Review: Shadowlands by Kate Brian

Title: Shadowlands (Shadowlands, #1)

Author: Kate Brian

Publisher: Hyperion (HBG Canada)

Publication date: January 8, 2013
Genre(s): Young Adult (Mystery)

Source: Publisher

Format: Physical ARC

Pages: 336

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Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived… and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye.

Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

My first reaction after finishing Shadowlands: "AAAAAAHHHH SIHDKJSJDKHAKJ DHJAHDJAHS HDSAJDAH;!!!! How can this happen to me? WHY? OH GOD WHY? WHERE IS THE SECOND BOOK? GIVE ME NOWWWW!" Yes, it was crazy. Now, let me start off by telling you how awesome this book is. Shadowlands has always been a book that was high on my TBR pile. Being a huge fan of mystery novels, I was so excited about it! The book starts off with the main protagonist, Rory, being chased in the woods. Apparently, the chaser turned out to be her school math teacher, who also turned out to be a genius serial killer. *goose bumps* Thankfully, Rory somehow manages to escape from him. After the FBI comes, and identify him as this major serial killer they are hunting for more than ten years, Rory's family is sent to Juniper Landing to go into "hiding".

For me, it's probably the first time reading a book that made me extremely creeped out. I was reading it at home, and everyone was out, and it was dark, and it TOTALLY scared me!! When Rory, her sister Darcy, and her dad drive for 7 hours to reach Juniper Landing, they are welcomed by weird stares from the locals. While reading Shadowlands, there were SO many things that confused the hell out of me. When Rory meets Lauren and Olive, she starts learning more about the "locals". We also meet Joaquin, Bea, Fisher, and the guy who always seems to be staring at Rory, Tristan. (Did I miss anyone?) Rory is usually overshadowed by her sister Darcy, but this time, the local guys and girls seem to have an interest in Rory, and not her sister. That's when conflicts between the two start developing. Now despite the mystery, it was refreshing to read about sister relationships. Anyways, Rory seems to be convinced that there's something fishy about that group. Not only them, but the island itself is a bit weird. 

I can't say much about the book without having a bit of spoilers, so I'm going to stop here. I will say that the characters were very interesting to read about. Kate Brian also did a tremendous job in the mystery of this book. There were also a bit of shockers, like how there's a bit of fantasy in this book when I thought it was completely contemporary. Anyhow, I definitely enjoyed reading Shadowlands, and just thinking about the second book makes me want to jump up and down. The cliffhanger is killing me, which rarely happens. I totally recommend this to all you readers out there, ESPECIALLY if you're a fan of mystery books! You will not be disappointed!

Review: Uses For Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Title: Uses For Boys

Author: Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication date: January 15th, 2013

Source: NetGalley

Format: eBook

Pages: 240

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Anna remembers a time before boys, when she was little and everything made sense. When she and her mom were a family, just the two of them against the world. But now her mom is gone most of the time, chasing the next marriage, bringing home the next stepfather. Anna is left on her own—until she discovers that she can make boys her family. From Desmond to Joey, Todd to Sam, Anna learns that if you give boys what they want, you can get what you need. But the price is high—the other kids make fun of her; the girls call her a slut. Anna's new friend, Toy, seems to have found a way around the loneliness, but Toy has her own secrets that even Anna can't know.

Then comes Sam. When Anna actually meets a boy who is more than just useful, whose family eats dinner together, laughs, and tells stories, the truth about love becomes clear. And she finally learns how it feels to have something to lose—and something to offer.

Don't judge a book by its cover... or synopsis. That was the lesson learnt in reading Uses For Boys. Are you expecting a short and cute contemporary? well I must warn you, this book is not for you. What started off as an innocent girl who never fit in anywhere, soon dramatically escalated into a girl jumping from one boy to another in a disturbing pace. Uses For Boys, in my opinion, is mislabeled. I do know some people who would appreciate the underlying point the author wanted to make through this book, I know I got it, but it was an uncomfortable experience, especially knowing that young teens might pick this up and read it. 

The writing of this novel is different. It isn't really told from any POVs, first, second, or third, and there is barely any dialogue, which I usually find annoying, but I actually enjoyed here. The writing style of Scheidt is different and unique and I found myself immersed in it and flipping the pages at a fast rate.. then we get to the disturbing over explicit scenes. I do not know why these scenes were needed, what point they were trying to make, reinforce the plot? I honestly wished these scenes were omitted. Also, throughout most of the novel there is this very discomforting feeling towards Anna and her daddy issues. I was also enraged at her mother's behavior; maybe because I could never imagine my mother being anything but selfless towards her children, I couldn't stand her mother's lack of interest towards her only child. 

Even with all of that, my confused feelings towards the book, I still wanted to continue reading it to find out what happens in the end. Anna does mature and grow up towards the end of the novel, salvage whatever was left of her daughter-mother relationship, and finally accept herself for who she is and become confident in her independence and her not needing a guy to define her. I give Scheidt points for keeping me interested through it all. I would recommend it to mature teens and ones who want to read something different. 

Review: How To Get Over Your Ex by Nikki Logan

Title: How To Get Over Your Ex 

Author: Nikki Logan

Publisher: Harlequin

Publication date: January 22, 2013

Genre(s): Chick Lit

Source: NetGalley
Format: Egalley

Pages: 224

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fter her on-air proposal is turned down by her commitment-phobe boyfriend, Georgia Stone must learn to survive singledom. Unfortunately, thanks to a clause in her contract, she has to do it under the watchful gaze of brooding radio producer Zander Rush. And so begins the Year of Georgia! Lurching from salsa classes to spy school, Georgia discovers a taste for adventure. Her biggest thrill so far? Flirting with danger-aka the enigmatic Zander. But admitting she's ready for more than just a fling...? Definitely Georgia's scariest challenge yet!

How To Get Over your Ex was the perfect book to take me out of my reading slump and at the same time remind me why I read so much Chick Lits back in the day and why I loved it s much. I know many people think chick lit books all have the same old story and happy ending but you know what? if it keeps me engaged, entertained, and happy then why not? The saying "if it isn't broken, then why fix it?" suits this situation. 

The story begins straightaway with the main protagonist proposing to her boyfriend of one year... on LIVE RADIO, and guess what? He rejects her on LIVE RADIO. Georgia is so embarrassed she runs off to the elevator but someone goes in with her, and instead of ogling and giving her pitiful looks, he actually shields her from other people's pathetic need to indulge in people's embarrassment. He hustles her out of the parking lot so she won't face the people in the reception and gets in his porsche and drives away. Now why couldn't she have a caring man like that? one who wouldn't have embarrassed her on live radio or at least rejected her in private? the man turns out to be Zander, the boss of EROS radio. He is the person behind this valentine's promotion of "giving a little push to the one you love". And I was so glad that we see a lot more of him after this encounter 

Georgia's life turns upside down. Somehow all of London has heard of her story, even tracked her boyfriend, and started taking sides. Another problem is that her boyfriend works in the same place where she does and somehow she ended up left friendless because they all sided with him. Now, because Georgia signed a contract for an all expense paid wedding, and since there is no wedding Zander created a "The year of Georgia" where she could do whatever she wanted with fifty thousand pounds for one year. This is when Georgia and Zander start getting close together. I loved how their relationship progressed and how each of them needed this year to get over an event rom their past to move on. The activities Georgia did were fun and I loved their initial denial towards each other and how closed off and misunderstood Zander was. I especially loved how Georgia was a scientist with a good job and enough money to be independent. 

How To Get Over Your Ex was such a relaxing and entertaining read. I think Nikki Logan is a great writer and she has restored my love for Chick Lits. I wished it was longer but its only around 200 pages. It kept me from my studies and reminded me that the chick lit genre is a non-YAgenre that I need to start reading from more often. 

Review: Return To Me by Justina Chen Headley

Title: Return To Me

Author: Justina Chen Headley

Publisher: HBG Canada

Publication date: January 15, 2013
Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary/Paranormal)

Source: NetGalley

Format: Digital ARC

Pages: 352

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Nothing is going as planned for Rebecca Muir. She's weeks away from starting college--at a school chosen specifically to put a few thousand miles of freedom between Reb and her parents. But her dad's last-minute job opportunity has her entire family moving all those miles with her! And then there's the matter of her unexpected, amazing boyfriend, Jackson, who is staying behind on the exact opposite coast.
And if that isn't enough to deal with, mere days after moving cross-country, Reb's dad drops shocking, life-changing news. With her mother and brother overwhelmed and confused, Reb is left alone to pick up the pieces of her former life. But how can she do that when everything can change in an instant? How can she trust her "perfect" boyfriend when her own dad let her down? Reb started the year knowing exactly what her future would hold, but now that her world has turned upside down, will she discover what she really wants?

Justina Chen Headley wrote a very dear novel to my heart, North of Beautiful. I found her writing to be powerful and her characters and plot to portray the lives that many people nowadays go through, so when I found out she had a new novel, I immediately picked it up. However, Return To Me, even with its soul-searching and signature writing of Headley, did not impress me and in the end I passed it as a good, but not great read. 

Rebecca Muir's life comes crashing down when she discovers something about her father and ends up doubting every single person in her life, especially her boyfriend. In the beginning, I found Rebecca's attitude towards her mother, sneering and condescending, to be a bit of a turn off to the novel. My mother and I are very close and I acknowledge all of her sacrifices for me, so I didn't understand how Rebecca could only look at her mother's need to be organized and in control as something to snicker about with her father. Something else that I found out of place was the paranormal aspect of this novel. I am not a big fan of when contemporary novels have a hint of paranormal to it, and Return To Me had that. I found myself disregarding anything paranormal in the novel and just focused on Rebecca's relationships with everyone around her and how she is dealing with the drastic change in her life, something Headley is good at conveying to the readers. 

I did enjoy Return To Me but I would have enjoyed it so much if the author focused on the contemporary part of the novel. I just didn't know where to direct my attention towards, plus I'm not that big of a paranormal fan and I entered reading Return To Me thinking it will be the same emotional ride that I took with North of Beautiful, a novel that I recommend to everyone to read. As for Return To Me, I recommend it to fans who like a mix of genres in their novels as well as a down to earth novel that centers around family, relationships, and emotions surrounding them all. 

 

Books by Justina Chen Headley: 

North of Beautiful

Review: The 13th Sign by Kristin O'Donnel Tubb

Title: The 13th Sign

Author: Krisin O'Donnel Tubb

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication date: January 8th, 2013
Genre(s): Middle Grade (Fantasy/Adventure)

Source: Macmillan

Format: Digital ARC

Pages: 352

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What if there was a 13th zodiac sign?

You’re no longer Sagittarius, but Ophiuchus, the healer, the 13th sign.

Your personality has changed. So has your mom’s and your best friend’s.

What about the rest of the world?

What if you were the one who accidentally unlocked the 13th sign, causing this world-altering change—and infuriating the other 12 signs?

Jalen did it, and now she must use every ounce of her strength and cunning to send the signs back where they belong. Lives, including her own, depend on it.

I started reading The 13th Sign thinking it is a young adult novel, however soon enough I found out it was a middle grade novel. I don't read much Middle Grade novels but I continued reading The 13th Sign because the synopsis sounding interesting, plus I am a sagittarius, just like the protagonist. Jalen somehow unlocks the 13th sign, Ophiuchus, and as a consequence, the personalities of everyone in the world shift depending on their new star sign. Logical, fair judges turn into emotional ones, diplomatic and rational presidents turn into hotheads and declare war; basically the whole world is crumbling and the only way it could be saved is if Jalen defeats all 12 signs and meets with Ophiuchus within 24 hours. 

Thus, Jalen, along with her best friend and her best friend's brother, embark on this journey. The whole book passes by with Jalen fighting each zodiac and defeating him or her using her judgement of the star sign itself with the help of the Zodiac book she unlocked. In all honesty I found it a bit repetitive, different zodiac sign but same fight, and same result in the end, her winning. I know that is how it is supposed to go but I felt that is too simplistic, which is why I tend to not read Middle Grade books often. I didn't get much depth from the characters and I just hoped there was a bit more complexity in the end solution and some sort of shocking ending. 

I do understand that this is a middle grade book and I would only recommend it to middle grade readers, because while I did enjoy this book, it isn't one I would recommend to strict YA readers. If Tubb ever writes a YA novel, I would definitely be interested in reading it because she is a great author.