I Am the Messenger: A Rambling Review

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

This was not the right book for me. I didn't particularly like Ed -- he made some very poor choices, and the way he just went right along with the "messages" demonstrated a certain lack of independent thinking. Plus, he tended to "intuit" a lot based on nothing, which seemed pretty ridiculous to me. I also felt like his inner thoughts and realizations were quite dramatic and pretentious, and that he and his friends sometimes talked in a much more poetic, "deep" sort of way than people would in real life.

The ending was a real cop-out, honestly. I kept reading (skimming, really) because the mystery was really what was keeping me from DNF-ing it. And after all that, the reveal was not worth it. Spoilers, highlight to read: If I interpreted it correctly, it was a "meta" sort of concept where the author was inserted into the story and he was the one sending Ed all the messages. Which, what? *shakes head* I did not read that whole book for that kind of an ending, sorry.
I mean, sure, the message about reaching out to others and helping them was good, I can't argue with that. (I can certainly argue with Ed's method about doing that in some instances, however.) But it doesn't make up for the other issues I had with the story.

2 shooting stars.

 

Short & Sweet: The Silver Linings Playbook, The Undomestic Goddess, and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Adult)

These are just my Goodreads reactions, since I don't know if/when I will actually get around to writing an actual review of them. But you get a general idea of what I thought of them :)

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Probably 2~2.5 stars. This book was approximately 80% football (watching live, watching on TV, talking about...) and 20% actually interesting stuff. Definitely a case of 'the movie was better', at least for me.

Below is literally every Goodreads status update I posted while reading this book. As you can see, there was a pattern:

I don't think anything more needs to be said.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

A light, enjoyable read that gave me a few chuckles. Samantha's exploits in the kitchen (and other housekeeper domains) are highly entertaining, as is watching while she tries to bluff her way through things. Plus, I totally related to her ineptitude at all things domestic! This book kind of reminded me of a cross between the 1980s movies Maid to Order and Baby Boom :)

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Probably around 3.5 stars. I quite enjoyed the first half of it, but found the second half dragged somewhat and wasn't keeping my interest as well. I did really like Clay's voice, and there were some very funny lines in here too.

Eve of Samhain: A Close-Up Review (New Adult)

"As a college senior and server at Hanaford Park's hottest nightclub, twenty-one year old Ryann Pierce's plan was simple: work hard, make lots of money, and avoid the ass-grabbers at all costs. What she never planned for was Quinn Donegan—the living, breathing advertisement for sinful behavior that waltzed into her life.

With an angelic face, a hard body and a butt-load of charm, Quinn had a way with the ladies—a lot of ladies. Cursed with a deadly, addictive touch, his trail of indiscretion blazed across five hundred years. Tired and jaded, Ryann is a shocking revelation Quinn didn't see coming.

Filled with desire, yet unable to touch one another, Ryann and Quinn embark on a daunting journey, battling frustrating physical limitations while exploring their new love. In a race against the clock, Ryann learns she must plead for Quinn's life before…the Eve of Samhain. Determined to end her lover's suffering, not even the danger dogging her every move can keep her from her mission." (from Goodreads)

Eve of Samhain by Lisa Sanchez


*Note: This review contains mild spoilers.

Characters:

Ryann: if there is one thing that Ryann is good at, it is playing the helpless damsel in distress. The girl almost never does anything to help herself. She just reacts like, "Oh no, I'm in danger!" and then lo and behold, Quinn comes and saves her. All right, she has some attitude, and stands up to Quinn occasionally, but as the book progresses she gets sappier and sappier about him. And she can really be emotionally immature and overdramatic.

On the plus side, I thought it was admirable that she'd chosen to save herself for someone she loved.

Quinn: Ryann is always mentioning how hot Quinn is. I'm not sure if this reflects more on him or on her, but in either case: he's a faerie cursed to seduce women, of course he looks amazing. We get it. Ryann doesn't need to tell us for the billionth time how much he makes her loins burn or whatever. That just got kind of ridiculous after a while.

Other than that, I don't actually have much to say about Quinn.

Ryann and Quinn: their relationship was at its cutest when they were arguing/flirting at the beginning. And I have to admit the curse worked to make things frustrating for both Ryann and the reader at drawing out the tension in the first half or so. But the romance really starts to take over the plot partway through, and the romance itself wasn't doing much for me once the two have declared themselves.

Side characters:

The Friends: We don't really get to know Jessica or Martha that well. Basically, they're just there to help out Ryann when needed (especially with fashion choices).

The Villain: The villain didn't scare me — he was just kind of a creep with slightly disturbing eyes. Unfortunately, we're not told much about his motivation, and the plotline involving him seemed very thin (more on that below).

The Faerie Queen: usually faeries are portrayed as emotionless or enigmatic, so in a way, it was refreshing to see a nice faerie queen. Refreshing, but not that believable. I mean, she is nice in an I-want-to-conveniently-solve-a-major-problem-for-you kind of way. (Spoiler, highlight to read: she gives Ryann long life!)

Also, why the faerie queen wouldn't have better things to do than concern herself with whether or not two individuals were going to have sex is beyond me. Seriously...why would she care?? Really, aside from the surface reasons, we're not given much motivation for her character either.

Premise/plot:

The story seems pretty simplistically structured in terms of plot; a lot of it is just about how Ryann has fallen for Quinn. I liked the idea of the myth about this faerie who seduces women, and I wish more of the legend side (involving the faerie world and so on) had been explored, instead of focusing on the romance. I feel like there was a lot here that could have been developed but wasn't.

The threat to Ryann's safety (that got built up in the first half) is vanquished really easily — at this point, I think you can probably guess who saves her. The whole thing wasn't climactic enough for me. I liked the twist of who the villain was (although I totally guessed something was up with him) but I wanted more explanation of why he was after Ryann. The surface motivation we're given isn't very satisfying.

Also, it was a little disappointing that the whole college aspect of the story drops out towards the end (we don't see Ryann attending class anymore, because she's fixated on something else).

Writing style: I found the first half more entertaining and humorous, and then it went downhill from there, with everything becoming quite cliched. There was so much hyperbole and over-the-top drama to be found in Eve of Samhain. The whole trying-to-seduce-Quinn plotline struck me as cheesy, coming across as an excuse for a sex scene more than a storyline in its own right. (And in all honesty, I thought the sex scene itself wasn't very tastefully written.)

Final verdict: 2 shooting stars. I thought the premise had unfulfilled potential, and I enjoyed the first half, but the writing was so poor in the second half it made me want to cringe. Ultimately, it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.

Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the author for review.

Note: This book contains mature (sexual) content and coarse language — definitely not for younger readers!

This book counts towards my goal for the New Adult reading challenge.

Forgotten: Review

Goodreads' description:

"Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies."

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Premise:

The concept behind Forgotten really intrigued me from the synopsis. However, in its execution I feel like it was just too bizarre to be handled the way it was. I think if London's memory had erased at 4:33 am every morning, and that was the only issue, I could have bought it much more easily. There have been case studies of individuals who have short-term memory loss, after all. But combine that with "remembering" the future and you open a whole other can of worms. First of all, if she can see the future and change the future...um, exactly how does that work? Why doesn't she see herself changing the future? Or see glimpses of a variety of possible futures, that depend on the choices she makes? We don't really know how she sees it, or what her limitations are, and the future "memories" are lacking in description; we are told what will happen rather than getting a peek at them along with London.

Secondly, nitty-gritty of her future-seeing aside...basically, she possesses a supernatural ability in an otherwise magic-less story. I'm pretty sure before I read Forgotten I saw some other reviews criticize it for having no explanation for this ability of London's, and I'm very much inclined to agree with them. The unbelievability quotient is simply over the top. Yes, we are given some revelations about her past that provide an explanation (albeit far-fetched and probably not scientifically viable) for the memory loss. But I don't see how that can be stretched to explain her future-seeing as well.

Characters:

Honestly, I had a very difficult time connecting with any of the characters in this book, even the narrator London. I think this was partly due to the writing style, which I found rather dry and distancing, and also to the fact that we don't learn a lot about the characters' interests, hobbies or personality quirks. I'm not sure I could name one activity London enjoys doing in her spare time if I had to (I'm not counting hanging out with her friend or boyfriend). Her unusual memory problems define her and largely define her relationships and the storyline. Her whole life is basically just trying to get through each day, and at the beginning I did feel the frustration that anyone with a memory loss like hers must feel. After a while, however, it just became tiring to read about.

London's friend Jamie feels the most "alive" of any of them, yet even she is pretty much the required best friend sidekick. Sure, she and London have a fight partway through, but you know they will patch things up by the end. How can you be so sure? Well, a) that's usually how BFF arguments end up getting resolved, and b) London "remembers" the future in any case.

Luke is introduced as the perfect guy: attractive, charming, considerate — and unfortunately lacking much depth. He doesn't seem to have any flaws; at one point I remember wondering if I could trust him. Thankfully we do find out a bit more about him through a revelation that explains his interest in London and gives their relationship at least some dimension, but I still wasn't crazy about him by the end. (But he does have an obsession with ears that makes him a bit more distinctive...even if it does weird me out.) I did feel kind of sorry for him though, because he has a girlfriend who wakes up every single day and doesn't remember him; frankly I didn't really get why he stuck with her.

The only other really central character is London's mom, and I had a hard time understanding how she could be so blasé about London's memory problems. I mean, yes, it's been years and they haven't found a medical explanation, but her mom really takes it all in stride and doesn't seem to be too concerned about it. If I had a daughter and she forgot each day but "remembered" the future, I'd be more than a little worried. The relationship dynamic between London and her mom is interesting, though; at some points they seem almost more like friends than mother/daughter, and London confides in her more closely than many teens we see in YA do.

Plot:

There didn't really seem to be one central storyline here, which meant the book lacked direction or much momentum. There's a plot revolving around London's relationship with Luke, another with her friend Jamie, and a third — the most mysterious and significant, I think — related to her unsettling visions of a funeral. Each of these seems to get resolved without too much work on London's part. Okay, she does take steps to get her friendship with Jamie back on track, but since she knew she'd be friends with her in the future...was that really necessary at all? And as for the funeral storyline, there appeared to be some build-up and a few revelations, but then no climactic scene. It was like the action was over before it even began, and London herself isn't really even involved in its resolution — she just finds out about it afterward. Spoilery details, highlight to read: once London's memory of her brother's kidnapping is conveniently triggered and she sees that in the future Luke will die, the police use her clues to discover the house with the stolen children and find out that London's brother's "body" was really a body stolen from the morgue.

And I'm assuming there's a sequel, because there's at least one plot thread completely left dangling. Spoiler: what about Luke dying in the future? Not resolved at all.

Also, given the unique premise, you'd think this would be a gripping read. But I found the opposite to be true — there were so many mundane minuscule details included that I kept losing interest. There were a few scenes that would pull me back into it — usually ones that played on London's memory problems, leading to unexpected situations (spoilery example: I really liked the scene where her memory resets while she's out with Luke and then she wakes up and has no idea where she is or who she's with). And I did like some of the unexpected twists, especially the one involving Luke. But then it would go back to recounting every little encounter that London has, however commonplace. She's constantly forgetting the same things and having similar kinds of conversations, so it gets repetitive. And you can have the most fascinating premise in the world, but if your book is lacking in plot it can only take you so far.

Writing style:

Like I mentioned before, I found the writing kind of dry and clinical, with more telling than showing happening for London's emotional reactions. There wasn't anything blatantly wrong with it, but it didn't sparkle, and some of the dialogue felt inauthentic and stilted. There's also a bit of a disconnect between London's POV and what the reader experiences. London is used to her memory problems and so she's not usually surprised or confused that she forgets the past, or conversely "remembers" something from the future. But to the reader, this is all new and it's frustrating to try to keep track of what London knows, since we can remember everything that's gone on and London can't. I'm not sure there would be any way to really make the reader "forget" along with London, but I just wasn't on the same page as her. Overall, it makes for a confusing reading experience.

Final verdict: 2 shooting stars. A premise with creative potential, but it just didn't happen for me in the execution. I didn't find myself caring about the characters and the whole story ended up feeling pretty pointless.

If you'd like to see a few other bloggers' takes on Forgotten, since I seem to be in the minority, check these more positive reviews out:

The Bookish Type
Poetry to Prose
Amaterasu Reads

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC from Big Honcho Media for review.

Sunshine: Review (Adult/YA?)

Sunshine by Robin McKinley, read for my "Read Outside Your Comfort Zone" Challenge. This is a pretty long, in-depth review, so brace yourself.

Amazon's description:

"There hadn't been any trouble out at the lake in years. Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts for a minute. But then the vampires found her . . . Now, chained and imprisoned in a once-beautiful decaying mansion, alone but for the vampire, Constantine, shackled next to her, Sunshine realizes that she must call on her own hidden strength if she is to survive. But Constantine is not what she expected of a vampire, and soon Sunshine discovers that it is he who needs her, more than either of them know.
Originally published as an adult novel, but now in YA for the first time, Sunshine is an alluring and captivating vampire story — one that will ensnare fans of paranormals everywhere."

Why is it outside my comfort zone? I've tried a few vampire novels in the past, but the ones with traditional vampires (i.e. not glittery "vegetarian" Twilight ones) often just didn't appeal to me that much, as I get grossed out by the whole drinking-your-blood thing. Still, I see so many bloggers raving about vampire paranormal books I figured I should try a few of the more popular ones and see if they can suck me in. (Yes, pun intended.)

Did it win me over? Why or why not? Um, in a word: no. I thought all vampire books, even if somewhat gory at times, were at least exciting and action-filled...that is, until I read Sunshine. I don't know that I've ever read such a slow-moving paranormal novel before. I admit I was intrigued by the beginning scenario of the protagonist, Sunshine, being chained in the same room as a vampire. However, once she manages to escape (which doesn't take that long, really) the whole huge middle section of the book feels...well, to put it bluntly, kind of pointless.

Even if a book doesn't have a lot of plot, I can sometimes get on board if I like the characters. Oh, how I wish I could say I did with this novel. But frankly, Sunshine irritated me so much. I like sarcasm as much as the next person (probably more, actually) but Sunshine was snarky and cynical so frequently it got old pretty fast. It felt kind of like she was hating on the whole world all the time. She came across as incredibly self-absorbed, pessimistic and sometimes downright whiny, and she had this stream-of-consciousness rambling style to her thought processes that annoyed me no end. This also had the effect of slowing down the plot whenever it managed to build up a bit of momentum, and considering it needed every little ounce of momentum it could get, these "info dumps" didn't help matters.

Most of the other side characters didn't particularly impress me (all of the "Special Other Forces" guys seemed really similar), but I didn't really dislike them the way I did the main character. I'm not sure what function Mel, Sunshine's trusty, loyal boyfriend was supposed to fill, but he was usually just mentioned off-screen and he played no central role (actually, he didn't even play a peripheral role, really) in the main storyline. I will put in a good word for Con, though: yes, that's right, I liked the vampire the most. There was a lot to admire in his character — willpower, honesty, and even some good old-fashioned politeness, in a way. And I enjoyed seeing him become at least a little less vampire-ish and a little more "human" as his bond with Sunshine strengthened.

As for the villainous characters...well, the main 'bad guy' doesn't truly put in an appearance till right near the end. That also diminished the tension and sense of urgency, since the threat was not very immediate most of the time.

Best aspect? Can I say the cover? No, that doesn't count? Darn.

I did enjoy some aspects of the world-building —for instance, there is a real blend of paranormal and fantasy here that ends up making the setting unique. Vampires, demons, and magic-handlers all co-exist, along with a special police force for keeping them under control. Sunshine's magic comes from the sunlight and I loved that twist on the elemental magic that traditional fantasy often uses. I also liked the creative take on charms McKinley uses — they're made to seem almost alive, somehow.

If I could change something, I would... I don't even know where to begin. I would cut a *lot* of the extraneous information that Sunshine gives us when she wants to just ramble about her world or her observations for a while. Some world-building information is necessary, of course, but the reader gets hit over the head with a 50-pound world-building brick of information here. The dense and wordy writing style just exacerbates the problem.

I'd give Sunshine a personality make-over so that she's easier to relate to...or if that was impossible, then give her character more development over the course of the story. She is perhaps slightly less self-focused at the end — she actually thinks about Con's safety at one point — but in my opinion she still has a long way to go. 

This book also needed way more excitement, action, danger, tension — you name it. We get a bit of this, finally, in the climactic scene, but then the threat is resolved way too easily. Spoiler, highlight to read: Why does she suddenly have the strength to rip out vampire's hearts? Is that from the partblood demon side of her that we never really find out about?

I also got very confused in some parts due to the extremely vague description of the magic. For instance, terms like "beyond-dark" and "nowheresville" were thrown around when talking about Sunshine's contact with the vampire world, but they were never properly explained. This made it difficult to visualize what she was experiencing, and a lot more clarity in the description would have helped immensely.

Target audience? This isn't one of my usual review sections but I wanted to point this out: Sunshine does not feel like a YA novel in the slightest. My library copy had categorized it as young adult, but as I started reading I kept checking the sticker on the spine...I just couldn't believe this book had been labelled YA.

For starters, the voice doesn't sound remotely like a teen. Indeed, I don't think Sunshine even is a teen — I'm not sure we ever find out her exact age but she's graduated from high school and she sounds like she might be in her mid-twenties. Her jaded attitude and just the way she thinks all feel much more 'adult' than 'young adult'. The detailed and information-heavy sidenotes of her thoughts and the slow-as-molasses plot also scream 'adult fiction'. And then, of course, there's also the explicit language and mature sexual content, just in case you were in any doubt.

Apparently it was originally published as an adult novel, then re-issued later with a different cover as YA. I really have no idea what the publisher was thinking when they made that change.

Just one more thing I want to mention: The loose ends lying around when the last page was done. Spoilers, highlight to read: Are we supposed to believe that the "goddess of pain" is going to just forget about everything? And how come we never find out about Sunshine's true ancestry? Also, what happens to Mel? Sunshine just seems to conveniently forget about her steady, dependable, almost-never-on-the-page boyfriend at the end. I wanted some more answers, especially considering I slogged through over 400 pages to get them. (For the first half I kept thinking that the plot *had* to pick up at some point...then once I got over halfway I was determined to push through so I could finish it for my challenge and write a review.)

Would I read more like this book? I think this is obvious, but no. Robin McKinley wrote one of my all-time favourite fairytale retellings (Beauty), but this book of hers didn't work for me at all. However, I am not ruling out vampire books entirely, especially considering my favourite character of Sunshine was a vampire.

Final verdict: 2 shooting stars. 

Note: This may have been marketed for YA but due to the voice as well as explicit language and sexual content, I do not think it should be considered a YA novel.

If you haven't signed up yet for the challenge and would like to, you can fill out the form HERE.