Review: Shadowlark by Meagan Spooner

Shadowlark by Meagan Spooner

Book Two of the Skylark trilogy

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Rating: 3 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever. 

But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.

Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.

Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.

What I Liked:

I think I liked this book more than I liked the first book, but not by a huge margin or anything. This book had more action in it, and I feel like some things were explained better than they were in the first book. Or maybe I got used to reading about some things, and I felt more comfortable with them and understood them better than when I was reading the first book. Because if you read my review of the first book, you might have noticed: my review was a MESS. I was confused, my review is confusing, because the BOOK was confusing (for me).

Lark has left the Iron Wood, in search of Basil, her brother. She knows he's out there, and she wants to find him so he can help her understand who she is and what is happening to her. The path to Basil is not easy. She and her traveling companions, Tansy (a Renewable from the Iron Wood), and Nix (her pixie from the Institute) run into many problems, and eventually, Lethe.

At Lethe, one thing becomes clear: join the resistance and take down Prometheus, Lethe's leader/dictator/savior. The thing about the resistance is that they all agree that Prometheus has done amazing things for the city, but they don't agree with one thing (of several) that he is doing: holding Renewables against their will, to power the city.

Lark is faced with so many tough situations and issues in this book. In the first book, I thought she was kind of stupid. But in this book, I could definitely see her character development. She begins to stand up for herself, her friends, and her ideas. If she has a plan, she does what she can to follow through the plan.

The weirdness with the romance is cleared up. I'm not saying everything is rainbows and sunshine for Lark and Oren, because Ms. Spooner introduces more characters, and throws them into the supposed romance angle, but you can see from mile away that those characters mean nothing in terms of the primary romance. If you read book one, and you got an idea about the romance, then you can probably see where this one is going. Nothing romantic really happens, because Ms. Spooner is subtle and crafty about the romance. It's kind of nice, actually.

The plot of this book was a tad bit predictable, possibly boring, but I enjoyed it. I could see where it was going, but I thought the execution was okay. The writing style isn't something I *really* like, because Ms. Spooner is heavy on the descriptions and nonsensical driveling paragraphs. Those are the ones I usually glossed over, because there are SO MANY, and I'm like, can I just get to the story? Not EVERYTHING needs to be perfectly described. I have a really hard time visualizing this world, actually. So, all those descriptions have the opposite effect on me.

Anyway, I will be reading book three!

What I Did Not Like:

Many of the problems I had with the first book, I had with the second book. For example, I was confused a lot (though this book cleared up some things), I felt like the plot was extremely slow, I'm kind of ehh about the characters, the plot was a bit predictable, and I was bored at times, and skipped over sentences (and sometimes paragraphs) at a time.

The first book had a lot of descriptive paragraphs and basically, stream of consciousness drivel that was totally not necessary. This book had a lot of that as well. I skimmed those sentences and paragraphs, because most of them time, they weren't necessary to understand the plot or the characters, or any part of the book. I mean, I skimmed over them, and I still understand the basics (and more of everything).

The things that I don't understand or am confused about seem to be the things that are explained too much. For example, Lark's powers. In the first book, they weren't explained well. In this book, we get many examples of Lark using her powers, and I still don't understand them. She sucks magic away from people? Like a succubus or something? And Basil? And Oren? How do the shadow people come about? Why do some people not have any powers (the humans)?

The plot was really predictable. Like, once Lark got to Lethe, I knew what would happen with the resistance, with Olivia, with Oren, with Prometheus, who Prometheus is... it was too formulaic. Maybe I've read too many dystopia novels, but everything was predictable to me. 

This made the plot (and therefore, my reading of this book) very slow. I thought I could read this book in a few hours - nope. This one took me a while. I was bored a lot, the descriptions were killing me, and the plot was too slow. I mean, yes, there was a lot more action in this book, but it was kind of boring action. And I totally saw it coming. Predictability was high in this book! And therefore, boredom.

And the ending was a tad bit anticlimactic. I expected a bigger, more plot-moving climax, to set up for the next book, but it was kind of meh. Maybe that's just me though. I'm still going to read the third book - I've come this far!

Would I Recommend It:

If you read and enjoyed the first book, yes! If you read and didn't enjoy the first book, then no. This book is similar to the first book in the aspects I didn't like, so if you didn't like the first book overall, then you should probably steer clear of this one. If you're debating whether or not to pick up the series at all, hold off! It might be worth it, it might not. Right now, I'm thinking no, it's not worth it, but who knows? Maybe the third book will blow me away!

Rating:

3 stars. I think I liked this book more than I liked the first book, but somehow, they ended up with the same rating from me. I will be on the lookout for the final book of this trilogy though!

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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Stacking the Shelves (#41)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, in which bloggers share the books and swag they've received in the past week!

So, what did I get in the week of Sunday, September 29th to Saturday, October 5th?

(all links to Goodreads are provided!)

In the mail:

An ARC of Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

THANK YOU, HARLEQUIN! I got this one via request, but I'm also on the blog tour for this book.

A hardcover copy of A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison

Thank you, Carolrhoda Lab! I read and enjoyed this book.

A paperback copy of Everlast by Andria Buchanan

Thank you, Entangled Teen! I haven't read this one yet, but I am happy to have the chance!

What I Got Signed When I attended the Baltimore Book Festival on September 27th:

My ARC of For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

An ARC of Across A Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund (Diana was nice enough to just GIVE me an ARC - I could not believe it! Thank you, Diana!)

My ARC of Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

My paperback copy of Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My paperback copy of Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My paperback copy of Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My paperback copy of Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My paperback copy of Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

My paperback copy of Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

A paperback copy of Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer (that I bought at the Festival)

What I Got From Hannah (The Irish Banana Review) at the Baltimore Festival:

An ARC of How to Love by Katie Cotugno

An ARC of Twinmaker by Sean Williams

THANK YOU, HANNAH! You rock :D

From NetGalley:

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

For the tour... but now I have a physical ARC.

Gentlemen Prefer Mischief by Emily Greenwood

I actually haven't downloaded a historical romance novel in a while, so this was a nice change :D

The Raider by Monica McCarty

Well, considering I like the previous book in this series, I thought this would be a good one to download!

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Sounds good to me! I cannot wait to see the cover. We all know Disney-Hyperion has AMAZING covers ;)

From Edelweiss:

Pawn by Aimee Carter

I love being auto-approved for Harlequin Teen titles!

Okay, this week SEEMS huge, but all the Baltimore Book Festival books should have been featured last week. Also, I already owned most of them - they just got signed by the authors. And some of the books I got from NetGalley should have been in last week's haul. But there it is! That's my haul post for this week :D

Title Reveal and Giveaway: The Final Dante Walker book by Victoria Scott

Hi everyone! 

This post is a little different, because instead of a cover, I have a title!

So I'm not going to go crazy with the spaces.

... Or am I?

:D

So, you all know Victoria Scott, right? I've reviewed both books in her Dante Walker trilogy.

Well, here are those two:

Ready for the title of book three? Here it is!

The Warrior by Victoria Scott

Book Three of the Dante Walker trilogy

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication Date: May 6, 2014

Official Summary:

War between heaven and hell is coming, but Dante Walker makes it look damn good. 

Dante’s girlfriend, Charlie, is fated to save the world. And Aspen, the girl who feels like a sister, is an ordained soldier. In order to help both fulfill their destiny and win the war, Dante must complete liberator training at the Hive, rescue Aspen from hell, and uncover a message hidden on an ancient scroll. 

Dante is built for battle, but even he can’t handle the nightmares where spiders crawl from Aspen’s eyes, or the look on Charlie’s face that foretells of devastation. To make matters worse, the enemy seizes every opportunity to break inside the Hive and cripple the liberators. But the day of reckoning is fast approaching, and to stand victorious, Dante will have to embrace something inside himself he never has before—faith. 

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Book One of the Skylark series

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Publication Date: August 1, 2012

Rating: 3 stars

Source: ARC sent by the author

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret—but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

What I Liked:

Overall, I feel like I enjoyed this book. This book came highly recommended to me over a year ago, with it's paranormal dystopian premise, hint of romance, and gorgeous cover. I found that while this book has all of those things, I didn't love the story. There were a lot of things that I liked about the story, but I didn't love it.

Lark has always felt a bit left out in her society - she has been harvested, like all the other children her age. But, one year, the current year, it is her turn yet again to be harvested, and she does it - she gets harvested. But it isn't what she seems. She is harvested to be a like a Renewable - as the summary says, a human battery.

I'm confused about the harvesting thing, and the Renewable thing, but I kept reading the book, despite my confusion. As I was reading, I noticed that I didn't really connect with Lark, unfortunately. She's definitely not the brightest Young Adult heroine, and while I understand why her survival instincts are razor sharp, I still think that she has a little more brain space than what she uses.

But anyway. The book is broken up into several parts. One, Lark is in her city, and she has been harvested. She finds herself in a hospital-like environment, and she cannot remember much of what happens to her while in this place. She finds herself exhausted and weak, brainwashed and in constant pain. This part of the book, to me, was extremely boring. It just went on and on and there was no point in reading it, because we know that Lark will get out of there.

The next part takes place out of the city. Here, she must learn to survive and not get killed, and not get recaptured by her city's officials, who are looking for her. Lark makes some discoveries while outside her city. She basically doesn't know nature. She has never seen the sky. Also, there are pockets are magic everywhere. I didn't understand that part, either, with the magic, but I'm rolling with it.

The last part takes place in the Iron Wood. I'm not going to say much on this part, because the climax occurs in this part of the book. I actually cannot remember much, specifically, which is bad, because that means the author didn't do a good enough job of wow-ing me with the plot.

There is a kind-of love triangle in this book. To be honest, I have no idea what Ms. Spooner is doing with the romance. By the end of the book, Lark is confused, and I am confused, in terms of the romance.

I enjoyed this book, but the plot, climax, and ending confused me, so I really can't say much about those things. The ending isn't super jolly, but it isn't morbid either. I'll be reading the second book to find out more about Lark and her abilities! Hopefully the second book will clear up things for me. 

What I Did Not Like:

I think my biggest problem with this book is that I was confused a lot, while reading the book. I read this book back in August, when I was still home (I hadn't moved into college yet), so I wasn't rushed into reading this one, and I took my time. That didn't help me understand this book any more than if I had rushed through it. I feel like Ms. Spooner did an excellent job of building the world and characters of this book, but not a great job explaining situation after situation. I still don't quite understand Lark's former society, or the Iron Wood. I don't really understand what Lark is, or what she thinks she is. I don't really understand the role of Oren, or the other boy (whose name I cannot remember at all). Each character has a specific role to play in the book, and maybe I'm just not seeing them, or maybe as readers, we aren't supposed to yet, but I feel like some characters weren't necessary, or didn't seem important. 

For example, the people from Lark's city? They're portrayed as villains, but I don't understand why they're so preoccupied with Lark escaping. They make her seem like she is soooo important, and then they make her feel like she is worthless. Towards the end, I feel like Ms. Spooner tried to explain why Lark is so crucial to the story and to the world, but I still don't get it (or just don't remember why). You know it's not so good, when you can't remember why the protagonist is "the chosen one".

Also, I feel like the non-existent romance, which total exists, but I'm calling it non-existent, was kind of strange and totally unnecessary. We have Oren, on the one hand, who helps Lark unconditionally. He's a bit prickly, and he has his reasons to be that way, but I believe he is genuinely a good person and a nice character. But by the end of the book, Lark isn't sure what she wants from him. Like, I feel like if it were me, the decision would be easy. Lark is too indecisive. But then, she's also a bit younger than most Young Adult heroines. Not that she isn't a young adult.

The pockets of magic, the Renewables, harvesting, the Iron Wood... I'm so lost in all of that. I wish I could explain why I'm confused, but I don't even know that much. 

I'm definitely going to read book two, since the publisher sent me a copy, but by the end of book one (this book), I felt a bit let down. I had such high hopes for this book, and I feel like I just ended up being more confused than anything else. I'm not sure how to feel about this book, which is why I'm sticking with three stars, and not lower or higher. 

Would I Recommend It:

Eh. This book was worth the read for me, but I'm not going to go to the streets telling random people that they MUST READ this book. It's not a must-read, but I feel like it's one of those books that you might read by chance, enjoy, and never read again. Not to say that I didn't like this book overall (because I did), but I probably wouldn't find myself re-reading it, unfortunately. Reading the next books? More likely.

Rating:

3 stars. I'm definitely going to read the second book in this series, since I have had it for a few months now. I am excited to see how Ms. Spooner will turn the story into a series. Hopefully, I'll love the subsequent books even more than I liked this one!

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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Cover Reveal: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cover reveal!

You all will LOVE this cover!

It's my favorite of all of JLA's books.

No seriously. Disney Hyperion has some of the most fabulous covers!

Well, here it is! ANIMATED!

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book One of the Don't Look Back series

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: April 15, 2014

Official Summary: 

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all - popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend. 

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her - even if the old Sam treated him like trash. 

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory - someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

About the Author:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

What do you all think? Isn't it gorgeous? Go Disney Hyperion!

Waiting on Wednesday (#40): Mistwalker by Saundra Mitchell

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm featuring:

Mistwalker by Saundra Mitchell

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Publication Date: February 4, 2014

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Willa Dixon’s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on the deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visiting the Grey Man.

Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls.

Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

I love the Vespertine trilogy by Saundra Mitchell, and I'm convinced that I will read anything she writes! Go Saundra!

Review: True by Erin McCarthy

True by Erin McCarthy
Book One of the True series

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Rating: 2 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

***Warning: this contains adult content, and is for the eyes of mature readers***

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

What I Liked:

Okay, so, I know this is a New Adult contemporary romance novel, and I've been laying off those for quite some time, but I requested this one from NetGalley back when I wasn't completely sick of New Adult contemporary romance novels (a long, long, LONG time ago). That was months ago. I have read dozens of New Adult contemporary romance novels in the past year, and they all just run together.

I thought this one would be different... for whatever reason. I'm all about giving books a try, even when the craze/hype/wave is sweeping through the book world. What if there is a gem in the midst of all these bland novels, and I miss it?

Well, this wasn't one of those gems. Same old, same old. Literally, the first scene is Rory and some guy trying to have sex with her, even though she doesn't want to have sex with him. Basically, almost rape. The love interest saves her from getting raped, and they fall in lust, and then love. She's a good girl (even when she's not), and he's a "bad boy". Then something troublesome happens to him, and in the end, it brings them closer together.

I DID enjoy the aspect of Tyler's family - his little brothers and his older brother aspect. That was something unique that I didn't expect. I loved how Tyler protected his family from their mother, even though they were all half-brothers, and he was trying to do well in college without worrying about his family. That was nice.

But I wasn't impressed by this book. The plot, the romance, the steamy scenes, the climax of the book... I just wasn't impressed. One more attempt at New Adult contemporary romance... blah.

What I Did Not Like:

Let me just copy and paste what I said above:

"I thought this one would be different... for whatever reason. I'm all about giving books a try, even when the craze/hype/wave is sweeping through the book world. What if there is a gem in the midst of all these bland novels, and I miss it?

Well, this wasn't one of those gems. Same old, same old. Literally, the first scene is Rory and some guy trying to have sex with her, even though she doesn't want to have sex with him. Basically, almost rape. The love interest saves her from getting raped, and they fall in lust, and then love. She's a good girl (even when she's not), and he's a "bad boy". Then something troublesome happens to him, and in the end, it brings them closer together."

I'm so tired of New Adult contemporary romance, especially ALL of them that focus of college life (which, like I said, is all of them). Barf. Can we try New Adult paranormal? Or New Adult fantasy? Or New Adult something-other-than-contemporary-romance?

Whatever. I don't need to elaborate in this section because I disliked this book for the same reasons I disliked most of the other New Adult contemporary romance novels I disliked. And no, I have not disliked ALL of them.

Would I Recommend It:

No. No more New Adult contemporary romance novels. I try and give them a chance, but they always end up being the same skeleton - even the same skeleton with meat! Disagree with me if you do - I respect that.

Rating:

2 stars. Not for me.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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