Review: Airel by Aaron Patterson & Chris White

Airel
Aaron Patterson & Chris White
Series: The Airel Saga, #1
Release date: August 31st, 2011
by StoneHouse Ink

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All Airel ever wanted was to be normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like an incredible ability to heal. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything. Airel knew change would be an inevitable part of life. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

*A copy was provided by Aaron Patterson for review purposes*

Airel, with its beautiful cover and promising synopsis had me swooning over it. It sounds original, mysterious and full of action. This is all, in actuality, what we get. The angel lore is unique. I especially enjoyed how it's told in dual, past and present, point-of-views. These become two very different, interesting plot lines that merge together for an exciting spin. My main problem, and what made this fall flat for me, were the characters.

Airel leads a normal, average life when she meets Michael. She immediately falls head over heels for him. I felt their relationship was very artificial with no chemistry behind it, which is almost always the case when it's so instant; I never get a chance to feel the passion take hold. I also had difficulty connecting with Airel. She has a nice personality, but nothing stands out; she's just very average. I could not comprehend some of the decisions she made either, that, to me, seemed nonsensical. When you see someone get murdered and the killer has seen you, stay with the crowd, don't go hide in a bathroom stall alone! As for Michael, he's a good character but I can't say I have a clear picture of him in my head. I feel like I didn't get to know him all that well. These characters are a part of one of the two storylines. The second storyline, happening in the past, has much more interesting personalities. Which is funny because I'm not usually into the mighty warrior stories. However, this one is exciting with a fast pace and good action scenes. I did feel a bit lost past the halfway point where the battles and twists started to all mix together, but I was still able to keep up for the most part.

What I do have to applaud is the way both considerably different storylines are weaved together so flawlessly. The jumps from past to present are never confusing. In addition, the pacing is made so that you always want to go back to the perspective you were just pulled out of, but equally happy to stay and finally see what's happening in the current one. Although the story can feel a bit drawn out at times, this dual perspective definitely helps keep you entertained. As for the plot twists, I can't say they took me by surprise, but there are still a few that I hadn't completely figured out. 

Overall it's not a bad novel, If it wasn't for my non connection with the characters I probably would have enjoyed this much more. It seems to be the type that people either love, or just don't.

2 Espressos

Fresh Batch (March 4th - 10th)

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week.

Flavour of the week:

Illuminate

Aimee Agresti

Release date: March 6th, 2012
by Harcourt Children's Books

Goodreads / Purchase 

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel? 

Aimee's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Aimee Agresti is an entertainment journalist with ten years of experience writing, editing, and chatting up celebrities. A former staff writer for Us Weekly magazine, she has interviewed everyone from Angelina Jolie and George Clooney to the stars of The Hills, and even penned the magazine’s coffee table book Inside Hollywood. In addition to Us, her work has appeared in People, Premiere, DC Magazine, The Washington Post, Boston magazine, Women’s Health, Mademoiselle, and the New York Observer. She lives in Washington, DC.

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road
Moira Young
Series: Dust Lands, #1
Release date: February 28th, 2012 (Paperback)
by Doubleday Canada

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Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

*A copy was provided by Random House Canada for review purposes*

After seeing all the wonderful reviews of this book, I was excited to see it appear at my doorstep, and I didn't wait long to dive into it. A violent futuristic world, fast pace action, with a kick-butt heroine? Count me in! It delivers what it promises, as I instantly became absorbed in Saba's journey to save her brother.

"Once, we could count on pullin a fish from the lake an a beast from our traps. Fer everything else, we planted some, foraged some, an all in all, we made out okay. But fer the last year, whatever we do, however hard we try, it jest ain't enough, Not without rain. We bin watchin the land die, bit by bit."

As you can see from the above quote, the first thing anyone will notice going into this will be the writing style. If you look at the reviews, some love it, and others hate it. Luckily, I am on the loving it side, though it helped that I knew what to expect going in. I read a short excerpt beforehand, and in turn, I had absolutely no problems getting into the story right away. I also could not imagine the book without it. It has character! It makes it so unique, so filled with personality that you can't help but feel like Saba is sitting in front of you, recounting her journey. I'm telling you, I could hear her. It's a brilliant way to give life to a story.

Saba is off to find her brother who's been kidnapped, which also left her in charge of her pesky little sister. At first, Saba seemed like she was going to be a whiny, exasperating protagonist. She was awful to her sister, and a bit too reliant on her brother. However, as the story progresses, we get to see Saba grow and change into this strong-willed, feisty person overflowing with bravery. She never ceases to be extremely stubborn, even a bit too much at times where I wanted to scream at her for it. But for the most part, I loved her fearless personality and determination.

The world: So ugly, but so beautiful. The moving sand dunes, the everlasting nothingness, the red dust; everything is so impressive, yet intimidating. I constantly felt a sense of longing for the world that was. Even though Saba has never seen anything but, you can feel the loneliness everywhere. There are also hints of fantasy and magic elements throughout the novel that make it even more impressive, not to mention unnerving.

The book is not without a few flaws: Some turnabouts at the end felt a bit too Hollywood-like; The world itself left me with a few questions- some of the details are a bit fuzzy at the edges; Then the stars- all this intriguing astrology in the beginning that gets abandoned by mid-book. Though these are all pretty minor overall, and since this is the first in its series, it felt to me like we were sent off into a strong, fast pace story that concentrates on action and excitement at first, but will (hopefully) give us a more refined world building in the following installments.

Incredibly gripping and grossly entertaining, Blood Red Road sends us on a journey full of bumps and scrapes that will leave your heart pounding with energy. I highly recommend it to every fan of The Hunger Games. Oh, and there's cage fighting! Enough said! 

4 Hot Espressos

Review: The Haunted by J.A. Templeton

The Haunted
J.A. Templeton
Series: MacKinnon Curse, #2
Release date: January 8th, 2012

Goodreads / Purchase

After battling a malevolent ghost that held the spirit of her friend Ian MacKinnon bound to the land for two hundred years, sixteen-year-old reluctant psychic, Riley Williams, felt as if she was finally easing into her new life in Scotland.

Or so she thought.

Laria, the spirit of the witch who had cursed Ian wants revenge for Riley’s interference and she’s bringing along friends—dark entities who thrive on evil.

The one bright spot in Riley’s world is Ian’s descendent, Kade MacKinnon, who could easily be Ian’s modern day twin. The parallels between the two guys are undeniable. As Riley’s relationship with Kade blossoms, she begins to realize Laria has grown in her power since their last confrontation—a power that could very well manipulate the living just as effectively as the dead.

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

After the killer cliffhanger we were left with at the end of book 1, I was excited to get back into the creepy life of Riley Williams. Laria is back, or well, she never left, and she has friends now; friends who are just as evil as she is.

What I enjoyed the most from The Deepest Cut was how awfully creepy it was. In The Haunted we've still got plenty of evil ghosts and spine chilling moments, but we've also got quite a bit more character development and romance in the mix. I was particularly happy about the romantic undertone throughout the book. JA wrote a wonderfully bittersweet romance in book 1; she introduces an even better one in this sequel. First, she gives us Kade, a looker and a charmer, then she creates this passion between him and Riley that is irresistibly endearing. Though, of course, Laria has to get her horrible, menacing hands between them. She is awful! But definitely makes a fantastic nemesis.

We get to know a few new characters as well: Kade's sister and cousin, in addition to a couple of new ghosts. The whole MacKinnon family history is fascinating. I'm very curious to learn more about their past; I'm fairly certain they have quite a few more skeletons in their closets than what we were initially told.

The MacKinnon Curse series encloses deeper, more serious topics than just hauntings - turning a simple scary ghost novel into a substantially bigger story. In addition to making the characters realistic, these real life problems mixed in with the paranormal work to bring out a wide array of emotions. Riley is learning how to deal with the cutting, and Laria had begun to really taunt her with it, not to mention her dad throwing unexpected news at her. This, with the addition of Laria possessing her friends and family, is turning Riley's life into a complete mess. We see a lot more of these real-life developments than the first in the series, consequently making the paranormal plot more scarce, though I did enjoyed getting to know these people better. It makes us really care for whatever's going to happen to them; whatever has already happened to them. I won't just be reading the next book for some mindless scary entertainment, by now I'm fully invested in these characters lives. I want Riley to rid herself of this malevolent ghost before something grave happens to her, or anyone she loves. Laria has gotten a heck of a lot more serious, and extremely terrifying!

I wouldn't consider the ending a cliffhanger. It's obvious that the story is not over, but I didn't gasp and curse JA for leaving us hanging again (nicely of course >.< - because we all secretly love cliffhangers!). If you haven't read this series yet and you're a fan of hair-raising ghost stories, you are missing out! This is positively one of the creepiest I've come upon!

4 Hot Espressos

The MacKinnon Curse series so far:

Want to know what I thought of The Deepest Cut?
Click here for my review!

Cover Reveal: Lonely Souls

Lonely Souls
Karice Bolton
Release date: June 2012
by Purely Persistent

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It's two weeks before Triss turns 18, and her world is about to change into the most magical one imaginable as she readies herself to enter The Witch Avenue Order... that is until her mother's disappearance. Determined to find out what happened to her mother, Triss uncovers cryptic messages that lead her to the dark side of magic that she never wanted to believe existed. Forced on a journey that may not give her the answers she was hoping for, it's up to Triss not to fall victim to the realm of Lonely Souls.

I fell in love with this cover as soon as I saw it in my inbox. It's so gorgeous. I love the spider web that surrounds the girl. It's just so ominous and eerie. It definitely sets the mood for a dark story which I, personally, can't wait to read.

Here are some other books by Karice Bolton:

Intrigued by Lonely Souls?
Make sure to drop by on July 12th for the blog tour!

What do you think of this cover?