Review - Unbelievable by Jennifer Pickup

Kindle: 320 pages
Publisher: Unbound
Publication date: 05 April 2012
ASIN: B00WDP9IP8

Neona White is rather extraordinary. The thing is, while she knows that she's very different from other teenagers, she doesn't know quite how different…yet.

A traumatic incident leaves Neona without the desire to keep living and a fear that she's not entirely human, and her mother is less than forthcoming. She is soon sent to live with her Grandmother where, after making some unusual new friends, she begins a dangerous quest to unravel the mysteries of her identity. Her supernatural identity.

Neona continues to face the eternal struggle between what people want her to be and who she actually is, as the world she thought she knew begins to disclose its unbelievable secrets.

I read this over a few days and my enjoyment of it rose and fell throughout. In the end I came down on the side of 'Really liked' because it was a good story, but there were a few times when I thought it was going to end badly for my rating.

My biggest problem with it was the secrets and lies and all the cloak and dagger stuff. It drove me mad. The story itself is a good one but I felt that a lot of the suspense and angst just didn't make sense. It felt forced and as the story progressed it became obvious that the withholding of information wasn't justified or explainable.

The whole tale revolves around Neona (the heroine) being different but not knowing why or how. She asks those closest to her if they know anything that will help her figure it out and they all say "NO, we know nothing". Something happens and they all say "Oh yeah, I knew that but didn't tell you when you asked because....Really? I'm not sure why I can't/won't tell you". I'm paraphrasing but that's about the size of it all the way through. 

She asks questions - she gets no answers or only half answers - something happens and she finds out a bit more herself - they tell her they knew that all the time but didn't tell her - she asks if they know more - they say "No" - something new happens and she finds out they knew about that too - and on and on and on. It became tiresome. 

Having said all that, I did like the story. I would want to find out what happens next but if there is any more to this story I'll hope the 'secrecy for secrecy's sake' is missing.

DNF - The Outside by Laura Bickle

Wow.   I just... What the hell just happened? I rarely pass comment on the books I DNF, but I can't get my head round this one. W.T.F?

Were they even written by the same person?  I can't even.  

I barely know where to begin. 

Disappointed!!

 

Review - The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: 25 September 2012
ISBN13: 9780547859262

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

Is this a Movie yet?!! If not, why not?!! 

I've been wanting to read a story featuring the Amish for quite a while now and have been collecting interesting ones when I find them.  I've had this one since it first came out but was put off a bit as I think it's YA.  I don't usually get much from YA stories but there are always exceptions, plus I was also in the mood for something end-of-the-world-y so I figured I could use this one to kill two birds with one stone.  I wasn't sure what I was getting into as Vampire apocalypse and the Amish don't really go together...Turns out they go together like PB & J!!

I. Loved. It.  Simply wonderful.  I lapped it all up and the only reason I didn't finish it in one day was that I had to sleep, otherwise I'd have ripped through it.   

Great writing, great storytelling, great characters, great dialogue, great everything.  Plain folk and scary vampires, what's not to love?! 

I've heard that the next one isn't as good but I'm going to try it anyway and I'll hopefully get to it this week while it's all still fresh in my mind as I'm keen to see what happens next.  Especially if the Bishop meets a grisly end. 

Cover Reveal - Wicked As They Come by Delilah S Dawson

OMG! I want to read this book so bad, I can almost TASTE it! Due to be released in Spring 2012 and I CAN NOT WAIT!.

So I'm trawling google for book reviews, news, cover pics... and this pic hover's onto the radar

WOW! Meet Criminy Stain.

Steampunk, Vampire's, Top hat's, Circus Freak's.... Oh yeah, sound's like a keeper!

WICKED AS THEY COME, Book #1 in the Blud series.

When Tish Everett forces open the locket she finds at an estate sale, she has no idea that a deliciously rakish Bludman has cast a spell just for her. She wakes up in a surreal world where Criminy Stain, the dashing proprietor of a magical circus, curiously awaits. At Criminy's electric touch, Tish glimpses a tantalizing future, but she also fore...sees her ultimate doom. Before she can decide whether to risk her fate with the charming daredevil, the locket disappears, and with it, her only chance to return home. Tish and Criminy battle roaring sea monsters and thundering bludmares, vengeful ghosts and crooked Coppers in a treacherous race to recover the necklace from the evil, Blud-hating Magistrate. But if they succeed, will Tish forsake her fanged suitor and return to her normal life, or will she take a chance on an unpredictable but dangerous destiny with the Bludman she's coming to love?

Holy! I want to read that soooo bad! Not sure why it's grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and hauled me into fangirl territory... all I know is that it Spring seems like a looooong time away.

I've trawled all over the interweb to find out as much as I can about this little gem and soaked up everything I can find about Delilah S Dawson and her new book and am REALLY excited about finding out more.

I'm going to stalk follow on
Blog | Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook and have put in a Pre Order at Amazon UK

There's not a lot of info to be found yet, other than the blurb (taken from Delilah's Facebook page) but I'll be first in line to read any news about Wicked As They Come because Spring next year can't come fast enough for me.

I CAN NOT WAIT!! Did I say that already?...

Oh! And, as if all that's not enough to get your juices flowing... There are also vampire bunnies! WTH?! That in itself is worth buying the book for!

Twilight - Breaking Dawn- Official Trailer

I'm looking forward to this but only because I hate to leave a series unfinished... Breaking Dawn was my least favourite of the Twilight series but I'll still watch it. Obviously :D

Just one thing though - WTH?!?! Carlise? Where did the uber hot Dr Cullen go? And, I know that (in the complexion department) the Cullen's have all been a bit 'pale' in the previous films but now they look all waxy and clammy. So not hot.



Bella and Edward, plus those they love, must deal with the chain of consequences brought on by a marriage, honeymoon, and the tumultuous birth of a child... which brings an unforeseen and shocking development for Jacob Black.

In The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson), plus those they love, must deal with the chain of consequences brought on by a marriage, honeymoon, and the tumultuous birth of a child... which brings an unforeseen and shocking development for Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

With more of the romance, passion, intrigue and action that made Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse worldwide blockbusters, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling book series, begins the conclusion of the tale of vampire love, boundless friendship, acceptance, and finding your true self.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 hits theaters November 18th

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark {The Southern Vampire's - #1}

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication date(first): 2001
ISBN-13: 978-0575089365

Synopsis taken from Goodreads:

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the kind of guy she's been waiting for all her life.

But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire. Worse than that, hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind.

And when one of Sookie's colleagues is killed, she begins to fear she'll be next.

-------------------------

Opening Line:"I'd been waiting for the Vampire for years when he walked into the bar"

I bought this book more than 2 years ago when it came as part of an eight book set from the Book People for just £9.99. Nine pounds ninety nine!! For eight books. Bargain!... and then they just sat on the shelf, unopened and gathering dust. My bad.

Some time later I started to hear murmers about a great new show called True blood based on the books so I dusted off 'Dead Until Dark' and settled down to see what all the fuss what about. I got about a quarter of the way through and found it to be a real slog. Sookie just seemed way too kitchy for me and the Southern drawl that was written into every passage of speech grew old really fast. I love to listen to the down South accent, but to read it just grated on my nerves. I couldn't stand Bill and he seemed like all he did was mope about and I couldn't figure out what Sookie liked about him, and to have every miniscule fashion decision that Sookie made detailed for me in minute detail was just one big yawn. I couldn't visualise Sookie or any of the other characters and it just all seemed really unmemorable. I was thoughoughly underwhelmed but it all. I set it aside and started to wonder about the wisdom of my £9.99 'bargain'.

I did start to watch the show though. I wanted to see if it was any better. It was. It was great! I loved it! I couldn't get enough. Loosly based on the books and sooooo much better. And then season 1 ended and I was left hungry for more. OMG! How would I survive until season 2?!!

Then my eye's strayed to the bookshelves and unfinished book 1 sitting there, all dusty and unloved.

Without expecting much I set in to restart it where I left off to try and fill the gap until season 2 came around and within a few pages the strangest thing happened... I started to get sucked into it! I could finally 'see' and 'hear' Sookie and Bill, Eric and Pam, Arlene and Sam and all of the characters just came to life!

Now that I knew Sookie and could 'see' her I loved reading all about her little outfit choices and how she kept a nice house and what she spent her meagre earnings on. In fact, all the little details is what made the book readable for me. I felt like I knew Sookie now and I loved hearing all her news. Still didn't know what she saw in Bill though.....that still remeains a mystery.

Since that epiphany I've went on to watch season's 2, 3 and am part way through current season 4. I have also worked my way thorugh books 1 to 5 and am currently enjoying book 6. Without watching the show I know I'd probably never have gone back to the books. The show is only loosely based on the books so it actually feels like I've got twice as many stories to enjoy as the storylines are similar but quite different.

I'm trying to pace myself with the books though, I don't want to get too far ahead of the tv show. It's really hard, I'm enjoying them so much I just want to plough through them all!

Oh, and Eric Northman...Two words - Bite me!

Review - INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE by Anne Rice

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Futura Publications; New edition edition
ISBN-13: 978-0708860731
Publication Date: 31/12/1981

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897. As the Washington Post said on its first publication, it is a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination ...sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'.

My Review:
I first read this about 20 years ago and tore through it. I loved it! It has remained on my 'fave read' list ever since. Recently though, I have started a re-read of those early 'fave reads' and The Vampire Chronicles is the latest to come under renewed scrutiny.

When I first discovered these books, there wasn't the glut of vampire fiction abailable that there is today. From the handful on the shelf at the time, this was in my opinion the best. Since those days I've read countless supernatural/paranormal books and dozens of vampire novels and was curious if Interview with a vampire had stood the test of time and was still as good as I remembered it to be.

In short, yes, it's still a good story. I didn't rattle through it as quickly as I did the first time around but that's got more to do with reading time constraints than it has to do with content. Anne Rice's writing style is flowery and evocative and searching and those are not really things I would rate highly in my usual reading choices, but maybe nostalgia is making me sentimental and I'm prepared to put up with a lot more from an old friend than I would be from a new aquaintance.

The book was slower than I remember it being but perhaps the notion of sexy, sensual, flawed vampires was new and exciting back then and caused me to get so wrapped up in the moment that time just flew. Now, there are any number of vampires who share those qualaties and the idea doesn't seem so fresh and exciting any more. However, for all that, Rice's vampires still seem to have an 'edge' to them. Something compelling that makes them stand out from the crowd.

It's hard going into this without expectations, because I've already read the others in the series, but even knowing what is to come I loved Louis all over again in this first book and hated Lestat. I know that after a few more books I'll regard Louis as a whiny bitch and I'll adore Lestat with a passion but for now Louis is a tortured soul and Lestat is a selfish brat.

The story itself is really a setting up of what's to come. It's a vehicle to introduce us to the main characters and to world build but the core story is a solid one and although I suppose these could be read out of sequence I don't think it would be quite such an enjoyable saga that way.

I'm counting this read on a few of my challenges:-

Read all TEN (10) books in the Vampire Chronicles series (books titles below).

Completed 1/10
Books in Series Order:

1) Interview with the Vampire ( Finished - 5/2/11)
2) The Vampire Lestat ( Finished - 24/2/11)
3) The Queen of the Damned ( Finished - 16/3/11)
4) The Tale of the Body Thief ( Finished - 10/4/11)
5) Memnoch the Devil
6) The Vampire Armand
7) Merrick
8) Blood and Gold
9) Blackwood Farm
10) Blood Canticle


I'm going for Reliving the Past (4-8 books) and so far the books I have in mind are:

Completed 1/8

1.Interview with the vampire by Anne Rice (Finished - 5/2/11)
2.On Raven's wing by Morgan Llywelyn
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.



Any books published BEFORE 2009 . All Genres included
Completed 2/20

1. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning - 2006

2. If Angels Burn - Lynn Viehl - 2005

3. Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione - 2008

4. Kiss Of Fire - Deborah Cooke - 2008

5. Magic To The Bone - Devon Monk - 2008

6. Secret Vampire - L J Smith - 2008

7. Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews - 2007

8. Poison Study - Maria V Snyder - 2007

9. Nightlife - Rob Thurman - 2006

10. Blood Price - Tanya Huff - 2004

11. Way Of The Wolf - E E Knight - 2003

12. The Smoke Thief - Shana Abe - 2006

13. Midnight's Daughter - Karen Chance - 2008

14. Beyond The Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning - 2004 (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)

15. Interview With A Vampire - Anne Rice - 1991 (FINISHED 5th Feb 2011)

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Is there such a thing as 'Challenge Addiction'?...

Challenge addiction? I haz it!

Can't help myself. I think it's an illness. Send help, please. Thank you.

Two more challenges added to my list, and I'm 99.9% sure they're my last for 2011 (but don't quote me on that).

I have been looking over my goodreads 'read' list and there are a few on the list that I would dearly love to read again because it's been many, many years since I first enjoyed them. With all the great new reads I've got planned for this year I couldn't really justify going back over old ground though...

And then it struck me. If I were 'challenged' to read them then that would be, like, different. It'd be rude not to accept a challenge. Right? Yeah, challenges are the way forward. Trust me.

And that's why there HAS to be 2 new challenges. See, some of the re-reads I want to do are from the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles and since the challenge has a cute graphic for the sidebar I HAD to sign up. I think it's actually against the law to NOT sign up for challenges when you come across them. Or did I dream that?

Anyhoo, Job done.

I'm joining in with -

Read me baby one more time, hosted by Midnight Book Girl

Read Me Baby, 1 More Time is for those of us who love to re-read our favorite books or those of us who want to re-visit a book from our past. The rules are simple, for a book to qualify we simply have to have read it at least once before, and the re-read has to be complete.

Timeline: 1st Jan 2011 ~ 31st Dec 2011

Here's the tiers for you to choose from:

Trip Down Memory Lane: 1-3 re-reads
Reliving the Past: 4-8 re-reads
Back To The Future: 9-12 re-reads
Groundhog Day Reader: 13-20 re-reads

I'm going for Reliving the Past and so far the books I have in mind are:

1.Interview with the vampire by Anne Rice (Finished - 5/2/11)
2.On Raven's wing by Morgan Llywelyn
3.
4.

-------------------------------------------

As mentioned, my next challenge involves The Vampire Chronicles and is hosted by Book Chick City


Challenge Details

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011

• Rules - Read all TEN (10) books in the Vampire Chronicles series (books titles below).

• The reading challenge can crossover into other challenges you have on the go



Books in Series Order:

1) Interview with the Vampire ( Finished - 5/2/11)
2) The Vampire Lestat
3) The Queen of the Damned
4) The Tale of the Body Thief
5) Memnoch the Devil
6) The Vampire Armand
7) Merrick
8) Blood and Gold
9) Blackwood Farm
10) Blood Canticle

Will have to find a copy of Blood Cantlicle as I don't have that one, but the rest I have and will slot into my reading year.

Twilight - How it should have ended,..

I love the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Books and movies. LOVE THEM.

I love this youtube vid too though, even though it's a dig at the books. SO funny! I watch it at least once a week and still laugh out loud at the end - "Lets go eat some people!"
LOL