Category Archives: 1 Flame

ZOMBIE BLONDES
Author: Brian James
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Square Fish; First Edition edition (May 12, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312573758
ISBN-13: 978-0312573751

From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.

     A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school.

     The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.

     But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: If she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town…

I really wanted to like this book.  I loved the Barbie-like cover and honestly, that is what interested me in it.  Add on the appeal of zombies and I was ready to sit down and enjoy an action packed book!  However, once I started reading it, I knew this was not going to be one of the better zombie books on the market right now.


Hannah was annoying and shallow.  All she cared about was fitting in and she didn’t have much self esteem in my opinion.  I know every teenage girl wants to fit in with the popular crowd, especially if you are the new girl.  Yet, what made me dislike Hannah so much was the snotty attitude that she had towards the kids that tried to be her friend and were not a part of the popular crowd.  Heck, if I was new to school and worried about having friends, I would take what I could get!


Lukas was quirky and fun even if Hannah did think he had a few screws loose.  He tried to warn her about the people in town, but she refused to listen.  I felt bad for Lukas because no matter how hard he tried and no matter how mean Hannah was to him, he kept coming back for more.  At times I wanted him to just walk away from Hannah and stay away. 


The first few chapters have an air of mystery to them making the reader wonder what Hannah’s dad did that was so bad that he no longer wants to be a cop like he originally was.  While it was interesting at first, the small hints about it in every chapter started to get on my nerves because it is so repetitive with no reveal. I also expected some Zombie action in this book, and their wasn’t much Zombie thrill until the last few chapters of the book.  To me that was a complete let down. 


If you are looking for a zombie book to capture your interest, then look elsewhere. 


MY RATING:

 
I did not like this book at all! 1 STAR

VELVET HAVEN
The Immortals of Annwyn: Book One
Author: Sophie Renwick
Source: Personal Purchase

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade (March 2, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451229185
ISBN-13: 978-0451229182

Hidden from mortals for eternity, Annwyn, the Otherworld, is home to shapeshifters, wraiths and dragons. On the border with the mortal realm stands a nightclub called Velvet Haven. The shapeshifter king of Sidhe, Bran, comes there searching for his brother, Carden, who’s ensnared in a centuries-old curse. He looks to Mairi, a mortal woman with an unusual aura, for help. He usually just uses humans for sexual pleasure in order to restore his magic energy, but Mairi’s lush curves and teasing caresses inflame him like no Sidhe ever has. He has no idea that the woman he’s falling for holds the key to his destruction-or his salvation.

Where do I begin with this review?  Let’s start with the cover, because that seemed to be about the only thing I really enjoyed about this book.  Hubba-Hubba! Look at that man on the cover!  Tattoo’s, long hair, drool worthy ab’s and tight leather pants!  Eye candy that you can drool over for hours!  I loved the blue and black misted background as well.


Unfortunately, that is where my thrill of excitement for this book ends.  The author created so many different characters in this book that I was left with a feeling of dizziness! The main character of Bran was sexy, but tortured as most hero’s are in books.  He is cursed and he must pimp his body out to please women in order to receive his magical gifts when needed.  Please! What man wouldn’t want this curse? Every man would jump on the chance to get to have sex as much as possible.  So, I will move past this point in the book.


We have Mairi as the heroine and she wasn’t much at that.  She is suppose to be a bookworm, but she also is suppose to be mated with Bran according to fate.  The author had Mairi coming across as wimpy and boring.  I am a bookworm, but I sure as heck have a lot more excitement to offer than Mairi! I couldn’t even stand to read about her character being with Bran as it felt to forced.


I actually had to force myself to finish this book and I have no desire to read the rest in this series. Would I ever read another book by this author? The answer is yes, but it would have to really knock my socks off in reviews to get me interested.  I understand that this is the first book in a series, and maybe the author was trying to set up the scenes with all of the characters, but to me it was overload that could have been better paced with more books.  


MY RATING:

VENEMOUS
Author: Christopher Krovatin
Source: Library Loan

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum;
                  1 edition (September 2, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781416924876
ISBN-13: 978-1416924876

SUMMARY:

Locke Vinetti is a high school junior, disenchanted and more than a little hostile. In fact, for years he’s had a lousy social life because of a problem he has with his anger–a force he calls “the venom.” Ever since he was eight years old and bit off a piece of a classmate’s nose, he’s been something of a loner. But all that is about to change when he goes out with his one friend, Randall, to meet some of Randall’s crew hanging out at Riverside Park. Because in addition to meeting his kindred spirit, Casey–who has his own problems with his own kind of venom–Locke meets the spikey blue fairy-haircut Goth girl of his dreams. And if their relationship is going to work, he knows he has to rid himself of the venom once and for all. Interspersed with comic book adventures of the fantasy anti-hero alter-ego Locke has invented for himself, VENOMOUS is a fast-paced, funny, and ferocious read about one teenage boy’s struggle with his inner demons.

MY THOUGHTS:

First of all let me say one thing about this book–this is definitely a book for the older teens!  I almost couldn’t believe that this book would even be considered a young adult book.  It touches on subjects that could possibly be in a young adult book, but the whole context and style of writing would lead you to believe that it is better suited for the adult genre.  There is a huge amount of cursing within the pages, subjects involving extreme violence, gay relationships, mood disorders, and overall anger.  All of this I could have handled fine, but the way it was written was not what I was expecting.


It starts out okay and actually holds your interest for the first chapter or so.  Then the story seems to fall apart and starts to get really out there. It also has a little comic book within the story as well including comic illustrations between each chapter.  Honestly, I was not a fan of the comic book sections of the book.  To me they gave no real substance to the book.  It was more like filler pages just to make you feel like the book was longer.  I never really bought the whole “Venom” classification that Locke used. Everyone has a dark side and anger issues, we just all have deal with it in different ways.  We learn to control our moments of anger, but Locke calls it Venom and that was suppose to give him justification for biting someone’s nose off.  I don’t think so.


I can see this book being better suited for older male teens than for the women.  It has the appeal that the male’s would like better especially with the comic book feel inside of it.  However, I would not recommend this book for the younger teens.  It may be too dark for the younger ones to handle.


MY RATING:

ASCENSION
A Dark Breed Novel
Author: Sable Grace
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (April 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061964409
ISBN-13: 978-0061964404

SUMMARY:

The gates of hell have opened, and one woman will stand in the crossfire as the Dark Breed—vampyre, demons, shape shifters—and mankind fight their last battle for survival. 

Kyana is half Vampyre, half Lychen . . . and the last of her kind. Determined, dangerous, and damned, she has no love for the mortals who have imprisoned and misused her. But when the Order of Ancients entrusts her with a mission—to find the key that will send the Dark Breed back into Hell for eternity—Kyana has no choice but to accept. 

She is furious to learn her assignment comes with an escort . . . Ryker, a demigod and fierce warrior who long ago found a way under her skin and stayed there. In a shaky alliance, they discover an ancient cult with dangerous motive and a god who seeks to destroy all others. And as Kyana begins to feel the heat that threatens to bind her to Ryker, she knows she has to resist. For it could only mean the undoing of them both . 

MY THOUGHTS:


In Ascension, we get the mixture of Urban Fantasy, Paranormal and Greek Gods all rolled into one book!  In the debut novel by Sable Grace,  action is brought with different types of creatures and Gods mixed together.  


Unfortunately, I had a hard time enjoying this book.  With an overdose of paranormal creatures and too much story to be told, I couldn’t find a foothold on the book to base any feelings for the characters on.  If there wouldn’t have been so much going on with so many different creatures, I might have felt more connected to the main characters.  By the time the book started picking up and the action progressed, I had lost interest in the characters and the plot that was suppose to be interesting.  


Kyana is a kick ass heroine and can fight with the best of them, but she never really captured me in the feelings department. Ryker had more of an emotional impact than Kyana.  Being the son of Ares, he was constantly struggling with being a better soldier and being better emotionally.  It created a great angst for him, but again, I still didn’t feel a connection with him.


Overall I didn’t enjoy this book that much.  As a debut book, I can understand the author trying to set up the world in the first book.  Although the author goes to great extremes in this, it dragged the book down and left the reader with too much in their heads to absorb and not enough to connect with the characters.  I will give the next book in the series a try though since the setting is now set up for this world.  Maybe in the next book it won’t be as bad since we already know the basis for the world in this story.  Maybe in the next book I can finally find that connection with main characters that I love to have!


MY RATING:

THE CLONE CODES
Author: Patricia McKissack
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press; Reprint edition (January 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780439929844
ISBN-13: 978-0439929844

SUMMARY:

In the year 2170 an underground abolitionist movement fights for the freedom of cyborgs and clones, who are treated no better than slaves.

The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna’s entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement.


As family secrets are revealed, Leanna must face startling truths about self-identity and freedom. Through time travel, advanced technologies, and artificial intelligence, this exhilarating adventure asks what it means to be human and explores the sacrifices an entire society will make to find out. 

MY THOUGHTS:

This book had so much potential in being better.  I think one of the main reasons it didn’t do better was the fact that it was too short for the story the author was trying to create.

In the year 2170, cyborgs and clones exist.  In the new world, they are treated like slaves and have little rights in things.  This alone was interesting to me and I was excited to read about the future world of fantasy involving clones and cyborgs.  Yet, as I was reading the book, the author never grabbed my attention with the characters.  I couldn’t connect with them enough to enjoy them.  The writing was choppy in places and I felt like it couldn’t decide where the story was headed. The pacing was off in some parts of the book as well.  At first it would be slow and not very interesting and then we would have action and excitement that would only last a few moments.  It didn’t balance well at all.

I understand this book is geared for the younger teens, so maybe it just wasn’t calling to me like it would to them.  If you have a younger teen, then they might like it better than the older teens and adults.

MY RATING:

 
I did not like this book at all! 1 STAR