Kiss, Crush, Collide, by Christina Meredith

Leah is just like her sisters.  The youngest of three, she often feels like her life is predetermined, and she sees in future in the paths of her sisters.  She feels as if she has no control of that path, until she meets a boy who will rock her world.  Will she be strong enough to be her own person, despite what it may cost her?

This is kind of like a Harlequin romance for teens.  The story is not awful, but also not exceptional.  The characters of not developed to a deep, meaningful level, just enough to keep the story moving at a decent pace.  This is a standard young adult type book; in terms of the writing it is quite appropriate for young adults, but not enough story or drama to really pull in an adult reader.

I really did like Leah's character, and felt she was pretty relatable.  I think many young female readers will connect to her yearning to be her own person; personal identity is a real struggle for so many young adults.  However, the Porter character is so much of a mystery to me.  I mean, we do not even know his real name for half the book, he barely speaks.  I just do not "get" him I guess.

All in all, this book was just O.K.  Nothing earth shattering, and not likely to draw many adult readers.

I received this book as part of the Amazon Vine program.

The Spellbinder, by John Booth

It's 1860 England, and magical ability is a matter of national defense.  A special military force is comprised of people with various levels of magical ability, but Britain's most prized possessions are the Class A Spellbinders, the most skilled soldier.  Which is why a teenage Laura is shocked to learn that she, in fact, is a Class A Spellbinder, and will be sent to a school in a top secret location, both for her own protection and to receive training.  She is accompanied by her new friend, Tom, a skillful Healer.  It becomes apparent upon their arrival at the school that all is not as it seems, and they are in grave danger.

Magic.  Steampunk.  British military.  Espionage.  Teenage hormones.  What a combination.  I loved every minute of it.  John Booth once again creates a vivid storyworld with his revision of the Victorian British Empire as it might have been with the help of magic.  I am beyond impressed with the rich, detailed backstory Booth weaves in order to set the story up, particularly because he does so in a way that does not detract from the plot.  This is the first book in a new series, and I am so excited to see where the author goes with this series.

I found the characters to be just as vivid, and felt, quite quickly, as if I actually knew them.  It was thrilling to me to see such strong female characters written by a male author.  I liked seeing the surprising twists that occurred with some of the characters throughout the book, and it made me excited for the possibilities in the later installments in the series.

There are obvious similarities between this book and the Harry Potter series (especially the later Potter books), but there is a lot of unique content to the book as well.  I think fans of steampunk and fantasy fiction will appreciate the series.  While some themes are mature and adult, it seems no cheekier than many other young adult books I have read, and would be appropriate for most teen readers.


I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

Never Eighteen, by Megan Bostic

Austin is a 17 year old boy; he will never be 18.  He knows this because he is battling a terminal illness.  As Austin comes to terms with his fate, he is determined to make a difference in the lives of those around him.  He decides to take time out to right some wrongs, accomplish some goals, and make sure those who love him know he loved them back.

Grab your tissues, because you are going to need them.  Perhaps it was the fatalistic beauty, or perhaps having a 17 year old nephew named Austin made this hit too close to home.  Whichever it was, this book was like a knife directly into my heart.  As I neared the end, I literally wept in my bed.  This book is so incredibly touching.

I absolutely loved Austin's character, and all the things he stood for.  Here is an incredibly brave, and beautifully flawed young man on a journey.  I really enjoyed learning about Austin through the visits he made and the goals he accomplished.  I felt like he was written in a very realistic manner.  I really enjoyed watching Austin complete his bucket list of sorts, and I found him to be very endearing.  While we meet many lesser characters through Austin's activities, I never felt overwhelmed with characters or storyline.  In the end, this is Austin's story.

I thought that this book handles some really tough topics adeptly.  Terminal illness, rape, divorce, teen death, drug addiction, teen sexuality... many authors will not touch one of these topics, let alone take them all on.  I feel like because this book did not shy away from the difficult topics, it will really resonate with teen readers.  These issues are real, and teens face them every day.

I was really moved by this book.  The writing is simple and straightforward, yet the story and characters are touching and poignant.  A really powerful read about making the most of the life you are given, this book will appeal to both teen and adult readers.

I received a review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.

Splattered Blood, by Michael A. Draper

Johnny worked in security for a professional basketball team.  When he turns up dead, it looks like a suicide.  His widow Roseanne, her brother Graham, and her friend Randy, push the police to take a second look, and it turns out to be murder.  The trio is dissatisfied with the lack of progress on the case, so they take matters into their own hands.  Before they know it, they are deep into the world of drugs, gangs, and Russian mafia.  But will they be able to catch the killer?

This book has a cinematic quality to it.  There are serious action sequences quite early in the book.  The title is completely appropriate, since less than a third of the way into the book I lost count of the bodies that had piled up.  There is a lot of violence in this book, but it is not overly graphic or gratuitous.  The violence serves the purpose to further the storyline.  Nothing happens in this book without a purpose.

The character development is typical to a thriller murder mystery.  We do not get overly close to the characters, except maybe for Randy.  We do get a bit of a personal look into Randy's psyche.  But all the characters are developed thoroughly within the boundaries of the story.  In a story like this, we do not need to get to close to the characters, we need to focus on the action as apposed to the relationships among the characters.

Unfortunately, I do not know enough about the world of gangs and drugs to speak to the novel in terms of realism.  From my point of view, the book seemed jam packed with a lot of intensity and action.  The reader is pushed further and further into the book to learn who is behind all this death.  I think fans of thrillers and murder mysteries will enjoy this book.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author.

Chop Chop Winners

Photo Source

Congrats to the winners of the Chop Chop Giveaway:

Sam Crossley

Bethie

Jessica Coil

Mesha

Melissa

Sarah

Kathi

A couple of the winners told me already started (and in some cases finished!) reading the book, and are loving it!

Thanks for entering!

Blank Slate Kate, by Heather Wardell

Kate wakes up with her memory ending when she is 17, without a clue what is going on, and in a stranger's apartment.  It becomes clear that Kate is not actually 17, but is in fact suffering memory loss.  The stranger quickly becomes a friend, as he tries to help her figure out who she is.  Just when it seems their friendship may become more, they receive word that Kate is actually Donna, and her husband has tracked her down.  Now Kate/Donna must try to unravel the rest of the mystery and figure out where she goes from here.

Having read quite a few books by this author, I felt like this book took on a very different feel from her previous work.  Character development was handled a bit differently, and I would think this was purposeful in order to keep with the feeling of self discovery.  How can Kate's character be fully developed when she herself has no clue who she is?  We learn snippits of information about her, because that is all she is learning as well.  In some ways, this is confusing and frustrating, but really, that is what draws us to Kate as a character; we are feeling the same confusion she is.

I actually quite liked the slightly stormy storyline.  I liked watching Kate wrestle with her identity as Donna.  I was quite surprised with the choices Kate made in terms of her romantic attachment, I really did not think it was going to go that way.  All in all, a solid story, and most fans of Wardell, or chick lit in general, will like the book.  I think they key to really enjoying the book is understanding the mental state of the main character, and the fact that the story is unfolding from her point of view.  Push through the confusion, the resolution is worth it.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author as part of a blog tour.  See full tour info here.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Shelby family owns a plantation in Kentucky, and within their plantation system, they own slaves.  Yet these slaves see the Shelby's as loving masters.  Having financial difficulties causes Mr. Shelby to sell two of his slaves, Tom, known as Uncle Tom by many, and young Harry, son of Eliza, a house slave.  When Eliza hears of the plan, she takes Harry and escapes, in the hopes of making it to Canada.  She is pursued by the slave trader who purchased her; eventually she is reunited with her husband and the family makes their way to freedom.  Meanwhile, Tom is taken away and sold to the St. Clare family.  The St. Clares are good to him, particularly the young daughter, Eva.  After a series of family tragedies, Tom is sold by Mrs. St. Clare, and becomes the property of Simon Legree, a heartless and cruel master.

This book is a difficult read, for various reasons.  Written and published in the 1850's, the books subject matter and language both seem so foreign to me.  The main theme of the book is the evils of slavery, and the potential redemption of the sin of slavery through Christianity.  The book is credited with bring the issue of slavery into the national political spotlight.  Part of the evil of slavery, as shown in this book, is the concept of ownership over another human being.  The idea that one man can own another, and that the Master-slave relationship trumps all others.  I cannot even fathom the idea of ones child or spouse not actually being their own, but instead being merely the property of the master.  Women lose their children, men lose their wives, and they are expected to just accept it, because they are slaves.  

The masters portrayed in the book are varied; some treat the slaves well and eventually free them, while others beat their slaves mercilessly.  It makes the subject matter complex, in that some slaves do not appear dissatisfied with their bonds.  Similarly, one of the minor characters in the book, Aunt Ophelia, is an abolitionist, yet she appears to me as one of the most racist characters in the book.  While she finds slavery to be evil, she also finds the black race to be distasteful.  I find the complexity of this character, along with the complexity of the good Master-willing slave relationship, to be compelling, and find that it adds significant depth to the story.

The language, I will admit, is a bit difficult.  Some of the slave dialect was quite difficult for me to decipher, yet I found it to seem more real that if the slaves had spoken grammatically perfect English.  The realistic dialog helped the characters come to life.  The language and social morals are so significantly different from our own modern ones that I can see how this book might be intimidating or off putting to many readers, but I urge them to stay with it, and try to find the deeper message in the story.

While this book is certainly not without its flaws, I have to respect it, and recommend it, if for no other reason that the important role it played in American history.  We may not be proud of this portion of our history, but we have to acknowledge it in order to grow as a nation.

This book is from my personal library.