My Thoughts: Jekel Loves Hyde (Beth Fantaskey)

Goodreads Summary

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents rules; especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything, even Tristen's love just for the thrill of being . . . bad.







Cover: I LOVE green and purple together thus I dig this cover
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Why I read it: The idea of a Jekyll and Hyde retelling with a romantic twist.

Source: Purchased


My Thoughts:

I had high hopes going in to this book. I find the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to be very interesting and this book held the promise of a loose retelling with a romantic twist. Sounds great right?

Well. I was disappointed.
I loved the initial idea and the story started off well enough. I initially liked the characters, but something happened and everything seemed to go to pieces. The serious case of insta-love in this book was a big put off. It just did not work. Within that, the story got lost. I felt like it was choppy and that there were actually 2 separate stories going on. The beginning with Tristen and then towards the end with Jill. The story didn't flow very well.  And soon after starting, the characters, especially Tristen, got on my nerves. It had to do with their interactions with each other as well as with others. I just couldn't connect.

The POV is from the 2 main characters; Tristen Hyde and Jill Jekel. It's a little weird. It doesn't go by chapter, but it's also not alternating within the chapters either. The author could have several passages in a row labeled Jill. I didn't get it.  The meat idea of the story was initially very interesting to me but it was taken down the wrong road and ultimately, just did not come together for me.

Favorite Quotes: None

Bottom Line:  This story was more Hyde then Jekel. And not in a good way.  3/5
 (Very difficult to decide between a 2.5 or 3 star rating.)


On a separate note, I did read a review written by someone who did not like this book but did like the authors other book (Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side).  She stated that the writing of this one was definitely sub par to her other series. I already own Jessica's Guide, so I will give this author another try.

My Thoughts: Botanicaust (Tam Linsey)

The only crop left ... is human.

After genetically altered weeds devastate Earth's crop lands, much of humanity turns to cannibalism to survive. Dr. Tula Macoby believes photosynthetic skin can save the human race, and her people single-mindedly embark on a mission to convert the cannibals roaming what's left of Earth. But when Levi, a peaceful stranger, refuses alteration, Tula doesn't think the only options should be conversion or death.

Levi Kraybill, a devout member of the Old Order, left his Holdout farmland to seek a cure for his terminally ill son. Genetic manipulation is a sin, but Levi will do almost anything for the life of his child. When he's captured, he's sure he's damned, and his only escape will be death.

Tula's superiors schedule Levi's euthanization, and she risks everything to set the innocent man free. Now she and Levi are outlaws with her people, and she's an abomination with his. Can they find sanctuary in a cannibal wasteland? (Goodreads Blurb)

My Thoughts:

Botanicaust was a unique, very imaginative read.  I’ve never read anything like it.

Cannibals, plant people, Amish. I would say this book is very much science fiction and lovers of that genre will like this book. I thought it was good, but I didn’t fall in love with the characters.  The world that was built was very creative, but it took a while for it to all come together for me. I very much appreciated the glossary at the end. I would have liked to see more back story and clearer explanation of the actual Botanicaust event. This book definitely makes you think, if all your food resources are gone and you had to choose between eating people, starving to death or being converted into what you believe to be an abomination against  God, which would you choose? Food for thought.

Favorite Quote:

"You are not your body. You are your soul, and your soul is good and beautiful to God. And to me.”

Bottom Line: Botanicaust is a refreshingly different book that I would recommend for science fiction enthusiasts. 3/5

My Thoughts: Seraphina (Rachel Hartman)

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.  (Goodreads Blurb)



My Thoughts:
Seraphina was one of those books that dragged me in under false pretenses. What do I mean by this? The beautiful cover immediately captured my attention, then I was yanked in further by the captivating summary blurb, the first couple chapters as well had me thinking wow, this book is going to be magically awesome. And dragontastic. Well. ahem.

Even now, it's hard for me to put my thoughts down.

I found the mythology of the dragons that was created in this book to be interesting and unique. The first couple pages pulled me in instantly with the writing and beautiful descriptions.  However, I eventually found myself getting bored with the story development. I found some parts to be confusing. The climax of this book was anticlimactic and the ending was eh. Why did I keep reading, well as soon as I was ready to give up, BAM, I would come to a magical passage that would suck me back in. 

Sometimes I can put up with a little bit of boring or a little bit of poor writing if the characters are AMAZING. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters, which was disappointing. I didn't root for any of them. I was just reading about characters on a page. I didn't feel them come to life. And I didn't get pulled under by the romance.  Sad.

Seraphina had all the ingredients to be magical and amazing, but somehow it just didn't all come together for me. I will probably read the next book because the moments of  magic it did have were worth reading.

Favorite Quotes:
"A feeling rose in me, and I just let it, because what harm could it do? It only had another thirty-two adagio bars of life in this world. Twenty-four. Sixteen. Eight more bars in which I love you. Three. Two. One."

"He is transparently simple, this one, and unexpectedly complicated. And radiantly beautiful."

"If I could keep a single moment for all time, that would be the one. I became the very air; I was full of stars. I was the soaring spaces between the spires of the cathedral, the solemn breath of chimneys, a whispered prayer upon the winter wind. I was silence and I was music, one clear transcendent chord rising toward Heaven. I believed, then, that I would have risen bodily into the sky but for the anchor of his hand in my hair and his round soft perfect mouth."

Bottom Line: Seraphina had moments of dragon magic, but somehow didn't live up to the hype in my head. 3/5

In My MailBox (#14)

In My Mailbox is hosted over at The Story Siren

Man, it's been a WHILE since my last in my mailbox post. Not because I haven't bought any books, but because I haven't had time to post them.

 All the books I'm about to list have been purchased in the last month, possibly two.

Shadow and Bone

    Wanderlove

     Insurgent

       Bitterblue

     The Vampire Chronicles

The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires (I only bought this because it was on bargain clearance)

The Lord of the Rings

   Dreamland

    The Goddess Test

   Goddess Interrupted

The Vicious Deep

  Forgive My Fins

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Water Wars

Lost Voices

Seraphina

Eragon

The Books Thief (Read this one and LOVED it, 5/5)

Between Shades of Gray (Also read this one, pretty good, 3/5)

Deadline (I also bought Feed but let a friend borrow it. You can read my review of Feed that I posted about a week ago, 4/5. I'm almost done with Deadline and loving it)

Sisterhood Everlasting (final book in the Sisterhood of Travelling Pants series which I love)

On a non-bookish note I bought the first season of Happy Endings, such a cute, quirky, hilarious show.

Oh, I almost forgot. I purchased a couple books on my Kindle that were 3.99 and less (except for the H.P. Mallory one). I couldn't NOT buy them.

My new e-books are as follows:

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul by Leanna Rene Hieber

Hearts at Stake:A Drake Chronicles Novel by Alyxandra Harvey

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Witchful Thinking:A Jolie Wilkins Novel by H.P. Mallory

Well I think that's it for now. I made a vow not to buy anymore books until I get through at least half of the ones I already own. (Unless of course it's one of the new books that is coming out soon that is on my must-have list....)

My Thoughts: Outside In (Maria V. Snyder)

Click here for the Goodreads Summary
Cover: Goes with the first book

My Thoughts:  This "review" may contain a spoiler if you haven't read the first book.
So if you read my thoughts on Inside Out you know I had trouble getting into the story, and almost quit.  Well book 2 was soo much better. I already knew the world of Inside so it was easy to get drawn right in. I finished this book quickly and while I liked it more than the first it still left a lot of unanswered questions.

The story was more developed and definitely had a lot more action and suspense.  I was not happy about Cog's fate in book 1. Even though he was hardly in the book, he was highly likable. Unlike Trella. However, in Outside In,  I found myself less annoyed with her, and she definitely showed she could be tough and that she really did care about others. My favorite character, however, is definitely Logan. He's funny, and smart, a bit nerdy, not afraid to get in on the action. The world that Maria created was very imaginative and unique and, if done right could be totally cool on the big screen.

I'm not going to get into the details of the book, you'll have to read it for that. While the end was satisfactory, I still have a LOT of unanswered questions, like where did the Insiders and Ousiders originally originate from? Who put them all on this ship? Are there people on Earth while they are in Outer Space? What exactly did the Outsiders do to be exiled? Etc.  I know that not all books can end with a well-wrapped up package of an ending....but I need to know more!

Favorite Quotes:
"My world changed in a heartbeat."

Bottom Line:  Solid second book...hoping for a book 3 to address my unanswered questions.  3/5 "stars"

My Thoughts: Inside Out (Maria V.Snyder)

Click here for the Goodreads Summary
Cover: Not bad

My Thoughts: So I had high expectations going into this book. First off it's written by Maria V. Snyder, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE her Study series, Poison Study is one of my favorite young adult books. It's magical and gripping and raw and just an amazing story.  With that, this is also dystopian, one of my new favorite genres. So I had high hopes of loving this book. Sadly, my hopes were a little crushed.

I almost quit about half-way through this book, but kept reading, which I'm glad I did because the second half made up for the first. I'm not any kind of a writer, but I can imagine that dystopian fiction can be tricky because you have this whole entirely different world that you have to introduce your reader to.  There has to be a balance with presenting a thousand new details about a world that can be quite confusing and overwhelming or just plain boring if not done well. 

At the start of the book, I couldn't get into the world of Inside and I wasn't a fan of the main character Trella, who I initially found to be very juvenile and just rubbed me the wrong way. In this particular book I liked the supporting characters much more.  The writing flowed differently from that of Poison Study and I just didn't find myself immersed right away.

All that being said, I'm glad I kept reading, because the second half picked up on the action and grabbed my attention back.  Also by the end I did become invested in the world of Inside and the characters whose lives were ruled by it. 

Favorite Quotes:
"I let the waves of anguish pound in my chest. Abandoned and alone I rode my emotions as I would surf in a water pipe, allowing the force of liquid to take control. Eventually I fought for control and won. I shoved the sadness deep within me , locked it down and focused on the present."

"I squashed my fears and worries into a small metal box and dropped in the shattered remains of my heart for good measure. Locked with an obnoxiously big lock, I pushed the container into a far corner of my thoughts."

"My whole future depended on so many ifs and hopes and assumptions and possibilities that I would consider it impossible right now if I thought about it too much."

Bottom Line: Saved by the second-half, intrigued enough to read book two.  3/5 "stars"

Boy Proof (by Cecil Castellucci)

Goodreads Summary:What happens when an antisocial cinephile meets up with the worldly new guy at school — a quick-witted artist who's savvy enough to see through her sci-fi disguise?
Meet Egg. Her real name is Victoria Jurgen, but she's renamed herself after the kick-ass heroine of her favorite sci-fi movie, Terminal Earth. Like her namesake, Egg dresses all in white, colors her eyebrows, and shaves her head. She always knows the right answers, she's always in control, and she's far too busy — taking photos for the school paper, meeting with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club, and hanging out at the creature shop with her dad, the special-effects makeup wizard — to be bothered with friends, much less members of the opposite sex. As far as Egg is concerned, she's boy proof, and she likes it that way. But then Egg meets a boy named Max, a boy who's smart and funny and creative and cool...and happens to like Egg. Could this be the end of the world — at least as Egg knows it?

My Thoughts:

This was a very quick, easy read. I finished it in just a few hours. I definitely have mixed feelings about it.
The writing style and portrayal of the main character's thoughts and feelings seemed a bit disjointed or choppy or awkward. I'm not sure if this was intended or not. 

I could definitely relate to some of Egg's conflicting feelings of wanting to be invisible vs wanting to be noticed. And about feeling boy proof (though unlike her, I don't intentionally try to make this happen) And I do enjoy characters who are quirky or eccentric; those characters who are off-the-beaten-path so to speak.
I wish there was a creature shop I could hang out at with my dad. AWESOME.

With that being said, Egg's arrogance became a major turn-off as did her rudeness towards others. After a while the references to Terminal Earth get a bit redundant.  You do see a transition or growth in Egg's character from start to end which is important, and the interactions between Egg and the boy interest Max are enjoyable. I found Max in general to be quite enjoyable.

Favorite quotes:
"There is no easy way from the earth to the stars."
"I haunt the hallways like a broken spirit."

Bottom Line: Not great, not terrible. Worth reading for only $1.99.   3/5 "stars"