Title:  The Way We Fall [indie bound] [amazon]
Author: Megan Crewe [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre:  Apocalyptic
Publisher: Hyperion
Series: None
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Source: Publisher
Reviewer: Michelle
Parental Advisory: language, violence, criminal activity, death
Teachable Moments: dealing with grief, resourcefulness

“The virus has a voice, and it doesn’t sound very happy.”

Summary (from the publisher):
When sixteen-year-old Kaelyn lets her friend leave for school without saying good-bye, she never dreams she might not ever see him again.  But then a strange virus begins to sweep through her small island community.  As patients start dying, the government quarantines the island: no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for the town’s dwindling supplies or risk losing any chance of survival.  While everything familiar is crashing down, Kaelyn discovers a friend in a girl she once saw as a rival, and a chance at love with a boy she through was an enemy.  But as the body count continues to rise and the virus touches those she holds dearest, it’s harder and harder to keep panic at bay.  Soon Kaelyn finds herself challenging not just her fears, but her sense of what make life worth living.

Opinion:
The Way We Fall was a slow-paced read through a surprisingly realistic catastrophic event.  It’s one of those stories that paints a very dire picture of events that could actually happen in our time.  In this time.  In that way, it was pretty terrifying.

Kaelyn lives on an small island with her parents and brother.  After moving back from living elsewhere she is relatively friendless and spends most of her time pining for a childhood friend she held secret feelings for.  This friend, who went off island to college, has left behind his new girlfriend who Kaelyn is not a huge fan of.  At least initially.

In short order a bird-flu like disease starts infecting the inhabitants of the island and spreads through the population like wildfire.  As people quickly begin perishing in large numbers the local medical facility, and Kaelyn’s medical researcher father, desperately try to find a cure.  As one would expect, the government quarantines the island to avoid a larger outbreak and so begins the downfall of their local civilization.

The Way We Fall was a very straight-forward read.  It was a story of day-to-day survival that showed the descent of this community and then how it’s population dealt with the fallout of this dangerous situation.  I appreciated that it wasn’t outlandish, that is truck to what one would think is the realism of such situations.  There was the inevitable darkness of hoarding, looting and violence against others.  But then there was also inspiration to be found in small pockets of charity and assistance, unexpected friendships blossom and even hints of love.  Though the story paints a bleak picture it is not too dark.

Where it fell short for me was in it’s pacing.  The story bore little action outside of the more violent sections where rioting, looting and criminal activities were taking place. The rest was much self-reflection and analysis of the situation.  Which brings me to the fact that the book felt longer than it needed to be.  There was only so many times I needed to hear about the medical research, or that another violent act was taking place.  I do realize that this it true to the situation and I appreciate that but it was just a bit slower for my liking.

Crewe does well to show the desolation and despair of the situation.  The setting is (as the story) very straightforward; there was less need here for grand world building.  Who doesn’t know about the typical small town atmosphere?  The politics of local life?  She paints a portrait of the isolation that comes with being cut off from everything else in the world. The fear of losing communication and utilities at a time when they are most needed.  The streets are dark and foreboding, houses completely silent, thus creating a highly-charged and stressful environment at a time when people are already emotional and ill at ease.

I did like the way Crewe wrote the relationships in this story.  Kaelyn comes from a loving and close family.  They have mutual respect and do their best to take great care of each other.  When it is successful they feel small moments of joy but when it is not there is much pain and sorrow.  Further, this tragedy provides Kaelyn the opportunity to develop new friendships.  Tessa (K’s former crush’s new girlfriend) is not someone she would ordinarily spend time with but circumstances push them together and the two form an unlikely bond.  Kaelyn also finds love in the tragedy with a boy named Gav.  As with her friendship with Tessa it grows slowly and allows for a true attachment as opposed to that feeling of insta-love that I am not fond of.

Was this my favorite read?  No, I felt somewhat ambivalent about it.  But, I didn’t dislike it.  It’s an interesting story and one that should be given a try if you are a fan of stories that focus on apocalyptic events that carry with them both despair and inspiration.

Title: Winter Longing [indie bound] [amazon]
Author: Tricia Mills  [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: none
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Reviewer: Laura
Parental Advisory:  death
Teachable Moments:  dealing with grief

“When you lose someone, lots of things go on hold.  But you eventually come out of the fog and want to live again.”

Summary (from the publisher):

When Winter’s boyfriend is killed in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, she’s robbed of the future she’d only just allowed herself to believe might be hers. Winter and Spencer had been destined for one another. And after his death, Spencer’s presence continues to haunt her.

But when her next-door neighbor becomes an unlikely friend, Winter begins to accept all that she can’t change. Can she open herself to a new future . . . and a possible new love?

Opinion:
It will never cease to amaze me how our worlds, dreams, and personalities—our very beings—are colored, supported, and influenced by the people around us.  When we loose someone close to us everything can change.  Things we loved doing are now painful.  People we once looked upon with love now cause pain laced with memories of the one we lost.  So. How do we keep going?

Winter Longing by Tricia Mills tells the story of such loss and the struggle the heart faces to try to move on.  Readers are introduced to Winter Craig on the most painful day of her life.  The day she lost Spencer, her best friend and first love.  The boy she just risked telling she liked more than just a friend.  Taken from her life with such sudden force and pain.  Spencer’s death changes everything in Winter’s life.  Spencer was a part of her everyday, her future, her dreams, her everything.  Where does she go to escape the pain and memories to find peace and comfort?

Look no farther than the boy next door! Oh-how I love that boy next door! Jesse Kerr is adorable, strong, and seemingly everywhere Winter needs a shoulder, hand up, or someone to listen. Sigh…The boy melted my heart at times with his concern and warmth. Winter and Jesse develop a new friendship filled with a lot of heat and longing. Winter’s heart starts to flutter for Jesse along with increasing guilt of their growing attraction. Can she have feelings for Jesse so soon after losing Spencer? How can she move on, be happy, and possibly love again with someone new? The struggle to be happy in the face of grief is a battle we will probably never have a clear-cut answer to in this world—the heart heals and moves on when it is ready. A little neighborly love doesn’t hurt either!

For me though, the most important ingredient of this book was the likeability of the characters. I really liked them all—Winter, her best friend Lindsay, Spencer, and Jesse made me cry, laugh, cheer, and swoon a bit. Even though Spencer was lost to us early in the book, readers still get to see, know, and love him through Winter’s memories, which were layered throughout the book and break up each chapter. The technique was a beautiful way to make readers feel Winter’s deep loss and longing for Spencer through out the story. Alaska herself might have been my favorite character though. The beautiful descriptions of the land, people, snow, “brrrrr-in-my-bones”cold weather, darkness, colors, hockey, and characters in nature all brought this tale to life in a magical, warm way.

“The winter chill was sniffing at Alaska’s door, trying to find a way in so she could blanket the land with snow, freeze the Naknek in to a rough sheet of ice, and invite long hours of darkness out to play.”

Winter Longing does a beautiful job of showing readers that grief is a process that changes moment to moment. Winter realizes she has to go on with her life, to learn to be friends with Lindsay one on one without Spencer, help others through their pain, and perhaps try to love again. You might be fine one day and then backslide all the way back to a big ole sobbing ball in bed the next, which is okay—as long as you get back up and try again. Love, friendship, kindness, and remembering are the best way to help a heart heal. Winter may just inspire you to open up your heart to love again.

Title:  Glow [indie bound] [amazon]
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre:  Science Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Series: Sky Chasers
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Source: Publisher (via BEA)
Reviewer: Michelle
Parental Advisory: language, violence, criminal activity
Teachable Moments: freedom of choice, freedom of religion

“With a sinking feeling, she realized she’d ruined the plan.  She needed Mather.  Without a hostage, she had nothing to bargain with, no way to get the guards to open the locks on her mother’s cage.”

Summary (from the publisher):
If a violent battle destroyed the only world you’ve ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight? Either way, there’s no turning back.

The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Still, there’s a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

Suddenly, Waverly’s dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violent betrayal by the Empyrean’s sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon’s leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster.

Opinion:
At the outset of this book I wasn’t quite sure I was going to make it through.  Not only was it a tad slow in the early chapters but it when it finally got going the abduction of the girls from the Empyrean had a bit of a creep factor (think leering older men vibe) that was a bit off-putting for me.  Generally, I’m not prudish in my reading but for some reason it really rubbed me the wrong way.   But, given the fact that so many of my trusted go-to reviewers loved it (and I was reading it for book club) I knew I needed to power through.

So glad I did!  Glow turned out to be one of the more compelling books I’ve read.  There is so much discussable content that it makes the perfect classroom or book club read.  It’s not polarizing but it is definitely a book that allows for strong opinions on either side of a debate. And much debate there is to be had — politics, faith, freedom of choice, etc.

I’ll start by discussing characters.  Waverly was very strong and powerful; a true leader in every sense of the word.  When taken from her home and forced to live in a more puritanical setting she didn’t retreat into her shell to hide.  She didn’t just blindly accept and give up hope.  No, she (being an extremely intelligent and resourceful young woman) went to work plotting how to get all of the girls abducted from the Empyrean home.  She had perseverance and courage, she was unafraid of making tough choices and was admirable in her ability to act upon them.  I found her inspirational and man did I want her to succeed.

Kieran, he wasn’t all that charismatic.  But, that was by design.  I believe he was intended to be reserved and more rigid.  His beliefs dictated much of what he did and said and that made him less accessible to me.  Though he was action oriented and had admirable leadership qualities I found him to be a character I wasn’t really able to root for.  Honestly, the only time I felt like I wanted to see him succeed was in his conflict with Seth.  In that I found him to have a particular strength and vigor that made me want to to see him get what he wanted.

Now Seth, I have a love/loathe relationship with.  I think this is because I can’t quite pin down where his intentions really lie.  His behavior is erratic which allowed me to feel he unreliability.  Does he want what is best for the Empyrean or does he want to make Kieran look bad so he can have Waverly?  It’s hard to tell.  This, of course, makes me really interested in him because the unpredictability in his personality and actions gives a kind of cliffhanger feeling.  The kind that makes me want to see what happens next while still being a little bit afraid of what that might be.

There are a variety of powerful secondary characters in Ann Mather (the super devout leader of New Horizon) who’s actions didn’t always match up with her words.  The family, crew members and children of the Empyrean as well as a number of the inhabitants of New Horizon were quite dynamic.  There was a bit of a push pull in them all where many were dedicated to either helping the girls or the cause of saving the New Horizon.  In some cases there were characters that were split between both.  In this case the characters furthered the right vs. wrong argument and the debate over whether saving their particular lifestyle through population control was more important than the girls freedom of choice.

When it comes to the romance department, Ryan did well with the love triangle.  Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of Keiran in the romantic sense I can see why Waverly loved him.  She grew up with him and was practically raised to love him.  They had a deep bond and affection.  But she also felt connected to Seth.  He brought mystery, spontaneity and a passion into her life that she’d not yet experienced.  That was a powerful attraction she couldn’t deny.  As a result her conflicted feelings are completely believable. It was also a such a small part of the story, a part that was infused to set up further conflict in the series I suspect, that it wasn’t overwhelming or burdensome.

This brings me to the plot.  Man, the whole taking the girls to be incubators story was interesting.  Creepy, at times, but interesting.  Mainly because it was used as the catalyst for the great religious debate and some of the ironies inherent in the idea that what is preached is directly contradicted by people’s actions.  The Empyrean was less devout than the New Horizon so there was a great deal of focus on the differences in their belief structures and how they lived their lives.  I don’t generally enjoy books that do a lot of preaching or analysis of religion but I have to say Glow did it right.  There wasn’t a time I felt like I was being hit over the head with a particular religious or spiritual viewpoint.  Only that such focus was used as a distinguishing factor between the two populations of potential New Earth inhabitants.  it was a different kind of space race, the kind where one population wanted to be larger and more dominant so when they converged there was power in numbers.  It was a very compelling story to read.

I can’t say much about the world building mainly because I don’t think Glow was really about it’s larger environment.  It’s a character based story so while the setting does matter it’s not the element that matters most.  The most significant role it plays is because New Earth (which we know little about) is where the two ships are trying to get to and because those ships have created the segregation between populations.  Outside of that knowing the look and feel of the characters surroundings doesn’t much matter.  At least to me it anyway.

An excellent sci-fi adventure with some real meat on it’s bones.  Filled with excellent characters and enthralling plot lines it’s one that will not disappoint.

Title:  Stolen Away [indie bound] [amazon]
Author: Alyxandra Harvey [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre:  Paranormal
Publisher: Walker Children’s Books
Series: None
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher (via Net Galley)
Parental Advisory: violence, criminal activity
Teachable Moments: folklore

Describing Venus (from publisher):
For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery.  Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as aery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another.  But he won’t comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.

The only one who can break his strangle hold on the Faery court is his wife….Eloise’s aunt Antonia.  Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign.  Now Eloise must become the rescuer.  Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan’s mysterious son, Eldric who may or may not betray them.

How Mars & Venus Don’t Meet:
As much as I love Harvey’s Drake Chronicles series I can’t quite put a finger on exactly why her other books haven’t worked well for me.

So here’s the thing.  I think I would have liked this book so much better if the focus of the story had been on Jo and Eldric.  As characters they were far more charismatic and enjoyable than main character Eloise and her romantic entanglement Lucas.  The latter two were very vanilla in their personalities and didn’t have a whole lot of depth.  Whereas Jo and Eldric had personality to spare.

The plot was simple and predictable not that this is bad as it has been my experience that the ability to craft story in the Faery world is incredibly difficult.  There is only so much to work with.  It always ends up being a battle for the crown.  In this case, the plot should have been secondary to the characters (as it was) but unfortunately some of those characters just weren’t compelling so it dragged down the whole experience for me.

I’ll also add that there was a whole lot of insta-love in the romance departments here.  The kind where on one page there was nothing and the next it was “oh my gosh I need you forever”.  Again, with Jo and Eldric their characters were far more fun and had better conflict so that was more easily overlooked.  With Eloise and Lucas it felt far more disjointed.  This is most likely because neither made for a fantastic stand-alone character so putting them together made no real difference.

Harvey’s writing style is still the right combination of prose and dialogue (which I prefer) and there isn’t any shortage of action.   I was happy that it was so fast paced as it made for a quick read.

Maybe your Mars & Venus Align:
My inability to get into this book should not be the only thing you hear.  I’d much prefer you end on a positive note.  Please visit these reviews to get more information and make a more informed choice:

Dot Scribbles
My Favourite Books
Read My Mind

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)
Author: Kendare Blake [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Tor Teen
Series: Anna
Format: Print
Source: Purchased
Reviewer: Laura
Parental Advisory: blood, violence, death, abuse
Teachable Moments: religious freedom, good vs. evil

“But hey, at least we’ll have this strange story to tell, love and death and blood and daddy issues.”

Summary (from the publisher):
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . .

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Opinion:
I sometimes, occasionally, every once in awhile—giggle, giggle—okay, okay…I fall for fictional characters a lot! This past year quite a few characters have swept through my heart and many more have remained there. But, once in a blue moon, I fall head over heels in love with an author! After reading Anna Dressed in Blood, I have the biggest crush on Kendare Blake!

This book had me at “hello”. The cover jumped right out and spoke to me. What a gorgeous introduction! Then as the pages turned taking me deeper into the tale, the language and words washed over me, formed and fell out of my mouth, and made me smile, laugh, jump, and swoon! The beautiful prose will pull you right into a breathtaking embrace causing tingles and chills up and down your spine!

Anna Dressed in Blood is a ghost story wrapped up with love, friends, family, scares, chills, blood, and voodoo!  A tale brimming with spookiness and dark beauty that made me sit up and yell–”What are you crazy?–Don’t go in there!” more than once. Is there anything better than a good old fashion dark, creepy, and creaky haunted house?  Every town has one or should!  Cas actually says it so much better:

“But hey, at least we’ll have this strange story to tell, love and death and blood and daddy issues.”

Theseus Cassio Lowood (Cas) is a hunter of evil, ghosts, and various big bads like his father before him. When we are introduced to Cas, he is set on killing Anna Korlov—Anna Dressed in Blood. Sounds like any other job on the surface, but nothing feels black and white on this one to Cas, which makes my heart very happy. Good vs. Evil should not be so clear cut. People and life do not work like that. Kendare Blake presents this struggle with such grace, beauty and pain. Can something made by evil be used for good? Can someone forced to do such evil make amends? Cas, Anna, and all the ghost busters will have to find out.

Cas and Anna could very well be the most adorable pair. When we first meet Cas, he possesses and portrays this just-swinging-through-town, cool as the other side of the pillow persona, but as the tale begins to come to light and friendships begin to form we see our hero’s heart. I loved the hands in his pockets, shuffling from foot to foot, blushing, tug on your heart Cassio that Anna brings out in him! It was done in such beautiful, subtle, flirty ways. I adored their time together.

I realize horror is not for every one, but the star of this show is Anna.  She is a strong, beautiful, deadly, mysterious young woman who stands up for herself and the people she cares about. If you are anything like me, constantly hoping and searching for a strong heroine, look no further than Anna.

Anna Dressed in Blood became one of my favorite reads this year. It had everything I needed—from the scares and love to the little things that spoke to me. Any book that quotes Back to the Future, uses the word wonky, and throws in a shout out for Peter Venkman has a permanent spot in my heart and book shelf to read again and again!

I can’t wait to dive into Kendare Blake’s world again.