Review: Knowing Jack by Rachel Curtis

Title: Knowing Jack

Author: Rachel Curtis

Publisher: Self-publish

Pages: 216 (ebook)

Source: Netgalley

Where to Buy: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Synopsis:

I am not a slut, although I've been called one often enough. Yeah, I spent three months screwing one of my college professors, but I was crazy about the guy. Then he broke up with me.

I am not a bitch, although people like to say I am. I kept our relationship secret. I'm not responsible for telling the university administrators about it, but a lot of students still blame me for getting their favorite professor fired.

I'm not a drama queen, although everyone thinks I am now. When I got a few nasty messages, I just deleted them. When I got the threat, I assumed it was someone being stupid. I still think that's all it was. My parents worry, though, so they hired me a bodyguard. Now Jack follows me around, intimidating everyone who approaches me and looking obnoxiously hot.

This is what I am. I'm Chloe. I'm a twenty-year-old art history major. Kind of shy, although I pretend not to be. Stubborn enough to stay here for my senior year, even though everyone hates me.

And I'm stuck with Jack.

He calls me "Princess," but I'm not a princess either.

What I Thought:

Okay, this was a fun story. I wasn't sure what to expect from the writing, since that summary rambled too long, but it was a lot better than I expected. It took me a little while to get into the story (sometime in chapter one I put the book down for about a week before picking it back up and devouring the rest).

The main character, Chloe annoyed me at times. She hates what she is going through at her school for sleeping with her professor (ranging from snide marks from one of her professors to a Tumblr account dedicated to ruining her life), but when given several opportunities to get out of her situation she doesn't take them. I'm not talking just transferring to a new school and losing credits like a normal person would have to do, I'm talking internship at the Louvre for enough credits to graduate. This was kind of okay with me though, because I wasn't the only one who though she was an idiot, her love interest/bodyguard, Jack, thinks so too.

Speaking of Jack, the chemistry between the two of them is HOT. He is risking a lot, personally and professionally, by taking a chance on acting on his feelings. You can tell he cares about her. The one complaint I have about him is I'm not a trained bodyguard and as soon as the antagonist of the book came on the scene I already knew who they were and why they did it. Why couldn't Jack figure this out? Maybe his lust was blocking his skills.

The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, though the plot of this story was wrapped up very nicely. I really look forward to reading the sequel and other works from Rachel Curtis.

Overall: 4

New Adult Month Review: Collaboration

Title: Collaboration
Author: Michelle Lynn and Nevaeh Lee
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 254
Source: Author
Where to buy: Amazon

Synopsis:
This is not your typical rock star romance. For one, the “rock star” is a rapper. And not just any rapper. Trace is the hottest ticket in the music industry right now, regardless of which definition of ‘hot’ you choose.

Taryn Starr is not the girl-next-door who unknowingly meets a celebrity. Known as “America’s Sweetheart,” the reigning country music princess and world-renowned superstar knows exactly who Trace is…or does she?

Their worlds collide when the musicians whose paths were never destined to cross are forced by their joint record label to collaborate on a song. The sparks fly and ignite a fire that blazes hotter with every minute they spend together—for better or worse. One thing’s for certain, the two media magnets can’t deny their explosive chemistry, but will life in the spotlight ultimately bring Trace and Taryn together or force them apart?
What I think:
Oh my gosh. This book is amazing. I have to say this is one of my favorite New Adult books that I have read so far (and I have read a lot). It surprises me that a joint writing effort can be so seamless and cohesive. I really can't think of any complaints other than the sadness I felt when I finished reading it.

Trace and Taryn are just as antagonistic in the beginning as you would expect. Come on, who expects a sweet country singer and a gangster rapper to get along? But of course we know they will eventually overcome their differences, the question is just how. And boy was the "how" not what I expected.

The characters were all fun and the situations their they get in keeps you on the edge of your feet to find out how it is resolved. I want to tell more about the best parts of the book, but I don't want to spoil anything.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It was fun and hot and leaves you wanting more. Now you go find this book while I go to read more of Michelle and Nevaeh's books.

Overall: 5/5

Review: Severed

Title: Severed
Author: Dax Varley
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 258
Source: Author
Where to buy: Amazon

Synopsis:
Katrina's still haunted by her encounter with the Headless Horseman-the night he beckoned to her. Now he has risen again, slashing heads and terrorizing the quiet countryside.

Her only joy during this dismal darkness comes when Ichabod Crane, a gorgeous young man from Connecticut, moves to Sleepy Hollow and their attraction turns to romance.

When the Horseman marks Ichabod as his next victim, Katrina, despite dangerous efforts to save him, see no other choice than for them to flee.

But the Horseman awaits. Now it's up to her to sever the horror and alter the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

What I Think:
With the new Sleepy Hollow show coming out, and Halloween just a few weeks away, this is the perfect time of year for Varney to come out with her young adult romantic mystery novel, Severed. I liked this story. I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't push me to that level. This was a really interesting take on the Sleepy Hollow tale. From what I remember of the original story, there is little left the same other than character names.

There was something about the book that I liked, but it is hard to put my finger on it. I know the reasons I didn't like parts of it, but it still had a certain something in it that made me want to continue reading it. One part of it was that the concept was very interesting and made me want to know more about what was going on. Another part of it was the mystery was so complex and engaging that you want to see if your guesses about who is behind everything was right. Sadly, for me the ending was disappointing and I did not get all of the answers I wanted.

Katrina was a fun character, but she felt a little too modern for the time period. Girls back then wouldn't go around kissing men in semi-public places and being allow with various men. Like with many YA romances, Katrina fell in love with Ichabod at first sight and was willing to put herself and others in danger for this love. Withing days and weeks of knowing him she was ready to turn her back on all of her friends and the only family she has in order to run away with him.

I was excited to reach near the end, so I could finally find out who was behind it all, but the twist felt flat to me. Overall, it felt more like the middle of a story than an entire story. The beginning gave the reader questions that were never answered and the last words of the novel hark back to these questions with no hit that there will be a sequel.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: The Elephant of Surprise

Title: The Elephant of Surprise
Author: Brent Hartinger
Series: The Russel Middlebrook Series (Book #4)
Publisher: Buddha Kitty Books
Pages: 166 (ebook)
Source: Netgalley
Where to Buy: Barnes and Noble <> Amazon

Synopsis: 
People aren't always what they seem to be. Sometimes we even surprise ourselves.

So discovers seventeen-year-old Russel Middlebrook in The Elephant of Surprise, a stand-alone sequel to Brent Hartinger's landmark 2003 gay young adult novel Geography Club (which has now been adapted as a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula and Nikki Blonsky).

In this latest book, Russel and his friends Min and Gunnar are laughing about something they call the Elephant of Surprise -- the tendency for life to never turn out as expected. Sure enough, Russel soon happens upon a hot but mysterious homeless activist named Wade, even as he's drawn back to an old flame named Kevin. Meanwhile, Min is learning surprising things about her girlfriend Leah, and Gunnar just wants to be left alone to pursue his latest technology obsession.

But the elephant is definitely on the move in all three of their lives. Just who is Wade and what are he and his friends planning? What is Leah hiding? And why is Gunnar taking naked pictures of Kevin in the shower?

The Elephant of Surprise includes Hartinger's trademark combination of humor and romance, angst and optimism. Before the story is over, Russel and his friends will learn that the Elephant of Surprise really does appear when you least expect him—and that when he stomps on you, it really, really hurts.

What I Think:
I got this book from Netgalley, because it sounded interesting and, though it is the fourth book in a series, it promised to be able to be read as a standalone. I have never read any of the other books in the series, so I came to Russel with a pair of fresh eyes late in the game.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of YA books starring a kid under the GLBT umbrella. That was the first thing that made me happy about this book. Finally something for the minority. BUt I was also scared out of my mind on how it would be handled. I was relieved with the humanness of Russell. He was a normal teenage boy. There were no excessive stereotypes or places where the author tried too hard to seem inclusive.

Hartinger was able to strike a great balance between calling out the hypocrisies between  gay and straight culture without bashing either. The assholes weren't assholes because they were gay/straight, no they were assholes because their character was an asshole. Most YA books, GLBT or not, have a hard time not falling into tropes, but this one easily side steps traps everywhere.

Russell and his friends all have the voices of real teenagers. They did stupid things and said stupid things, but they were also quite intelligent. I appreciate that Hartinger did not shy away from cursing. Many teenagers curse and it is absurd that so many YA books refuse to acknowledge the fact. This just seemed to make the characters more believable to me.

Another part that made them seem believable to me was they were aware of only what matters to them. Most people, not just teenagers, unconsciously think of themselves as the center of the universe. These characters do, and seem to know it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the  realness of the book, even though that same realness made some of the characters a little annoying. I wish I could have seen more of some characters and less of others. I totally recommend this book to everyone.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Forty Days

Title: Forty Days
Author: Stephanie Parent
Series: Neima's Ark (Book #1)
Pages: 128 (ebook)
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 10, 2013
Source: From author
Where to Buy: Barnes and Noble Amazon

Synopsis:  

The entire village knows Neima’s grandfather is a madman. For years the old man has prophesied that a great flood is coming, a flood disastrous enough to blot out the entire earth. He’s even built an enormous ark that he claims will allow his family to survive the deluge. But no one believes the ravings of a lunatic…

…until the rain starts. And doesn’t stop. Soon sixteen-year-old Neima finds her entire world transformed, her life and those of the people she loves in peril. Trapped on the ark with her grandfather Noah, the rest of her family, and a noisy, filthy, and hungry assortment of wild animals, will Neima find a way to survive?

With lions, tigers, and bears oh my, elephants and flamingos too, along with rivalries and betrayals, a mysterious stowaway, and perhaps even an unexpected romance, FORTY DAYS is not your grandfather’s Noah’s Ark story.

FORTY DAYS is approximately 45000 words, the length of a shorter novel, and is the first installment in a two-part epic story. It does contain a cliffhanger ending.

Readers looking for a traditional, religiously oriented version of the Noah’s Ark story should be warned that FORTY DAYS may not appeal to them. The novel will, however, appeal to lovers of apocalyptic fiction, historical fiction, and romance, as well as anyone who’s ever dreamed of having a baby elephant as a pet.

What I Thought:

Can I just say I LOVED this book. I saw the author ask for honest reviews on Twitter and I was intrigued by the novel's premise. To be honest, I was not sure I would enjoy the book. At one point, after having difficulty getting the book on my tablet (all my fault, nothing to do with the book or author), I entertained thoughts of giving up and not reading it. Boy am I glad I didn't do that. I actually ended up reading this entire novel in one sitting late one night even though I was bone tired and needed to get up the next morning.

Neima is the granddaughter of Noah, a firm believer in God in a world where there is no single god. Her and the rest of the family are shamed by Noah's crazy ideas of building an ark and filling it with animals in time for a great storm.

Stephanie Parent does a great job of pointing of things you may have never thought about before reading this book and weaving it interestingly into the story. Like how Noah is most likely going to only bring animals that he knows of from his part of the world. She also clearly did a lot of research into where the Noah's ark story likely happened and around what time period. That helped to make the story even more real to me.

The side characters are all unique and entertaining and I was sad when some of them, of course, died in the flood. There was one or two characters I hoped some how made it on the ark, though I knew how improbable that was.

This book if full of remarkable details and unforgettable characters. My only complaint is that I have to wait till later this summer for the next book in the duology. The book is short and, until I see the length of the next book, I am going to believe that they could have been combined. This is the only reason I am not giving the book a 5/5.


Rating: 4/5

Review: A Conspiracy of Alchemists

Title: A Conspiracy of Alchemists
Author: Liesel Schwarz
Series: The Chronicles of Light and Shadow (Book #1)
Pages: 326 (ebook)
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Source: Netgalley
Where to Buy: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Synopsis:
LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. Eleanor "Elle" Chance, that is-the intrepid heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, historical adventure, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.

In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun.

When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr. Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse.

What I thought:
I requested this novel from NetGalley because I love steampunks. It is one of my favorite genres. Sadly this book just did not capture me as much as I hoped. The cover pulled me in, then the blurb really piqued my interests, and I thought I would be in for a fun adventure.

Now I understand the copy I was reading was an unproofed ARC, so I hope all of the punctuation and grammar mistakes I saw will be cleaned up before it is officially put out. I would need to look through the finished product, but there were a lot of mistakes for something Del Rey was putting out for reviewers. But I'm new, I could just be mistaken and this is normal.

Elle was just okay as a character. She was stubborn, jumped to conclusions, and seems very young. Yes her stubbornness is what let her become a female pilot in a male dominated world, but she became stubborn with the dumbest things. The love interest lied about his name for his own protection when they first met and she held it against him for the rest of the book, no matter how much he helped her or tried to be kind to her, she was rude because she felt she couldn't trust him. I woke heartedly agreed with the LI when he asked "Don't you sometimes get s little tired of being so constantly outraged?"

We are never told how old Elle is (other than she already passed her coming out), but she seemed very young. If I didn't know any better I would have put her in her teens. By comparison her love interest seemed so much older. Maybe she is older than I felt and is just immature. Either way I just could not figure out why the LI would be interested in her at all.

It could be a family trait of annoyingness though. Once we finally get to meet Elle's father he is just as, if not more, annoying. Mr. Marsh, Patrice, and Adele the fairy are all interesting characters, though it was a bit disjointing to go back and forth between the perspectives of Marsh, Elle, and Adele. I was also able to see one of the main plot twists happening 200 pages before it was executed.

There are several things I had problems with in this book, but the fact of the matter is I stayed up until 3 in the morning trying to finish the book, because the plot and the world was that interesting. I would still consider reading the second book, hoping that the characters are as interesting as the world was. Since this is her debut novel, I am willing to give her a second chance.

Overall: 2.5/5

Movie Review for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

As I said I will usually only post on Fridays, but today is one of those days I will be posting off schedule. Yesterday I watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the first time. Yes, yes, I know, I am very late, but in my defense I wanted to see it a long time ago. Between school and conflicting schedules with friends, I didn't get the chance.

I originally wanted to see the movie because 1. I love the Lord of the Rings Trilogy from a few years ago and 2. Martin Freeman. The trilogy has been some of my favorite movies for years. I probably have  seen each movie over ten times, sometimes watching the entire trilogy in one sitting.

And Martin... I fell in love with his acting in his show Sherlock, but have watched him in several films since. He is such a phenomenal actor that every role he does seems like a completely different person. I was excited that one of my favorite film series would now be staring one of my favorite actors. (You don't want to see me react when Benedict Cumberbatch has a bigger role in the movies.)

From the start of the movie I was amazed. They were able to somehow, seamlessly transition between parts from LotR to the background needed to understand The Hobbit's plot back to LotR, before settling into the main storyline of The Hobbit. Even describing the story progression sounds all over the place, but Peter Jackson did a great job at making it work.

The little details in inserted in the movie to give hints to later happenings were masterful. When Frodo is going through Bilbo's treasure chest, he pulls out a few things, that to the observant eye, gives little clues to what is coming up.

As with all of the other LotR movies, the visual affects are stunning. The entire movie looks as if it were shot in front of a green screen, but apparently New Zealand is just naturally that beautiful. The soft beauty of the setting gives a contrast to the tough dirty look of all the main characters and enhances the beauty of the elves whenever they are on screen.

Along with the elves of Rivendell, another minor character you would recognize from the previous movies is Gollum. His scene has to been my favorite in the entire movie. Although he is a CG creation, his mannerisms, facial expressions, and actions all present the inner fight for sanity he goes through.The scene is a perfect balance of funny, scary, and exciting. Bilbo and Gollum are fighting back an forth, but not in the physical sense, but mentally. Although Gollum is portrayed as insane, he is still shown to be highly intelligent, holding his own in a battle of riddles.

Gollum isn't the only character that is able to show everything he is thinking through body language; Bilbo seems to wear his heart on his sleeve. Somehow Martin is able to express so many thoughts and feelings through his face and you can only sit there amazed that a person has such ability.

Though Bilbo and Gollum's scene together does not have much action, the rest of the movie makes up for it in spades. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the amount of action in the movie was a pleasant surprise. There was a great deal of swords flurrying around and arrows flying through the sky.

All in all, I think it's a movie almost anyone could enjoy. Fun for the family and men and women would find something to love about it.