Shining Star

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

* Read this ARC via NetGalley

This book gets a terrific 4 gnomes out of 5 gnomes for having a refreshing take on Greek mythology that shows a lot of promise for future books.  The characterizations are strong and you'll find yourself caring for just about every character in the story.

The main character, Helen, has always known that there was something different about her, other than the fact that she's really tall.  Helen has never really shown what she can do to anyone and has tried her hardest to appear average.  When a new family moves to town she can't pretend to be average anymore.   

At first you might be thinking that the book is going to take the normal sappy girl loves boy at first sight route. The fact that it didn't take this route really surprised me and made it fun to read.  This unusual reaction brings a lot of tension to the characters and leads the story in unexpected directions.

This book was crazy intense.  I started it at work and then was up until two in the morning because I just had to finish it.  It's a very strange story and the ending is pretty darn infuriating/needed more explanation to make it less infuriating.  

Helen, is the kind of heroine that I wish there were more of in YA literature, she is an awesome character and actually has supportive friends.  Towards the end of the book you may find yourself questioning her choices but in the context of the book if you're like me I'm sure you'll  be crossing your fingers hoping that she figures things out sooner rather than later.

Overall, I loved the characters and the story.  The ending left me a little blah because at least one element seemed to be borrowed from another very popular YA series.  Also you see a character seeming to agree with the bad guy just a little too easily.  I can't wait to see what happens in the next book and if there is any chance for the characters to live happily ever after.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Starcrossed

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

The first sentence from each chapter of Starcrossed, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Read this ARC via NetGalley
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

"But if you bough me a car now, it would be yours when I go away to school in two years."

"Still without her own car, Helen had to ride her bike to school the next morning."

"In the morning when Helen woke up and looked at her feet, the cuts were gone."

"Helen sat in a bathtub of cold water, the lights in the bathroom switched off, and listened to the phone ring over and over."

"The next week at school was nothing short of torture."

"It was nighttime in the dry lands."

"Because I didn't want to wake up Lucas!"

"Helen spent the next few hours alternately listening to the details of her father's trip and insisting that Lucas was not her boyfriend."

"Keep sticking your chin out like that and I'll knock it off for you," Hector yelled."

"MAJORCA, SPAIN

Creon watched the reporter for five minutes before he decided to uncloak himself from the shadows."

"Helen rode her bike to school the next morning, giving her dad instructions to tell Lucas that she had a few things to do before homeroom."

"Helen heard something up on the roof."

"Swathed in black shadows, Creon crouched outside Helen's house, his eyes glued to her bedroom window."

"Just before dawn, Lucas touched her face to wake her up."

"The meadow went on and on and on—endlessly."

"At around eight o'clock in the morning, Lucas finally accepted the fact that he had run out of time."

"Creon stood along the side of the compound, entirely cloaked in shadows, and waited until his cousins sped off in their black SUV before he ran after them. "

"Waiting in the shadows outside the Hamilton house was a long shot, but Creon had no other choice."

"Helen stared at the glass of water in front of her as it sweated condensed moisture onto the kitchen table."

Awesome ARC - Down the Mysterly River

 Thanks to Tor books, received Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham .  :)

Can't wait to read this book, it sounds great.

Spring Fever Swap: Awesomeness Inside

Check out this awesome package that I received from Megan at Amethyst Daydreams.

So thanks to Megan and a big thanks to Jessica at Hopelessly devoted Bibliophile for putting together the Spring Fever Swap.

I was very happy to see that Megan included this ARC from BEA.  I can't wait to read this book, it sounds awesome.  :)

The whole pack full of great stuff: Can't wait to read the books, eat the delicious dark chocolate, use the to do list (maybe it'll get me more organized :) ), and of course grow the cute plants.

Svelte Sweet

*Read this ARC via Around The World ARC Tours

This sweet book gets a 3 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes.  This is a great re-imagining of the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel.  All the basic parts of the story are there and enhanced well to cover a longer story.

There is a fantastic beginning to this story with the prologue that shows what happens in the woods to Ansel and Gretchen when they are chased by something and end up losing their sister.  Their lives aren’t the same after that day because no one believes them and rumors abound that it was their fault.  The grief of losing their sister, Gretchen’s twin,  really tears the family apart.  These two only have each other to rely on.  The first chapter starts years later after they are in their late teens and on the road.

They get stuck in a small town but run into some magical and paranormal obstacles.  The automatic hatred of any outsiders in the town seems kind of cliché at first.  All the small towns I’ve been to seemed overly friendly and not hostile at all.  

Then they're introduced to the chocolatier Sophia who is also seen as an outsider by many in the town.  She has troubles of her own and seems to, as Gretchen notices, have two very different sides to herself.  One side of Sophia is always happy but the other when she drops the whole happy mask is horribly sad.  Sophia is one of those characters that you're just not sure about, she seems nice but well I know I would never trust anyone who smelled like candy all the time.  

There is some romance in the book but nothing over the top or anything.  One couple in this book works a whole lot better than the other because you can tell that there is no chance that one of the pairings will work.  This has to do with the characters and their parts in the story because there are strong hints that things aren’t going to end well pretty early in the book for one character.  The other relationship in the book is more surprising, also it just feels more sincere than the other relationship.  

I was pleasantly surprised to see that some elements from Pearce’s Sisters Red book were important in this book too.  This was a surprise because I wasn't expecting anything of the previous book to be part of this one.

The villains in this book kind of work on one level but I wish it was harder to figure out who one of the bad guys is.  There was no question in my mind while reading that one of the characters had to be a bad guy, I usually like to not have guessed that/know that right away.  The mystery of figuring out what the witch that Gretchen is so scared of is and whether or not the witch existed to begin with is a great guessing game.

There is some sweetness along with some cool paranormal elements in this book.  Gretchen is a great character who slowly grows over the book and by the end you'll really want to know what happens to her next.  

Overall this is quite the retelling of Hansel and Gretel that has some good points but could also use some more mystery.

Winner of Armchair BEA Day 2 Giveaway: Book Haiku Contest

Congrats to Trisha at eclectic / eccentric

the winner of the Book Haiku Contest who wrote:

A portrait of youth
An obsession with beauty
An ink-blooded death

* I'll email Trisha and if I don't hear back by June 8th, I'll pick a new winner.

Congrats again and thanks to everyone who entered their book haikus into the contest.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Sweetly

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

The first sentence from each chapter of Sweetly, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.
*Read this ARC via Around The World ARC Tours
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

Prologue: "The book said there was a witch in the woods."

"The truth is, I can't believe it took out stepmother this long to throw us out."

"It's a cottage, tucked away into a nest of mountainous oak trees that are draped with Spanish moss."

"Loud, sharp clanks of a hammer on nails wake me up the next morning."

"I don't know how two nights became three."

"A week later, I take my books out of my suitcase."

"I'm not scared."

"My dreams are mostly nightmares—the witch charg-ing, transforming into a hundred thousand were-wolves."

"The problem with wanting to ask Samuel to teach me doesn't begin with "he'll probably say no."

"I used to read to escape."

"When I get home, Sophia's car is gone and Ansel is using a hammer inside the shop."

"When I come downstairs the next morning, Sophia and Ansel are bowed over the sink."

"Sophia is hanging on to an oak tree limb."

"You're late," Samuel says when I finally arrive Monday afternoon, but he doesn't sound mad."

"My brother has been invited to play football with a bunch of the Live Oak guys—I guess our quarantine as strangers is over."

"Sophia wakes up so early on the Fourth of July that it's borderline insulting."

"The inside of the tent almost makes me forget that there's a festival going on outside."

"Samuel leads me back down the ladder and bids me a short good-bye."

"What's that?"

"Seriously, Gretchen."

"I was thinking—wait, your hair..."

"I whirl around, hand to my chest."

"The day rockets by."

"Killing a werewolf is no small task."

"It's cat-washing day, the only upside being that I'll have a chance to tell Samuel about Lorelei."

"When I come downstairs the next morning, there's a glaring, obvious absence."

"I slump down onto one of the asphalt hills, the conversa-tion with my brother from earlier in the day still roaming my mind."

"A shell?"

"Waking up in Samuel's arms is comforting; I ignore the realization that the chocolate festival is this evening and instead push myself closer to him, kiss his chest before snaking out from under his arm while he's still sleeping."

"At sunset, I put on Naida's dress, wrinkled from being shoved into the bottom of my suitcase."

"I cry out; Samuel breathes hard, angrily; but it's Ansel's actions that seem to hurt Sophia the most."

"The wolves back up near the chocolatier, unable to get too close—fire is now gnawing the pale wood into dark, brittle ash."

"Everyone in the South has a family burial plot."

Epilogue: "The air-conditioning in Sophia's car—well, our car, I suppose—is broken."