Category Archives: 2 Flames

BAD TASTE IN BOYS
Author: Carrie Harris
Source: Personal Purchase

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (July 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385739680
ISBN-13: 978-0385739689

Someone’s been a very bad zombie.

She’s got to find an antidote–before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town. . . and stay hormonally human.

I was first intrigued by this book because of the cover.  I thought it was creepy and eerie with the frost covered lips.  I also have been trying to read more books about zombies lately since they seem to be the new rage in the book genre.  Unfortunately, this book fell flat as a dead zombie for me.


Within the first chapter of this book, I could already tell that it was not going to be a book I would enjoy.  The character is suppose to be in high school, yet her actions and personality of her friends made me feel like I was reading a book focused more on the younger teens.  The writing, in my opinion, needing much more work to be considered a young adult genre book.  I would classify this one to be more middle grade in writing style.  I wasn’t a fan of the main character, Kate, who was suppose to be smart but was naive most of the time.  Now don’t get me wrong!  I didn’t hate the book, but it is not a favorite of mine.


This is more of a fun and light read that you could easily finish in a day.  I took it as a mindless read that you don’t have to put much thought into the plot as you read it.  You just go with the flow and try to enjoy the story line that the author created. 

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS

THE EMERALD TALISMAN
Author: Brenda Pandos
Source: Personal Purchase

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Obsidian Mountain Publishing (March 24, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 057805339X
ISBN-13: 978-0578053394

To be normal, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would shed her empathic gift in a second. Life has been difficult since her mother’s mysterious disappearance ten years earlier – an event she witnessed, but can’t remember. Julia’s situation becomes more complicated after a near death experience from a blood thirsty stalker. As high school students go missing it is clear there is a connection to her own experience–past and present. Someone has to stop the madness and a chance encounter with a creepy psychic foretells that only Julia is the key to stopping the madness, but it may require the life of the one she loves.

I had been seeing this book all over the internet, but it took me forever to finally get it and read it.  I don’t know why I was so hesitant on reading it, but I think it might have been because of the mixed reviews.  So I finally caved and picked up my copy of The Emerald Talisman and dove into the world the author created.


While I liked the basic story plot, I felt the story lacked things to make it great.  At times the writing was choppy and stalled.  I kept waiting for it to pick up pace only to have it do it but only for a few pages.  I also felt that the instant attraction to Nicholas that Julia feels was overdone.  She acted as though she is in love with this boy after just an hour or so of meeting him.  At times, it felt like she was obsessed and almost on the verge of stalker with her feelings towards him.  I wasn’t a big fan of Nicholas in this book either.  At one moment he is nice and sincere, then he disappears only to reappear rather rudely.  It isn’t until almost the last third of the book that he is even a prominent and engaging character.  


I felt the author has a great base for a story and just needs to get some things reworked for the books that will follow.  With a little tweaking of the writing and stabilization of the character personalities, this series could be even better. 

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS

FROM WILLA, WITH LOVE
Author: Coleen Murtagh Paratore
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (July 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545094054
ISBN-13: 978-0545094054

SUMMARY:

It’s a surprising, sparkling summer for Willa!

It’s August on Cape Cod and Willa has a lot to look forward to. Soon, JFK will return home from baseball camp, and Willa has an idea for an exciting new project that will challenge her to dream big! But life throws Willa some unexpected twists and turns: Ruby has bad news, a beloved friend leaves, a dear friend returns, her brother Will has something he doesn’t want to talk about, and of course, there’s a wedding to plan! There’s also a cute boy who likes Willa . . . a lot, and Willa thinks she might like him too. It’s a summer full of romance and surprises!

MY THOUGHTS:

This was a really hard book to review for me.  While I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t thrill in it either.  I loved the reading concept and the quotes at the beginning of each chapter.  I liked how the author had a character who seemed to have a brain in her head, though at times I wanted her to use it more.  I liked the family feel to the book as well.

What didn’t work for me was how young the book felt.  I see this book geared more for the younger teens and the older teens becoming bored with it before the ending arrives.   It was cutesy and nice, but nothing dramatic enough to really talk about.  I don’t know if this is the norm for this authors writing, but it moved at a slow pace and drag in quite a few places.  Having never read any of her previous books, maybe I am missing key factors in the story, but it did feel like it could be read as a stand alone.

If you are a fan of the series, then by all means continue on with Willa’s adventures.  I am going to leave this series though for the younger teens.

MY RATING:

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS

THE LUCKY KIND
Author: Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Source: Personal Purchase

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 10, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375867856
ISBN-13: 978-0375867859

SUMMARY:

High school junior Nick Brandt is intent on getting a girlfriend, and Eden Reiss is the one that he wants. He has exactly four semesters to get the girl, but when the phone rings on an otherwise ordinary Tuesday night, life for Nick and his parents will never be the same. What had been a seemingly idyllic home life has become something else entirely. But with this shake-up comes a newfound confidence for Nick; he’s become a bolder version of himself, no longer afraid to question his parents, and no longer afraid to talk to Eden.

MY THOUGHTS:

I wasn’t sure what to think going into this book.  I had heard mixed reviews on it, but I still didn’t know much about it.  It wasn’t a greatly hyped up book, which I think is what caught my attention when I saw it.  I thought that if there isn’t much talk about the book, then maybe I could enjoy it without getting my hopes to high.
It focus’ on adoption and the turmoil the secrets of adoption can cause in a family.  It also touches on the subject of how a boy could finally get the nerve to talk to a girl he has been crushing on and how it might have been the family circumstance’s that finally give him the push he needed to do it. 


While the writing was just okay, and the characters weren’t as great as I was hoping, it was a fairly quick read.  I did enjoy how it is from a boys perspective instead of a female for a change.  Nick was a character that I though was okay, but at times I thought he could have been much more.  His mind kind of wandered too much for me.  He would be focused on Eden and then he would switch gears and think about Sam.  He seemed to be pushy for answers as well when speaking with his Father.  I can understand the curiosity of adoption and the history behind what happened, but I felt that he should have just asked his Father to explain things all in one conversation.  I didn’t like how he would just change subjects at whim and throw a question out there at his Father.  I also would have liked to have seen more of his Mother involved in the discussions and her feelings on the history.


The book had a believable plot, but the ending was lacking in closure as well.  It is left open ended in a way for you to come to your own conclusions for the story.  Personally, I like my books to have closure at the end.  If I spend my time reading a book, I want to know that the author had an ending in mind that would finish it up.  When the final chapter is left like that, I get the feeling that the author didn’t feel like completing the story and just gave up.


Overall if you are a big fan of touchy subjects that involve the family, then give it a try.  Personally, it is not one I would read again in the future. 


MY RATING:

WICKEDLY CHARMING
Author: Kristine Grayson
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (May 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402248482
ISBN-13: 978-1402248481

SUMMARY:

Cinderella’s Prince Charming is divorced and at a dead-end in his career, so he opens a bookstore and travels the land ordering books and discovering new authors. Still handsome and still charming, he has given up on women, royalty, and anything that smacks of a future.

Mellie is sick and tired of being called the Evil Stepmother. She did her best by her stepdaughter Snow White, but the girl resented her to no end and made all kinds of false accusations.

Neither of them believes in happily ever after anymore, but both of them believe in happily for the moment…

MY THOUGHTS:

I am a huge fan of fairy tale remakes and was excited to jump into the story of Prince Charming and The Evil Stepmother.  Who would think that Cinderella would get rid of that handsome Prince and that The Evil Stepmother actually had a decent bone in her old body?

If you are looking for some sexy and steamy scenes, then look elsewhere.  There isn’t much in the steamy department.  While I enjoyed the attempt of creating a new fairy tale long after the original ended, I wasn’t a huge fan of the book.  It had such promise and could have been so much more, but it my opinion this book was just okay.  It was an easy read with not much to absorb and the Prince was not what I was expecting as a Prince.  The pace was slow in many parts of the book, making this a much longer read that it should have been.  I actually struggled to finish this one where as it should have taken me no time at all.

If you are looking for a different HEA for your favorite fairy tales, then give this book a chance.  It could have been that it wasn’t my cup of tea since I am a huge Cinderella and Snow White fan.

MY RATING:

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS