**Notice** Due to transfering back from a godaddy hosted wordpress blog back to blogger, reviews published before june 2017 don`t all have a pretty layout with book cover and infos. Our apologies.
Showing posts with label series conclusion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label series conclusion. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Between The Spark And The Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke

Between The Spark And The Burn is the amazing sequel (and conclusion) to Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, one of  my favorite Gothic novels ever. April Genevieve had the challenging task of concluding such an expansive and engrossing story, but the ending to this series is extremely successful and fitting. Readers won't want to let go of the Devil's hand and say goodbye to Violet, River and the rest of the Citizen Kane crew.

River went missing and it's up to Violet and Neely to find him before he harms himself and others. This duo sets out on their journey chasing rumors, but trouble has a way of finding Violet and her friends. Though Neely is supposed to be 'good', he still seems to be hiding so much from Violet. What is Neely hiding and will Violet find River?

Between The Spark And The Burn has a much different feel than its predecessor, this novel is much faster paced and much more intense. Spark brings readers to several different locales and allows readers to experience local legends and myths in such a creative way. Our heroine, Violet is chasing after anything that might lead to River and that means readers get to meet a variety of strange new characters and creatures along the way. Between small, close-minded towns to odd islands, Tucholke creates a number of settings that readers will love to visit and these locations are anything but normal.

I absolutely love Violet and the relationship she has with River and Neely because it allows us to see her in a totally different light. Though Violet may seem like she's perfectly content, her obsession with these boys allows us to see an unhinged, reckless girl who just longs to be loved and appreciated by someone. River and Neely are dangerous, Violet knows that but she needs someone to fill in the gaps in her heart that her parents can't seem to fill. I love a complex, flawed character and Violet is just the type of character that I love to read about.

Tucholke really knows how to write the perfect bad boy and this series has River Redding who is so much better than your average love interest. The bad boy is an archtype that is all too common in YA: the stalking, damaged teen who is angry at the world and quite possibly drives a motorcycle. River might have his fair share of scars, but he doesn't follows the YA cliches associated with this type of character. I shouldn't have loved his character for a multitude of reasons, but it's an ode to Tucholke's talent that she makes such a harmful character so alluring and impossible to resist.

Between The Spark And The Burn is a gorgeously written Gothic novel with an imaginative setting, well-drawn out characters and a plot that will keep readers guessing until the end.  Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea is a superb duology that fans of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl will love and Between The Spark And The Burn concludes this series on the best possible note.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

Perfect Lies is the sequel to Mind Games; Mind Games was a novel that I didn't enjoy much, despite the fact that I was extremely excited to read it. Personally I thought that Mind Games was bogged down by poor writing, so-so character development, and an uninteresting plot. Frankly before starting Perfect Lies I had zero expectations of enjoying the novel and I thought this novel would just be a lame excuse of a sequel. Perfect Lies defied all expectations and was a vast improvement over it's predecessor.

In Mind Games, the relationship between Annie and Fia wasn't convincing by any standard and I found that I didn't like either sister. Kiersten White has defined the sisterly bond between Annie and Fia so much better in Perfect Lies and readers will understand how close and yet so far away these sisters are from each other. I wanted Annie and Fia to set aside their differences and destroy the Foundation. I hated seeing them drift apart and it was heartbreaking to see the duo estranged from each other. I was shocked by how much I actually cared for these sisters by the end of this novel and it was incredibly sad to think that are no more books in this series.

Perfect Lies is a high-stakes, intense thriller and I was extremely eager to see how Kiersten White would end this series.  The plot of Perfect Lies wasn't perfect by any standard, but I really enjoyed reading about Annie and Fia. I truly wish White had utilized the characters' preternatural abilities a bit more, but otherwise the plot of Perfect Lies was action-packed and well thought-out. The ending of Perfect Lies (and of the Mind Games series) didn't completely answer all of my questions, but I was mostly satisfied with the note it ended on. Honestly, I wish White wrote a small novella that takes place after Perfect Lies to give readers a taste of what happened after Perfect Lies's ending.

Despite the fact that I wasn't a fan of Mind Games, I really enjoyed Perfect Lies and it was an excellent conclusion to the Mind Games series. Perfect Lies is definitely worth reading and it was truly a wonderful surprise! After reading Mind Games and The Chaos Of Stars, I was hesitant about reading Paranormalcy, but Perfect Lies has reinforced my desire to read this trilogy!

jonsig