Review: Locked

Locked, by Eva Morgan. The Goodreads summary:

When eighteen-year-old Irene Adler meets her new neighbor, the gorgeous, brilliant, and arrogant Sherlock Holmes, she never expects him to be the one to make her feel like life is worth living again. Ever since her sister's death, she's been addicted to risk-taking as a way to deal with her depression, and Sherlock quickly becomes the biggest risk she's ever taken.

Locked is the story of a broken girl and the genius who gives her life back to her. It's the story of a witty asshole who's never known love, and the girl who shows him what love means. It's the story of an unexpected connection, two people who save each other, and the importance of seeing the goodness underneath.

So. Sherlock Holmes. I grew up with Sherlock Homes, mainly through the Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone interpretations and through the books on tape of Doyle’s original stories. Then there were the Robert Downey Jr. movies. And of course BBC’s “Sherlock,” which is, let’s face it, fantastic. So basically, I feel like good ol’ Sherlock and I are like this at this point. Which made me excited/nervous to read “Locked,” because there’s a lot for it to live up to. And it felt a bit, I don’t know, daring, I guess, for Eva Morgan to try to create a young Sherlock that would be believable as Sherlock Holmes while also being believable as a teenager.

But here’s the thing: she totally manages to do it. I was legitimately impressed with how she kept Sherlock sherlock-y while also making him her own character. I pretty much grinned my way through all the scenes with Sherlock because he’s all genius-y and fact driven and unemotional and frustrating, but at the same time unintentionally hilarious and increasingly human. And he’s a great texter. The texts he sends Irene were basically my favorite part.

Irene is likeable as well. She’s a charismatic narrator, despite the hard time she’s going through. Sometimes main characters who are depressed can be a bit hard to read for me, but Irene grabbed me from pretty much the first page. And part of that, I know, is because the book is so well written. It’s really engaging and readable, and despite there being some typos and other errors in the version I read, they didn’t put me off at all, because the storytelling was so well done (though I understand that the text has been cleaned up in more recent versions). Irene does get a little over-dramatic at the end, but not quite to the point where it was truly annoying.

Overall, I kind of adore this iteration of Sherlock Holmes. It keeps all the things that make Sherlock Sherlock while still being a unique interpretation of the story and characters. It's turned out to be one of those books that I can't help recommending to people. I’m totally up for more books in this series.

Rating: 4 / 5

Copy received for review.

Review: 17 & Gone

17 & Gone, by Nova Ren Suma. The GoodReads summary:

Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing in common—they are 17 and gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And… is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.

Hoo boy. Psychological thriller does not even begin to describe it. This book will mess with your mind, I tell ya. It reminded me of “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer,” by Michelle Hodkin, or “Tighter,” by Adele Griffin, in that the plot starts off fairly normally, gets a little crazier, then little by little progresses until you realize the book has so totally messed with your mind that you don’t know if you should trust your perceptions as the reader or not. And I was not expecting that, honestly. I was expecting some straightforward mystery, but I should’ve know better seeing as how this is the author of “Imaginary Girls” we’re talking about.

The main character, Lauren, was difficult to get to know. We don’t really get to see her before all the crazy stuff starts happening to her, and once those things start happening, they take over her entire life. And as she becomes more and more obsessed with finding the missing girls, I felt like there was less and less of her to get to know because the obsession takes so much out of her.

I don’t really know how to write this review, because I don’t want to give anything away. So I’ll just mention the two non-spoilery things I can think of. One, I liked Jamie, Lauren’s boyfriend—he’s way more supportive and understanding than I would’ve been in that situation, that’s for sure. Two, the writing was really well done. That’s reason I picked up this book in the first place actually—I liked the writing in “Imaginary Girls,” so I wanted to give Suma’s second book a go. I’m terrible at describing writing styles, so I’m not even going to bother, but I will say that it created the perfect atmosphere for the story.

Overall, if you want a book that will play mind games on you, this one is for you. It doesn’t wrap the ending up in a nice little bow either. So if you’re in the mood for a psychological thriller, go for it.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: Paper Valentine

Paper Valentine, by Brenna Yovanoff. The GoodReads summary:

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

I’ll go ahead and admit that the sole reason I picked up this book was the cover. Gorgeous. And now that I’ve read it, you know what I love even more than the cover? Finny Boone. Oh my goodness, Finny. I’m such a total sucker for the strong, quiet, former bad boys of fiction, and Finny is swoon city—rough around the edges but kind when it matters. Even though we don't actually get to find out that much about him, I think he might possibly—possibly—be in the running to join Jonah Griggs, Sean Kendrick, and Owen Armstrong on my list of YA boys that I’m kinda totally in love with.

But tearing myself away from the topic of Finny, the rest of the story was pretty dang good too. It was a bit darker than I was expecting for some reason—it turns out this book is a murder thriller full of serial killers and ghosts. Which, while it a bit unexpected, I kind of really adored since I went through this phase six or seven years ago when basically all I read were romantic suspense novels about murders and serial killers. So this book was a bit of a throwback for me, and I had a good time getting sucked in by all the suspense. Although I noticed I definitely get creeped out way more easily than I used to, because this book had me vaguely regretting reading it at night on a weekend my roommate was out of town.

While Finny was the character I loved the most, there were quite a few other characters that I liked. Hannah, the main character, has an awesome sense of style, which may seem like a shallow reason to like a character, but I definitely envied all her sundresses. But aside from her clothes, I liked watching Hannah’s slow discovery of who she is without her best friend, who died six months earlier. I also really enjoyed Hannah’s relationship with her little sister, Ariel, who is totally spunky and awesome in her own right. And an honorable mention goes out to Decker, their stepdad, who I wouldn’t have minded getting to spend more page time with, seeing as how he’s so dang cool.

Overall, if you’re in the mood for a mystery that’s on the more darker, suspenseful side, this could be the book for you. If nothing else, read it for the swooniness that is Finny Boone.

Rating: 4 / 5

Review: The Friday Society

The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress. The GoodReads summary:

Set in turn of the century London, The Friday Society follows the stories of three very intelligent and talented young women, all of whom are assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant; and Nellie, magician's assistant. The three young women's lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder–and the crimes they believe may be connected to it–without calling too much attention to themselves.

Set in the past but with a modern irreverent flare, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike–well, relatively ladylike–heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

Fun. That’s how I’d describe this book. A whole lot of adventurous, girl-power fun. It’s not unlike Charlie’s Angels, if Charlie’s Angels happened to take place in a steampunk Victorian England. But this book one-ups even the Angels, since the Friday Society girls handle their own mystery solving rather than relying on a man to give them directions. And that’s kinda the point of this book—the three girls, who are assistants to famous men in their day-to-day lives, don’t need men to make their plans, solve problems, and kick butt when it comes to their crime fighting. The blurb on the cover flap pretty much says it all: “An action-packed tale of gowns, guys, guns and the heroines who use them all.”

Cora, Nellie, and Michiko are pure awesomeness. They each have their own set of talents that come together to make them an unstoppable team—Cora and her problem solving, Nellie and her ability to get out of tricky situations, and Michiko and her fighting. And what I love most about them is that they never really doubt their own worth and skills. Despite living in a society where women are second-class citizens, these three girls know they’re intelligent and don’t let others convince them otherwise. Not a group of shrinking violets, these three. Just take a look at the cover art. At first, I wasn’t that fond of the cover, but after reading the book, I think it captures the girls and their attitude perfectly.

The only thing that semi-annoyed me about the book was the writing style. This is probably just me being nitpicky, but the writing came off as a little too informal. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing that’s more casual, and I do think a casual style fits this book—it’s just that I think the book took that style a little too far sometimes. Occasionally, I felt like I was trapped in the movie Clueless or something, and things that would sound normal if they were spoken didn’t always come across with the same fluidity when they were written down.

Overall, a light, adventurous mystery filled with awesome girls kicking butt. I’m definitely interested in finding out what these three get up to next.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: Catherine

Catherine, by April Lindner. The GoodReads summary:

A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you’ve never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad’s famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?

Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a sudden illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years—a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn’t die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her—starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery.

First of all, can I just take a moment to admire how well the cover of “Catherine” matches the cover of “Jane,” Lindner’s other book? They just look so dang pretty together. But moving on, like “Jane” was a modernization of “Jane Eyre,” “Catherine” is a retelling of “Wuthering Heights.” I have a bit of a tumultuous relationship with “Wuthering Heights” in that it’s a book that I equal parts love and hate. If you haven’t read it, “Wuthering Heights” is a hot mess of jealousy, pettiness, bad decisions, and unhealthy relationships. It’s pretty much the soap opera to end all soap operas.

So I was curious how Lindner would deal with all that in a relatively short YA novel. And it turns out, she deals with it by not dealing with most of it. She took the basic elements of “Wuthering Heights”—the forbidden and doomed romance, the family relationships, the multigenerational plot—and transformed them into very much her own story. I think I’d even go so far as to say that “Catherine” is slightly less of a retelling of “Wuthering Heights” and more of a mystery as Chelsea tries to find out what really happened to her mother. And while I kinda admire that tactic, I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that a lot of the passion and drama that make “Wuthering Heights” what it is fell by the wayside as the author took the story in her own direction.

I think where the book ended up being weakest for me was in the characters of Catherine and Chelsea, and since they were the narrators, it proved to be a bit problematic for me. Hence (that’s his name), I thought was spot on for Heathcliff—moody, jealous, cruel, mysterious. But Catherine . . . she was a little too kind and responsible and level headed. Usually, those are the traits I like in a main character, but the Catherine of “Wuthering Heights” is so spirited, spoiled, and generally frustrating that I couldn’t help but feel like this new Catherine fell flat in comparison, even though she was more likable than her namesake. Chelsea, I just never got attached to. Like Catherine, she just came across as a bit too unmemorable. And really, I felt like neither Catherine nor Chelsea had a distinctive narrative voice and that their characters were pretty much interchangeable.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it was an admirable attempt, but this retelling somehow lacks the basic underlying life and passion that makes “Wuthering Heights” so emotionally powerful. But I do really recommend “Jane” by this same author—Lindner nails the retelling in that one.

Rating: 3 / 5

Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow

The Book of Blood and Shadow, by Robin Wasserman. The GoodReads summary:

When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn’t speak. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora’s determined to follow the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. But Chris’s murder is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

Take “The Da Vinci Code” and replace the art with a mysterious book and the 40-year-olds with 17-year-olds and you essentially have “The Book of Blood and Shadow,” secret religious societies and all. Not that that’s at all a bad thing. I liked “The Da Vinci Code” and I liked this book well enough too. There’s something to be said for books that take you traipsing across foreign countries while the characters search for clues to solve a centuries-old mystery in between dodging the secret societies out to stop them. These kinds of books are engrossing and exciting and informative all at the same time.

And all those adjectives describe “The Book of Blood and Shadow” too. I thought it did a good job at setting up both the mystery and the history, and I loved that a big chunk of the story takes place in Prague. I also liked that the book managed to surprise me towards the end with which characters were involved in the conspiracy and how. I mean, there were definitely some people I could tell from the beginning weren’t who they said they were, but others—and one in particular—caught me off guard.

And yet . . . there were times when the book stretched my willing suspension of disbelief a little too far. I found myself thinking, “There’s no way someone could be that naïve/ oblivious/ lucky/ skilled/ etc.” too often to really get sucked into the book. There were just a few too many things I found implausible even within the realm of the story, and they distracted me.

Overall, though, if you’re in the mood for an adventure/mystery, this isn’t a bad place to start.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson. The GoodReads summary:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Let me start off by saying that one of the things I liked the most about this book is that it takes place at an English boarding school. It has seriously always been my dream to go to boarding school—especially one in England. I don’t know why, because it’s not like it would probably be all that different from my experience in the freshman dorms at college, but still. I think it’s something to do with the uniforms (I’d look awesome in a blazer and tie), and it just seems like all the drama that unfolds would be entertaining to watch. Sorry. I’m getting carried away here. But the boarding school in this book seems especially awesome, so I can’t help it.

I also loved that this book was a mystery. I’ve been a sucker for mysteries ever since I picked up my first Nancy Drew book, and since mysteries don’t crop up all that often in YA fiction, I’m always excited when I find one. And technically, I guess this book was less a straight-up mystery and more of a suspenseful book with mystery elements, but I’ll take any form of mystery I can get. And I liked that Rory doesn’t act like an idiot about said mystery elements. I feel like a lot of times in mysteries the main character does a lot of stupid things that put them in the path of the killer, but I think Rory is pretty levelheaded, which I approve of.

One thing that I liked that I wasn’t expecting to was *minor spoiler* the ghost aspect. Ghosts can freak me out more than almost anything, but since this ghost acted more like a human than like a ghost, it didn’t end up scaring me at all. I mean, I got creeped out, but it was less because it was a ghost and more because he was, you know, a Jack-the-Ripper-wannabe serial killer. *end spoiler*

The romance was pretty low key in this book, and I’m not actually sure who the love interest is supposed to be. Rory makes out with Jerome, but it’s Stephen that she actually talks to and spends time with. So who knows? I guess we’ll find out in the next book.

And as a quick side note, I LOVE Rory’s roommate Jazza. She’s just so . . . nice. I would definitely want to be her friend in real life.

Overall, this book was a lot of fun. It wasn’t super fluffy—because the whole Jack-the-Ripper thing and all the murders are pretty serious—but it still managed to be pretty entertaining and was definitely thoroughly engrossing. I haven’t read a ton of Maureen Johnson’s stuff, just her Little Blue Envelope books and this one, but now I’m curious about her other ones, because this book definitely left me diggin’ her storytelling ability.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: Tighter

Tighter, by Adele Griffin. The GoodReads summary:

When 17-year-old Jamie arrives on the idyllic New England island of Little Bly to work as a summer au pair, she is stunned to learn of the horror that precedes her. Seeking the truth surrounding a young couple's tragic deaths, Jamie discovers that she herself looks shockingly like the dead girl—and that she has a disturbing ability to sense the two ghosts. Why is Jamie's connection to the couple so intense? What really happened last summer at Little Bly? As the secrets of the house wrap tighter and tighter around her, Jamie must navigate the increasingly blurred divide between the worlds of the living and the dead.

In case you missed the memo, Tighter is a modernization of The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. And as such, it kinda threw me a little—because I’m split on whether I liked the book or not. On the one hand, I think it’s an awesome adaptation, but if I try to look at it just as a YA ghost story, there a bunch of things I have issues with.

Like I said, I really do think it’s a fairly brilliant take on Henry James’s novella. Since it had been a while since I’d read the original, I read a summary before starting Tighter, and as I was reading Tighter, I was impressed over and over again how Adele Griffin manages to keep the same basic plot but make it her own. But even more than that, I was impressed at how she managed to capture the tone of the original—that creepy gothic feel that has you wondering whether the ghosts are real or if the narrator is just crazy.

But on its own . . . I don’t know, I think the book would feel weird and a little confusing to anyone who wasn’t familiar with The Turn of the Screw. I feel like some things don’t add up or are left as loose ends, and while they don’t matter in terms of it being an adaption, they do matter if I’m just looking at this as a YA read. Plus, Jamie isn’t a particularly likeable main character—and having read the original, I know liking her isn’t the important part. But if I had just gone into this book without being familiar with the story, Jamie would’ve driven me crazy so fast.

I will say, though, that I thought the climax was well done. A certain fact is revealed that I was totally NOT expecting but that fit into the story perfectly, and after I had picked my jaw up off the floor, I was just like, “Bravo, Ms. Griffin!” I also thought she did great job at building the tension higher and higher until finally something had to give. I love it when an author gets the climax of a story right.

Overall, I think I’d definitely recommend either reading The Turn of the Screw or at least a summary of it before reading Tighter. Because while it shines as a modernization of James’s story, I think it would have too many WTF moments if you weren’t familiar with the original.

Rating: 3 / 5

Review: Red Glove

Red Glove (Curseworkers #2), by Holly Black. The GoodReads summary:

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

I think it’s safe to say that most people who read this blog regularly know that I’m not usually into sequels or series. Even if I love the first book, I won’t always pick up the second. But I saw this one at the library and thought, What the hey--I might as well give it a shot since I liked the first book (White Cat) well enough. And you know what? I liked this book well enough, too.

I don’t know what sets this series apart for me, but always ends up hitting the spot for me. The whole mob/con men aspect is fascinating and gives the book a really awesome tone. The back of the book calls it a “noir thriller” and a “dark fantasy,” and I think those descriptions capture the book perfectly. And the magic aspect is deftly worked into the story and such a unique take on the supernatural. This is no fluffy fairy magic--this is serious magic with serious consequences.

I think the major thing that allows me to keep reading the series is that the romance isn’t at all a sure thing. This is no insta-love, and romance isn’t even the main point of the story. It takes a backseat to the mystery/mob storyline, and I appreciate that. I hate it when the romance is resolved by the end of the first book--it means there’ll be zero tension in the next books, and I can’t stand that. But by the end of this second book, I don’t even know if--let alone how--the romance will work out.

Overall, I think this was a great second book. A LOT of second books fall flat for me, but this one could hold its own against the first. And it was good enough that I’ll be picking up third book, Black Heart.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Friday Favorites: Heist Society

On Fridays I post a little shout out to one of my favorite books and explain why I love it so much. It gives me the chance to fangirl over books I never reviewed on this blog and lets me post about some not-necessarily-YA books I love.

Which book?
Heist Society, by Ally Carter

Genre?
Contemporary YA

Summary?
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre . . . to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria . . . to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help.

Kat’s solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

When did I first read it?
Last summer

Why did I first read it?
I was seeing a bunch of reviews for the sequel, “Uncommon Criminals,” and I thought, “Hey, I haven’t even read the first book in the series. Maybe I should give it a shot.” Good decision.

What did I think about it then?
Love was in the air! As soon as I finished it, I knew it was going on my shelf of favorite books. Kat was freakin’ awesome, and Hale was the swooniest non-love interest I’d ever met (or, er, read about). Plus, I got sucked into the hijinks and the con and was 100 percent invested in how it would turn out.

What do I think about it now?
Well, obvs I still love it a lot, since it only became one of my favorites less than a year ago. It’s near the top of my list of books I really want to reread but haven’t had time to yet. Looking back, I’m actually kind of surprised I adore this book so much. It’s very Ocean’s 11, and I’ve never been much of one for that kind of action-y book/movie. I’m more of a “Give me a whiney heroine with boy problems” type. So kudos to Ally Carter for getting me so entranced with a book that’s not my usual style. And Uncommon Criminals is just as awesome, fyi.

Have you read Heist Society? What did you think?

Read my reviews
Heist Society
Uncommon Criminals

Review: Texas Gothic

Texas Gothic, by Rosemary Clement-Moore. The GoodReads summary:

Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

Even though the reviews I read about this book were kinda mixed, I still knew that it would be a book I would totally enjoy. Isn’t it weird how that happens sometimes? And I was proved right about liking it from the first sentence: “The goat was in the tree again”--I don’t know what else I could ask for in a first sentence. The whole first chapter is probably one of my favorites that I’ve read recently. Let me give you a teaser: it involves Amy chasing a cow out of her yard in her underwear and (of course) running into a hot cowboy while she’s doing it.

I loved Amy so much. She’s one of those characters that I know without a doubt I would be friends with if she were real. She’s funny and sarcastic and level-headed; she’s confident and brave without doing completely reckless things (and the reckless things she does do she has a reason for). Ben is a hot cowboy, so that’s pretty much all I needed to know to fall in love. He’s cranky and uptight (for fairly good reasons), but he’s always a gentlemen and he’s there when it counts. And hooray for no insta-love! Amy and Ben argue a lot throughout the book, but it’s, you know, the sexual-tension-building kind of arguing, so I was on board.

This book was a mystery/ghost/witch story--which I was so, so happy about. I love mysteries, and I’m always glad when they pop up in YA. This was more of a Scooby-Doo or Nancy Drew kind of mystery though, so don’t go into it expecting a complicated and suspenseful mystery where you don’t know who the bad guy is until the very end.

Overall, I really liked this book. Amy was such a great character (and she graduated from high school, so it’s older YA--yay!) and I never got tired of her or annoyed. The mystery was a lot of fun and I loved that Amy and her sister are witches. Basically, this book was a win all around for me.

Review: The Ruby in the Smoke

The Ruby in the Smoke, by Philip Pullman. The GoodReads summary:

Sally is sixteen and uncommonly pretty. Her knowledge of English literature, French, history, art and music is non-existent, but she has a thorough grounding in military tactics, can run a business, ride like a Cossack and shoot straight with a pistol.

When her dear father is drowned in suspicious circumstances in the South China Sea, Sally is left to fend for herself, an orphan and alone in the smoky fog of Victorian London. Though she doesn't know it, Sally is already in terrible danger. Soon the mystery and the danger will deepen - and at the rotten heart of it all lies the deadly secret of the ruby in the smoke...

Apparently everybody else read this book growing up, so I came a little late to the game on this one. It’s one of those books that I’d always vaguely heard of but never read. It’s a mystery set in Victorian England, so I knew just by reading the back that I was, like, 99 percent likely to enjoy it--and I did.

The book wasn’t terribly deep or anything--just Sally and her friends trying to solve the mystery of the ruby. But the characters were all just so likeable. Sally herself was a little lackluster and wasn’t really involved in much of the action of the story until the very end. But it honestly wasn’t that noticeable since there were a ton of other characters and perspectives going on. Fred, the cute photographer, was totally adorable and nice and happy. He was just so good-hearted, you know? And Jim, oh Jim--if I was allowed to crush on a 12-year-old without being a pedophile, I would pick Jim. He’s so scrappy and tough, but he’s loyal and pretty okay for a 12-year-old boy.

The writing was really witty and clever--it had me smiling all the time. The one thing about the book, which didn’t bug me as much as it had me scratching my head, was all the drug use. For a book that was shelved in the children’s section at the library, there was a ton of opium use happening. Even Sally uses it, for pete’s sake. I think this book had more drug use than pretty much any other I’ve read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. But I might’ve enjoyed it more if I had read it when I was younger, because I think the minor things that bugged me now would’ve gone way over my head. Still, I had a lot of fun with this one, and if I see the other books in the series for cheap, I’ll definitely pick them up.

Mini-Review: The Body Finder

Mini-reviews are where I write about books that I want to mention but am too lazy or too busy to write a full-length review for. I say what I thought about the book in 5 sentences then share a quote I liked from the book.

The Body Finder, by Kimberly Derting. The GoodReads summary:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies--or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer--and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

So on the one hand, I liked this book because it was a mystery/suspense, and that’s a YA genre that there isn’t nearly enough of, in my opinion. I also liked that the two lovebirds, Violet and Jay, have known each other their whole lives before deciding they’re madly in love--it’s definitely not insta-love, and I really appreciate that. However, I’ll admit that I never got around to liking Violet; she just annoyed me for large chunks of the book--like, “Oh, there’s a killer attacking teenage girls. Yep, it’s definitely a good idea to go off places by myself.” I also think the writing style was kinda over the top; I just felt like the author took three times as long as she needed to say anything. Overall, it was fun to get to read a YA thriller, but neither the characters nor the writing style sucked me in enough for me to really be in love with the book.

The quote

Violet stood up on the watercraft as she came to a stop. Multihued light seemed to be radiating up from beneath the water, centered among the reeds, and then diffusing outward as it reached the surface. Violet had never seen anything like it, and she knew that the spectrum of light was defying its very nature by behaving that way.

It could only be one thing.

There was something dead down there.

Review: Lady Julia Grey series

We interrupt the regularly scheduled programming . . .

I mostly read YA, with the occasional chic lit thrown in, but every once in a while I like mix it up a little. So recently I started the Lady Julia Grey novels, by Deanna Raybourn. And can I just say they are AMAZING. I finished book three last night, and I'm already wanting to re-read it. And I'm really not one for series, so the fact that I'm so into this one shows ya how much I adore them.

They're mysteries that take place in Victorian England, centering around Lady Julia Grey--a strong, independent, freakin' awesome woman who inevitably ends up getting involved in the cases of a certain brooding private detective named Nicholas Brisbane. These books are just so witty, you guys. Julia and her eccentric family just make me smile over and over. And Brisbane . . . swoon city. Three-fourths of the time I was almost ready to write him off for being so frustrating and secretive and cold, but then he'd do or say something that'd make me want to clutch the book to my chest and sigh his name longingly.

There are currently five books in the series (as far as I know): Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary, Silent on the Moor, Dark Road to Darjeeling, and The Dark Enquiry. Like I said, I just finished book three, and I seriously can't wait to read the two I haven't yet. So if you like period novels or mysteries or clever, witty writing, try these books. Seriously. I mean, just try reading these opening sentences from Silent in the Grave without getting sucked in:

To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.

See? Told'ja.

Clarity

So, "Clarity," by Kim Harrington: let's start off with a summary, shall we?

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch an object and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Okay, so for some reason I wasn't expecting to like this book. I figured it would end up being one of the ones I would read a couple chapters of then start skimming. I think it was a combination of the cover (which is terrible) and the somewhat mixed reviews I've read about it. But surprisingly, I ended up liking it. It was a light, fun book. I realize those are weird words to use to describe a murder mystery, but they fit--this wasn't a sit on the edge of your seat, bite your nails, be afraid to turn off the light kind of mystery. It was more Nancy Drew.

And actually, the Nancy Drew comparison is fairly apt (and believe me, I would know--I was addicted to Nancy Drew books growing up): Clare is a east-coast girl detective too. And like all the Nancy Drew books, it has that aspect of "Um, what adults would actually let their teenagers do that?"--I mean, come on; there's no way in real life a mayor and a detective would ask teenagers investigate a murder. Plus, this book has a total Ned Nickerson: Justin has all the good-boy, down-home qualities of Ned. I guess there aren't really any Bess and Georges (Clare doesn't have any girl friends), but I think Nate and Gabriel fill the sidekick roles. Basically, if Nancy Drew was psychic and more sarcastic, I could totally see her solving this mystery.

I admit I was a little bitter that none of the romance was resolved (ug, I hate love triangles), but I suspect the author's saving that for the sequel(s).

So if you're up for a little murder-mystery-lite, give this one shot.