Review: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . .

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed . . .

I knew from the second I saw the gorgeous cover and read the blurb of this book that I was going to love it and whilst sometimes these high hopes lead to disappointment I will say right now that Yelena Black's Dance of Shadows did not let me down, in fact I think it exceeded my expectations massively. I read the whole 400+ pages in one bath and didn't even notice how freezing my water was until I put the book down and came back to reality, that is how much I was sucked into this book.

I've read quite a few bad reviews of this book and whilst I can agree with the flaws that they point out I can honestly say that none of them really bothered me. This book has quite a slow development so I would recommend this book to people that like intrigue and suspense built up but not those who just want action. If you are an absolute hater of love triangles then this book might not be for you, then again I loved this book and I really don't like love triangles so I guess it's a matter of opinion and yes, the main character is instantly attracted to an upperclassman, Zeppelin but let me tell you that this isn't insta-love, the romantic plot isn't all that it seems and by the end all of you insta-love haters will probably be very happy with the turn out.

Forget those flaws up there though, I'm only putting them in because I have to to be a fair critic. Dance of Shadows was a fantastic read because it built up the intrigue and mystery so slowly that you don't realise it's happening. Vanessa goes through this cycle of waking up and doing dance practice and then mooning over her boy but every day this happens something is added in that makes you feel a little bit more wary about the characters. I did feel that at times Vanessa was a little slow on the uptake and I was almost screaming at the characters at points because nobody communicated... I mean if Justin had just told Vanessa what he knew then all of the trouble would have been avoided.

Black has this fantastic narrative voice that made Vanessa seem so real. She really did well at putting in sinister undertones to the lightest of scenes, like Vanessa joking around with her friends. I would definitely read more by this author. 

Overall, Dance of Shadows was a fantastic and intriguing read which keeps the reader guessing from start to finish. Yelena Black so easily writes a sinister and creepy plot with just enough romance and fun to keep it from getting too dark. 

Book released 14th February 2013 by Bloomsbury
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (Print)

Review: Broken by A.E. Rought

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Why do I always finish Strange Chemistry releases with a feeling of utter satisfaction and awe? The awesome people at Strange Chemistry really have a knack for picking out the original and exciting books and Broken was absolutely no exception. This book was original and creepy even though I had worried that the whole new boy plot line sounded very cliche.

I shouldn't have let myself worry though, Broken manages to be a hugely enjoyable and fast paced read with enough emotional baggage to give it this edge that a lot of YA paranormal releases just don't have. Ok, so there were some things that I disliked a little, I made a little bit of a comparison to Twilight - sorry but that's the obvious comparison because of the whole creepy new boy that warns away our protagonist, despite the obvious connection - HOWEVER the connection in Broken is for a reason and so it kind of excuses it. As well as that, I was a little bit confused and betrayed by how easily Emma gets over Daniel, even though we don't know him we know he deserves more than that, so I felt a little uncomfortable by the developing relationship between Alex and Emma at the beginning.

I did start to warm towards the pair as the story continued and by the end I really liked Alex as a love interest and I was rooting for them, I guess that shows how well Rought developed her characters and her story. The pacing was a little off at times, but I still could not put the book down from start to finish and when I was away from the book I knew that I had to get back to it.

Of course, the synopsis tells you that this book is a little creepy and very thrilling, by the end I was terrified. I was absolutely gripped, absolutely on edge over whether Emma and Alex would escape the bad guy and the bad situation that they've been put into. It's a fantastic climax to a great book and I really would recommend this to anyone looking for a typical YA paranormal with some originality.

Book released 8th January 2013 by Strange Chemistry

ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (ARC)

Review: Renegade by J.A. Souders

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all. 

Ooooh! Why did this book have to dissapoint me so much. It had all of the makings of an AMAZING dystopian - underwater world and brainwashing and a fast paced escape plot and yet it just did not deliver for me. It was yet another case of pretty cover, not so pretty book and after finishing it I came away with this awful sense of unfulfillment and disappointment.

On the surface Renegade seems like the perfect book and it's true that I read it in a day, yet the truth is that underneath the seemingly great story there re so many blindingly obvious plot holes and inconsistencies that I kept feeling like I'd missed things. then there is the fact that though this book is a good 350 pages long and yet by the end of it it feels like you've got absolutely nowhere.

I'm really not the type of person to write completely critical reviews but up there I've told you the good aspect of this novel (the premise) and now I have to say what I felt let this book down. I am a keen reader, I will rush through a book and not completely think things through so whilst i thought this book was okay whilst reading it it wasn't until I finished it and though through the plot that I realised that a lot of things didn't fit. One thing that really stood out is that Elysium is this new world that has existed for fifty odd years, they have this now way of life with the Coupling and the Mother and yet there was a lack of 'slang' that has evolved there. Some of the better dystopians about new civilizations incorporate some new types of slang yet this one didn't and Evie didn't know what a lot of the surface slang meant and so they haven't kept that slang so that confused me a little. 

I also had some issues with the romance, there was some chemistry between Gavin and Evie yet it wasn't enough that they'd be totally happy coupling after seeing eachother two times, it made no sense and just served to irritate me. A lot.

I won't go on anymore, but if you're looking for dystopian societies and an action packed plot, i wouldn't recommend this one.

Book released 13th November 2012 by Tor Teen
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (eBook)

Waiting on Wednesday (9/1/13)

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

These WOW picks don't include books that I have as e/ARCs but am yet to read;

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

September 10th 2013 by Tor Teen

Old Gods never die…
Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

So I kind of cut short th synopsis because the Goodreads one is soooo long, but does this not look so awesome. The cover is gorgeous (I hope they stick with it) and I can't wait to read more from Kendare Blake! The release is sooooo far away though :(

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Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
June 6th 2013 by HarperCollins (UK)/April (US)

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.

I just loved Unravelling last year so I can't wait to get my hands on this! It doesn't come out until June over this side of the pond so I'll either order the US version as it comes out just before my 20th birthday or I will beg for an ARC from the UK publisher.

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So those are my WOW picks this week. I'd love to see what's on your list so drop me a link and, as always, let me know if you follow!

Review: Splintered by A.G, Howard

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

This is one of the most magical and wondrous and, at times downright creepy books that I have read in a very long time and in short I absolutely loved it. From the second I saw the absolutely gorgeous cover, which is so beautiful and yet kind of haunting at the same time I knew that this book was going to be just great for me, and I was right. I loved Splintered, I was obsessed with the story from start to finish and even after that this book kept coming back to me.

So what makes this book so awesome? I mean clearly the answer is absolutely everything but especially the plot, which takes characters and settings that the readers know from the Lewis Caroll books and the early Disney movie and adds this sinister and magical twist to them, making them come to life and making us feel this sense of discomfort not knowing what will happen next. You know those talking flowers that seem so snobbish in the movie? They love the taste of humans and you know the food at that tea-party? It may have certain... side-effects. It was absolutely amazing and thrilling and wahhhh....

Plus, the characters are just so amazing. Tough skater girl Alyssa has to deal with being bullied because she's descended from Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland as well as the pressure of her hearing and seeing things that other people might find a little strange. This girl has a lot on her plate but she deals with it so realistically and not breaking down in weak tears everytime something happens. Jeb, the love interest is a raw man that comes across as so realistic because he isn't some cookie cutter perfect boy, he says what he means and responds to his instincts which sometimes slows the budding romance. 

And yes, there is a little bit of a love triangle, but you know which way it's going to go. Morpheus is the bad guy (or is he) but he slowly grew on me, I started to empathise with him and it takes a very talented writer (yes, that's you AG Howard) to create an antagonist so real.

Overall, I cannot sing Splintered's praises enough. From start to finish I was gripped and I cannot wait to read more from this author. Unforgettable, gripping and full of sinister twists, I recommend this to anyone!

Book released 1st January 2013 by Amulet books
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (eBook)

Review: Prophecy by Ellen Oh

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

From when I first saw this book on loads of WOW posts months ago I have been dying to get it, so I was so happy when it went up on Edelweiss and I was accepted for it. The fantasy aspect was enough and the Asian influence totally did it for me (i'm a sucker for eastern influenced fantasy books). As well as that, for those of you that don't know I'm currently learning Korean so it was also awesome to see all of the honorifics like Oppa and shi, which I totally understand and I loved it!

The book starts out so well, I was immediately gripped by the action at the beginning which totally brings some intrigue into the book and it wasn't until about halfway through when things got a little bit repetitive that I was able to put it down. There was some inconsistency in the pacing of the book because at some points I got a little bored and at some points I was absolutely gripped.

I felt that there were some issues with the characters. Jaewon was the only character that I really liked because he was intrigued me, I'd like to learn more of his past. Kira seemed like a typical tough, misunderstood girl and Taejo seemed to hold no purpose except to get into trouble and be rescued by Kira, which annoyed me since he's supposed to be this big hero.

Oh's writing was very simplistic which meant that I felt quite disconnected from the story, the prose was quite flat and not very passionate and gripping, though the plot was gripping a lot of the time.

Overall, I loved the world and though there were some pacing issues I was still an interesting story. The writing and characters fell a bit flat for me though. This was a good read but not groundbreaking.

Book released 3rd January 2013 by HarperTeen
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (eBook)


Other books from this author:
Diverse Energies (Short Story-Anthology)

Review: Doomed by Tracy Deebs

Beat the game. Save the world.

Pandora’s just your average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father, her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.

After seeing this up on NetGalley I nearly cried with excitement, then I saw that the publisher was Bloomsbury and nearly cried with sadness, however Bloomsbury actually accepted me for this one and for that, Bloomsbury, I am ever grateful. 

Doomed was a fantastic book though it wasn't quite what I expected. This book was more of a techy post-apocalyptic action book and I was expecting something a little more gamer-y like and a little less serious. Nonetheless, I really did enjoy it, it was fast paced and exciting and I was gripped.

The characters in this book was amazing, as was the romance. I really loved Pandora, the main character who like her namesake is extremely curious and because of this unleashes a whole load of poop onto the world, sounds like a basic retelling of Pandora, well it isn't, this is a lot of action and tech with the added bonus of Eli and Theo, the two hot neighbours who help Pandora on her quest to shut down the virus that's interfering with the countries' technology. Yeah, there's a love triangle but fear not since it is a well written, well developed and well executed and I loved how it ended up.

The pacing and writing this book were amazing, I was so gripped that I read it at once, even though I don't think this book was totally unforgettable.

Book released 8th January by Walker Childrens
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (eBook)

Other books by this author: 

Tempest Rising (Tempest #1)