Review: The Deepest Cut by JA Templeton

The Deepest Cut
J.A. Templeton
Release date: June 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Sixteen-year-old Riley Williams has been able to see ghosts since the car crash that took her mother’s life and shattered her family. Guilt-ridden over the belief that she’s somehow responsible for her mom’s death, Riley is desperate to see her mother’s elusive spirit to gain her forgiveness.

When her father moves the family to Scotland so they can all start over, Riley believes her life couldn’t get worse––that is until the ghost of nineteen-year-old Ian MacKinnon catches her purposely cutting herself. An uneasy truce quickly turns into friendship, and soon Riley’s falling hard for Ian.

Riley believes her gift could help Ian end the curse that has kept him tied to the land for centuries, but that would mean letting him go forever and she’s not sure she is strong enough to do that. As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, the spirit of the woman who killed Ian returns and she’ll stop at nothing to keep Riley from helping Ian find eternal peace.

*A copy was provided by JA Templeton for review purposes*

If you thought Anna Dressed in Blood was scary - It has Nothing on this one! Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed Anna and thought it was creepy and a lot of fun. But seriously scary? Not really. The Deepest Cut gives us an actual spine-chilling ghost story that will make your hairs stand on end. Kind of like the equivalent of this: Click here at your own risk! (You know you want to!)

Riley has been able to see ghosts since her mom died a few months ago. To start over, her family moves to Scotland in a great big house that used to be an inn. She soon meets this ghost, Ian, who lived in the castle across the street and was murdered by a jealous servant who has cursed him to roam the earth for eternity. This servant - Laria - is determined to stop Riley from trying to help Ian. Let me tell you, this Laria is terrifying! And if you think ghosts can't hurt the living, you're wrong. Laria is evil and goes to extremes to try to get Riley to stay away. I'm a real sucker for ghost stories. Even though they scare me to death, I absolutely enjoy reading about them. The Deepest Cut is one of the best ghost stories I've read. Although, there were a few elements that I found unnecessary to the story (though not enough to lessen my liking of the book). Like how Riley would cut herself. I felt as if that storyline often got put on the backburner and forgotten for a while. It did help with the character development a little, yet, while I didn't mind the side-plot, it does feel expendable. I'm also wondering why Tom was so adamant on having Riley spend time at the mausoleum. He seems like a strange character that I hope we get to find out more about later on.

Along with the hair-raising, there is also romance in this story: a convincing and passionate romance. Riley is falling fast for Ian who is clearly gorgeous, but a relationship with a ghost can't really be real, can it? I loved how the relationship was intertwined with the ghost plot, as well as how much chemistry there was between the two. Ian is a wonderfully mysterious character that pulls on your heartstrings. It's certainly a really unique relationship that you know can't have a happy ending. However, JA Templeton leaves us with a killer cliffhanger that will make you rethink it all. I was extremely happy to find out the next installment is due at the end of the month because it's definitely one of those fun-but-I-may-die-waiting type of endings.

A real page turner full of fear, love, sadness, along with bittersweet ending, The Deepest Cut will be greatly enjoyed by readers who love ghost stories that leave you undoubtedly spooked and full of mixed emotions.
 

5 Hot Espressos

Review: Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Bad Girls Don't Die
Katie Alender
Published April 21st, 2009
by Hyperion

When Alexis's little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister — but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

The best definition of this book is Creepy. It's definitely a chilling read. Ghosts and strange happenings that made my hair stand on ends: it was off to a great start. However, it's so full of clichés that it never develops into anything very intense or much interesting. The lack of originality is easily the biggest downfall of the novel and makes it extremely predictable. I've watched a lot of thriller/horror movies of this kind though, maybe I have just seen it all?

As expected, we have the outcast loner girl who, somehow, easily gets the hot guy. Not only has this been overly done in YA already, the whole romance aspect in Bad Girls Don't Die doesn't have a purpose in the book at all. It doesn't add any charm to the story and only amounts to getting you annoyed with it. The love interest; the awkward dialogue; the character's reactions: it all feels a bit too juvenile for modern day YA. I could see younger teens -12, 13 years old - enjoying this much more.

If you can get passed that and focus on the plot, the book is actually not so bad; I did enjoy getting spooked. Ghost stories are my weakness. They freak me out, but I can't help myself from wanting to hear them all. The writing is good, simple, and it's a fast read that wraps up quickly and nicely. All in all, I liked it well enough for it's creepy factor - it isn't a waste of time, but it's nothing to write home about either.

3 Hot Espressos

View on Goodreads

Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The Name of the Star
Maureen Johnson
Released September 29th, 2011
by G.P. Putnam's Sons

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.

I was really intrigued and quite pleased with The Name of the Star. I read it after seeing many dazzling reviews, so my expectations were quite high and though it wasn't perfect, I was very satisfied with it.

Jack the Ripper! That is all it took to entice me. Unless you have been born and raised under a rock, you have already heard about Jack the Ripper. His case is fascinating and very mysterious. I was really curious to find out how Maureen was going to use an extremely known story and make it fresh. I was not disappointed. I loved the creativity she used while writing the plot in this book. She obviously did her research and added quite a bit of actual Ripper facts in the story which was very interesting. Then she added some great plot elements to make it an original and refreshing story.

The first part of the book we have Rory who has moved to London to attend a private school. However, we don't have the usual private school cafeteria drama that you'd expect in this setting. Rory doesn't make instant enemies who happen to be the "it" crowd. Nor does she become the it crowd with the hottest guy in school. Rory is an ordinary high school student who works hard to get good grades and makes friends with her roommate. All the while a new killer is terrorizing London in much the same way as Jack the Ripper. Some may find it slow, but I enjoyed getting to know all the characters and Ripper facts before the furor. The second part is much more fast paced with a lot of plot progression and excitement.

The plot itself was nicely done with lots of fascinating facts and creative spooky encounters. I did have a few issues with the motives of the murderer. I can't say exactly what without going into spoilers, but I didn't understand the reasoning behind his motives. He never had any reason to think he was ever in danger unless he became troublesome. That is all I can say without giving away spoilers, but I think those who've read it will understand. I also understand, myself, that this is the first in a series, so the possibility of getting further explanations is still open.

It was refreshing to have no love triangle hanging in the air, but the romance was scarce at best. The love interest wasn't very attractive or charming. I never felt much of a connection between him and Rory, but since it held such a scant part in the novel, it didn't affect my enjoyment of it by any means. I was reading this for the suspense, not the romance.

I was actually surprised and pleased to find quite a bit of humor added in the dialogue. Rory is smart and witty. I really enjoyed her way of thinking. There are a good number of great and amusing lines that I could have used as quotes in my review, but I was always too comfortable (or lazy) to write them down so I'll let you read them for yourself. :)

The ending will undoubtedly make anyone want to read the sequel right away. It's not a cliffhanger, but it opens the imagination to a great extent. In the end, it's a pretty good start to a potentially great series.

4 Hot Espressos

View on Goodreads

Review: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

A Certain Slant of Light
(A Certain Slant of Light, #1)
Laura Whitcomb
Released September 21st, 2005
by Graphia

Helen is a disembodied spirit who "attaches" herself to humans in order to possess their bodies. Unable to remember the circumstances of her death, and with no idea why she's in this precarious state of limbo, she knows this much: she's been haunting the living world for 130 years. But when Helen inhabits the body of a high school teacher, everything changes. For though he remains quite unaware of her presence, a certain boy in his class is clearly able to see Helen. This realization, and Helen's subsequent introduction to him, rocks her world.

Uncomfortable with the boundaries of her existence, Helen continues to test them and takes hair-raising risks -- often for love. Moved by her passions, she is stymied by limits placed on her that she doesn't yet understand and is unable to control.

Well, if I had one word to describe this book it would be Weird. It is definitely weird and maybe a bit disturbing if you really thing about it. But this is fiction so I'll take the disturbing and roll with it, and I still quite enjoyed the story.

It's hard to explain what the book is about without getting spoiler-y. So just quickly, it's about a ghost with no recollection of her death who clings to humans to escape her hell. For the 130 years she's been a ghost, no one has ever been able to see her, until now. It's more of a love story than anything else, but there is still a bit of suspense and mystery. Although it's not your usual love story, or even ghost story, that you find in YA novels. I'm actually surprised it's considered YA at all. They're basically adults in teenager's bodies. So their romance is passionate, more mature and more descriptive than what you usually find in YA.

It takes a while for the meaning of the story to become known. I really only understood it near the very end. However I was never bored, just curious as to what direction it was going to go. So this isn't an action packed novel; it's a story of love and self discovery that you sit, ponder and enjoy.

The writing is magnificent. The protagonist has been dead for 130 years and the author really adapts the dialogues for her day and age. It's wonderful. The characters become painfully real, extremely likeable, and the obstacles they go through are unimaginable. I also loved the poetic and dark aspect of the story. You feel their pain and, when she was recalling her death, my heart was really breaking with hers.

This is the type of book where you either love or hate it. It's not for everyone, but you should still give it a try. It may surprise you.

4 Hot Espressos

 View on Goodreads