Monthly Archives: September 2013

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Review: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Title: A Certain Slant of Light
Author: Laura Whitcomb
Series: Light series
Rating: ★★★★

A Certain Slant of Light is not what I thought it would be, but that’s not a bad thing. It had been a while since I had read the book description, so I went in a little blind. I’m very glad I did.

Hellen has been Light for well over 150 years. She’s attached herself to different Hosts over the years, trying to stay out of her personal hell. Mr. Brown is her current host, but in one of his English classes, a boy sees her. He is Light, but he has stolen a body to live in. With his help. Helen steals the empty body of a girl at the same school.

James and Helen, the Light souls, learn to live in the bodies and lives of Billy and Jenny. Even though James and Helen find themselves falling in love, the bodies they inhabit are polar opposites and their families will do anything to keep them apart. Billy was a recovering drug addict and Jenny was raised in an extremely religious household. The only similarity between the two was the original souls left their bodies.

As James and Hellen try to continue their romance, the lives of Billy and Jenny continually get in the way. Billy’s brother is on her case constantly ands Jenny has been on the outside of her family’s religious looking in.

It was interesting to see how James and Helen tried to blend into the current world. To everyone else, they had some strange perks; to each other they made perfect sense. I really enjoyed the uniqueness of each side of the characters.

A Certain Slant of Light went a lot deeper than I expected. It is not a simply Young Adult novel; it’s more complex than that. I really think this is a book anyone can read and find meaning in.

If A Certain Slant of Light sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio

Title: The Last Camellia
Author: Sarah Jio
Rating: ★★★★★

Yet another fantastic Jio novel, this time with a bit of a serial killer mystery thrown in. It was worth staying up late to read. There’s always coffee for the morning after a good book.

The Last Camellia takes place at a manor house in England as World War II encroaches on their doorstep as well as more than half a century later. In the ’40s, it is Flora’s story we are following as she works as a nanny, all the while being blackmailed into searching for a rare, one-of-a-kind camellia tree. She doesn’t expect to love the children she’s taking care of, or to fall in love while at the manor house, but she can’t help it. More than half a century later, Addison and her husband take up residence for the summer as Addison tries to escape her past without letting it ruin her future.

The murder mystery is fantastic. I had my suspicions, but the reveal was dramatic and wonderful. It was amazing to see all these clues fall together in one pivotal moment. And the parallels between the past and the present lined up, leaving me on the edge of my seat and forgoing sleep just to finish. I cared so much for what happened to Flora and Addison that I couldn’t put the book down, even as my eyes fought to close.

Flora wants so much to be the good, helpful daughter who solves her parents’ problems. Her desires are played on and she is sent to England to pose as a nanny while working for a flower thief ring. She’s only supposed to gain the family’s trust, find the camellia, and report back. She soon finds herself enjoying taking care of the children and seeing them come alive. She makes friends in the house staff. She falls in love with the eldest son. But the con man she’s working for is always looming in the background, threatening her family if she doesn’t cooperate. On top of that, her appearance falls right in the middle of a serial killer’s rein, when girls are disappearing and no one knows who is behind it, even though they all have their suspicions.

Addison has been trying to escape what happened 15 years ago ever since the night it happened. She’s burdened by what happened in one night and someone won’t let her forget. She tries escaping to England, thinking getting away from the scene of the crime will give her a reprieve and a chance to come clean to her husband. The opportunity rarely presents itself, however, and she’s left feeling more confused than ever. She’s helping her husband write his novel, feeling inspired by the manor house they are living in. Even as everything looks like it’s falling into place, the truth starts to pop up and she can’t escape it this time.

I think at this point it’s safe to say Jio is one of my favorite authors. She has such a way with words, of blending the past and the present. Her novels show that everything is connected, even through time. What affects one person years ago can still have the power to affect people today. The stories are never easily confused, with each story having clear characters and plot, but as the novel carries on, the weaves and braids start to show themselves and it’s wonderful every time.

The Last Camellia is a superb story spanning decades that will have your heart in your throat, hands clutching the pages, needing to read just one more page. It grabs you right away and doesn’t let go until long after you’ve read the last word. This is a must read book.

If The Last Camellia sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Can’t Wait for Monday: Everneath Series by Brodi Ashton

On my to-read shelf, there are a couple of series waiting to be read. I got tired of reading a book and having to wait a year for the next one, followed by another year for the last one. So I decided to wait. The Everneath series is one that I have been watching and waiting for and finally it’s almost complete.

I love mythology and modern retelling of myths, so Everneath seemed like it would be my cup of tea. The Hades and Persephone myth is one that I’ve always found fascinating. Half the year, Persephone can do as she pleases, go where she likes, be who she wants to be. The other half of the year, she must remain by Hades and look over the Underworld, even though that wasn’t her choice.

I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting until the final book of the series is released so I can sit down and binge read. Evertrue is set to be released in January and you can be sure I will be buying my copy of Everneath, Everbound, and Evertrue  before locking myself away and not surfacing until I’ve read my way through them.

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Review: Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Title: Once We Were
Author: Kat Zhang
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles series
Rating: ★★★★

What’s Left of Me introduced me to a different world. In this world, people are only supposed to have one soul, and yet some bodies keep both souls they were born with. It’s almost like a survival of the fittest, but in individual form. It was something I had never read before and even though there was potential for confusion, Zhang pulled it off wonderfully. So when I was given an advanced copy of Once We Were, I was excited and ready to read. There is so much potential in the world Zhang has created that I couldn’t wait to get started.

Once We Were follows the ending of What’s Left of Me right away. We’re introduced to the new world Addie and Eva live in, after breaking out of Nornand, the hybrid correctional facility. They have to hide away from the world out of fear of being recognized. They want to help rescue other children facing a horrible fate of surgeries and possible death. They want to be alone, but don’t know how to live without each other.

Addie and Eva are part of a resistance group, but they feel like they aren’t doing enough. So when the opportunity to make an impact presents itself, Eva jumps on it. As they get pulled further into the band of fugitives, the divide between Eva and Addie grows. They want to do good and help, but at what cost? What are they willing to do in order to show what is really being done to the hybrid children?

Not only are Eva and Addie divided when it comes to how to deal with being a fugitive, but their hearts are going in different directions as well. As Eva falls for Ryan, Addie develops feelings of her own. Neither soul enjoys being a background participant in these relationships, so Addie and Eva begin to disappear for greater lengths of time so one soul can have her private time. Even this causes problems, though. The only thing they can rely on is their trust in each other, but there are moments this is put to the test. Disappearing from your body only to reappear hours later without knowing what happened in between has great potential for problems.

The action in this novel was perfect. I can see the struggle Eva and Addie are going through, trying to decide what is right and what is wrong, as well as how to deal with the mounting pressures around them. They are two entirely different people, living two different lives, and yet they are one in the same. I find this struggle amazing to read. It could easily be confusing and frustrating to read, but Zhang has a way of making everything clear, while still making you feel frustrated. You feel for these characters and the fact that for years, one soul was considered less than, but now there’s a way to be equal again. It’s simply fascinating to read.

Once We Were is a fantastic sequel that doesn’t fall off the Cliff of No Point, like so many other middle novels have done. It moves the story along, but it has its own growth and plot. It takes the feelings from the first novel and magnifies them to a point where they can’t be ignored. Everything about this novel has me anxious and ready for the final novel. The story of Eva and Addie still has so much to be told and I can’t wait to read what comes next.

If Once We Were  sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Edelwiess and HarperCollins for providing an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.