which she uses to guard her father, the Vampire President of America. What she really wants, though, is to go on a real mission outside of The Scarlet House (aka Vampire White House), and she gets it. Her charge: to go to the small town of Angel Creek and train four vampires to protect the townspeople. Dawn's mission is supposed to be simple, but, well, these are the most pathetic vamps she's ever met!

Review:When Ada requested some R&R (read and review) of her first novel, I did a little research before immediately going 'yay! books!,' because I am a grownup and capable of thinking before I act. Anyway, my brief research suggested that, although dealing with vampires, a subject even I am starting to get a bit skeptical of at this point, she might do something new and interesting with the topic. Additionally, ReVamped sounded like it might actually be funny, which was seriously encouraging. I am happy to report that my initial judgments were correct!

Actually, of all of the vampire novels I have read, ReVamped reminds me most of a mix of the Sookie Stackhouse series and The Reformed Vampire Support Group. The parts that reminded me of the former were largely in the organization of the vampires. They have a government, both local and national, although obviously not kings and queens here. In Adams' world as in Harris', the vampires have gone public. In both, this led to the production of non-human blood sources. Although, I definitely think that the vamps in ReVamped have a better deal, since they have tons of blood drinks to choose from, including Blood Vodka. Awesome.

As for the latter novel, which I didn't much like, the ragtag group of not very vampiric vampires was what brought it to mind. Of course, I didn't much like that book. Thankfully, ReVamped did that angle way better, because these characters did actually seem to grow and change through the novel. Plus, ReVamped was actually funny, and not just descriptions of feeding on guinea pigs.

Now, I do not want to imply that Adams is entirely derivative, because she's definitely not. She added her own unique bits of lore for the novel. For example, I am really fascinated by her distinctions between born and made vampires. In fact, I would love to have a discussion about the logistics of this. Mostly, I want to know how the born vampires first came into being, since they can only come from a born vampire. Of course, I can accept that, since it's really a chicken-or-the-egg argument.

Adams also did something pretty hilarious with the garlic part of the legend, although I'll leave that as a surprise. Another change from tradition to watch for are the werewolves. They made a definite impression. Additionally, I quite enjoyed Adams' writing style. I only wish that the book had had slightly better editing, as several errors got through to the Kindle version. (Note: I have since discovered that the ARC version was loaded by mistake on Amazon; thus, this should not be an issue. Hurrah!)

Dawn was a fantastic main character. She's so powerful; seriously, there are probably like two people in the world who could take her in a fight...if that. She doesn't need anyone's protection. However, Dawn is also quite naive. She's been sheltered for all 19 years of her life, which has the end result of making her act a little silly where boys are concerned. Even then, though, she doesn't do anything stupid, because she's a smart, cautious girl.

ReVamped was a great read, better than a lot of the vampire-centered books I've read. If you like strong heroines, humor and like to support debut authors, go get yourself a copy of this gorgeous new book. Seriously, check that cover!

Rating: 3.5/5

"You believe there's something else
To relieve your emptiness
And you dream about yourself
And you bleed and breathe the air
And it's on and on
I just kinda died for you
You just kinda stared at me
We will always have the chance
We can do this one more time
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora"

For Good - Kristen Chenoweth & Idina Menzel

Wonder

Author: R. J. Palacio
Pages: 313
ARC Acquired from: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
August Pullman is deformed. Because of an unfortunate combination of genes, an unfortunate roll of the universe's dice, he has a face that causes many people to feel horror or disgust. This is after years of surgeries to correct his cleft palate and some other things. His eyes are too low, his ears are tiny and not particularly functional, and his face looks as though it's been melted. He is used to seeing the looks on people's faces, even the nice people, but that doesn't mean it ever stops being hurtful. Since he won't be having another major surgery for a couple of years, his parents decide it is time for him to go to school for the first time, having previously been home-schooled. Middle school is painful enough without a deformity.

Review:
Middle school sucked for me. You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not. During the entirety of middle school, I never had any real friends. I may have looked normal, but I was still definitely an outcast. I cannot imagine going through what Auggie went through. His strength of character to be able to face that situation is incredible.

Part of why he could survive the experience was just Auggie. He's a smart kid and really loved the learning part of school. When people stop to notice, he's funny. Having gotten to fifth grade and maintained a fairly positive attitude despite the staring and the people screaming at his visage is just courageous. In addition to his own strengths, he was lucky enough to have supportive people in his life. His parents and sister would do absolutely anything for him; their family is so loving and happy. Plus, he made a couple of friends to stand by him on the first day of school, Jack and Summer.

This book nearly made me cry. Multiple times. For those who don't know, this is pretty rare. Unlike one of my friends who I will refrain from naming, tv shows and books are not constantly making me cry. The tears that threatened were caused both by sadness and happiness, which is pretty awesome.

Kids are cruel. Never once have I doubted this, having been the victim of some verbal bullying myself as a child. Being surprised or scared at an unfamiliar face is unfortunate, but really cannot be helped; that response is instinctual. What is absolutely awful is the way that people continue to judge him, refusing to get to know Auggie's amazing qualities. Just because he's ugly, they do things like pretend that if they touch him they'll get The Plague. Like ugliness is catching. It's not like Auggie has a transmitable disease.

Even worse than kids, who know what they're doing but at least have ignorance as some amount of an excuse, are the parents. One parent in particular tries to get Auggie kicked out of the school, because she feels like he's brought the level of the school down, even though he's a trillion times smarter than her son. This same mother photoshopped Auggie out of the class photo.

Anyway, I'll stop with that now, because, really, you should read the book for yourself. I also want to mention that the method Palacio used to tell the story was highly effective. The narrative begins and ends with Auggie's perspective. In the middle, you hear from classmates, his sister, and some of his sister's friends. By bookending the story with Auggie, you're really able to see how much he has grown, and the other people's perspectives reveal how much he touched their lives too.

I was planning to use one of the songs quoted in the book, but, just as I was finishing, this song came on my shuffle and it really struck a chord, since the book is all about friendship growing out of dislike and prejudice.

Rating: 5/5

"I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return"

Robin and Marion - Nickel Creek

Scarlet

Author: A. C. Gaughen
Pages: 287
ARC Acquired from: Walker Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Will Scarlet, called Scar by friends, has a lot of secrets, first of which is that Will is actually a girl. The only people what know the truth about her are those in Rob's (Robin Hood's) gang. The Sheriff of Nottingham is sucking the people dry in his effort to have all of the money, so Rob, John, Scar and Much steal money back from him to help the people. Unfortunately, the Sheriff has had about enough of that, so he's hired a thief catcher, Guy of Gisbourne, with whom Scar has had a run-in in the past.

Review:
Scarlet is one of the books I have been completely desperate to read, since the moment I heard it was being published. A reenvisioning of a legend! A strong heroine! How could this fail? Well, in the past, a lot of the books I most wanted to read turned out to be really disappointing and awful. As a result, I held myself back, prepared myself to be disappointed.

Guess what? Scarlet totally was not disappointing. At all. I maintained my skepticism for a while, but Scarlet completely won me over. I had a lingering concern through most of the book, namely what exactly Gaughen was going to do with Maid Marian's character. Thankfully, what she did with the character was awesome.

What a fantastic way to retell the story of Robin Hood. Making one of the characters a girl changes so many dynamics, improves them in my opinion. Even better, Gaughen was able to make all of these changes without greatly altering the legend itself; it still fits within the parameters set by the accepted tale. That is seriously impressive. If I could, I would give Gaughen a high five.

Warming up to Scarlet took me some time too. At first, her dialect of English irritated me and she just was not that likable with her secrets and prickly-ness. As the book went on, I found myself loving the character more and more. The more I knew about her, the more I liked her, because Gaughen did such a fantastic job explaining why she were this way. Besides, in what world would I not respect a girl who's so strong and able to protect herself? In a time when women were not allowed rights or independence, she seized them in the only way she knew how.

The romance in Scarlet is amazing too, because Gaughen really made me wonder which guy would be better for Scar. Just like Scar wonders, although she also wonders if she wants a guy. Love triangles only work if the winner of the battle is not apparent. The romantic parts were really well-written, creating a sense of longing and a lack of confidence about the correct choice. They also weren't sappy, which is fantastic.

Most exciting is the fact that the door is wide open for a sequel. So far as I know there isn't one in the works, but one probably is. Just in case it isn't, I want to put my voice out here in the internet saying "Please write one, A. C. Gaughen! Please!"

Rating: 4.5/5

Breathe - Angels & Airwaves

Halflings
Halflings, Book 1

Author: Heather Burch
Pages: 288
ARC Acquired from: Zondervan via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
For some reason, the forces of good and evil seem to be very interested in Nikki. On the plus side, this means that she has three very hot guys (Mace, Raven and Vine) following her around protecting her, halflings (half-angels). Of course, she's also being followed by hellhounds and other nefarious/disgusting creatures. Why is she so important?

Review:
For the most part, I try to be a fairly open-minded reader of fictions. While I obviously prefer certain genres to others, I do read most of them occasionally. The main exception to that is christian fiction. I just can't deal with most of it, although I have tried.

Believe it or not, I actually have a minor in theology, so it's not that I'm not willing to consider other belief systems or that I'm categorically opposed to the possibility of god. I'm an agnostic, so, basically, who the heck knows.

Anyway, all that lead in was just to explain that, despite my fairly open mind, constant biblical references and the sugar-sweetness that I've found in the Christian books I've tried up to this point have turned my stomach. Thankfully, Halflings did not fit that mold. I honestly never thought that I would be requesting anything from Zondervan. Even less did I expect that I might enjoy said title. The reason I requested Halflings, even though I feared that I would hate it, is that the author, Heather Burch, is part of the Apocalypsies, a group of really awesome debuting authors who have yet to disappoint me.

The religious stuff is definitely in Halflings no doubt, but Burch doesn't beat you over the head with it too much, thank goodness. The story opens with a bible quote, but she did not feel it necessary to open every chapter that way, as so many do. Nikki begins reading the Bible and is converted from her faith in science to faith in a higher power. And, of course, the major players are the forces of heaven and of hell. All of this is done in a light enough way, though, that believer and non-believer can enjoy the tale.

Just because it's Christian does not mean their cannot be some serious love triangle up in here. Of course, Mace is the obvious favorite from the beginning. Personally, I think he's kind of blah. So far, I just don't see too much interesting in him. Raven is the quintessential bad boy with the possibility for more, which I generally do not much care for, but he's just so much more interesting than Mace. Plus, Raven totally encourages Nikki's strength (she's a black belt in karate) and wants to help her protect herself. He's a feminist, woo!

I love when trying a book I wouldn't usually give a chance pays off! I definitely plan to read the next book in the series.

Rating: 3/5

"A blue-black shade of love.
Sent from above.
My hands are tied, two worlds alone,
And this I know.
Your breath's like wine,
And just like clouds, my skin crawls.
It's so divine, the sky it glows with fields of light."

Overture/Going Through the Motions from Once More, with Feeling

Fracture
Fracture, Book 1

Author: Megan Miranda
Pages: 264
ARC Acquired from: Bloomsbury Children's Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Delaney Maxwell died for eleven minutes. She fell under the ice on a lake everyone thought was frozen over enough to be safe. Well, it wasn't. And she got stuck, and she had died by the time her best friend Decker managed to get her out again. By a miracle, though, he succeeded in bringing her back using CPR, breaking several ribs in the process. According to her brain scans, she should be in a permanent vegetative state or at least have substantial memory loss, but she doesn't. Despite all the abnormal spots in her brain, she's fine, except that she now seems to be able to sense death.

Review:
I completely loved this. Just loved it. The main reason is Delaney. She may not be an example of perfection or anything; she's not incredibly brave or beautiful, or imbued with some power that I desperately wish I could have. No, what I love about Delaney is how real she is.

Unlike most heroines, in YA or romance novels or mysteries or pretty much anything, Delaney is awesomely real. She mentions at one point that she has been putting on a bit of weight recently, after a sudden stop to her growth spurts (I can so identify with that; I shot up and then stopped.). Some people think she's gotten fat and some think she looks hot. Since she lacks athleticism and has no interest in working out, she watches what she eats, which she defines as eating what she wants and feeling guilty about it later. Amen, sister.

Delaney is also incredibly smart. That girl freaking loves homework. While she's in the hospital recovering, she is freaking out as much about her GPA and how she might lose the valedictorian spot as she is about her health. Another awesome thing about Delaney is that she loves libraries, like any good nerd does.

There's also something familiar in her relationships with people. The awkwardness of real connections is definitely there. Watching Decker and Delaney is imminently frustrating, but who hasn't been there or watched people not quite manage to admit to their feelings? The way that they get jealous and push one another away, avoiding the awkward dtr (defining the relationship) talk, is so true.

Even the way Delaney is swayed by guys she who express interest in her strikes me as authentic. Sure, it's not exactly role model behavior to make out with a guy you don't have any romantic feelings for just because he's looking at you a certain way does not mean it's not something a girl will do. All of those emotions are confusing and so life comes out complicated.

On top of all of that, there's also the whole vaguely paranormal plot line about death and life. Delaney's new power could be classed as paranormal, but I prefer to not class the book as fantasy and to think of it instead as her using a part of her brain humans usually do not have the capacity to.

If you love If I Stay by Gayle Foreman, you will likely adore this as well. The only thing I didn't like about this book: there's no sequel.

Rating: 4.5/5

"I don't want to be...
Going through the motions,
Losing all my drive
I can't even see, if this is really me
And i just want to be....
Alive!"

Time Won't Let Me Go - The Bravery

Tempest
Tempest, Book 1

Author: Julie Cross
Pages: 352
ARC Acquired from: St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley

Book Review:
Jackson, a freshman in college, has a secret that only his nerdy friend Adam knows: he is a time traveler. Adam helps him figure out something about how it all works from a scientific point of view. When he jumps, only part of himself goes, meaning that his body will sit there while he's gone only for a much shorter time span. Jackson cannot change the past, and he can't even go very far back; all he can do is learn from what he witnesses and use that in the future. Then, one day, he and his girlfriend, Holly, are awoken by two strange men with guns. They shoot Holly and Jackson jumps through time, only this time he winds up two years in the past (2007), his younger self has disappeared, and he is now, apparently, stuck here.

Review:
What a thrill ride! Time travel is, of course, completely fascinating as a concept, but it's extraordinarily difficult to do well. Actually, I have no complaints with how Cross has done this. Way better than The Lake House any day.

What particularly intrigues me are the variations in time-jumping power and the other abilities Jackson seems to be developing. I hope more is learned about these and where the powers originally came from later on. The ubermensch theme is pretty cool too, especially since people with that mindset make awesome bad guys.

I never really bonded with Jackson as a character. He's okay, but I'm not sure how much I like him. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't have any particular love for any of the characters. However, I do really love the way the characters are together, the way they interact. Cross has attained something resembling actual human interaction, which is pretty fantastic.

Jackson and Holly are definitely put forward as fairy tale level love, and they are seriously drawn to one another from the first time they meet (and from the first time they meet again...haha). However, they did not immediately declare their love for one another or anything like that. Although the degree of their affection is extreme, as are the circumstances, the relationship moves in a believable way. They have hangups and little fights. These important details are left out of too much fiction.

On a somewhat related note, I really hope all teens are not this sexually active nowadays. When Jackson and Holly first have sex, he is surprised to discover she is a virgin, even though she's not even in college yet. He thinks to himself that it had been a long time since he had sex with a virgin, which leaves me wondering exactly how much action this guy has been getting and since when?

If you like action, romance, espionage and time travel, you will not want to miss Tempest. This is the first book in a series, which I have every intention of continuing with.

Rating: 3/5

"Time won't let me go
If I could do it all again
I'd go back and change everything
But time won't let me go"

Prologue - David Newman (from Anastasia)

The Gathering Storm
The Katrina Trilogy, Book 1

Author: Robin Bridges
Pages: 386
ARC Acquired from: Delacorte via NetGalley

Brief Summary:In an alternate history, Katerina lives in Romanov Russia, but a very different one from the one studied in school. In this Russia, witches, necromancers, wolf creatures, vampires and other paranormal nasties abound. Katerina's secret is that she is a necromancer; she can bring the dead back to life. All her life, she has struggled to hide her powers, and avoided using them. Unfortunately, a couple people see her use her powers (to save someone) and she becomes a pawn in the political maneuverings of both the dark and light courts.

Review:
There's no doubt that this is a unique book. I certainly haven't read any other books with a similar subject. Honestly, I do not yet know how I feel about this book. I definitely enjoyed reading it, and I found the story compelling. However, the setting and the mythology here is also really weird, so weird, in fact, that I had difficulty settling into the rhythm of the story.

Also, I do not really like Katerina. I do like her passion for medicine and the fact that she is determined to become a doctor, even though it seems pretty much impossible for her to do so. However, why does she always almost swoon when anything gross happens? Umm, as a doctor, she'll need to not do that. Another good quality of hers is that she doesn't want to be forced into marriage or fulfilling her social role. What bothered me, though, was that for all her lofty ideals and moral fortitude, she didn't apply herself. She has so much power, but does not make good use of it. To be a doctor, she must be smart, but she doesn't act that way much of the time.

Still, I did really like Georgi, the Grand Duke. He has a very Darcy air about him that, unsurprisingly, thrills me.

I definitely plan to read more of this series. Hopefully, Katerina will make better use of her awesome qualities, there will be more Georgi and the paranormal stuff will be further explained.

Rating: 3.5/5

"In the dark of the night evil will find her
In the dark of the night just before dawn!"

It's My Party - Lesley Gore

Ditched: A Love Story

Author: Robin Mellom
Pages: 273
ARC Acquired from: Hyperion via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Justina has a bit of a reputation. See, this one time at a party, she made out with two guys on the same night. This isn't really an isolated incident either. She and her best friend happen to like kissing, and so they decided, upon entering high school, that they might as well do a lot of it. Until that party where she got caught kissing two different guys and everyone started insulting her. Then, she swore she would not kiss another boy until she found boyfriend material. And she finally has in her new best friend, Ian. They're going to Prom together and she knows that the epic kiss will finally happen. If that's so, why does she start off the morning after Prom in a ditch, having been ditched (literally and figuratively).

Review:
Justina's story begins on the morning after Prom. She indulges in a bit of temporary amnesia, for the audience's benefit, not hers. She wonders about a tattoo, a bruise in the shape of a french fry and the various stains on her dress, even though it soon becomes apparent that she remembers everything. This is definitely the low point of the novel. It certainly does grab your interest, but I didn't appreciate the pretense that she didn't know what had happened.

However, even as her clearly perfect memory frustrated me, I loved finding out her story bit by bit. Justina drags her unfortunate self to the 7-11, the good one, and begins unloading her depressing tale of woe onto the clerk (Gilda), later joined by a customer (Donna). This method of storytelling is a classic because it works. Plus, I just loved the way the chapters alternated between the food she was fed at the 7-11 and the various injuries and stains she attained during the night before.

Ditched is one of those stories where every possible bad luck thing that can happen does. Of course, some of them are Justina's fault, but many of them are not. A big bit of the blame goes to her mom, who thought Justina should dye her shoes to match her iridescent blue dress from the thrift store. It was also mom's idea to have bought said dress, which turns out to be a magnet for stains and not made of the sturdiest stuff.

If you're looking for some good schadenfreude, Ditched will not disappoint. I certainly feel a little better about missing out on the prom.

Rating: 3.5/5

"Nobody knows where my Johnny has gone
Judy left the same time
Why was he holding her hand
When he's supposed to be mine"