Review: Twigs by Alison Ashley Formento

Twigs
By Alison Ashley Formento
Publication Date: September 18, 2013 by Merit Press
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary from Goodreads: One pint-sized girl. Ten supersized crises. And it’s high noon.

They call her “Twigs,” because she’ll never hit five feet tall. Although she was born early, and a stiff breeze could knock her over, Twigs has a mighty spirit. She needs it, as life throws a whole bucket of rotten luck at her: Dad’s an absentee drunk; Mom’s obsessed with her new deaf boyfriend (and Twigs can’t tell what they’re saying to each other). Little sister Marlee is trying to date her way through the entire high school; Twigs’ true love may be a long-distance loser after a single week away at college, and suddenly, older brother Matt is missing in Iraq. It all comes together when a couple of thugs in a drugstore aisle lash out, and Twigs must fight to save the life of the father who denied her.

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I wasn't sure what to expect from Twigs, but what I got was a heartfelt contemporary featuring some great character growth.  

It's immediately clear that Twigs doesn't have an easy life. Her dad left, her brother is a soldier overseas, and her boyfriend just left for college. Twigs, a short and slim girl, is trying to create a more mature identity for herself. She starts asking people to call her by her actual name, Madeline, but it doesn't exactly stick the way she'd hoped. When a maelstrom of bad things seem to happen all at the same time, Twigs has to decide how to handle them and who she really wants to be-Twigs, or Madeline. 

I was drawn into Twigs from the very beginning. Formento's writing drew me in and made me want to know more. Who is the crazy lady in the convenience store and why is she throwing hair dye? Why are their military personnel at the front door of Twigs's house one night? I was so enraptured with Twigs's life that I didn't want to stop reading.

Twigs as a character is interesting. She's very fierce, but also very scared. I honestly have no idea how she could handle everything life threw at her. Sometimes I got frustrated with her for acting a certain way, but so much goes wrong for Twigs that it's hard to blame her for being a little, well, crazy. Twigs grows a lot over the course of the novel, and I was happy to see her become someone she can be proud of. 

The most negative thing about Twigs is the number of plot points that occur throughout the novel. There are a lot of characters, and a lot of problems for Twigs to deal with. There were a few parts where I forgot who a character was or I was asking myself "Is this really necessary?" I think Twigs could have been a little bit stronger if Formento had eliminated one of the plot points, though I'm not sure which one.  

Though I am very pleased with the development I saw in Twigs throughout the novel, I think the secondary characters were a little bit lacking. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of characters. I had trouble keeping them all straight at times, and I think that a few of them were just there to further the development of Twigs without really getting much characterization themselves. I love novels with a great cast of secondary characters, so I was a little disappointed with how Formento handled hers.  

Overall I really enjoyed Twigs and thought it was a great contemporary with a lot of heart. Though I had some issues with the secondary characters and the number of plot points, the engrossing writing and development of Twigs herself more than made up for it. 

Taylor Reads Adult: The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

Title: The Engagements
Author: J. Courtney Sullivan
Genre: Adult (Historical?) Fiction
Published: January 2013 by Knopf
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary from Goodreads: From the New York Times best-selling author of Commencement and Maine comes a gorgeous, sprawling novel about marriage—about those who marry in a white heat of passion, those who marry for partnership and comfort, and those who live together, love each other, and have absolutely no intention of ruining it all with a wedding.

Evelyn has been married to her husband for forty years—forty years since he slipped off her first wedding ring and put his own in its place. Delphine has seen both sides of love—the ecstatic, glorious highs of seduction, and the bitter, spiteful fury that descends when it’s over. James, a paramedic who works the night shift, knows his wife’s family thinks she could have done better; while Kate, partnered with Dan for a decade, has seen every kind of wedding—beach weddings, backyard weddings, castle weddings—and has vowed never, ever, to have one of her own.

As these lives and marriages unfold in surprising ways, we meet Frances Gerety, a young advertising copywriter in 1947. Frances is working on the De Beers campaign and she needs a signature line, so, one night before bed, she scribbles a phrase on a scrap of paper: “A Diamond Is Forever.” And that line changes everything.

A rich, layered, exhilarating novel spanning nearly a hundred years, The Engagements captures four wholly unique marriages, while tracing the story of diamonds in America, and the way—for better or for worse—these glittering stones have come to symbolize our deepest hopes for everlasting love.

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I'm not usually drawn to adult fiction, but something about The Engagements stood out to me. Maybe it was because I love the idea of multiple storylines being connected by one small factor. Or maybe it's because I'm a sucker for historical fiction. Whatever the case, I'm very happy I took the time to read The Engagements because it was a literary work of art.

The Engagements tells the story of four different marriages set during four different times in the past century. Only the fifth story,  that of Frances Gerety, the woman who coined the phrase "A Diamond Is Forever," actually moves through time. The other four stories take place over a day, more or less, and incorporate flashbacks and backstory masterfully to tell the entire tale of our characters' lives.

I was immediately enamored with J. Courtney Sullivan's writing. Normally, the introductory phase of a novel is the most tedious part; the conflict has yet to make itself known and there's no reason to care about the characters. The Engagements has five separate introductions for the reader to get through, yet it was never tedious. Sullivan writes in a way that drew me in without me even realizing it and made me long to keep reading even thought I'd only read Part I.

The Engagements is set during multiple time periods, from 1947 to 2012. Though I knew the novel focused on multiple characters, the inclusion of multiple time periods was unexpected and delightful. I enjoyed being able to see the changes and continuities in the way marriage and divorce is viewed throughout the different times.

The characters in this novel are wonderfully varied and unique. Not once did I feel as though the tone or thoughts of one character was bleeding into another. Sullivan writes old, young, male, and female equally fantastically. She doesn't romanticize the life of a young couple with a family but without much money, nor does she soften the sting of a love affair gone horribly wrong for a Frenchwoman who gave up everything for a man who goes on to scorn her.

The only reason I'm not giving The Engagements five stars is the ending. Something about it was a touch unsatisfying. There wasn't a lack of closure, exactly, but I was left feeling a bit uneasy about the paths some of the stories would end up going down. Although, I do admire Sullivan for giving these characters realistic lives that don't all end in happily ever after. Maybe I'm more disappointed in the way the stories tied together than the way they ended. I think I hoped for more connection than there was.

The Engagements is an engrossing novel about much more than love and marriage. It touches on family relationships, and the affect small decisions can have later in life as well. Sullivan's writing is superb, a true pleasure to read. I will definitely be looking into her previous novels now that I know how much I love her style.

Release Day Launch and Giveaway for Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to be a part of the Release Day Launch for Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee. It's, in one word, HOT. I can't wait for you all to read it.

Synopsis:

All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere—she couldn't.

He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her.

Here's the thing they quickly found out—sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.

Elizabeth Lee Bio:

When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand.  Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination!  Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that!

Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elizabethleewrites

Twitter: www.twitter.com/elwrites

Website: http://elizabethleewrites.blogspot.com

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6542627.Elizabeth_Lee

Novel Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17854029-escaping-me?ac=1

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Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken
by Sarah Rees Brennan
Published September 2012 by Random House
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary from Goodreads: Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

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I became aware that Unspoken existed when I started folliwing Sarah Rees Brennan, the author, on twitter (@sarahreesbrenna). Not because she shameless plugs her books, but because she shamelessly plugs her readers' reactions to her books. It felt like every time I got on my twitter account I would see that another reader of Unspoken was upset by the ending. Many readers express their desire to harm SRB, but it's all in jest-how would they get a sequel? Needless to say, I was intrigued by the strong reactions to Unspoken and snatched it from my library the moment I saw it.

Kami Glass is an aspiring journalist from Sorry-in-the-Vale, a small village in England. She has long thought her town hides secrets, especially when it comes to the Lynburn family, but can't put her finger on exactly what they are. Kami has a secret of her own, one that doesn't have the rational explanation her friends and family want. A secret that comes out when the Lynburn family returns to Sorry-in-the-Vale.

Besides an ending that elicits a strong reaction from readers, I had no idea what to expect from Unspoken. What I got was a spunky main character, an intriguing love interest with a fabulous twist, and a wholly original magical element. I typically have an aversion to third person narration, but Brennan's writing was absorbing, not isolating.

I fell in love with Kami almost immediately. Her sharp wit and big heart were a big part of why I became invested in the novel. I was also intrigued by her unusual relationship with Jared, her "imaginary friend" that she speaks to in her head. In relation to Jared, there were a lot of things I saw coming from a mile away, but I still enjoyed watching them play out.

Though I may have been immediately drawn in by Kami, there's a lot to say for the secondary characters in Unspoken as well. Kami's friends are all dynamic and add something to the novel,  though we see them from Kami's view and she can be a bit short sighted about her friends. The adults in Unspoken have their own stories, their own motivations, and become more and more important as the novel goes on, something that I really enjoyed.

Sarah Rees Brennan's writing is very atmospheric. Unspoken has a light Gothic feel to it. The town, Sorry-in-the-Vale, was almost a character in the book. It feels like the book is set in the early 1900s, but it's really set in present day. The juxtaposition of the tone and the modern setting was a lot of fun to read.

Unfortunately, I couldn't completely get behind the magical elements of this story. I felt a disconnect from it, possibly because Kami is an outsider to the magic, or maybe because they don't fully appear until the end of Unspoken. Hopefully the sequel, Untold, will explore these elements more fully.

Unspoken is a novel that I adore. I enjoyed everything: the main character, the setting, the writing, the romance, the intrigue. It felt as though I was reading a novel written in a different time, in the best way possible.

Review: Stalking Sapphire by Mia Thompson

Title: Stalking Sapphire
Author: Mia Thompson
Published: April 2013 by Diversion Books
Genre: New Adult
Source: Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary from Goodreads: Despite the illusion Sapphire Dubois presents to the rest of the world, she is not just your stereotypical 22-year old Beverly Hills heiress; she hunts serial killers. While her fellow heirs spend their nights with trending celebs and drugs at the hottest club, Sapphire secretly spends hers luring, capturing, and anonymously handing over So-Cal’s most wanted killers to the police — just your average Tuesday night.

What Sapphire doesn’t know is that one of her adversaries is watching her every move, aware of both her true identity and her unconventional hobby. Needless to say, he doesn’t approve. Used to being the one who redefines the definition of predator and prey, Sapphire’s world abruptly shatters when a gruesome ‘gift’ arrives for her at the Beverly Hills Country Club. With her involuntary crush, handsome Detective Aston Ridder, close on her tail, Sapphire now has to rethink her routine strategy and figure out how to capture a killer who already knows she’s coming.

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Stalking Sapphire is a New Adult mystery/thriller that kept me turning the pages late into the night. I've never read anything quite like Stalking Sapphire, a mix of thriller, mystery, and Beverly Hills drama. The main character, Sapphire, is part of the reason the story is so unique. A socialite who spends her free time catching serial killers anonymously? Talk about badass.

Sapphire, a Beverly Hills socialite, has an interesting hobby: catching serial killers. She just can't make herself care about the same things a normal Beverly Hills heiress does, and finds catching killers to be much more fulfilling than sipping mimosas with her best friend Chrissy at their country club. Then Sapphire receives a severed finger in the mail and the stakes are higher than ever. Now it isn't just Sapphire putting herself in danger-the life of another young woman is in her hands.

Though I had some issues with Stalking Sapphire, which I will get to later, I really enjoyed the novel as a whole. I don't often read mysteries, and Stalking Sapphire has me wondering why that is. It was so much fun to question whodunit and to feel like I couldn't stop reading until I knew. I'll admit, I thought I had it figured out pretty early on, but Thompson threw me a curveball. Maybe a more experienced mystery reader would have had the read culprit figured out before I did, but it sure was a surprise to me.

I loved Sapphire as a character. She has a lot of spunk, and tells it like it is. She puts on a show for everyone around her, but it's obvious to the reader that she doesn't fit into her high class world. She could be really funny, and also had a lot of heart. Aston, the love interest, is just an ass. Seriously, I honestly couldn't stand him for most of the book. He wasn't putting up a front to disguise his inner softy. He was really, truly, a judgmental misogynistic ass. It was hard for me to get behind him as the love interest, yet at the end I found myself softening toward him a bit.

Stalking Sapphire is told from multiple points of view: Sapphire, Aston, Sapphire's stalker, and the girl her stalker is keeping captive. The alternating POVs went smoothly, for the most part. I wasn't crazy about the POV of the culprit. Those sections felt really repetitive but I've never The secondary characters, meaning those who didn't get a POV, were a little bit lacking for me. Sometimes they said things that felt out of character. Other times they just didn't have much of a personality at all.

Stalking Sapphire was a fun, enjoyable read with a spunky main character who is unlike any I've read before. I had a few problems with the characterization, but I think I will be continuing with this series. Honestly, who can turn down a serial-killer-hunting Beverly Hills socialite? Not this girl!

Review: A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin

Title: A Really Awesome Mess
Authors: Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
Release Date: July 23rd by EgmontUSA
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Source: Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

Summary from Goodreads: A hint of Recovery Road, a sample of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and a cut of Juno. A Really Awesome Mess is a laugh-out-loud, gut-wrenching/heart-warming story of two teenagers struggling to find love and themselves.

Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.

Justin was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky mental ground, and after a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.

Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog-- and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.

Justin and Emmy arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the end, they might even call each other friends.

A funny, sad, and remarkable story, A Really Awesome Mess is a journey of friendship and self-discovery that teen readers will surely sign up for.

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I don't know about you, but I would not expect a book about a reform school to be funny. I would think it would be pretty depressing, actually. A Really Awesome Mess definitely proved me wrong in that aspect. I laughed out loud a few times and that's pretty rare for me. A whole lot of heart accompanies that humor, and the combination is as perfect as sweet and salty. 

Justin and Emmy are both wrongly sent to Heartland Academy, a reform school for problems ranging from pathological lying to eating disorders, by their evil parents who just want to get rid of them. Or that's why Justin and Emmy think they're being subjected to teenage hell, at least. Slowly, Justin and Emmy begin to realize that they may actually have a reason for being at Heartland that has nothing to do with their parents not loving them.

A Really Awesome Mess uses dual narration, and let me tell you, both Just and Emmy are hilarious. Seriously. I loved them. Justin's wisecracking and Emmy's sarcastic humor were such a treat to read. A few times I forgot whose head I was in and got a little confused, but I think that's due to the continuity of the secondary characters and the setting more than voice issues. 

Speaking of the secondary characters; they were prefect. They all had depth and awesome individual personalities. Not to mention the plethora of growth going on for them as well as Justin and Emmy. The interactions between the group were my favorite part of the book. The characters were all so original and hilarious.

I was a little disappointed in the level of "after school special" the end of the novel reached. I'm happy with the way it ended, but I think it diverged from the tone of the rest of the novel. Other than that, I am happy with the way the authors portrayed the real issues these teens had, and I don't feel as though the issues were trivialized, which could have easily been the case.

A Really Awesome Mess was a surprisingly funny read with a lot of heart. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be looking for more from these two authors.

Review: My Ex From Hell by Tellulah Darling

Title: My Ex From Hell
Author: Tellulah Darling
Published: April 2013 by Te Da Media
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Received from author in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Sophie Bloom wishes she’d been taught the following:

a) Bad boy’s presence (TrOuBlE) + teen girl’s brain (DraMa) = TrAuMa (Highly unstable and very volatile.)

b) The Genus Greekulum Godissimus is notable for three traits: 1) awesome abilities, 2) grudges, and 3) hook-ups, break-ups, and in-fighting that puts cable to shame.

Prior to the Halloween dance, Sophie figures her worst problems involve adolescent theatrics, bitchy yoga girls, and being on probation at her boarding school for mouthy behaviour. Then she meets bad boy Kai and gets the kiss that rocks her world.

Literally.

This breath stealing lip lock reawakens Sophie’s true identity: Persephone, Goddess of Spring. She’s key to saving humanity in the war between the Underworld and Olympus, target numero uno of Hades and Zeus, and totally screwed.

Plus there’s also the little issue that Sophie’s last memory as Persephone was just before someone tried to murder her.

Big picture: master her powers, get her memories back, defeat Persephone’s would be assassin, and save the world. Also, sneak into the Underworld to retrieve stolen property, battle the minions of Hades and Zeus, outwit psycho nymphs, slay a dragon, rescue a classmate, keep from getting her butt expelled from the one place designed to keep her safe …

… and stop kissing Kai, Prince of the Underworld.

My Ex From Hell is a YA romantic comedy/Greek mythology smackdown. Romeo and Juliet had it easy.

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I started My Ex From Hell when on a break at work and was surprised to find myself thinking about it throughout the rest of the day. Then I finished it the same night, though I'd planned to read a different book entirely. It's everything you could want from a light contemporary with some mythical elements thrown in. And it has a really, really funny narrator. 

My Ex From Hell is about sixteen year old Sophie, a normal girl who attends a rather modern boarding school and has two awesome best friends and a witchy adoptive mother. Except Sophie is really Persephone, Goddess of Spring. Obviously that is not a problem normal teenagers have. And if that wasn't enough, Persephone had a lover. Kai, son of Hades. Sophie doesn't remember their relationship, but that doesn't mean she can't feel the sparks. 

Sophie, the narrator, is my absolute favorite thing about this book. She was so witty and had a snarkiness that I envied. Her narration kept me entertained more than anything else, and I couldn't help but love her. Her two best friends are also great, and have really distinct personalities. I was surprised at how easily I could picture these characters in my head-normally it's difficult for me to maintain a distinct image for each character throughout the novel, but I had no problems with this one.

The Greek mythology in My Ex From Hell was really easy to understand, but I found it to be too simple. A lot of the mythological details were explained once, and then the reader is expected to accept it and move on. I'm pretty familiar with Greek mythology (Hello Percy Jackson!) but there were a few things in here that I'd wished we were given more detail about, because I'd never heard of them before and was interested. 

The plot in My Ex From Hell moves really fast, which means I was never bored. Unfortunately, there are a few places that felt rushed, where I wasn't sure how we got from point A to point B. The writing was really engaging though, so that was a definite plus.

My Ex From Hell is a funny, fast paced YA contemp that is sure to please an fans of Greek mythology.