Ravenous Bookshelf

*Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC in the mail

Review: 3.5 / 5 stars

Riley Blackthorne has a pretty rough life. For one thing, she's training to become a licensed demon trapper, a profession that isn't known for pro-feminist traditions. For another, she's the daughter of Paul Blackthorne, a living legend in demon trapping circles. So there are some high stakes involved.

But Paul Blackthorne doesn't even want his daughter in the family business. Especially after his wife's death, he has an understandable objection to Riley dancing with demons. He hasn't managed to dissuade her yet, but Riley herself is getting discouraged -- there's only so much demon pee and public humiliation she can take, and botching her trappings is getting her nowhere towards fully licensed.

Still, Riley's convinced that she has all the skills, and she starts to wonder if something's standing in her way. Something besides Beck, her father's obnoxious apprentice/partner, a Southern hick who keeps needling Riley about her age, her inexperience, and oh, that little crush she used to have on him...

Turns out Riley's right. Demons are afoot, but they aren't just after her. After an attack rips her life apart, Riley has to figure out who to trust and what's really going on - and how to shake the annoying new guardian who's suddenly manifested in Beck. Oh, and there's another cute boy involved: Simon, a fellow apprentice who seems almost too golden to be true.

This book was written as a series starter, and it shows -- there's a lot of buildup and not much conclusion, with many loose ends to be resolved. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the worldbuilding was a little sparse, with not enough fully explained (why are the demons here? what are the protective properties of metal? who are these demonkillers from Rome?). There was a lot of Talking About How Things Are, but not enough Showing -- and the start of a series is the place for it.

The characters were engaging enough, but I'm going to snark at the dialogue -- we don't need to hear Beck's 'deep South' accent in every sentence, and Oliver's representation of a Scottish brogue made me cringe.

I'm reserving judgment a bit due to the obvious series-ness, but I really wanted more organic backstory and more balanced pacing in the first installment. This may really find its feet later on, but Riley hasn't trapped me yet.

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Yes, another werewolf book. But this one felt like an ideal combination of Blood and Chocolate and Raised by Wolves, in that we have a very sexual heroine who isn't afraid of being dominant and in touch with her wolfy self -- but who also is very pack-responsible and not a self-centered whiny princess (*coughViviancough*).

Calla has a lot on her plate, even for an alpha female. Not only is she betrothed to the alpha of another pack who insists on pushing the boundaries of 'friends,' she also has to deal with an annoying human boy who knows her Pack's secret...see, she sorta-accidentally saved him from being grizzly-meat in the mountains, but she shifted forms to do it. Right in front of said Boy in Peril.

Werewolf fail.

Meanwhile, uniting with the Bane pack is bringing its own set of politics, as Calla begins to realize that being an alpha mate will restrict her freedoms even further. She's grown up with the double standard that Ren, the Bane alpha, can sleep around all he likes (after all, he's a growing boy) but she must remain 'pure' for the union. But as their Samhain engagement approaches, Calla begins to question many of the 'givens' in her life -- not least being the ever-present Keepers who determine mating rules and pack orders. The lore explains that the Guardians (read: werewolves) protect the Keepers, who in turn keep the world from falling into chaos. This means that the Keepers basically rule Calla's life. But when Shay (re: Boy in Peril) shows up at her school, he starts digging into her culture and overturning all her truths.

Calla is not a happy puppy.

Shay has his own problems; he's been adopted by the Keepers, but he has no idea who they really are. And they seem to want something from him, which may be tied up in an obscure prophecy and a tattoo on Shay's neck that only Calla can see.

Oh, and if anyone finds out that Shay knows about Calla and the Keepers,* they're all dead.

Got it?

The best thing about this book is its fullness, in character and scope. All of the characters are nicely rounded, even Ren, who makes for a compelling male lead in his own right, instead of just The Other One in a typical love triangle. You'll like Calla's packmates, who are fighting their own battles of self-determination and getting caught up in romance (Mason and Neville, you have my vote). And Shay? Well, I've gotta love a boy who breaks into private libraries and approaches Peril with Research.

This isn't Anna Karenina, but it's impressively complex for a YA werewolf offering. And if the prose sometimes dips into the lust sparklefest zone, Cremer cuts in nicely with some self-deprecating humor. However, a warning: there is a major cliffhanger ending. It is painful. But it does seem to be planned instead of randomly tossed in, so that means I have to wait (curse you, series!) until the next installment in July.

---

*I've just realized that would be an awesome band name.

Rating: Four zombie bunnies and a ninja midget

So this book was full of crazy. Just, crazy everywhere. Not only do we have a protagonist who hears voices and hallucinates (all well and good), but she runs away to track down her mother who is arguably crazier than her and lives in a town that makes said Nutty Protagonist look plain-vanilla sane.

Did I mention the talking swan dolls and monsters in the windows and ghosts in the classrooms and the copious amounts of blood?

It makes for an interesting setup, since you're not quite sure how much of Hanna's experiences are a result of her own lack-of-pills reaction or the actual wackiness of Potero, Texas. But hey, why fight over the origins? There is plenty of crazy to go around. And as long as you go with it, you'll probably be fine. Or eaten. Whichever.

Hanna herself is a troubling character -- bipolar schizophrenic really doesn't begin to describe her. She has this terrifying capacity for both intense empathy and total disconnection that means you'll be feeling kind of sorry for her and then she'll go and bash someone's head in. Which leaves you as reader pretty conflicted most of the time, unless you decide to just go with it (see above).

But Hanna is nothing compared to her mother. Rosalee has this mythic status as Queen Badass in the Ultimate Town of Crazy, and she is not pleased to see her daughter. Hanna is determined to make her mother love her (also some disturbing implications here) and as Rosalee is completely lacking in a maternal instinct, has little self-control and possibly no conscience, this quickly gets messy.

And then Hanna goes to school.

There are monsters at school. And ghosts, and other weird stuff, and pretty much everyone is betting on Hanna getting mauled/devoured in the first week. This is high school angst with rabies, and you end up pretty grateful to have a crazy protagonist since anybody else would be lunch by now. But Hanna has wiles and guts and quickly settles on the speediest way to assimilate: snag the most popular boy in school, Wyatt. Who may actually be a bit of a monster himself.

This gets messy, too.

What I loved most about this book was actually the manic mixture of cultures; Hanna is biracial, speaks Finnish, cooks blood pancakes, and has absolutely no inhibitions about failing to fit in. Wyatt, lovely demon-hunter boy, takes this in stride and approaches Hanna on her own baffling terms, which is part of what makes their relationship interesting.

I was not particularly fond of the gore (there is gore galore), but the overall twisty, squishy fun (?) of this book made it worth a few showers of entrails. Not recommended for the queasy and not a tranquil read, but for those who'd like a bath of crazy: jump in!

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

What happens when two hipsters fall in love? Over the holidays, no less?

Well, they probably get an awesome soundtrack.

This book was described by one reviewer as "a light, frothy, hot-chocolate read," and I agree on all points: warming, almost cloyingly sweet, and very little nutritional content.

But also fun, if you are in the mood to be pleased. And I was. However, if you are tipping towards the cynical side of life, you should probably steer clear. When I started reading, I had a moment of doubt: will I want to kill these characters within a few chapters? And I can see where word-nerd Dash and the improbably-upbeat Lily could drive you to violence. But the alternating POV's helped, and so did the fact that I was reading in small doses (Note: Do not chug the hot chocolate).

So, the premise: Dash is prowling the stacks in the Strand, that holy temple of bibliophiles, when he comes across a mysterious red Moleskin notebook tucked among his beloved Salinger novels.*

The notebook has a secret message that requires a word hunt through the Strand**; once he's decoded the message, Dash has a decision to make. Does he want to accept the mysterious Lily's invitation to play? Does he want to up the ante with a set of dares himself?

Of course he does.

Hijinks ensue in the grand city of New York, and it's best to sit back and enjoy the madcap zaniness that you've signed up for. Just don't think too hard!


*This is where I became Gravely Concerned.
**This is where I decided to keep reading, because I am a sucker for wordplay.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

Quick clarification: Bryn was actually raised by werewolves. This causes no small amount of confusion in her life, since it's a bit easier to tell yourself apart from your wolfish siblings when you are the only one minus fangs and fur. But when your best werewolf friend and pack brother Devon has better fashion sense than you, it's trickier to draw the line between human and wolf.

Not to mention the Pack bond, a sort of psychic Twitter feed of werewolf emotion, which Bryn has done her very best to shut down since she was four years old.

Ever since the Rabid murdered her family, and she was adopted into the Stone River Pack.

So thanks to her upbringing, Bryn tends to growl a bit more than normal girls. Her social life at school is somewhat lacking. But she has plenty of Pack drama to make up for it. Not least is sparring with Callum, the Alpha who saved her. Think your home life is tough? Try dealing with a dominant male wolf who's upset about your algebra grades and wants you home every night before dusk.

This is just a fun, fast read overall. Bryn is delightfully pragmatic, so even when she's rushing off to Do Stupid Things, she knows that they are ill-advised and there will be consequences. And then she deals with the consequences, foreseen and otherwise.

But mostly, this book is about Pack. Which also means family. Because what lots of werewolf stories ignore is the wolf aspect -- wolves are naturally pack animals. The lone wolf is not a happy puppy, because wolves are drawn to each other, as mates and friends and rivals. Just like humans.

There is even Romance! Well done, with a side of mysterious, and yes, Chase is fascinating in his own right. He doesn't turn all Dominant Male in the relationship (of course, Bryn won't let him) and I'd be happy to see another novel from his perspective.

The only regret you may have from this book is that there isn't another one immediately to follow up. But don't let that stop you - Raised by Wolves is too good to miss.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Nimira grew up in a world of lush gardens, court intrigue, and the luxury of the palace. But after her mother's death and her father's debts, she finds herself on a dingy stage, singing the ballads of her homeland to a rabble of commoners who see her as an exotic sideshow. A trousergirl.

Not exactly what she had dreamed of, growing up.

However, Nim is resilient and determined, and she keeps her eyes fixed on her goal. Even if she could never compare to her own mother's brilliant performances, Nim wants to make a name for herself. She wants to earn true respect for her art, and make her audience recognize her as more than just a novelty.

Trouble is, Nim's career seems to have stalled. Until a Mysterious Gentleman appears in her audience and offers her a new job: singing accompaniment to a fairy-made automaton, to an audience of Lorinar's upper set.

There are a few problems with this scenario. For one, Nim isn't all sure that she wants to put herself in the hands of a stranger, having so little legal and financial protection herself, to become basically another set-piece to an exotic show -- the Machine and the Heathen. For another, Mr. Parry is said to have a tragic past, including a dead wife.

For a third thing, the automaton is said to be haunted.

Nim says yes anyway, and then things get complicated.

I enjoyed this book, especially for how Nim managed to maintain her autonomy and Get Things Done -- not by rebelling against her limited position and smashing things up, but by working within her constraints. This showed control and strength of character far more impressive than a "can't hold me down" tantrum ever would (not to mention: far more effective).

It was a bit sparse on supporting character details, and the world-building is not done, but I expect that shall be covered in later installments. There must, of course, be later installments. I'd have liked more solid character building and setting work, but you can't help but love and admire Nim.

So, I may be tepid on the overall book, but I am Team Nim all the way.

Rating: 5 / 5 stars.

Gemma doesn't understand why Ty chose her; picked her out in the airport coffee shop with his piercing blue eyes, drew her close, and swept her away.

It soon becomes clear, though, that he has planned this out carefully. The wig, the fake I.D., the drugs.

Ty didn't just kidnap her on a whim.

This book is brutal and stark and utterly beautiful, just like the Australian outback where Ty takes Gemma. He tells her there is no one else; he tells her that this place isn't on any maps. And if this could be true anyplace on Earth, it would be Australia. There are no roads. No telephone lines, no airplanes, no people -- just the sand and the sun and the endless sky.

The setting is a palpable force in the narrative, woven into the structure and the atmosphere and the characters themselves, and that is part of what makes this often grueling story not just bearable, but compelling. Christopher won't let you disconnect from this world; you are drawn towards both characters, Ty and Gemma both, fighting to survive in a harsh landscape that strips everything down to the bare roots. The second-person narration, which I usually find gimmicky, is intimate and claustrophobic and heartbreaking here.

I don't want to spoil anything more about this book, so I'll just say that Stolen is pitch-perfect, and you may never be prepared to read it, but you should anyway. Trust me.