The Darkest Night - Gena Showalter

Note: The Lords of the Underworld series is an adult book series. It contains elements of violence, language, gore, sex, and whathaveyou that YA readers may or may not be comfortable with. Please keep this in mind, should you decide to read this review and/or the books.

Romance novels are my dirty little secret, as you may or may not know. That being said, I recently got the urge to read Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series, a series from which I vaguely remember reading one of the books when I was younger, but can't remember much about. Being as Showalter is a favorite author of mine, when I can get a hold of her books--and a really nice person, for that matter, as I met her at BEA this year--I was pretty hyped to start. This review of the first book in the series, The Darkest Night, begins a series of reviews I will be posting as I do a full series read through.

The Darkest Night is the first book in the Lords of the Underworld, and it introduced the world of the series. In this world, Pandora was not only a real person, but she was a female guard of the gods chosen from a number of other guards to guard a box that contained a multitude of demons. Pandora, however, was not the one to open the box. Rather, her fellow guards became enraged with jealousy that Pandora, a woman, had been selected instead of them to guard the box. They released the demons, intending to show the gods that they had been wrong in choosing Pandora. Instead, however, the gods took these guards who had betrayed the cause and bound them to the demons that escaped, so that each being was mix of immortal guard and demon.

In The Darkest Night, Maddox is the guard who is bound to the demon of Violence. Having been taken over by his demon after they were bound together, Maddox was the one who killed Pandora after the demon release and because of this has been cursed by the gods to be killed in the same manner she was, every night, to spend the night in hell, and to be reborn every morning. Ashlyn is a woman seeking the help of the 'angels' that she's heard the town people talking about. She is gifted, or perhaps cursed, with the ability to hear every conversation that has ever taken place where ever she stands. However, upon meeting Maddox, Ashlyn realizes that the voices are quiet so long as she is around him, and she's willing to do anything in her power to keep the voices quiet.

To put it simply, I liked this book. It wasn't exactly what I'd call 'cute', but it was cool and I simply enjoyed it. That's not to say that I omgloveadored this book, because I didn't. It's not exactly the next big thing, but it's definitely something I consider worth reading, if you like paranormal romance. It's a good first book, and as far as being an introduction to a new series, The Darkest Night did its job: it made me want to read the second book in the series.

I love books with mythology heavily influencing the settings and story, and if you're a mythology nut too, you're probably going to like The Darkest Night. If you like adult paranormal romance, you should at least look at The Darkest Night. And if you liked Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series, or any of Showalter's other books, you've probably already read this book. But if you haven't, it's available at most book stores, and I'd definitely suggest you pick it up.

Review Schedule and Updates

When I posted my review of Bloodlines, I received a request to do a read through of the Vampire Academy series. Thanks to my dear friend, Zenita, I have my hands on the series and will be commencing the read through, with reviews posted as I finish each book. I should be starting this soon, as a side project.
I'm currently in the midst of a first read through, this one being the Lord of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter, a favorite author of mine. It's an adult series, not YA, for those of you keeping track, and the first book's review should be posted in a few hours or less.
That being said, I'll still be posting sporadic reviews of other books as netgalley decides if I am worthy or not, as well as tackling the occasional BEA arc that I've still got sitting around.

On a random note, dear readers, if someone could tell me an estimate of how much it would cost to...oh, I don't know, ship Bloodlines across the country, I'd be grateful.

Thanks, and have a great day, guys.

Guantanamo Boy - Anna Perera

First off, let me start by saying that it took me several attempts before spell check even recognized my mangling of the word Guantanamo to fix it. Never actually needed to spell that before. Anyway, got a hold of an ebook copy of this book from the amazing site that is NetGalley. Needless to say, Guantanamo Boy isn't exactly the sort of thing I normally go in for. There's no fairies, vampires, magic, telepathy, or even trashy romance. But when I read what it was about, I honestly couldn't exist. I love getting my daily dose of learning through fiction!

Guantanamo Boy is the story of Khalid, a British born and raised Muslim boy whose religious dedication doesn't go much farther than a prayer on Fridays. Shortly after 9/11, Khalid's grandmother dies and his family goes to Pakistan for the holidays so that his father can see that his aunts are taken care of. After his father vanishes shortly into the stay, Khalid goes hunting for him and ends up being pulled into a demonstration on the streets. Afterwords, when he can't find his father, he goes back to his aunt's home and plays the alpha version of a computer game his cousin, Tariq, designed: Bomber One. It's while he's playing this game that men break into the house and kidnap him, taking him away from his family and putting him through a series of humiliations, tortures, and various prison bases, before Khalid finds himself in Guantanamo itself, where nobody believes he is a innocent 15 year old boy.

Reading the story of Khalid was a strange experience. He's young, school aged, enjoys playing on the computer and playing games. He could be any random kid playing Call of Duty today. That's what makes the fact that he's taken so horrifying. No matter how reasonable Khalid explains who he is and what he's doing, nobody cares. No matter how much proof he gives that he's only 15, that he really is from the UK, that he's innocent, those in charge just keep asking him the same questions. Reading through his eyes, experiencing every humiliation and injustice as he told it, infuriated me. This book managed something that few books seem able too, anymore: it made me, as the reader, feel what the main character did. It made me furious to read how badly Khalid was treated. The writing of Perera is particularly descriptive at times, to the point that even Khalid mentioning the dinner he was served could turn my stomach.

Despite the fact that the writing was enticing and involving, I honestly can't say whether or not I liked this book. I'm not entirely sure if "like" is really the right word to even use. To me, liking a book is enjoying reading it. Liking is reserved for books that make me feel excited, books that make me want to read them over and over again, and I most definitely do not ever think I will touch Guantanamo Boy ever again. This book is informative, and I'm sure it's a very interesting look into the true stories that it's based on, but that being said, I did not exactly 'like' it. For all that I'm sure it's a 'good' book, it's a good book in the same way that I feel To Kill A Mockingbird or The Chosen One are good books: they're good for the first read, but after that they feel dry. You already know what's going to happen, you've seen the peak into the life or event that the books represent, but there isn't much of a reread value.

If you like books about the injustice of humanity, well, you'll probably adore Guantanamo Boy. If you like books that open up windows into strange lifestyles and retell horrifying events, you'll probably like this book. And most importantly, if you want to read a tale about the events following 9/11 from the side least represented, I'd suggest you pick up Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera when it comes out August 2011.

Between - Jessica Warman

Having just finished this book in the past few hours, I can honestly say that my first overall impression is just. . .wow.

Honestly, I didn't want to read this book. It's been sitting in the bottom of my bag for about a week now, and I've been reading the TrueBlood books instead out of sheer procrastination. Well, Southern Vampire Mysteries. Same difference. But I left my Kindle at work last night and couldn't get it until recently, and I can't go that long without reading, so I started Between after all. I'm kind of glad I forgot my Kindle, now.

Between doesn't sound like my type of book, going by the summary on the back. The summary on the back makes this book sound like a typical murder mystery with the main suspect trying to prove her innocence, just with a YA setting. Being as I rarely like murder mysteries, I honestly would not have touched this book, based on that back cover. If I hadn't gotten this ARC from BEA, I probably would never have ended up reading Between at all, because I wouldn't have had a reason to look at it. That being said, Between is not your typical murder mystery, and the main character, Liz, is most assuredly not the suspect. In fact, she's the victim.

Between is the story of Elizabeth Valchar, who, shortly after waking up from the drug and drink induced coma she and her six close friends fell into after her birthday party, finds her own corpse floating bloated and pale in the water outside her father's boat. The only person who can see her is Alex Berg, a boy who died the year before Liz and who seems to hate her from the moment they start talking. After her death, Liz can't remember everything about her life, and instead has to slowly remember, one memory at a time, to figure out how she died and who killed her. But when she isn't remembering her life, Liz is observing those she left behind. Being an invisible spectator in the lives of her loved ones means the process of remembering and learning, though, is a lot harsher than Liz expected.

As I said, I originally didn't want to read Between. The back cover summary doesn't really touch on what the book is about, besides saying that someone dies and Liz has to figure out what happened. But I'm really glad I decided to read it anyway, because it's a lot better than the summary makes it out to be.

Between has one of the types of plots that I always find hard to put down. I couldn't seem to resist reading just a few more pages, another chapter, to find out what happened to Liz, and what would happen next. I loved speculating as I read, guessing at what I thought had happened only to have those speculations completely crushed or come true. The plot constantly twisted and turned, changing the reader's idea of what's going on in the story at the same time Liz's life view is changed by what she learns. I don't usually say this, but Between really is one of those page turning books that I couldn't put down until I'd finished, because I just had to know.

A lot of dark themes are touched upon in this book, though, and that means that I wouldn't suggest Between to younger readers or to anybody who just wants something light and fluffy to read before bed. Jealousy, eating disorders, murder, and cruelty are only a few of the themes that can be found within these pages. However, Between isn't just some tacky cesspool of a book designed to throw any and every bad thing at the main character as possible, like some other books I've read. (*Cough*Precious*Cough*) Between is also a book about love that's true and lasts, forgiveness, and acceptance.

I could probably sit here and think of half a dozen reasons why Between is a good book, but the simple fact is that I just really liked it. I liked the characters and the plot and the twists and just everything. The only thing I didn't like was the summary on the back of the book!

If you like books that represent an idea of the afterlife, you'll probably like this book. If you like darker YA books, this is something you should look into. And if you liked The Lovely Bones, this is definitely a book you should pick up when it comes out August, 2011.

Cinder and Ella - Melissa Lemon

To begin with, I'd like to apologize for a lack of book cover. Having lost internet at home for a few days, I'm writing this from my phone, which doesn't allow for easy formatting. That being said, on to the review.

I got an ebook copy of Cinder and Ella from Netgalley, a site I'd suggest to any current and aspiring book bloggers. As you may know, I have a fascination with any type of twisted or retold fairy tale, so I was excited for this book.

Cinder and Ella tells the story of two sisters of the same names. Cinder is good and sweet and kind, named for her cinder-silver colored hair. Ella is practical, refusing to give in to the whims of their narcisstic elder sister Katrina or their spoiled younger sibling, Beatrice. After their father vanishes, the two become the main caretakers of their home, because their mother never stops spinning to pay for the household expenses. Cinder goes to work in a castle to help pay, which is when Ella realizes that her mother no longer recognizes her. Her mother instead calls for Cinderella, not seeing Ella as her daughter anymore. While Cinder is wooed by an evil prince at the castle, Ella seeks to find her own happiness elsewhere and save the kingdim-and her father.

If you didn't see any of the original cinderella elements in that summary, you aren't the only one. Perhaps the most disappointing part of this entire novel is that, despite claiming to be a twisted retelling of cinderella, the only element from the original is the main characters names. There is no glass slipper, pumpkin carriage, or evil stepmother. There is no prince charming or fairy godmother or, hell, there isn't even a juniper tree or gorgeous gown from a dead mother, as in the true originals.

That isn't to say that Cinder and Ella is a bad book. Taken as a stand alone book, without hoping for cinderella, it wasn't bad. It was a little rushed, and it's not a higher level story with plot twists and subplots, but it's good for what it is. There's romance and action and a devious villian. But for all that, it's very obvious that Cinder and Ella is a children's book, and not one mature enough for me to find much enjoyment in.

If you're looking for a book that you won't be able to put down, well, this probably isn't a book you'll want. But if you're looking for a gift for a younger reader, or a short sweet read that you don't have to pay a lot of attention to, such as something to read at work or on a bus, you should consider picking up Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon when it comes out in November 2011.