Iatus :: Holidays & new job

Hi guys!

Really quick post to tell you that I'm gonna be AFK till the end of august (holidays and new job to prepare for).

More reviews, guests posts and exciting novels to come from then!

Until we meet again ;-)

YA Review : Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title : Delirium
Author : Lauren Oliver
Editor : Blackmoon (fr)
Date : 2011
Price : 18€
ISBN : 9782012021266


Goodreads summary :

   Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.  

   But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Review :

   Now, on with a good surprise. I didn't expect to like this book that much.

   I always read the end of a book before beginning it. Don't care if it's bad, my way to do it. So, I knew that it wasn't a stand alone yet I read it all the same.

   When I closed it, only one word came to my mind. It is so very poetic, intriguing and moving. The summary suffices to give this irresistible need to go check it out and it should. 'Cause this book is a really great one (and hope book 2 is even better). 

   I'll leave my review to this. Some books lead you raving about them for pages, for others a world sums it up perfectly : "speechless".

YA quick overview : Shiver & Linger by Maggie stiefvater

   I liked this serie very much! I found it poetic and sensitive. The romance was quite cute and had depth. 

   I run through them quite quickly and I'm very excited about Forever (book 3). 

   Already read reviews on it and my fear of a poor ending seems quite unfounded. Grace/Sam are a great couple and Isabel/Cole is promising.

More to say, when I'll read Forever this week-end...

YA Review : Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Title : Starcrossed
Author : Josephine Angelini
Editor : Macmillan Children's Books
Date : 2011
Price : 8,01€
ISBN : 9780330529730


Amazon summary :

   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. 

Review :

   This one was a very good surprise.
   I bought it 'cause I heard so much about it, loads and loads of very good reviews and I decided to try it. Yet I wasn't that sure that I'd like it : when a book seems too good to be true it is usually because he is. AND I never was that fond of Helen of Troy...
   Yet, here I am : this first book is great! I liked pretty much everything about it. The couple won me quite quickly and I LOVED this hate-at-first-sight idea. The Delos family was really enjoyable and I definitively want to learn more about them, for sure. The side-kick best friend is hilarious and I found her relationship with Jason very entertaining. The mythical world is nice and very promising for the rest of the trilogy...
   BUT, what really stood out for me was Lucas/Helen. I liked this pairing so much! It's heartwarming yet heartbreaking and I can't wait for book 2 to be released (put directly into the "most awaited" list ^^).
   HOWEVER, if the author ever dared to use the trio trick - even though I have no reason yet to think she will - I'm gonna break something...

YA Review : The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title : The Body Finder
Author : Kimberly Derting
Editor : HarperCollins
Date : 2011
Price : 6,32€
ISBN : 9780061779831


Amazon summary :

   Sixteen-year-old Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues : Jay Heaton and her unusual so-called gift. While her confusing feelings for her best friend are new, she has been able to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered—and the imprints that attach to their killers since she was a little girl. Violet has never considered her ability useful, but now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Review :

   I just finished it. Was in a rush before work but had to finish it before I took my shift, otherwise I would have thought of little else all day long. Took book 2 with me as well.

   To state the obvious : the first hald of this book is boooring. Violet's skill is interesting enough but the we-are-friends-only-why-are-you-wishing-for-more phase was tiring.

   BUT, the second half was REALLY REALLY good! Intense. HAWT. As in had-to-fan-myself-to-prevent-from-bursting-into-flames hot. Jay is just, simply put, the man of the situation. He is protective, possessive, jealous, witty and did I already stated hot (burning kisses hot)? The couple is definitively great.

   The pace accelerated with twists and suspense. Even though I was way more into the romance than the thriller part.

   I liked it a lot. The second half made my day for sure and is worth reading the whole book.

P.S. : I'm mad 'cause I just found out book 3 summary, with big trio hints. I love this pairing so much (and Jay above all), they're so great together, why doing this? I'm at lost and I know that I will not read book 3 unless I read a review that assure me that I have nothing to fear about. Who said reviews were useless? ;-)

  

Rant Time : TRIOS

   Since this is my blog, I'll try to appease here some of my fury by talking about my biggest pet peeve of all-time : Trios.

   What the hell can motivate an author to use that dirty trick? I mean : did you not try to build a world, a story about magic, romance, action or whatever out of nothing but your own mind?! Is your work so hollow that you NEED to create a character that would go back and forth between two (or even more, dear Goddess) love interests as if its life depended on it?!

   It is bad enough for a debut novel to play the trio card but what of those series where the battered yet happy couple had to brave Fate, the Gods and whatever other obstacles to suddenly face that disgusting situation?

   What of the love story? It just ruins it!

   I'll stop here or I'll rant and rave about this major problem in literature endlessly. I'll simply state my personal theory here : authors do write about trios in order to justify either their fantasy or their very own love life...

   There's no other explanation, for me, that would account for all those trios invading YA novels - and adults one too, now - more & more to my ever overwhelming distaste.

Amazon haul : Persephone/Hades obsession

   So, my dear obsession with Persephone/Hades being back, I had to search for romance books that retell their story. Here's what I got (some are yet to be shipped, can't wait to receive them *squeals*) :

_ Goddess of the Spring by P.C. Cast
_ To Hell with Love by Sherri Erwin
_ Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
_ Dazzling Brightness by Roberta Gellis
_ Love underground by Alicia Fields
_ Abandon by Meg Cabot


   While I was on my mythology spree, I went for these too:
_ Goddess of the Rose by P.C. Cast (Beauty & the Beast retelling)
_ Shimmering Splendor by Roberta Gellis (Eros & Psyche retelling)