Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer by Maureen McGowan -- Review

Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer (Twisted Tales #2)

by Maureen McGowan

Publication Date: 04/01/2011

Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley, Silver Dolphin Books and Baker & Taylor Publishing Group for the E-ARC.

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

In this thrilling story full of adventure and romance, Sleeping Beauty is more than just a lonely princess waiting for her prince—she's a brave, tenacious girl who never backs down from a challenge. With vampire-slaying talents that she practices in secret, Sleeping Beauty puts her courage to the test in the dark of night, fighting evil as she searches for a way to break the spell that has cut her off from her family. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Sleeping Beauty and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story unlike any fairy tale you've ever read!
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer is an entirely new type of fairy tale–one that will keep today's kids guessing and offer them hours of magical fun.

Review:

An interesting twist on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty. This book allows you at certain points in the story to choose a path for the characters - allowing you to have a say and some control over how the story goes on, and thus, the conclusion of the story. 

I found the twist on her curse to be fun -- where she sleeps during the day, in her glass coffin, as an endless line of suitors pass by her, and at night, she is awake, but everyone in the castle/kingdom are asleep (flip-flopped situation for daytime and nighttime). 

  

I enjoyed her decision to become a vampire slayer at night to protect her (father's) kingdom. And then, well, she falls for a vampire (well at least in "my story" she does). All in all, this was a quick enjoyable short read.

The Bartered Virgin by Chevon Gael -- Review (**18+over material)

 

The Bartered Virgin

by Chevon Gael

Publication Date: 12/15/2010

Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley and Carina Press for the eARC.

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

Sold to the highest-ranked aristocrat!

That's what Winnifred Percy, New York City heiress, considered her engagement to Sir David Knightsbridge, Earl of Wolshingham. It's 1902 and she wants to be a modern woman, free to travel the world. To do that she needs to show the Earl she is a completely unsuitable bride.
Smoking and cursing doesn't have much effect on David so Winn reads him a very naughty French book. That leads to unexpectedly passionate kisses, and David's declaration that he wants to marry her. Drat! Even when she takes him to Coney Island to mingle with ordinary people and eat exotic hot dogs he's intrigued...and intriguing.
When desire leads them into scandal, Winn realizes she's ruined his hopes for restoring his family's honor. Can she let him go to find a more suitable bride?

Review:

I initially was drawn to the book by the synopsis - I thought the main character, Winn, was going to be witty to the extreme, to try to get out of this arranged marriage. As luck would have it, David actually found her tactics and antics unveiling her to be that much more desirable. And then throughout this period, Winn becomes drawn to him, even as she is still attempting to resist and forgo this arranged marriage.


I found Winn's character to be not all that enticing - I never really clicked with her character and many a times she behaved so ignorantly, it was rather bothersome. Also, I never really found David to be the prince charming she thinks she is coming to see in him - crass language and his interactions/ commands of Winn (though he does become less of a jerk to her by the end). 


All in all, this novella was a quick read, not accurate in its historical time-frame, and kind of lagged a bit in "romance" though it definitely is an erotica/18-and-over book -- so it didn't disappoint in that aspect or scenes.

Saturday Situation - July 16

 

Happy Saturday everyone! (Sorry for my long MIA time. Since posting my "Lust" review, I've been working on medical school applications, and Murphy's Law was in action in early June when suddenly I went from looking-looking-looking for a job, and then BAM! I have two now. :D These all, however, take time away from my book reviewing so my apologies.)

It's time for a new Saturday Situation, hosted by Candace at Candace's Book Blog and Lori at Pure Imagination.

Here are this week's reviews:

XVI, Dark Descendants, & Entangled

I'm hoping to get 2-4 more reviews done this weekend too :)

Entangled by Cat Clarke -- Review

Entangled 

by Cat Clarke

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

A story of dark secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction. 

Review:

First off, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cover of this book. The pose, the hair color - that's actually what initially attracted me to the book (as well as the synopsis). When I started the book, it kind of just throws you into the story, so I felt a bit lost and disoriented for a few chapters, but then things were clicking and it then became easy to catch onto the pattern of how the story is told -- flashes of Grace and Ethan in the white room "prison" and Grace's life and activities around the time she met a fine young chap named Nat. 

I thought Grace's character was rather dense as from very early on in the story, you could tell there was something funky going on (red flags everywhere) between her new boyfriend Nat and her best friend Sal -- all the body language described, the awkward looks and conversations -- yet Grace totally does not take notice of this at all... that is until she writes her story and at Ethan's urging slowly realizes the big truths of her story. 

I really did not understand Ethan's character, nor why she thought she knew him, when they never mentioned why she thought that - was it someone from her past, some stranger she came across at one point in time in her life - it just never really addresses him, other than his ultimate role in Grace's story.

While this is listed as a YA, I would have to say it's for the older YA crowd - lots of swear words (though the British ones hehe), LOTS of talk and descriptions of sex and sexual experiences, and the behavioral issue of cutting. 

Cutting. The theme of cutting in this book reminded me a lot of "Hunger" and "Winter Girls," where the lead characters in that book are OCD/ obsessed with their body image and starving themselves. In Entangled, Grace releases her stress and depression by cutting. Having known real-life people who have had issues with cutting, it was interesting to get Grace's perspective of her fascination and compulsion with it. I don't recall her ever mentioning pain and its association to her cutting, which I thought was odd. Odd in the sense that, from what I know of cutters' behavior, the big reason they cut is to FEEL IT, in order to overwhelm their other feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, etc...and sometimes for self-punishment. 

It was an ok, a lil' sub-par, read overall. The pace was ok, once the rhythm of flipping back and forth between Grace's memories and Grace's experience in the white room was established. I also did not like the ending. I do not like that it left Grace's story ... unfinished; I would have rather had a sad ending or a happy ending. Instead, it just kind of ends with "blah ........"

Rating: 2 / 5 Stars

Dark Descendant (Descendants #1) by Jenna Black -- Review

 

Dark Descendant (Descendants #1)

by Jenna Black

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

From the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist books comes the gripping first novel in a new series about a private eye who discovers, to her surprise, that she’s an immortal huntress.

Nikki Glass can track down any man. But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . .

Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods. Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy.

But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them. In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy. . . . 

Review:

I was hoping for and expecting a better book by this offer, given that her Morgan Kingsley series is amazing. Yes, I know that this book is YA, while the other book series is adult/paranormal(/edging on erotica?), but I thought Dark Descendant just didn't deliver. It took almost 3/4 of the book to get the background and introductions in place, and then left so little room for developing the story.
I don't know if I will read the sequels to this, though the concept of Olympic descendants is interesting... 

I guess we shall see.

Rating: 2 / 5 Stars

 

XVI (XVI #1) by Julia Karr -- Review

 

 XVI (XVI #1) 

by Julia Karr

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world-even the most predatory of men-that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past-one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

Review:
16 is the magic number is this book. In this dystopia book, 16 is the new legal age and sex / sexual appeal is a main theme, along with, well breaking out of the dystopian society's norms and demands. The storyline lagged a bit, but the dystopian society concept was interesting.


Rating: 2 / 5 Stars

Lust (The Sins and The Virtues #1) by Charlotte Featherstone -- Review (**18+over material)

 

Lust (The Sins and The Virtues #1)

by Charlotte Featherstone

Publication Date: 01/17/2011 

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin & Spice for the electronic ARC. :)

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

Of old, humans and Faeries have dwelt side by side in parallel realms. Only the canniest mortals recognize the alluring creatures that often walk—and lie—among them.

The righteous Fae of the Seelie Court cherish an ancient quarrel with their Dark counterparts: a curse born of anger and deceit. The Unseelie Court will perish unless one of its princes can win a woman's love—honestly, without coercion…and love her wholly in return.
To halt the slow demise of his people, Prince Thane—the embodiment of Lust—infiltrates the Georgian court to seduce his mortal inverse. Noblewoman Chastity Lennox is purity incarnate—a sensual prize well worth winning. But Thane's carnal quest proves more challenging than he ever dreamed.
No other has ever been able—or willing—to resist his erotic charms. Chastity's resolve is maddening…and intriguing. It makes him want her all the more. But how best to seduce one who truly seems above temptation? Discover her greatest weakness and become the intoxicating essence of her deepest, most forbidden desires….

Review:

I found this to be a very fun read and interesting concept -- the Seelie and Unseelie courts fighting over these girls (Chastity, Mary, Mercy and Prudence) that are imbued with the virtues that they are named after. The fight between the fae courts stems from a curse the Seelie queen put upon the Unseelie court after she was taken by force and raped by the Unseelie king - which produced twin boys, one that physically looked Seelie but has Unseelie powers and tendencies, and the other that physically looked Unseelie but has some Seelie powers. Anyway, the curse the Seelie queen put upon the Unseelie court inhibits them from having any surviving babies from any couplings between Unseelie members (only court members? It wasn't very clear) UNLESS the seven Unseelie court members/royalty that represent the seven sins are able to successfully, without any faerie magic, win over the love of their corresponding virtues, who are female mortals, and get them to willingly go to the Unseelie court.

This first book in the Sins and the Virtues series primary focused on Chastity Lennox and Thane, the Unseelie prince that embodies the sin of Lust. The story was a little hard to get into right away because of a the overload of characters and the author trying to explain the background of the story, while also trying to simultaneously lay out the unfolding story between Chastity and her sisters, and the Fae courts attempting to thwart the other court in their efforts to gain the attention and favor of the Lennox virtue sisters. 

I thought it was an interesting twist that the author made Chastity's character not fully chaste, in the sense that she almost was warring with herself -- she had the urge to be chaste and embrace that (the woman she is supposed to be), but she also was going through a sexual awakening (discovering her sensual side and not so chaste tendencies (especially her thoughts for/involving Thane)).

I enjoyed Thane's character - especially his wit and inner turmoil over Chastity - that he is not just seducing her in order to save his court, but also his realization that he was falling in love with Chastity. I found Thane to be quite acceptable as the male protagonist in this historical/paranormal-romance, erotica read.

I definitely would like to read the rest of the books in the series and see how each of the Virtue/Sin match stories unfold. I anxiously look forward to the next book in the series.

On My Wishlist Saturday - April 30

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

Other (Other #1)

Karen Kincy (Flux)

Publication Date: 7/1/2010

Genre: YA, paranormal, urban fantasy

Goodreads link

Goodreads Summary:

Gwen Williams has been hiding a strange and fantastic secret: she's a shapeshifter. Although society may tolerate vampires, centaurs, and "Others" like Gwen, there are plenty of folks in her small Washington town who don't care for her kind.
When a new werewolf pack moves into the area, tensions rise—and Others start showing up dead, including someone close to Gwen. Despite the methodical murders, the police are ignoring evidence that suggests a serial killer. In the midst of terrible loss and danger, Gwen—along with a mysterious and sexy guy who happens to be a Japanese fox spirit—risks her life to find the murderer. But Gwen is already the killer's next target . . .

I really enjoyed this book, but I borrowed it from the library, so I still have to acquire my own copy. And I can't wait til Bloodborn (Others #2) comes out! ^_^

Hit List (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #20)

Laurell K Hamilton (Berkley Hardcover)

Publication Date: 6/7/2011

Genre: paranormal, urban fantasy, shifters, vampires, erotica

Goodreads Link

 Goodreads Summary:

Word has leaked to Anita Blake that hit men are headed for St. Louis- and that she, Jean-Claude, and Richard are the targets.

I love this series - unfortunately the last few books have just been OK, so I'm hoping this book will pick up and make up for all of that.

Crossed (Matched #2)

Ally Condie (Dutton Juvenile)

Publication Date: 11/1/2011

Genre: YA, utopia

Goodreads Link

 Goodreads Summary:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

I loved Matched and am greatly looking forward to see how the rest of the story plays out between Cassia, Xander and Ky.

 What's on your wishlist?

Saturday Situation – April 30

 

Happy Saturday everyone! It's time for a new Saturday Situation, hosted by Candace at Candace's Book Blog and Lori at Pure Imagination.

Here are this week's reviews:

Bumped & Demon’s Fall 

Demon's Fall by Karalynn Lee -- Review (**18+over material)

 

Demon's Fall

by Karalynn Lee

Publication Date: 10/25/10

Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley & Carina Press for the electronic ARC.

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

 

When Kenan, an incubus, finds a caged angel for sale in the Hellsgate marketplace, he sees her as a challenge. Certain that his skills in seduction will work as well on a heavenly creature as they do on mortal women, he buys Jahel, intent on having her soul as a novelty in his collection.

Knowing he must gain Jahel's trust if she is to come to his bed willingly, Kenan treats her more as his guest than as his slave. When she reveals what brought her to the mouth of Hell in the first place-retrieving the soul of a young girl she was guarding-he even offers to help her complete her mission.

Though he has promised Jahel freedom, Kenan soon realizes she has captured his heart instead. And as their passion for one another grows, they find themselves caught in a struggle between Heaven and Hell, one that will lead them to the very edge of the apocalypse...

  

Review:

Demon’s Fall is a sweet, almost novella-length paranormal erotica story where Kenan, an incubus, purchases a captured angel, Jahel, with the intent to collect her soul through his incubus powers – sex of course. Kenan collects souls, which once extracted from a person/being, become token coins. With the purchase of Jahel, he sees her angel soul as the ultimate soul that would be in his collection. These initial plans, however, do not go as planned as he becomes more and more enamored with Jahel’s physique, and also after he decides to be honest and truly trying to gain Jahel’s trust by offering to help Jahel with her mission which brought her to Hellsgate in the first place.

I found the angel-demon relationship and dynamic to be an interesting storyline – and I especially was fond of the originality of the setting and some parts of the mythology / Biblical references. The author provided very well written descriptions of the places and different characters and beings encountered in the story. The story’s time period is a bit unclear, but from Kenan’s mentions of his previous conquers and souls collected, it sounds like it could be anywhere from (what I think) the Middle Ages up to early/mid 1700’s. Though when this story takes place does not really have much, if any, significance to the story.

I really did enjoy reading this story. Though I thought it was going to have more elements of erotica in it, the scenes and elements that are found in the story are well written and fun and exhilarating to read. Though this book is put under the “erotica” genre, it pretty much only went as far as soft-core erotica, so for those that are looking for steamy sex scenes between angels and demons in every other page, this would not be a story for you. I’m a sucker for the forbidden love element, so the story delivered with Kenan and Jahel falling for each other. The ending was especially adorable, and a happy ending is always a plus.

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday: April 27 Edition

Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3)
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publication Date: August 16, 2011
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):


Luis Fuentes is a good boy who doesn't live with the angst that his big brothers, Alex and Carlos, have always lived with. Luis is smart, funny, and has big dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when he falls for the wrong girl, Luis enters a dark world he's never known, and just when he thinks he's got life all figured out, learns some disturbing news about his family that destroys his positive outlook on life. Will that Fuentes bad boy streak come out with a vengeance and lure Luis to live on the edge like his new girlfriend and his own father?
Continuing all the steamy romance of the first two books, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Simone Elkeles gives fans one more satisfying taste of the irresistible Fuentes boys.

 I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, and am eagerly awaiting this third book. Though, seriously, it's really not for "young readers", but rather older young adults because of the sexual/explicit content matter. :)

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Ace Books


Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

"With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . . "

 MORE ERIC! Need I say more? I am totally psyched for the newest book to come out. I have been a fan since before TrueBlood and even before the series itself got popular. I got into them when Ms. Harris was just releasing book #5 (Dead as a Doornail). I've had the great pleasure of meeting her and getting my 1-7 books signed by her at my local Borders, and each one has its own unique little message. Even more awesome:: Charlaine is coming to a neighboring town and will be at an Anderson's Bookshop event on May 5th - where, for a small fee, I get a copy of the new book, get it signed and get to see her/hang out with her again. I hope there will be a Q&A part. If so, is there any questions anyone is dying to ask, that I could bring with me and try to ask your question?  

Totally excited! *gleeeeeeee*


"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine. Be sure to head over to her blog and check out what other books our fellow book lovers are waiting for this week!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Mean Girls in Books

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Mean Girls!!

These are not listed in any significant order (or degree of meanness) --  just listing what books come to mind.

1. Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter: Underneath all that pink, tea cozies and portraits of kittens is a being who loves to embrace "It's good to be evil and dole out punishments." When Hermione and Harry lead her to the woods to get .... rid of her (I'm not going to say exactly what happens for those of you who have not yet read it), I just wish Harry had brought along one of those evil quills and force her to use it on herself. 

2. Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge from James and the Giant Peach: Telling your nephew the thing that killed your parents is out there and coming to get you. Giving James less than scraps to live off of. Locking James up in his rickety "room"- if I remember correctly was an attic? These B***s seriously need a smack down and then some.

3. Debbie Pelt from the Sookie Stackhouse Series/Southern Vampires series: She really was quite an animal (ha). But she got what she deserved in the end. I still find it extremely hard to believe Alcide actually was in love with her and thought that she wasn't that bad of a person. *sigh* Men...

4. Cecily from Lauren DeStephano's Wither (Chemical Garden #1): She acted like such a little prissy b** and so looking forward to sex, reading up on the Kama Sutra and pleasing her husband....she is just 13! That's all I'm going to say about her without talking about the rest of the book.

5. Melisande Shahrizai from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series: Though she pays well as a patron for Phedre, I was not a fan of her using "special" whips on Phedre, nor creating such havoc and trouble for Phedre and Jocelin.

6. Dorothea and Heketah SaDiablo from Anne Bishop's Black Jewel Trilogy: The evil, dark witches of the land intent on taking over Hell, the main female character (Janelle) and especially the Sadist.

7. Mrs. Coulter from His Dark Materials series: Way to be a mom and express some love.

8. War from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series: Yes, yes I guess she does have to be a bit of a mean B** being called War and all - doesn't mean I hate her and feels she needs a smack down by the good guys.

9. President Coin from Mockingjay: Who all elected her as president again? She totally does not represent what the revolution stands for. Oh and I believe soooooo many people would not have died untimely deaths if it wasn't for her "leadership."

10. Caroline Bingley from Pride and Prejudice: She totally epitomizes snotty B*** to the extreme. 

What female characters do you think belong on this list?

Teaser Tuesday (April 26)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser:
         "Paulie looked thoughtful. 'Well don't use Elmer's glue,' he 
              warned. 'It sure didn't work on the Blackberry.'" 

                             ~"Bleeding Violet" 
                                  by Dia Reeves
 

Bumped (Bumped #1) by Megan McCafferty - Review

Bumped 

by Megan McCafferty

Publication Date: 04/26/11

Rating: 1 / 5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley, HaperCollins, and Balzer + Bray for the electronic ARC.

Synopsis (courtesy of Goodreads):

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.  

Review: 

I was excited to read this book, since the synopsis looked good and all the hype over it. I was sadly disappointed with Bumped when I did get to read an advanced galley.

While this dystopia is an interesting concept, I felt it fell short of bringing the "so what?" to the storyline. It seems that within the last/current/to-come months, there have been many fertility-crazed dystopian YA's that have come out (XVI, Wither - to name a few). Sadly, I felt Bumped did not bring very much to the table, in terms of having engaging characters (I will say that Zen and Melody were decent characters), a decent plot and being well written.

Within the first few pages of the book, I knew I was not a fan of the writing style - especially with all the made-up-for-the-book slang. I did not think that using "bumped" instead of referring to sex, pregnancy, and all the other normal terms, was an engaging or cutting edge/ futuristic way of talking about sex, pregnancy and breeding teens based on their genes. I actually found it rather annoying by about page 50 or so. 

I found the writing style to be choppy; specifically, when the author is switching back and forth and back and forth from Melody's perspective to Harmony's perspective. There were numerous times I had to go back to the beginning of a chapter to figure out who was narrating such and such part. And the narrative seemed to be quite rushed, so much that after I was done reading it, I was thinking to myself, there really wasn't very much happening in the book at all

There were also many lingering, pretty big questions that the author never addressed; ie, explaining the virus that causes humans to lose fertility by the age of 18, why the age of 18 specifically, how Goodside was developed/ the history or at least some background on its origins and separation from the rest of the world that became and is bumped obsessed, what happened to in-vitro fertilization and sperm/egg banks?

So, while the premise the author introduces in Bumped is quite interesting and has potential, it missed its mark in creating an enjoyable satirical dystopian story. 

 

Top 5 Sundays - April 24

First off,  Happy Easter to those who celebrate. I <3s cute lil' bunnies ^^

Hosted by Larissa from Larissa's Bookish Life

The theme for today is:

Favorite Dystopian Worlds!

(I have to say this is an awesome theme, since there are so many dystopian books coming out recently, and a lot of them quite interesting and fun reads)

My Top 5 (in no particular order):

The Giver

 


The Hunger Games Trilogy

Matched

Inside Out

Brave New World

WWW Wednesdays - April 20

 WWW Wednesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

 My answers:

What are you currently reading? :     I am currently reading Secrets of the Demon by Diana Rowland. As of last night, I am 46% done (so says my kindle ^^).

 What did you recently finish reading?:   I recently finished reading City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. While I enjoyed revisiting old, fave characters from the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series, I did not enjoy this one anywhere near as much as I did the previous 3 books. It was a bit of a downer.

What do you think you’ll read next? :     I think I'm going to finish reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (I've been reading that on and off for a few weeks now), and either during that time or afterwards, I'm going to finish reading Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves, because I kind of started it a few months back, and I'd really like to get it off my ever-growing-crowded bookshelves. :P