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One hour to rewrite the past...


For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.


So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not change her future, it may also change her past.


Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does it feel like an electric current runs through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?


Hourglass was quite possibly the most original book I've read in a very long time. A really good book with strong, believable characters. I love the cover, too.

Emerson was a great protagonist, and interesting because I haven't read very many rich MCs other than royalty. She really dealt with the whole "Oh yeah, you can travel in time" thing well, which was endearing. Plus she was very sarcastic, which I liked a lot. Her uncertainty was very well portrayed, and her best friend was awesome :)

Michael is a weird guy. He is overprotective and jealous, and some mention of his having a hero complex...? Yeah. I also didn't get... was Emerson pretty or something? Because why would a guy like him like a girl like her???

However, I really liked Hourglass and I'll be looking for the next book. 5 of 5.

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POMPEII, AD 79 ~ Julia and Sura lead opposite yet inextricably linked lives. Julia is the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder; Sura was kidnapped from her parents as a small child. Julia bears the Curse of Venus - a withered arm; Sura's beauty turns heads. Julia is free; Sura is her slave.


The summer has already been a trying one for Julia, with two older sisters' weddings to endure. Then she begins to suspect that her parents have a terrible plan in mind that will affect not only Julia's life but Sura's as well.


Yet what no one in Pompeii suspects is that beneath the verdant vineyards that grow on Mount Vesuvius, a beastly volcano slumers. When it finally erupts, it forges a path of destruction that throws everyone's futures into question, and forces Julia and Sura to confront the true meaning of freedom.


I hate the title. I'm sorry. I don't know why. The book was okay, and the historical setting was very interesting, as I haven't read very many books concerned with Ancient Rome. The characters of Julia and Sura are great foils for each other, and this relationship is pretty much summed up in the first paragraph of the blurb.

The unfairness of Julia's family is unbearable. They're just like the Dursleys, except they're not British and there are no sons. Julia's sister Cornelia is just really spiteful for no reason, though. Okay, so less mundanely evil, more ruin-your-life evil. I didn't really get why Julia didn't want to go to that convent, though.

The weirdest moment in the book is probably when Sura slapped Julia when Vesuvius was erupting. It showed that Sura is spiritually a lot stronger than Julia. (Yeah, I liked Sura waaay better than Julia, I have to admit.)

Although I found this book in the juvenile section, there are a couple parts that might not be suitable for younger kids (i.e., the part where the ladies step on the genitals of Mercury in the baths).

Overall maybe 3 stars. Not too bad, I guess.

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Is nineteenth-century England ready for the magic and mischief of Kat Stephenson?


Kat Stephenson may have inherited her mother's magical talents, but not everyone in the Order of the Guardians is ready to accept her. When she is tricked into losing her temper in front of the most powerful Guardian in England, she finds herself expelled without a single magic lesson.


After a devastating accusation shatters her sister Angeline's romance, their stepmama whisks the family away to the fashionable city of Bath and orders Angeline to find a new fiancé. But as Angeline plays a dangerous game with a scandalous rake, their brother, Charles, tumbles headlong into danger... and Bath's wild magic gets ready to explode.


With more than one life at stake, will Kat's untrained magic be enough to reunite Angeline with her true love, conquer the danger at Bath, and prove she truly has what it takes to be a Guardian?


I find the historical setting of this series very weird. I mean, Regency England? Come on! But it's interesting how the setting, with all of its values on propriety, restricts Kat's freedom and magic. The second book is some more light fantasy, with hilarious family relations.

Anyway, this series is really pretty sweet juvenile stuff. The fantasy is creative, and I don't think I ever imagined Bath as a city of "wild magic". The rules of the magic in the Kat, Incorrigible series are well thought out, adding.. well, credibility, I suppose (or as much as you can get). The family relationships knotting the whole thing together are very believable, although sometimes I got so "UGGHHHH!!!" because everyone misunderstands Kat so much. I guess that's the point, endearing poor spunky, unappreciated Kat to the reader.

Angeline was really evil, I must say. Without the eldest sister, Elissa, to keep her in check, Angeline was, like, diabolical, almost as much as Lady Fotherington. However, her mischief added a new layer to the story that was somewhat effective. (I also really didn't get the point of having Elissa as a character in the first book if she was just going to go off and get married to a rich guy.)

Lady Fotherington was a villain with quite a dubious motive. It just didn't seem realistic that she would be jealous of Kat's mother because Kat's father was her "true love". I mean, wasn't "Papa" supposed to be bookish and absentminded? I had a bit of a complaint about that. It also didn't seem realistic that Lord Ravenscroft would be a traitor to England. Seriously? The French? Yeah, sure, whatever. 


Overall, the second book in the Kat, Incorrigible series didn't disappoint as a fun, light second book.

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*SPOILER ALERT - DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ HEX HALL - WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ANYWAY? GO READ HEX HALL!!*

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shapeshifters, and faeries). But then she discovered the family secret, and the fact that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.


Turns out, Sophie's a demon, one of only two in the world - the other being her father. What's worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will either destroy her powers for good - or kill her.


But once Sophie arrives, she makes a shocking discovery. Her new housemates? They're demons too. Meaning, someone is raising demons in secret, with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they're using Archer to do it. but it's not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?


So yeah, that pretty much spoiled half of Hex Hall for you quite nicely. This is the blurb on the inside jacket of the book. I've decided to source them from the inside jacket of the book now. Those seem to be more reliable. But I digress.

Demonglass was kind of disappointing. The climax was not that great, and the whole thing about the Casnoffs suddenly seizing control of the Council was unrealistic. However, the interesting thing about involving demons in a supernatural fiction book is probably going to keep me on.

Sophie Mercer was as snarky and sarcastic as ever. Except she would notice it every few paragraphs, which was annoying. Also I hated how weak she was being, not telling anyone all of those secrets weighing down her mind. It was like, oh, I should tell Jenna or Dad something about this, but I just can't face them and I don't feel like it, so I won't.

Archer Cross? I'm really getting to hate him now. Unreasonable, not even funny anymore, gaaahhhh!!!!!!! I mean, Cal totally deserves Sophie more!!! And I'm screaming this throughout the book!!!!! (Yes, Cal is betrothed to Sophie. Interesting, huh?

This review is rife with spoilers. I'll just give it a 3 of 5 and call it good. *bleh*

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How do you defy destiny? Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is, no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together and trying to tear them apart.


Beautiful and original. I mean, obviously Helen was a modern-day Helen of Troy but that's not the point. The point is that it's a refreshing take on demigods after the whole Percy Jackson thing. The Percy Jackson books were great and everything, but all they really did was fight monsters. Starcrossed was also a lot more complex with the ancestry and blood feud and seeing the Furies and stuff. 


Helen overall wasn't that good of a character - not much edge or development. Lucas was really overprotective of her. I think Angelini spent too much time trying to develop the family and the antagonists (but hey, what do I know?). 


Not much else to say. I liked the book overall and will be looking for Dreamless, the second book in the series.

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"You can't touch me," I whisper. I'm lying, is what I don't tell him. He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him. But things happen when people touch me. Strange things. Bad things. Dead things. 


No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time--and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.


Really intense and beautiful. This book is probably one of my favorites because although it's yet another dystopian, post-apocalyptic novel with a female protagonist, it has a better premise and an original protagonist. The prose is clear, memorable, and yes, shattering.


Juliette was one of those saintly types (i.e., Jane Bennet, Harry Potter). However, she had a backstory that made me genuinely care about her - good for her. Adam was also a saintly type. The two were just perfect for each other, obviously.


Warner, the main antagonist, was just sick. He was obsessed with Juliette in this twisted way, wanting her to want him but threatening her and forcing her to torture innocent civilians. It was a great character foil to pure, too-nice Juliette.


The dystopian thing was dystopian for real, as in, the environment was ruined, the citizens were dying, etc. etc. It wasn't one of those dystopias where the society pretends to be perfect.


I'll be looking for Unravel Me, the next book of the series. Also check out Tahereh Mafi's website and blog - they are so cute! And remember that the covers are being changed, so look for this cover (cool, huh?): 

Picture from stiryourtea.blogspot.com

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THE MEMORY BANK is the story of Hope Scroggins, who lives with her beloved sister Honey and the Dursley-esque parents they share. In fact these parents are SO horribly awful that one day, when the sisters disobey the rule against "no laughing," they banish Honey forever, telling Hope that she must simply "forget" her. Hope knows that she HAS to find her sister again, before her memories of Honey fade. But before she can even begin to look, she's whisked away to the World Wide Memory Bank, where her accounts are in disarray... There she learns about the process of how dreams and memories are kept safe. She also learns that there's a group of misfits called the Clean Slate Gang who want to destroy the Memory Bank, and all of the dreams and memories kept there. What she doesn't know is that Honey has been picked up by the Clean Slate Gang, and they're heading right for the Memory Bank. The story of how Hope makes her way through this brewing conflict and rescues her little sister is full of tension and suspense, set in a vividly imagined world of strange machines and wonderful characters.


My, what a sweet little story. It basically chronicles one girl's heartfelt journey to find her little sister. It reminds me of The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry for the despicable parents, but The Willoughbys is more satiric. The Memory Bank is more sincere and fantastical. 


The storytelling format is similar to that of Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck (both amazing books - you MUST read them). Pencil illustrations and words alternate throughout the book. More like Wonderstruck, the pictures tell Honey's story and the words tell Hope's. Although the blurb promises conflict, there's really no actual "fighting" but more of a spiritual conflict between the leader of the Clean Slate Gang and her father. The message of the importance of parents in a child's upbringing is touching and effectively communicated. The warm, accepting characters at the Memory Bank (i.e., Obleratta) are comforting and are typical of a book directed towards a younger audience. However, the whole plot unfolded too quickly for my liking.


Overall maybe a 2.5 out of 5, but a great read for maybe first through third graders. 

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When Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she is exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.


I get all of my book blurbs from Google Books. This one was really disappointing. It didn't mention all of the great characters or that she's a witch *HAHAHAHAHA Inside joke - laugh with me, those of you who've read this*. Sorry. Just sorta went crazy right there. Heh. Heh. The book was exciting. Good read.


Anyhow, the protagonist, Sophie Mercer, was very well-developed. It was kinda lame how she didn't know anything about Prodigium, but understandable. BTW, the cat on the cover has nothing to do with the story. The voice was sarcastic - my kind of girl.


Archer Cross... (love interest, just so ya know) I knew he was *SPOILER ALERT - Refer to StarCrossed book review for instructions* an agent for L'Occhio di Dio the first time I read him. Yes, I did.


I didn't know what to think about Elodie and the coven. I didn't. I was like, "Why are they there?"


Jenna Talbot was really sweet. I'd love to have a friend like her. (My friends all happen to be amazingly nerdy geniuses. Sad...) I knew that OBVIOUSLY she wasn't the predator (oh yeah, the book blurb doesn't mention that either... so basically it has a bit of a Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ring to it, and this mysterious predator is draining blood from the coven). The vampire rules were kind of unoriginal, but oh well.


Overall maybe a 3.8 of 5. Going to be looking for the next book.. maybe..

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In the virtual reality game Heir Apparent, there are way too many ways to get killed--and Giannine seems to be finding them all. Which is a darn shame, because unless she can get the magic ring, locate the stolen treasure, answer the dwarf's dumb riddles, impress the head-chopping statue, charm the army of ghosts, fend off the barbarians, and defeat the man-eating dragon, she'll never win.

And she has to, because losing means she'll die--for real this time.

The book's setup was terrible. I couldn't figure out if it was the near future or the present, although the bus is driven by a robot and the virtual reality game is seriously virtual reality. I'm guessing it was the near future. Also, the backstory - or the lack of it, rather - left me totally disoriented and thinking, I'm supposed to care about this girl? All I got was that her parents had abandoned her so her father had given her a gift certificate to "make up for it" or something.  Yeah, I think the cover's ugly too.


However, once one gets into it, it's a pretty nice book. The voice is somewhat funny and sarcastic, the premise is creative, and the characters are nothing if not memorable. The book blurb is kind of misleading, though. Just letting y'all know. The character names are also interesting *cough cough*, which you can pretty much tell from the book blurb. I mean, Giannine? Really?


More on the weird, wacky, and unheard-of side, Heir Apparent made for a quick read, with eccentric characters, rollicking adventure, and a fairly good plot. 3.9 of 5. :)

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In a glamorous castle full of Llyvraneth's elite, Celyn Contrare serves as a lady-in-waiting to shy young Merista Nemair. Her days are spent dressing in velvet, attending Lady Merista, navigating court gossip, and charming noblemen over lavish feasts.

And at night, she picks locks, steals jewels, forges documents, and collects secrets. Because Celyn isn't really a lady-in-waiting; she's not even really Celyn Contrare. She's Digger, a sneak-thief on the run from the king's Inquisition, desperate to escape its cruel instruments and hatred of magic. If she's discovered, it will mean her certain death.

But life as a lady-in-waiting isn't safe either. The devious Lord Daul knows her secret, and he's blackmailing her to serve as his personal spy in the castle. What she discovers-about Daul, about the Nemair, even about her own Lady Merista -- could signal civil war in Llyvraneth. And for a thief trained never to get involved, taking sides could be the most dangerous job yet.

I really wasn't expecting much, I'm sorry to say. Just some trite fantasy to keep myself from falling into a boredom coma. I'd never even heard of this book (I find that this is true for most of my reading material these days.) Which is why I was pleasantly surprised as I read this book. Digger, the main character, had an honest voice that endeared her to the reader. Lord Daul was, yes, devious, and kinda creepy. The mystery was pretty good, I suppose. The premise wass... interesting. And the whole thief-and-nobles thing was new - a welcome departure from royalty. Merista was sort of ambiguous, childish one minute and powerful the next. At the end, boy, was that a surprise. Digger's brother, whom she keeps referring to throughout the book as some sort of terrible person, is *SPOILER ALERT - HIGHLIGHT UPCOMING TEXT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW (but I advise you not to; don't ruin it for yourself)* Werne the Bloodletter, the King's High Inquisitor. Haha.

The book itself was pretty darn amazing. Fighting wasn't that great, though. Also, the relationship between Digger and *again, this is another spoiler, but I won't do the white-out thing because you don't know who this person is yet* Wierolf is very stiff. If the author had mentioned earlier that Wierolf was like a big brother to Digger, it would have made my reading experience a lot less... itchy.

Mostly, though, I'd say this book is a 4.25 out of 5. Feeling nice today.

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When a great white bear promises untold riches to her family, the Lass agrees to go away with him. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle. To unravel the mystery, the Lass sets out on a windswept journey beyond the edge of the world. Based on the Nordic legend East of the Sun, West of the Moon, with romantic echoes of Beauty and the Beast, this re-imagined story will leave fans of fantasy and fairy tale enchanted by Jessica Day George. 

I really liked this book. The lass was a strong character, even if she had no name (okay, you find out her name at the end, but I'm not that much of a spoiler). Her family was very realistic, and the way they were introduced and the way the book told about the lass's home life made me warm up to her that much more.


In the beginning, it traced some of her childhood as an unappreciated child due to the abundance of children in the family. The third-person omniscient narration worked well in this setting, because an alternating first-person would have been a bit confusing. I personally disliked the girl's mother, Frida. A relevant person in the lass's childhood, Hans Peter, was a really good brother.


The lass's love interest, the bear, was kind, but extremely stiff. I didn't understand how she fell in love with him so quickly. 


Overall, this book is maybe four stars out of five. I'll be looking for more books by Jessica Day George. (Also, read the original fairy tale here or here.)

EDIT: It turns out that this book is almost a petty imitation of East by Edith Pattou. Read that instead.

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Sapphire's father mysteriously vanishes into the waves off the Cornwall coast where her family has always lived. She misses him terribly, and she longs to hear his spellbinding tales about the Mer, who live in the underwater kingdom of Ingo. Perhaps that is why she imagines herself being pulled like a magnet toward the sea. But when her brother, Conor, starts disappearing for hours on end, Sapphy starts to believe she might not be the only one who hears the call of the ocean.

WARNING: Spoiler Alert!!

Ingo was a pleasant read that I happened to find out about while browsing for books to read. The protagonist, Sapphy, was a bit childish and stubborn, but overall she had a nice voice (she was narrating). The story never revealed her age, as far as I could tell, which irritated me. Her brother was sensible enough - the bond between the siblings seemed really strong. There were many instances in which Sapphy exited Ingo and came out into the Air because of her brother (slight spoiler there). Their mother was totally clueless, but meant well, and their father, of course, was apparently awesome, although there wasn't much of him due to his disappearance.

The boundaries and rules of the worlds of Ingo and Air were extremely well defined - kudos to Helen Dunmore because it's easy to forget that your reader doesn't know and leave them in the dark. I found the Mer premise refreshing after the hackneyed use of other *ahem dragons fairies elves ahem cough cough* mythical creatures. Both siblings had a Mer guide in the depths of Ingo. Conor's guide was a female named Elvira, and Sapphy's was a male named Conor. I was surprised that Dunmore didn't make it a romance between the two couples; she did a very nice job keeping it juvenile. 

Overall, I would rate the book maybe 3.75-ish stars out of 5. It's okay, but not the greatest thing I've ever read. The plot wasn't boring but not unpredictable, and the characters were all right, but not the best.

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