Review of Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Title/Author: Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, July 24th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: "The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia...
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper — The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor... from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance."

This is a hard review for me to write, because I wanted so badly to love this book. Because Susan Dennard seems like a really wonderful person and she's a debut author and I REALLY want to love all the books by awesome people! Maybe even more so because her best friend is an author whose work I love and who gives the best book recommendations.
But in all honesty, I can't say that this was the book for me.

I'm not much of a fan of zombie books, but I kept reading reviews that stated even if you didn't like zombies, you'd still enjoy this novel and they weren't present a lot. Which was true. And I don't think it was the creepy Dead that were the problem for me.

I wasn't sucked into the story and I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. There was just something missing and I kept wondering if I should just put it down, but because I wanted to love it so badly I stuck with it. Eleanor was a bit bland to me and I only ever really liked one of the characters: Jie. Jie is awesome. Jie is a Chinese girl who shaves her head and wears men's clothing and kick a whole lot of ass. But other than this, I don't really know a lot about her. Still, she is awesome.

I couldn't warm up to Daniel as a love interest, he was so annoying! I didn't really feel the chemistry between him and Elaenor and it just didn't work for me. Mostly though, I think none of the characters were fleshed out enough for me to love them or actually care what was happening to them. And to me, that is a problem.

I guessed who was the necromancer pretty much in the first chapter, so the whole plot twist wasn't all that twisty for me. I did think the Dead were sufficiently creepy (seriously, if you're dead, please stay that way, cause it creeps me out when zombies go around trying to eat people! The only way I'm ok with the undead is when they're still rational, like vampires or revenants) and it would have been interesting to learn just a little bit more about how the whole necromancer thing worked.

I did think that in the end the book redeemed itself somewhat by the last chapter, which I felt in my sappy little romantic heart. I don't want to give anything away, but THIS I felt. The strength of that last chapter is what I would have wanted for the whole of the novel and it's making me question whether or not I should continue with the series.

I struggled with this book and in the end I don't think it was the book for me, but I know a lot of people really loved it!

My rating: 2 stars

Review of The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

Title/Author: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross
Publisher/Date published: HarlequinTEEN, May 29th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling - or dangerous.
Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "strange band of misfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him... for the life of the girl Jasper loves.
One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens."

So I mentioned how Steampunk isn't really my genre in my review of The Girl in the Steel Corset, the first book in the series, but that it had managed to convince me not to give up on the genre entirely, cause I really enjoyed The Girl in the Steel Corset! So when I saw the sequel, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, on NetGalley I just HAD to request it!

And really, I'm in love with Kady Cross's writing! It's absolutely wonderful and she has me believing in all the crazy stuff going on and all the inventions that are mentioned! I mean, I'm more of a magic kind of girl instead of actual contraptions doing stuff, but well, she just makes it work! And I keep finding myself thinking what a GENIUS Emily (one of the characters) is for coming up with all this stuff! I wish I could invent things...

I'm really liking the character development all of the main cast is going through and getting to know them better was wonderful! Finley is still the kickass girl she was in the first novel and is trying to figure out what it is exactly that she wants now that her 2 halves have been merged for the most part and just basically discovering who she is. I loved that with her it's not all black and white. She has a good heart, but she's also attracted to the darker side of things and I loved watching her figure it all out and owning up to her struggles with it.

And Griffin... That boy is still as swoonworthy as he was in The Girl With The Steel Corset, even when I sometimes wanted to slap him on the back of his head to FINALLY GET ON WITH SOME STUFF I WON'T MENTION! I love the chemistry between him and Finley and am really very much appreciative of there not being insta-love between them, because that is one of the biggest pet peeves I have when it comes to novels!

The abilities of all these characters we meet again are immensely interesting and I didn't feel that this book suffered from second book syndrome at all! There's enough action and definitely plot progression so I was rather enjoying myself reading it. There's some build up to what I think we will find out more about in the third book and I'm already anticipating a lot of angst and drama and an EPIC BATTLE.

I do have to say that the characters still seem a lot older in their behaviour than their actual age. If I didn't know they were teenagers, I'd say they were all about 23-25. This kind of bugged me at times, because I kept having to remind myself they were a lot younger than they appeared.

So basically this is a wonderful steampunk series and I'm sticking with it cause I can't wait to find out how it will all end! Even recommended to non-fans of the genre, the writing and characters are good enough on themselves!

My rating: 4 stars

Review of Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Title/Author: Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #1) by Bethany Griffin
Publisher/Date published: Greenwillow Books, April 24th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: "Everything is in ruins.
A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.
So what does Araby Worth have to live for?
Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up... and tantalizing ways to forget it all.
But in the depths of the club — in the depths of her own despair — Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.
And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her."

I think this is the first steampunk novel I have ever loved. I have enjoyed The Girl in the Steel Corset very much, but I LOVED Masque of the Red Death! I knew it wasn't time to give up on the genre yet!

Masque of the Red Death is dark and wonderful and it sweeps you up and drops you down 320 pages later. It's incredible and I was definitely not amused when it was time to cook dinner and I had to put it aside for a while. I absolutely adored that nothing was black and white and if I'd been Araby I would have been floundering around figuring out who to trust and what to do.

And you guys, there's a love triangle and I didn't hate it! There, I said it. In my opinion it was really well done and I found myself rooting for one guy, then the other and back again... It was an emotional rollercoaster and even though it seems like she's making a choice at the end of Masque of the Red Death, I'm curious to see what will actually happen and who will hold her heart in the end.

I really loved Araby, she's a complicated girl and very flawed, as are all the other characters (LOVED that) and my heart broke for her grief over her brother's death and the vow she made him. I loved Will (though he may have broken my heart just a little) and Elliott and Araby's family and Will's little brother and sister (SO CUTE) and April, Araby's best friend! It always gives me a happy when I can love not only the main characters, but several of the others as well!

I must admit that I've never read any of Edgar Allen Poe's work, but I'm curious to check it out after reading this book! I love when a book makes me want to read other books and it's not just the sequel!

Also, the song 'We Are Young' by Fun ft. Janelle Monae reminds me of this novel SO MUCH it's scary. I love that song!



What do you think? Yes? No?

There's some crazy going around and evil leaders and lots and lots of people dying. The last couple of chapters had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what would happen and how Bethany Griffin would tie this one up! I'm glad to say it didn't feel like a cliffhanger, but it did leave me wanting the next book ASAP. I loved that we already got some answers and I'm hoping the sequel will tell me everything else I want to know, cause this world is endlessly fascinating!

It was fabulous and dark and twisty and I just want more! What are you all waiting for? It's out tomorrow, go plan how to get your hands on it ASAP!

My rating: 5 stars

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Title/Author: The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles #1) by Kady Cross
Publisher/Date published: Harlequin Teen, May 24th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one except the thing inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch.
Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits. Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on, even if it seems no one believes her."

I should really be studying for my big exam tomorrow, but let's face it, I'd rather be blogging/reading. Or be doing anything else except studying. Really. Even cleaning. And I HATE cleaning.

Anyway, let's talk about this book. The only other encounter I've had with Steampunk didn't work so well for me. I was confused by the whole thing and kept thinking: wait, what?? I'd heard good things about this one, but I still didn't have a lot of high hopes for it.

And boy, was I wrong! I really enjoyed this book, after getting used to the whole setting of Steampunk. It's completely different from what I'm used to, but I loved how it was handled here. I actually understood what was happening and it sounded logical and well yeah, it worked for me.

Finley Jayne is a likeable main character and I loved the two sides of her that competed for domination. I enjoyed seeing how she tried to integrate them and learned to control her darker side when it surfaced. I think both sides of her were well-rounded characters.
And OMG, Griffin! He sounds absolutely swoonworthy! Though I did think he sounded slightly older than he actually was, which bothered me sometimes, but maybe it's also the reason I adored him so much.

Love triangles aren't really my thing, though in this case it seemed more like Finley's different sides were having trouble agreeing on who to like. I did appreciate that the triangle was there while Finley hadn't made a definite choice yet, so it didn't feel like she was cheating on either guy. Jack Dandy didn't really do much for me, but I can understand his appeal.

So, all in all, this was a pleasant surprise, though I think I'll just stick to this series and not dive into Steampunk any further, I don't think it's my genre.
My rating: 3,5 stars