Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

Darker Still by: Leanna Renee Hieber
Publication Date: November 8, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Page Count: 317
Format: Paperback Original
Series: Magic Most Foul #1
Genre: Historical, Paranormal Romance, Mystery
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

I was obsessed. It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I'd ever seen--everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable...utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

I've crossed over into his world within the painting, and I've seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked--bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. Unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.

My Review:


I have The Picture of Dorian Gray sitting on my shelf and I have yet to read it. Having read Darker Still, I must pick it up soon! I adored the similarity to the Oscar Wilde classic. Usually, I don't prefer books written in diary form, but this one is an exception. The action was replayed in Natalie's words as if it was actually happening right there so the diary form didn't deplete the action.

This setting is New York City in the 1800's. This is probably my favorite time and place pairing in historical fiction. The wonders and perils of the city were portrayed in a fully descriptive and magical way.

Natalie is the type of girl who doesn't fit in anywhere. Mostly it's because she is mute, or so she thinks. I thought that she was just different and fit in with a different crowd. She soon finds that out when she joins the company of Ms. Northe and the life-like painting of Lord Denbury.

I thought it was great for Natalie to be able to talk with the real Denbury and not have to worry about her muteness. This gave her the strength she needed in the outside world. All of the runes and ancient script in Darker Still was so marvelously creepy and intriguing!

When I started the book, I thought it was a standalone, but alas, it will have more books as it is a series. I am utterly excited about it! There were some great hints in this book about the content of the next.  I can't wait to see what comes next in Natalie and Jonathan Denbury's story!

Official Rating:

Four Un-Birthday Cakes!

Halflings by: Heather Burch

Halflings by: Heather Burch
Publication Date: February 1, 2012
Publisher: Zondervan
Page Count: 288
Challenge: 2012 Debut Author Challenge, NetGalley Month
Format: e-ARC (Thanks NetGalley!)
Series: Halflings #1
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

 After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

My Review:

This was one of the most refreshing books I've read in while. Books about angels an demons/ good vs. evil always intrigue me and this book was no exception.

Starting off, I automatically loved Nikki's character. She is a black belt in karate and doesn't care what anybody thinks about her vintage t-shirts and boyfriend jeans.  Her friend Krissy bothered me a bit though; she was always trying to get Nikki to conform to a more 'stylish' look.

The concept and manners of the Halflings really amazed me. They really are Lost Boys. As the offspring of angels and humans, they hold no true place to call home. Born out of rebellion, they don't get to chose how to lead there lives.  There is clearly humanity in each one of them though.

In all books that have to do with angels, there is a lot of creation of fictional elements to define them. That was present in this book, but there was also a lot of truth mixed in. The angels and Halflings really had a genuine respect and admiration for humans.  I would love to see more of this in YA fiction, or at least in this series.

Mace and Raven could not be  more different, and yet they both yearn to be with Nikki. Mace does what he's told and never gets involved in any way with humans. Raven is rebellious and dark, toying with humans as he pleases. This got me wondering if there is something more than human about Nikki. She stirs emotion in the beings who were taught to be ignorant of it.

This will definitely be a series to keep up with. The ending left a lot of unanswered questions and I can't wait to see what happens in the next addition to the series.

Official Rating:

Four Un-Birthday Cakes!

Clockwork Prince by: Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by: Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Page Count: 502
Format: Hardcover/Collector's First Edition
Series: Infernal Devices #2
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

  In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

 With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

 Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

 As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

 
My Review:

For an entire year I waited for this book, during which time I formed ideas in my mind as to how the book would play out. None of what I guessed, happened, of course. It was so much better than I could've imagined!

Tessa Gray is one of my favorite characters. Her love of books is amazing and very relatable to myself. Also, she is so full of mystery, because we still don't know what she is! This bothered me a bit and now I have yet another reason to pine like crazy for Clockwork Princess.

The setting of Victorian Era London is even further accentuated in Clockwork Prince. There is also a bit of Yorkshire in there too. I love everything about the UK and so I especially enjoyed escaping into the historical world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders.

After reading Clockwork Angel, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about Jem. He was a great character, but nothing really made me very interested in him. In this book, however, I completely fell in love with him! No joke. He is utterly selfless and seems to absorb the emotions of the people he cares about, as if they are his own. His sickness made me so sad, especially as his relationship with Tessa started to heat up. Cassandra better find a cure, is all I have to say!

Since people are proudly declaring themselves Team Jem or Team Will, I feel obliged to say that I am proudly on board with Tem Will! This book revealed so much about Will and his past. To everyone surrounding him, he seemed like an unloving, contemptuous, sarcastic boy. When really, he loved so greatly and passionately than any of them. This made me cry a few times, both of joy and sadness.

And, as most of you know who have read any of Cassandra's works, there was an abrupt cliffhanger ending. It showed a lot of promise though, for Will's future especially.

Official Rating

Five Un-Birthday Cakes!

Beautiful Chaos by: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Chaos by: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 518
Format: Hardcover
Series: Caster Chronicles #3
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.
Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

My Review:
    
     This book is by far, the best in the Caster Chronicles series so far. As soon as I read the first few pages, I settled into the world of Gatlin, South Carolina and loved every minute of it. As one of my favorite book series', these books never cease to amaze me.
    Every character in this book seemed to come into focus more in my mind this time around. Even the bad ones like Sarafine and Ridley. I saw things that had been previously covered up by time and darkness, which let me really understand their humanity.
   In certain parts, I felt like I could easily predict what was going to happen or who was going to do what, and then the book went and changed what I predicted. I loved this, because it added so much more surprise when Lena, Ethan, and the others deciphered the Shadowing Song and the climax happened. It was such and exciting and impossible realization, which is what I love about reading the works of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.
    Every person in this story grew so much throughout the journey and hardships they all faced. I love it so much when characters are like that. With Ethan especially. This series, for sure, has the absolute best cast of characters. Ever.
    Things were so out of control and the Caster world was in a grave collision with the Mortal world, which made for quite the uproar among the church people (everybody) in Gatlin. This added a lot of excitement and suspense. I was always asking myself how much longer Gatlin could withstand the weight of a broken Order. Ethan seemed to take it all in stride, however. He seemed to be fairly calm about the whole situation until he witnessed Amma behaving suspiciously and Abraham making appearances. But what with everything he had going through previously, that didn't surprise me, really.
    So many things in this story went right and wrong, all leading up to one great and devastating ending, with the cliffhanger of the century slapped on top. This is the only thing that frustrated me. I think it is good to be frustrated sometimes during a book, though. It means that the author is getting to you and you have developed a genuine understanding of the people and setting.

   

City of Ashes by: Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes by: Cassandra Clare
Published: March 25th 2008
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Format: Hardcover/soft cover/eBook
Page count: 464
Series: #2 in Mortal Instruments Series
Buy the book:

Summary from Goodreads:

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father. To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father? In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My Review:

For anyone who has read City of Ashes, this review probably isn't needed--you'll already be running toward the nearest bookstore looking for it, dying to have some answers. Although this book presents just as many questions as it does answers (if not more so), its complex storyline, characters, and concepts are enough to keep readers coming back for more every time, and City of Ashes is no exception to the series so far.

I don't feel compelled to retell the summary (above), so let me tell you this much: the constant mystery, suspense, and curveballs of the plot will leave readers gasping for breath by the end; and trust me, Cassandra never lets up. As innovative as the series is in and of itself, it's hard to believe she could take anyone by surprise, but she does so. How difficult it is not to include any spoilers! Anyhow, the development of the characters is amazing, and continues to leave me falling in love with each and every one of them. Clary is still struggling with her romance, and it takes several dark turns throughout Cassandra's breathtaking tale. Still, she does not overdo it as she takes us dozens of places, each drawing us in more in its intrigue, fantasy, and yet touch of realism than the last.

In all, it's an incredible story of mystery, fantasy, darkness, demons, and Hope that comes recommended to every reader. And for those who have not yet read City of Bones: What are you waiting for??

Note: It has been rated 4 stars instead of 5 only for its length--as difficult as I know it is for an author to cut out any word, page, or scene, I think it could've used a *bit* more editing. However, this can be overlooked for its amazing plot and characters, and does not affect my recommendation whatsoever.