Unputdownable Books

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Review: The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1) by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Started: 16/10/2011
Finished: 1810/2011
Goodreads | Review List
Review:

The Name of the Star, an unusual name for a mysterious book. When I learned that this book was surrounded by Jack the Ripper and its myths. I thought it will be the usual, 'paranormal guy' who happens to be Jack the Ripper and he gets with 'normal girl' and they fall in love. Someone comes between them and they fight for their love and win.

But no, this is nothing like that. Protagonist Aurora, moves to the UK when her parents accept teaching jobs at a university in Bristol, while she moves to Wexford, a train ride away, to finish her senior year of Highschool. Little did she know that she arrives in the UK just after a murder has spiked up the media, and was labeled the "Return of Jack the Ripper". The events happen and Aurora (or Rory) is caught in between as she becomes the prime witness in one of the murders as she saw the suspect no one else could.

My low expectations were crushed as I read this go on about how someone is repeating every murder Jack the Ripper has committed. I loved the mystery and feeling like a detective trying to analyse the evidence and predict where Jack will strike next. But this isn't your normal YA mystery. It has its own twist which I saw coming in some sense, but didn't know for sure, until they had to admit to it all. The book was thrilling though a little gory near the end of the book. As Aurora gets in tune with her unknown abilities, she was questioned by the police then again by another, who seemed rather shady. Everything falls into pieces as you enter the middle of the book, I especially loved how the book mentioned actual events and people. All this made me think. What if it happens again? What if Jack the Ripper returns?

An unputdownable mystery filled with suspense and thrill that will sure to run chills down your spine. A perfect mix of mystery, paranormal, and suspense to feed my hunger of the genre.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Quick Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2) by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2)
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Started: 13/10/2011
Finished: 15/10/2011
Goodreads | Review List

Goodreads Synopsis:

An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness . . . And now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears, this fearless, beautiful . . . humanwho braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

Quick Review:

Mencheres' story wasn't what I expected. It was great but not that great. I felt like his love for Kira was rushed just like how the story was. But either way, this book posed as great entertainment despite the fact that it took me longer to read this compared to the first book. Though I did enjoy how the events rolled in with just as much humor as action. I always loved the humor in Frost's book.

This book caused my curiosity about Vlad and Ian's story to escalate. I'm hoping Frost will be writing about those two soon! If I was to describe this book in just words it would be: Unputdownable, sweet, corny and steamy.

Sorry for the excessively short review. :(

Review + Giveaway: Embraced by the Shadows by Mayra Calvani

Title: Embraced by the Shadows
Author: Mayra Calvani
Started: 1/9/2011
Finished: 2/9/2011
Goodreads | Review List

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a bazaar in Istanbul one evening, ten-year-old Alana Piovanetti glances into the shadows to find a man watching her. He smiles, and over time she convinces herself that it was just her imagination that placed sharp fangs amongst those flashing teeth.

Twelve years later, Alana is surprised when she is chosen to manage a new restaurant opening in her home city of San Juan. She has neither training nor experience to justify her success. But La Cueva del Vampiro has the kind of ambience she adores, for Alana has always had a penchant for horror and the dark side of life. Yet she is also plagued with dreams of dark sensuality, dreams that take on shattering reality when she meets the stunningly handsome, charismatic Sadash.

For Sadash is the man she saw in the shadows so many years before…and Sadash isn’t human….

Review:

I received this as an ARC through e-mail about a week ago and accepted it enthusiastically because it sounded like a good book. And it was for the first few 50 pages.

The beginning really drew me in. The scenario took place in Puerto Rico which was new and welcoming from my part. I like reading books in different scenarios so thats a plus for the unique setting. In the beginning we meet Alana our protagonist and her bestfriend Valeria. They have this undying bond with one another that is beyond normal and kind of freaked me out a bit but Calvani made up for it by introducing a vampire lead into the equation that is called "Embraced by the Shadows". He was haunting, dark, handsome and all kinds of alluring. But I was disappointed when certain things came into view about him and how vampires work in this book. Though it may be more realistic than other vampires in different books. It just seemed like he lacked this essence that I was looking for.

As the story progressed, I began to get annoyed at all the characters. They weren't as well constructed as I hoped they were and the story line just began to lose its favor with me to the point where I disliked it. It was great within 50 pages then Calvani took the book into another 158 pages and it seemed as if it was rushed and not well thought of. It was missing the WOW factor. But I did enjoy the book enough to read the first 50 then the next 158 without a sweat. Calvani's skill can grow and I look forward to see if she go beyond boundaries.