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Yzabel / May 18, 2014

Review: Dollhouse

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Dress-up turns deadly. . .

When Cassie’s best friend, Aisha, disappears during a school hike, Cassie sets off with Aisha’s boyfriend Ethan and their best friend Lacey, determined to find her. But the mist-enshrouded mountains hold many secrets, and what the three teens discover is far more disturbing than any of them imagined: beneath a rundown mansion in the woods lies an underground cavern full of life-size toys and kidnapped girls forced to dress as dolls.

Even as Cassie desperately tries to escape the Dollhouse, she finds herself torn between her forbidden feelings for Ethan, and her intense, instinctive attraction to The Provider, a man Cassie swears she has known before…

Because Cassie’s capture wasn’t accidental, and the Dollhouse is more than just a prison where her deepest fears come true—it’s a portal for the powers of darkness. And Cassie may be the only one who can stop it.

Review:

(I got a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

A likeable story—on the creepy side, that is, but if I didn’t want creepy, I wouldn’t have applied for this book, right? I liked the atmosphere conveyed through the book, at least when it came to the house itself and its inhabitants (this isn’t a spoiler; the title gives it away, after all). It was oppressive, left little doubt as to the stifling nature of the place, and the toys as well as Jessamine’s behaviour were definitely elements of unease. I was never scared, to be honest, but this doesn’t necessarily means “Dollhouse” won’t be scary to other other people. In any case, in terms of imagery, those were themes I could relate to.

The plot is kind of strange. It’s both a good and a bad thing in my opinion. On the one hand, it fits the overall atmosphere; on the other, sometimes things were a little confusing. At first I thought it may be a purely horror/mystery story, then different supernatural elements creepeed in. I was all right with that, though: it may be part of what the book was meant to achieve, depending on how one considers it, and it also contributed to the characters’ confusion. So, for me, it worked.

I found the pacing somewhat uneven. The first chapter pulled me in, then the next ones were slower, and I think some of the scenes in the dollhouse itself dragged a little. Again, this is one of those double-edged aspects in my opinion: slowing down the story, yet also reflecting the bleak existence of the “dolls”, the day-to-day routine under Jessamine’s guidance (if one can call that guidance…), the world being narrowed down to a few rooms only, with few activities available. So, slow in pacing, but fitting in theme.

I didn’t find the characters really memorable, and was mostly interested in the atmosphere and in looking for hints about the bigger picture, I admit. Cassie was kind of bland, Ethan and Aisha as well, and Lacey was easily forgotten. This is probably one of the weakest points in this book: I kept feeling that those friends didn’t really care about each other. That they went looking for Aisha not in the hopes of finding her alive, but of removing suspicion from Ethan. That they didn’t have much in common, and didn’t look like a strong enough group to go through the hassle of camping in the mountains at night to search for the missing girl. Cassie leaves Lacey[Lacey (hide spoiler)] alone in a creepy place, then oh, surprise, she’s missing as well. Rule number one: you never, ever leave someone alone. Not in such a setting.

The romance… Meh. I wasn’t convinced. But then, I seldom am.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that may very well be quite annoying. You can somewhat imagine what will happen, but if it’s still rather abrupt, and felt more like a chapter was missing, rather than a real ending.

I’m giving it 3 stars because I really enjoyed the theme, the atmosphere, the imagery it all evoked. I found it easy to picture the rooms, the clothing, to imagine what the dolls’ life was like. If one is looking for strong characters, though, perhaps this isn’t the right book.

Yzabel / May 7, 2014

Review: Deadly Curiosities

Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina that is more than what it seems. Dangerous magical and supernatural items sometimes find their way into mortal hands or onto the market, and Cassidy is part of a shadowy Alliance of mortals and mages whose job it is to take those deadly curiosities out of circulation.

Welcome to Trifles & Folly, an antique and curio shop with a dark secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670—acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 500 year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When mundane antiques suddenly become magically malicious, it’s time for Cassidy and Sorren to get rid of these Deadly Curiosities before the bodies start piling up.

Review:

[I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

Hard to tell whether I liked it, or found it simply “OK”, so let’s consider this a 2.5 stars.

There are a lot of good ideas in this novel. About the magical community (the Alliance isn’t so big, the Family is likely to become a pain in the neck at some point). About the various kinds of magic, that I haven’t seen used that often in urban fantasy yet (weaving magic and psychometry, that is). About items and how they can become beacon of positive or negative energies. It goes to show that even the most inconspicuous little things can be harbingers of danger. And a store full of antiques, acting as cover for the magic folk to gather those special items and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands? Quaint and delightful—much like the town of Charleston, for which I could get quite a good feeling through the many little stories. (One of the secondary characters works in the historical archives. I tell you, you always need to know someone who works in a museum or something. Always.)

Another thing I liked was that, for once, there was no romance here. I don’t dislike romance, but sometimes I find there’s too much of it in UF in general, and it can more easily detract from the darkness and magic. Here, I didn’t want to read about a love story: I wanted to read about the antique shop, the mysterious items, Cassidy’s power, and so on. And this is what I got. So I was glad.

Unfortunately, this novel just didn’t click with me. I’m not even sure why exactly. I liked the ideas, the characters seemed interesting, but I never connected with them. I don’t think we get to see Sorren before the 30% mark, if I remember well, which I found too bad. As for the demon hunter, it was kind of annoying that he was introduced so late into the story, then made to die; his death would’ve been more striking if I had got to know him better. Yes, I’m a masochist. I know.

Regularly enough, I also found myself a little bored. It may have been because of the writing style: usually good when it came to descriptions of places, or to the stories passed around regarding the town and its inhabitants, but somewhat clunky in other parts. Examples would include repeated uses of the same first name in three consecutive short sentences, or some dialogue lines basically stating the same thing twice in a row. At first, I didn’t really notice it, but after a while, it started weighing down the narrative. The pace was perhaps a little too slow as well, though I can’t tell if this was because of the aforementioned style, or if it was just sluggish.

I’d place this novel among the ones that aren’t uninteresting, and could blossom into a good series; however, so far, I’m not really convinced.

Yzabel / April 30, 2014

Review: A Gift of Ghosts

A Gift of Ghosts by Sarah Wynde

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Akira Malone believes in the scientific method, evolution, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. And ghosts.

All the logic and reason in the world can’t protect her from the truth-she can see and communicate with spirits. But Akira is sure that her ability is just a genetic quirk and the ghosts she encounters simply leftover electromagnetic energy. Dangerous electromagnetic energy.

Zane Latimer believes in telepathy, precognition, auras, and that playing Halo with your employees is an excellent management technique. He also thinks that maybe, just maybe, Akira can help his family get in touch with their lost loved ones.

But will Akira ever be able to face her fears and accept her gift? Or will Zane’s relatives be trapped between life and death forever?

Review:

[I got a free copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

This was a quick and light read, and I mostly appreciated it. Not the best book I’ve read this year, but definitely enjoyable.

I liked its take on ghosts, how they behaved, the way they were bound to places that had been important to them in life or at the moment of their death. Their world wasn’t in black and white only: the “bad” ghosts, though definitely dangerous, aren’t totally unredeemable, and aren’t intrisically bad either; conversely, a “safe” ghost could turn into a dangerous one just as well if overwhelmed with grief. A lot seemed to be about balance, about regrets left behind, but it wasn’t so simple as “just get rid of your regrets and you’ll find the white light that’ll help you move on.” This predicament (for both the ghosts and Akira, who had her share of bad experiences with people she had tried to help) was interesting, and left room to various interpretations on the reader’s part. Being able to see ghosts doesn’t mean Akira can “save” them, and it explained her attitude on the matter. For instance, she doesn’t like advertising her ability because then she’s asked to bring closure to the ghosts’ relatives; yet simply relaying said ghosts’ messages doesn’t ensure their family will feel better, nor that the dead will manage to move on.

Those plots with the ghosts may or may not be seen as a problem. In a way, the story felt a little disjointed, in that those subplots were of the slice-of-life (pardon the pun) kind and didn’t seem to serve a larger purpose at first. However, in the end, they were important to understand Akira’s views, played a part in how relationships developed, and I think they also helped shape the ending. (I liked the twist with Henry, by the way.)

The writing itself was pleasant. Good formatting and editing, no weird sentence structures (if there were any, they really didn’t strike me). There was one sex scene that might seem weird at first, because the flirting/foreplay part involved a lot of references to physics; I think it depends on the reader here. I liked it, and I guess my inner geek just found it sexy—much better than the usual purple prose I’ve seen in too many depictions of romance/erotica—but I can also see how it wouldn’t work for other people.

The two things I liked the less were:

1) The setting. We have a small Florida town seemingly full of psychics, with Zane’s family members also having their share of powers, but we don’t see them that much. It would’ve been interesting to have a better glimpse into the life of Tassamara as a whole.

2) The characters were somewhat lackluster (though some got better later in the book). I think I liked the ghosts characters (Dillon and Rose mostly) better than the human ones. Akira especially struck me as a little too passive: accepting a job she didn’t know that much about for starters, not reacting that much to situations that should’ve prompted a more heated answer… I got a better feeling of her later on, but not at first.

In general, this novel had its faults, but as far as I’m concerned, the ghost-related plots made up for them.

Yzabel / April 12, 2014

Review: Division Zero

Division Zero by Matthew S. Cox

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Most cops get to deal with living criminals, but Agent Kirsten Wren is not most cops.

A gifted psionic with a troubled past, Kirsten possesses a rare combination of abilities that give her a powerful weapon against spirits. In 2418, rampant violence and corporate warfare have left no shortage of angry wraiths in West City. Most exist as little more than fleeting shadows and eerie whispers in the darkness.

Kirsten is shunned by a society that does not understand psionics, feared by those who know what she can do, and alone in a city of millions. Every so often, when a wraith gathers enough strength to become a threat to the living, these same people rely on her to stop it.

Unexplained killings by human-like androids known as dolls leave the Division One police baffled, causing them to punt the case to Division Zero. Kirsten, along with her partner Dorian, wind up in the crosshairs of corporate assassins as they attempt to find out who – or what – is behind the random murders before more people die.

She tries to hold on to the belief that no one is beyond redemption as she pursues a killer desperate to claim at least one more innocent soul – that might just be hers.

Review:

[I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

3.5 stars. The idea of mixing cyberpunk, crime, psychic powers and ghosts was really interesting, and in general, I liked what the author created here. The world depicted here seemed true enough to what I expected of such a setting, seen through the eyes of a young police officer who’s had her share of difficult moments and knows how far from rosy and sheltered life is. It addressed the matter of consciousness in various ways, the main ones being ghosts, but also AIs (the most advanced ones are granted citizen status, and failing to repair them is legally considered as murder).

I really enjoyed the way the normal world existed alongside the “dead” world. Ghosts tend to linger due to various reasons, from revenge to being tied to items or places (we get to see a few of these throughout the course of the story). Apart from that, their options are to either “go to the light”, or to fall prey to the strange, shadowy Harbingers, who (which?) come for the darkest souls. The way the novel ends leaves room for more on that, I think, but since we already learn a lot in this first installment, I felt satisfied.

I found it a little hard at times to get into the story, especially in the first half, but after a while things flowed more seamlessly. I think what bothered me in the first part was that a couple of side characters popped up, without exactly being solved. (view spoiler) So I was left wondering, when do I see them again, and… nothing.

Kirsten also annoyed me in the first half, because she’s such a whiner about never finding a boyfriend (they all run away when they find out she’s psychic). She’s 22, there’s still plenty of time for that, and I don’t like it when a female character who has a lot of potential is shown as pining after men, as if everything else wasn’t important. Everytime it happened, I wondered why she kept putting herself in such situations, too (it was as if she set herself for failure?). I must admit that behaviour made me knock off one star here. Fortunately, the second half of the novel was better in that regard, and she was more focused on her job. She also got to battle her own demons, and with this came a new acceptance, too, and another perspective on life.

Dorian… Dorian had his annoying quirks, but I liked what the author did with him, and I hope he appears in the next story. (view spoiler)

In spite of my initial qualms with Kirsten, I do want to read the next installment. I’ve seldom seen ghosts used in such futuristic settings, so the whole premise was interesting, and remained so in my opinion. (Also, I still hope we’ll see some of the minor characters again, such as the ones I’ve already mentioned.)

Yzabel / April 30, 2013

Review: Ghostgirl

Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

My rating: [rating=1]

Summary:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
And if I should die before I awake,
I pray the popular attend my wake.

Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day she really is invisible. Even worse: she’s dead. And all because she choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn’t stop Charlotte from wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving her goal.

If you thought high school was a matter of life or death, wait till you see just how true that is. In this satirical, yet heartfelt novel, Hurley explores the invisibility we all feel at some times and the lengths we’ll go to be seen.

Review:

Alright, what to start with…

I liked the cover. The packaging. The layout. The way the whole book is formatted. Actually, it’s what pushed me to buy it, since I found it at a low price at the bookstore. And… I guess that’s all? A perfect example of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

This story could’ve been interesting, if only it had been carried in a different way. Unfortunately, things go down hill fast, very fast. The writing itself, for starters, is nerves-grating: lots of telling instead of showing, and resorting to so many adverbs that I stopped counting after chapter 2. The setting is that of a high school, but the style is at best middle school-level, and I’m not sure a high schooler would enjoy it—so I don’t have any idea about what the targetted audience was.

The characters came out as flat and cliché at their worst: all the cheerleaders are sluts, the Goth Girl, the jocks… If the whole book had been treated as a real parody, it may actually have been enjoyable; however, it fell in the middle, hovering between attempts at being funny and a more serious kind of story. And thus, the end result was a pile of clichés that weren’t even amusing. Parents and family are thrown out of the window with the assumption that “teenagers are so self-centered that they just don’t care about them once they’re dead”. Yeah, right, I so believe that. YA literature in general doesn’t bother about family much, but in this book, this trope is brought to its apex, and with a stupid reason to boot.

The story itself didn’t make much sense. The dead kids have to protect a house, but we’re never told why (as a reader, I would’ve liked to at least know, even if the characters themselves weren’t meant to). The living kids are allowed to hold a ball in a place that was pronounced unsafe, something that just doesn’t compute. Charlotte is supposed to be the girl nobody pays attention to, yet she’s bullied by the popular girls, which doesn’t fit much the “invisible girl” concept–such people are just ignored, not bullied. She’s also so shallow and selfish, with a definite streak of stalker, that there was no way for me to like her or empathize with her predicament; everything bad that happened to her, she brought upon herself, anyway. And let’s not talk about the pop-culture references. I’m all for cameos and insiders, except that those weren’t of much use here.

Again, it could’ve been a good story if it had really played on humour and clichés. This was the story I wanted to get; alas, it’s not the story I got.

Yzabel / January 19, 2013

Cover project: Was

This isn’t exactly a true “cover reveal”, as in I’m not doing it to announce an upcoming book (well, not so soon, at any rate). But I’ve had a lot of fun and excitement working on a cover project for the first part of my story “Was”, and of course I’m eager to share it.

Paris, February 1989. With the help of his deadly minion, the cunning Necromancer Louis Valdemar is well on his way to awake dark forces no human being should ever play with. Abiding by treaties held up for centuries, the Anima Mundi, an organisation of mages, sends a team of hunters to put an end to this madness, and prevent the French capital from being destroyed.

Bristol, May 2008. A-level student Louisa Keynes wakes up in a white hospital room, after a car crash that left her in a coma for ten months, only to find out that everything has changed, that her nights are now plagued by weird dreams, and that magic does exist. She has become a Technomancer, one of those mages who can bend Reality to their will using modern devices; and she’s decided to walk that path as far as she needs to in order to learn more about herself.

London, December 2009. Near the oily waters of the river Thames, sys-op Echoes and Blood Witch Ring investigate a series of gruesome murders whose victims had their souls devoured. At St Pancras railway station, Marek Van Cartier is about to wreak havoc, a sweet smile on his lips. Standing on the platform at Tottenham Court Road tube station, Lyle Karlowitz is staring at a heartless woman in a colourless world. From beyond a wall of thorns, the hand of death is about to curb the fates of thousands of people. And Louisa is riding the Northern Line, unknowingly rushing towards the encounter that will once again turn her life to shambles.

What was and what is shall now meet.

Yzabel / June 30, 2012

Review: Mary

Mary by Ann Haines

My rating: [rating=4]

Mary, a 17-year-old girl from London, moves to lovely Eires Green with her father, mother and grandmother. After a series of bad decisions that led to very dark moments in her life, this is her chance at starting anew: new town, new house, new school, new friends… maybe even a boyfriend! Things definitely seem to be looking up for Mary, who grows to enjoy Bell House more than she thought, and can finally hope to find a place of her own here. However, the more she discovers about her new home, the more she realizes that Bell House hasn’t always been devoid of tragedy… and that tragedy might strike again.

As odd as my way of wording it might sound, this novella had a nicely refreshing spookiness. Little by little, the reader is presented with tiny, light touches of eeriness that help the tension build up in a discrete yet efficient manner; they contrast all the more, in restrospect, with the many apparent perfections of Eires Green. At the same time, it was a refreshing read, in that it didn’t leave me with the feeling of just any ghost story. I was pulled in from the beginning, always wanting to know what would happen in the next chapter, and trying to piece up the hints the author scatters along her story; this is not something I make the effort of doing when I’m not so interested in a book.

If I should list one thing I couldn’t really wrap my mind around, unfortunately, it was the fast pace at which relationships evolved in the story. Although that pace made sense once I reached the end and realized why things came to be that way, it was still going too fast to my liking in terms of chronology (one week seemed too short a time frame to develop such relationships—I guess a few weeks would have felt more ‘natural’).

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading “Mary”, and will heartily recommend it.