Review for Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

This is the last book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. Although this review will contain NO spoilers from Forever by talking about the plot there may be unintentional spoilers from earlier books in the series.

Synopsis
"In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in."

First of all I think I’m just going to put it out there that I was disappointed with this book. I’m a HUGE fan of this series and Forever was one of my most highly anticipated books of this year but sadly this final conclusion to one of my favourite series left me cold.

Everything started off well. I was quickly drawn back into this story thanks to Maggie’s ever beautiful writing and was once again caught up in Sam and Grace’s story. The start of the book was exciting and I couldn’t wait to see where Maggie took us.

Then half way through the book I got bored. The romance that I love so much in this series is very lackluster in Forever. Now I know that Sam and Grace had bigger problems to deal with but throughout the rest of this series despite all the crazy going on at these books heart was always Sam and Grace and this amazing love story that had the ability to make me laugh and cry. This book despite being the final goodbye to a world I love didn’t have me shedding any tears- guys I didn’t even get misty eyed. Compared to both Shiver and Linger where I would sob great big my heart is broken tears my lack of emotion towards Forever felt very strange to me and I think was largely because of the lack of feeling put into this book.

I felt that Maggie could easily have cut out 100 to 150 pages of this book as nothing significant really happens in the middle making the book drag on. Then at the end of the book Maggie does a complete U turn and everything ends so abruptly with so many things left up in the air. I’m someone who needs a good conclusion especially at the end of a series that I have loved and invested in so I can feel content and ready to let the characters go. I didn’t feel that Forever’s ending gave me proper closure as so much was left up in the air leaving the reader to interpret what they want out of it. I hate when books do that and to be honest felt cheated from the proper ending Sam and Grace deserved.

That being said overall Forever was a decent read the high point being Maggie’s beautiful writing. I mostly enjoyed the book up until the end and even then it’s not that I didn’t like the ending per se I was just frustrated mostly with the lack of it. If you don’t mind a bit of interpretation at the end of your books then you’re bound to have no problems with Forever but for me personally I wanted and expected more and hate that I have to leave this series with so many what ifs on my mind. Needless to say this book wasn’t great for me and will be looked up on my bookshelf as the ending that wasn’t, I’ll cherish and re-read Shiver and Linger for years to come and will pass over Forever with regret and sadness for what could have been.
My Rating 3/5 stars

Synopsis taken from Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday: Fury

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that bloggers are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Fury by Elizabeth Miles
Publication Date: 1st September 2011
From Amazon UK
In book one of the Fury trilogy, Em Winters and Chase Singer discover that a little guilt isn't the only consequence of doing wrong. After Em hooks up with her best friend's boyfriend and Chase's secret harassment of a social outcast spirals out of control, three mysterious Furies-paranormal creatures that often assume the form of beautiful women-come to town to make sure that Em and Chase get what they deserve. Not everyone will survive-and those who do will discover there are worse punishments than death. But when Em befriends outcast Drea and learns more about who and what the Furies really are, she becomes resolved above all to take them down and stop their plans. Little does Em know that, by confronting the Furies, she could become inextricably bound to them for life.

This Wednesday I am waiting on yet another Greek Mythology book. I love the Greek Mythology trend in YA at the moment and am hugely excited because Fury merges together Contemporary YA and Greek Myth which are two genres I absolutely love. I’ve heard some mixed early reviews from my blogger friends who were lucky enough to receive it early but because it ticks all of my boxes I’m more than willing to give this one a try! With it out in just over a week here in the UK I haven’t got long to wait but regardless I’m counting down the days!

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Bookish News! Featuring Pandemonium Giveaway, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Velvet and Tesco’s Book Blog...

What better way to start the weekend than by telling you guys about some exciting book news! All info was emailed to me from reliable sources so big thank you’s to the publishers who email me giving me juicy info to share with my readers!

So first up is something I myself am hugely excited about. With Delirium by Lauren Oliver now out in paperback the lovely people at Hodder are celebrating by running a competition exclusive to the UK where you can win one of the first five UK proofs of Lauren’s upcoming novel, Pandemonium, the follow on from Delirium. Exciting much!? Anyone can enter as long as you live in the UK for more info follow the link to enter here.

Also from Hodder we have the final cover reveal for the highly anticipated Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I love this cover almost as much as I loved the book itself and can’t wait for it to be released into the wild on September 29th. Here is also the new stunning UK trailer, for more information on Daughter of Smoke and Bone check out my review here.

Click on image to enlarge

For more September news Mary Hooper is releasing her new book Velvet a creepy sounding historical fiction from this much loved author. She’s planning on making some public appearances in September to promote the new book. Here are the details below. If you’re around the area you really should stop by!

6pm, Tuesday 20th September
Just Imagine Story Centre, 64-68 New London Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0PD
Tel 01245 267748
Tickets: £5
info@justimaginestorycentre.co.uk
http://www.justimaginestorycentre.co.uk/content/writing-children-group-mary-hooper

2pm, Sunday 25th September
Guildhall, High Street, Bath BA1 4BX
Tel: 01225 463 362
Tickets: £5
bathboxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk
http://www.bathkidslitfest.org.uk/celiareesandmaryhooper.aspx

And for my last piece of gossip Tesco have launched a fabulous book blog! I tend to get a lot of my books from Tesco thanks to their amazing offers and Tesco Books are sure to offer up some really exciting posts with sneak previews, author interviews, giveaways and competitions. I and some fellow UK book bloggers are also set to participate in some posts so keep your eyes peeled for those! Click on this link to take you to the blog and you can follow them on twitter @TescoBooks

That’s all from me for now, have a fabulous weekend!

Jess x

Review for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Synopsis
"Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.

When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought."

Critical acclaim for Daughter of Smoke and Bone has been building steadily over the past few months in anticipation for its release and I am pleased to say that I concur with all of the early high praise. Due to all the hype I had pretty high expectations for this book before starting it but even still I wasn’t prepared for how awesome this book truly is and how fiercely I would love it.

This review is going to be one of those terribly hard ones to write simply because the books too good to put into words. You can’t explain how amazing it is it’s something people have to experience for themselves. To put it simply this book blew my mind.

Laini Taylor is a remarkable storyteller and has created a rich and absorbing new world that’s completely different to anything else out there. Daughter of Smoke and Bone has a little bit of everything and therefore something to offer any reader, of any age, gender and preference in genre. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a story of war and magic, beasts with hearts of gold and sadistic blood thirsty angels but at the centre of it all is an epic love story that has the power to change everything. Daughter of Smoke and Bone isn’t the kind of book that I would recommend to just fans of young adult fiction but to anybody, anyone who can appreciate a good story.

Our main character Karou is a strong and quirky heroine who enthrals those around her with her art and stories about demons and beast like creatures. Her friends just presume she has a vivid imagination but despite her teasing smile Karou has never told her friends a lie. The stories she tells are her life, her life bought up by monsters in a place called Elsewhere running strange and dangerous errands for her guardian and father figure Brimstone who grants wishes in exchange for teeth. Karou knows little about her past and the world where Brimstone is from but now the portals to Elsewhere are closing. Cut off from the only family she’s ever known Karou must at last unlock the secrets of her past in order to understand her fate.

Karou is such a kooky, interesting character who I found so easy to like. Like the world of Elsewhere there are many secrets and layers to Karou. For instance she has blue hair that grows out of her head that colour, tattoos that she’s had for as long as she can remember and bullet scars on her stomach. Why I hear you ask? That’s something you’re going to have to read and find out for yourself but it’s almost as if you unlock Karou as you read on and discover more about Elsewhere and I loved how the intrigue and mystery not only focused on the plot but on Karou also.

Laini Taylor’s writing is exquisite. Her descriptions of a dark and wintery Prague engross and captivate the reader from the start. Laini’s a genius at atmospheric writing and creates a gothic and haunting backdrop for her story of monsters and demons.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a magical and engrossing book that is still going through my mind days later. Laini Taylor has created something different and exciting and I predict that it’s going to be HUGE. It certainly deserves to be. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is easily the best book I’ve read all year and I’m sure it will remain a favourite for years to come.
My Rating 5/5 stars

Synopsis taken from Amazon

Thanks go to Hodder for sending me this book to review

Review for Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller

Synopsis
"A wife. A husband. A lover. A chance to leave her ordinary life? There had been no rain for weeks; the air crackled, the brushfires burned, her childhood ended. The summer of 1970 – a whisper from her mother’s lips told a secret that would destroy her family – a burden too heavy for a young girl to carry. Sylvia Sandon swore then and there she would never become her mother. Now Sylvia is walking the same illicit path towards temptation – into an affair she feels powerless to resist. The man she married, the father of her children, lies next to her in bed. The breathing that once lulled her to sleep now grating on her nerves. Sylvia has a chance to leave this ordinary life. Behind her are the ravaged remains of her childhood, in front the bittersweet safety of family life…or the exquisite torment of infidelity. One woman. Two paths. A forbidden moment of happiness or a lifetime of quiet regret."

Dori Ostermiller’s debut novel Outside the Ordinary World has already been received with high critical acclaim in the US, that, along with the beautiful cover and intriguing family drama described in the synopsis had me very excited to read this one and straight from the beginning I could see what all the fuss was about. Dori’s writing grips you from the start, the beautiful imagery wrapping itself around you like a blanket. Despite Outside the Ordinary World being a debut it’s clear that Ostermiller is already a fine storyteller.

The book is told in alternate chapters flitting from present to past. Both time periods are told from our main character Sylvia’s perspective in 1970 as a child and 2004 as an adult. The alternate chapters each tell their own separate story of adultery. In the summer of 1970 Sylvia is a witness and accomplice in her own mother’s affair, carrying the burden of a secret that could destroy her family. And in present day 2004 Sylvia has grown into a troubled adult haunted by her mother’s mistakes and her own guilt for her part in them, now Sylvia is heading down the same illicit path of destruction despite swearing that she would never make her mother’s mistakes. The alternate chapters are essential to understanding Sylvia as a person and why she makes the choices she does and whilst both Sylvia and her mother’s stories mirror one another both women have very different reasons behind their adultery. Outside the Ordinary World explores the different reasons why somebody might be tempted into the arms of another and the what ifs and maybe the grass really is greener that comes along with stepping out of your day to day life.

Outside the Ordinary World is a very honest, moving account on secrets, family, marriage and the ultimate question can one ever truly escape their past? Many of the characters –especially Sylvia- are very raw and not always the easiest characters to like. But in a strange way I could respect that and thought that it fleshed them out and made them even more believable. Although I didn’t necessarily agree with Sylvia’s actions I could understand her reasoning behind them and ultimately I believe that that’s what Ostermiller wanted to get across in the first place, she wasn’t trying to excuse adultery but explain it.

This book gives the reader plenty of food for thought and delves into the torment and destruction of infidelity holding nothing back. If you’ve ever wondered how someone could so easily risk everything Outside the Ordinary World is a book that will take you through the motions. A stunning debut that I would recommend to anybody who’s ever wondered, what if?
My Rating 4/5 stars

Thanks go to Mira for sending me this book to review