Review: Awakening by Karice Bolton

Awakening
Karice Bolton
Released September 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream. 

On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she’s just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him. Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana’s world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she’s been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all. It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds.

 *A copy was provided by Karice Bolton for review purposes*

Ana has felt lonely her whole life - or what she remembers of it. Living the simple life and working at a local pub, she meets this family who makes her feel very strange and, for some reason, seems very familiar. She soon realizes they are not what they seem, and neither is she.

When I first started Awakening I was really drawn to the story and the intrigue was very enticing. I felt the need to know everything about Ana. Why she has no memory of her past, why these strangers make he feel so overwhelmed - I wanted to know it all. I was a bit thrown back by the dialogue, however. The absence of contractions made the characters sound very stiff and formal. I had the hardest time picturing them realistically because of this. Nonetheless, I did my best to ignore this and found myself still enjoying the story.

The plot in Awakening is very intricate. There is an elaborate backstory and complex Nephilim lore. I found the take on angels really well thought out. It was interesting to find out Ana's past and see her re-enter this world she forgot existed. Although I did find there were a few of the character's actions that I couldn't comprehend: Why did Ana keep her dreams a secret? Why did Athen insist on making her wait for sex? Maybe there was a deeper meaning that I overlooked. As for the romance, it holds a big part of the book. It's sweet and intense - some may find it's fast moving, but since they knew each other from their past it's not really insta-love. The long-lost and reunited theme is definitely original and quite romantic.

As a whole, Awakening is a good start to the series. The problems I had with it were mostly character related and I was still able to enjoy the story-line. I'm interested in the angel lore that Karice has implemented. Due to this being mostly an introduction, the pace can be slow at times, but I have a good feeling the action is slowly building up to something great in the next installment.

3 Hot Espressos

Review & Giveaway: Become by Ali Cross

Become
Ali Cross
Release date: November 11th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

*A copy was provided by Ali Cross for review purposes*

 
Become is not your average YA paranormal. We're thrown into an intense novel about the battle between angels and demons. Lucifer's daughter, Desolation, is our protagonist and against her wishes, she's being sent back to earth where there are teenagers and people with… feelings.

Desolation has a really unique personality. Being the devil's daughter she's very cautious, socially awkward and a bit of a loner. She doesn't want to fall in her father's footsteps. In fact, she doesn't really like him all that much. She also senses that there's something very different about her; As though she doesn't belong in Hell. I had a lot of fun with Desolation. She is very critical of herself, but you can tell that underneath it all she's a great person who is just trying to figure out where she fits in.

I really enjoyed the style of writing throughout the novel. It's very descriptive and sophisticated; I found it highly intense, and with a lot more depth than most. There are strong messages sent throughout the story about finding oneself and, most importantly, good vs evil. The intensity was a bit of a problem when it came to the theology and the myths behind the angel/demon battles. I found myself getting confused during the explanations. My only knowledge of it comes from the show Supernatural, so the elaborate lore were a bit overwhelming. I had to reread a lot of passages to get the gist. For this reason, I couldn't entirely get caught up in the story as much as I had hoped.

Despite the complexity, I still enjoyed the plot. Like I mentioned, it was very intense with a lot of action and battle sequences. I did like getting to know why Desolation was seemingly different from the others. The romance also played a big part in the story which did alleviate the seriousness throughout the book.

As an angel/demon book, don't expect this to be like the YA novels Hush Hush or Fallen. Become goes right to the core of Norse mythology: Asgard, Loki (Lucifer), Odin, Thor. But even if, like me, you don't know a lot about these myths, it's still a fun read, however I think people versed in it would absolutely enjoy it to it's full potential.

3 Hot Espresso

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly (Unearthly, #1)
Cynthia Hand
First published January 4th, 2011

HarperCollins

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Lovely!! I really, really enjoyed this. It's a YA novel, but somehow it felt very different. For once, it wasn't just about the paranormal aspect, or the exciting new world the protagonist is thrown in. It was about finding oneself. Trying to fit in. Finding love. Life (with wings!)!! Everything I was hoping for while going into this.

Clara is part angel, and she has just received a hint of what her purpose on earth is. After finding out the location, they pack up and move there. It's quite a big change for Clara and her brother: California to the middle of nowhere, hick town. I loved the setting of this book. I loved the scenery descriptions. The country appeal. I'm a country girl myself - not as hardcore (I don't ride horses or fish) but it still had the small town charm that I grew up in. Everyone is in everyone's business knows everyone else, it's sweet!

The whole time I was reading I was completely into the story. I never once pondered where we were going with this and what the point of it all was. It just had a great flow that you could just breeze through the story and enjoy every minute of it. The plot of soft and sweet. It's not tedious, it's not a hit in the face, it builds up gently and manages to suck you in completely. You get a chance to care for the characters, for their lives and their relationships.

As for the characters. I adored them. Especially the way they were all present. They all had a purpose in the story and they all had distinct voices and personalities. I love when an author manages to do that. What really stood out for me was the fact that her mother was very present and motherly - which is often overlooked in YA. Likewise, her brother was also how I imagine having a brother would be like. Sometimes a pain in the butt, sometimes an accomplice. I imagine we haven't heard the end of him as well. But the protagonist - Clara - she's great! Finally a girl who does not see a guy and immediately yearns for him as though she can't live another second without him. Those often lack way too much chemistry. The romance in Unearthly was totally and completely sweet! It did NOT go at all in the direction I was sure Hand was going to go make it go in. It really took me by surprise that she took a much different route from other YA novels. I truly enjoyed how it all transpired.

The highlight of this book is definitely the character development with just a bit of world build up. The angel picture I have in my mind is absolutely stunning. I loved all the details we were given and how beautiful it all seems. as for the plot - there wasn't any big plot developments, but it's coming. I'm happy she didn't go all "Whoo apocalypse" right away. I love getting to know and care for the characters before the big story materializes. It builds up realism as well as charisma.

This novel was pure flowing beauty!

5/5 hot espressos

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Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)

Susan Ee

First published May 21st, 2011

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

I read an angel book once that I won't bother naming and it was terrible, and as it was my first, I was a bit uncertain as to whether or not Angelfall would be another failure, but nope, it is Full. Of. Awesome!!

In a post-apocalyptic world where Angels have taken over, Penryn is only  trying to survive with her schizophrenic mother and crippled sister. These aren't angels to swoon over these ones, these are mean ass, I-will-kill-your-unborn-child, angels. I'm not sure if this is a debut novel, but if so props x1000 to the author. She swept me away into a world where no one is safe, no one can be trusted, and everyone is fighting for their lives, for the world they're losing. She balances death and destruction with a bit of comic relief, and the romance is slowly putting out roots instead of giving us a doe-eyed, naive love-struck character disregarding this apocalypse to fall in love with the enemy. The pacing was perfect; just the right amount of action to keep you wanting to turn the page, but not so much you want to pull your hair out. The plot surprises you with a few unpredictable events and often makes you want to cringe at the enormity of the situation. I was completely enthralled by the characters as well. Especially Penryn who is a great protagonist - kindhearted, strong, competent, courageous - everything that builds an easily likeable, badass character.

I did find the explanations about why the angels invaded earth, (and a few other details -- what's with the children? And the scorpions?) were somewhat missing; I thought that strange. I presume it will be explained in the following books, but I still expected to get at least an idea or a glimpse into the big picture. Regardless, I was blown away.

The ending, it was insufficient - I want more NOW!

Get this book…

Get it!!

5/5 hot espressos