Mini Review: Dealing With Devils - Pembroke Sinclair

Synopsis:

In this book, the sequel to The Appeal of Evil, Katie has now chosen her side, but has she made the right choice?

Good: 

• Good character development of Katie and Josh.
• Hell has been developed a bit more.
• The story goes in a direction that you aren't actually expecting. Katie isn't a heroine at all, she has so many faults.
• A far more intriguing plotline than the original love triangle as Katie finds out more about herself and demons in general.
• Familiar mythologies of Satan, Lilith, Adam and Eve are involved.
• Braden is an amazing addition to the story. Loved him.

Bad:

• No Wes, for the whole book. This was a bit confusing for me seeming as he was in the first one a whole lot! Also, this lessens the amount of confusion in the story which may have made it more gripping.
• Still so much angst!
• Still not enough character development for Deb and Katie's Mum. We don't end up truly caring what happens to either of them, or indeed care what they have to say. Their scenes are a little boring.

Overall: 

This book is better than the first. Katie developes well as a character and some of the flaws of the book are explained out by the plot itsself. The plot is fast-paced and makes you want to read on. The book isn't what you're expecting, which makes a lovely change! However, it appears to still be aimed at a younger YA audience than the main character, making it difficult to relate to her.

Mini Review: The Appeal of Evil - Pembroke Sinclair

Synopsis:

Katie, a normal 17 year old girl, finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between good and evil, but which side will she choose?

The Good:

• Fast-paced and easy to follow.
• Great ideas of good, evil, Praesul and Demons to give the story a fantastical edge based on things we already understand.
• Perfect for the YA readership, though perhaps a younger category than the main character as she is a little bit naive.
• Totally readable and easy to pick up. Perfect for a bit of light reading.
• Points for the cover - Josh is HOT.

The Bad:

• One dimensional characters, particularly Deb, Katie's Mum, Wes and his Dad.
• A little too much teen angst and self-pity.
• No decision-making for the main character to move the story on, so grew a little stale.
• A couple of grammatical errors - 'worse comes to worse' is meant to be 'worst' (I'm pretty certain, anyway).

Overall:

A cast of fairly unlikeable characters gives little for the reader to care about, but it is a fun, easy-going read. You do tend to egg Katie on all the time, but tend to feel exasperated with her. The ending is certainly interesting, with a big old cliffhanger ready for the next book, but it doesn't quite answer the 'will she, won't she' question. Still, it might have been me, given that I am not exactly a YA any more!

Review: Cress - Marissa Meyer

The third book in the Lunar Chronicles was so, so good. I got so into this again, even though I hadn't read Scarlet in a really long time and could barely remember Thorne and Wolf. I am now completely desperate for Winter, which is going to be amazing, I can tell.

As always, Meyer has created a sophisticated plot brought beautifully to life with her easy to read writing style and impeccable description. If you thought Cinder and Scarlet, were well done, just wait til you read Cress.

Firstly, Cress is a wonderful character. She is totally cut off from the world and not quite normal, but she is a sweet and very clever girl. She does need to learn a few things, but as we go through the book you can see that she is learning. The character development with Cress and Thorne was lovely and I liked the way that they weaved into being the characters in the fairytales. I finally understood why Thorne is called Thorne, and I loved that Cress isn't actually her name, but it goes so well for the Rapunzel story (those of you who don't know, Rapunzel is named after the Rampion plant, and it's leaves and root are both edible). I thought that some of the development of other character was slightly lacking in terms of Cinder, Scarlet and Wolf. I still adore Iko, who doesn't?

The one thing that really struck me after reading this book was the example that these main characters set. These strong, clever and emotional female characters are amazing role models and the book delivers some great messages in always telling the truth, to fight for yourself and to have some self-belief.

It's nice to see some original Grimm fairytale elements coming through in this book. I won't ruin it for you, but the turn of events is brilliant and the link to the original story has been done flawlessly inside the context, giving magical elements a much more scientific and futuristic base. I mean, even the settings are pretty perfect.

I thought that the space/ desert setting was really cool and quite unexpected. I loved seeing how everything comes together towards the finale. Everything and everyone are so much more interlinked than I realised. This sets up for one heck of a finale, with a full-on war, and we get to see what happens with Winter. Has her fairytale come to pass yet I wonder? I personally think it has but it ended rather differently. Might she want the crown? I can see a way out, but it's going to be a rocky ride.

Wow is all in can say.

Kyra_x

Book Banter #7 - How Long Can You Leave A Series For?

I just started reading Cress (Lunar Chronicles 3), which is great so far, but the only problem is I can't remember most of what has happened! It must be well over a year, perhaps maybe two years, since I read Scarlet, and a few months before that I read Cinder. Scarlet must not have made a huge impression on me, because I completely forgot about Thorne and Wolf, and where exactly Cinder was at this time.

Thank God for recaps at the beginning of books. Usually I hate this, but this time I am really glad there have been enough references to past events that I can (sort of) remember what has already happened, and piece together the parts that just elude me.

So my question is, how long is too long to leave a series for? I guess it depends on your memory, and on how much you previously enjoyed that series. A year seems to be the accepted time frame by publishers, but I believe that most people's memories aren't quite that long. They remember the jist of the story, but not all of it. Details woven into the plot can be easily missed by those, like me, who can't remember a name or seemingly insignificant events.

Needless to say, I'll be trying not to wait so long between the next books.

Kyra_x

Review: Graduation Day - Joelle Charbonneau

Cia now fully remembers the tragic events of the testing and is plotting to take the process down however she can. Although she has survived through many trials, she needs to be completely certain of who she can trust. Her life, and the lives of countless rebels and future colony students, are at stake. She needs to be careful though, because everything is not quite how it seems.

I was expecting a straightforward end to this trilogy, with a simple scheme that would set everything right again, that would end the testing. After all, this is YA fiction, and sometimes it's not all that complex. However, our author has a few tricks up her sleeve. The book starts simply enough, with a clear path in which to end the suffering, but then you realise it won't be a easy as it seems, with so many allegiances, secrets and misconceptions. There are a couple of very interesting plot developments, most of which linger in the background and slowly come to their conclusion during the end of the book. This means that you get to work out all the good bits with Cia rather than ahead of her.

We see a  fair bit more of Zeen, Raffe and Tomas here, and it is nice to see them developing slightly. However, the largest differences are now seen outside of the main protagonists, with Will, Dr Barnes and the President way in front in terms of character development. Cia seems to have stopped growing and instead finds the need to now hang on to the girl she was before. Here trusting nature is revealed to be more of a strength than a weakness when she finally learns the correct balance.

A very good read overall and a satisfying conclusion, though slightly drawn out nearing the very end. This epilogue part could easily have been drawn out further into a short but instead has been explained away, which is a great shame.

Exciting and interesting, this series has some great world-building and there is some wonderful storytelling involved. It would definitely hold YA interest throughout, especially those who enjoyed The Hunger Games and Divergent.

Kyra_x