Review: Thrall by Jennifer Quintenz

Little side note. i read tis book past summer and thought I had already posted the review - now i realized, i haven't. I'm so, so sorry for that - especially because I received the e-copy from the author herself :/

Goodreads synopsis:
Braedyn is a normal girl just trying to survive high school with her two devoted friends, Royal and Cassie. Together they’re doing a pretty good job of shrugging off the slings and arrows cast their way by the popular crowd when a new boy, Lucas, moves into the house next door. Suddenly Braedyn finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But as her sixteenth birthday approaches, Braedyn discovers humankind is at war with the Lilitu, an ancient race of enticing demons that prey on human souls. Her father is a member of the Guard fighting against the Lilitu - and so are the new neighbors, including her crush, Lucas. 
As her world starts to unravel at the seams, Braedyn learns the right answers aren’t always clear or easy. And as for “good” and “evil” – it all depends on how we choose to act. Inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian myths of Lilith and her offspring, Thrall explores first love, strong friendships, and taking on adult responsibilities against the backdrop of powerful supernatural forces and life-and-death stakes.


REVIEW:

No fan of Paranormal Romance? Totally fed up with insta-love, whiny femtale characters who seem to die over the fact that loving some weird paranormal creature might end with their early deaths, even though they really, really can't even breathe without said creature?
Well, Thrall is the book for you. And thankfully also, the book for everyone who loves to read what I described above.

I normally try to tiptoe my way around Paranormal Romance. I didn't love Twilight, Hush Hush, Evernight - you name it. I decided to read Thrall because the premise sounded so fantastically good and I was curious about the kind of paranormal being we have to deal with: the Lilitu.

I liked Thrall from the beginning. It started at a school dance and we see Breadyn as a totally normal high school girl, but a few pages, in the first weird incident happens and from pretty much then on I was constantly wondering how things would go on and why this and that happened.

Its fast pace is one of the best elements of Thrall. Honestly, you can't put it down and take a breath, because there were happening dangerous things all the time! And the author managed to set up a cliffhanger at the end of almost every chapter.

Thrall also scored big on the romance part. True, Lucas (did you notice how many love interests are named Lucas lately???) and Braedyn could have taken it a bit slower especially because they weren't even allowed to be together, but the book is rather short, so I can forgive how fast their romance developed. Anyway, the point is, even though they started falling for each other life didn't stop there. Oh no, the action went on, even picked up on pace and Anna was never once the whiny helpless accessory of the oh-so-strong love interest. I loved how they were both capable to save their own lives (most of the time).

Okay, before this review gets too long I need to add one or two things I didn't like as much:
Especially in the beginning I found that the author rushed the dialogue and the emotions of everyone a bit. I think Anna accepted what she was too fast and her dad suddenly held a whole monologue on how she was still the same person she was a day ago and then Lucas gets way emotional, too and everything is dealt with so fast. What I want to say is, the dialogue sometimes felt stiff and set up. The other thing: I hate long epilogues. And the epilogue in Thrall was very long and very much like an enumeration of how things continued in the book. I didn't like that.

All in all, Thrall was a great book - which is particularly awesome because normally I don't like Paranormal Romance at all!!

Review #18 Abandon - Meg Cabot

Goodreads summary:

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone... because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.
But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.
Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.
But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.


Release Date: April 26 2011
Pages: 307 (Hardcover)
Genre: Mythology (retelling)
Series? yes, #1


LONG STORY SHORT:

The important advantage this book has is that you fly through it in no time. I felt like I didn't even notice I was turning the pages until I reached the end. Then again, the story itself was actually not that gripping or funny or anything. I think Meg Cabot's writing is great in this book and that - combined with the complex characters and great setting -  definitely makes up for the rather predictable and not very original ( it's a retelling-duh!) plot.

REVIEW:
I actually thought my Meg Cabot phase was pretty much over. Like that game you loved to play as a kid but avoid when you're older because you know you wouldn't be into it as much as you used to and it would only destroy memories. Well, with Meg it's not quite like that.

As I mentioned above I found this book - like most stuff Meg writes - to be a very quick read. You just open it during your lunch period and then wonder where it's gone by the time you arrive home at night. The setting of Abandon was very cool, as well. That island with its creepy cemetrey and the school Pierce goes to? I could totally picture it in my head! The main characers were so well figured out this time. Pierce but also Alex and the rest of their family had very interesting - and sometimes troubled - pasts which also gave Abandon a mucn  darker touch I didn't really expect to find.
The side characters definitely lacked some depth for me, though. I felt like some of them only had one or two appearances in the book while there should have been way more and especially Pierce's uncle and grandmother - who are such big influences on the plot and Pierce's life came too short for my taste.
Then there's John. Oh well. To me, he's a bit pale, too. I have that feeling that I don't really know him although he was such a big part of the novel,as well.

What I found really confusing was the beginning of the novel. Cabot jumped back and forth in time a lot which sometimes made it difficult for me to keep track. Also, I think she put a bit too much information into this first book of the trilogy and not enough action. I will, of course, continue to read the trilogy, but I don't know if someone who doesn't see Cabot as their childhood heroine would feel blown away enough to pick up the next two books.

Abandon is not an epic fantasy read that will keep you glued to the pages and on the edge of your seet. It's that Cabot - like mix of contemporary and completely unrealistic (Princess Diaries), supernatural (The Mediator) or - like in this case - mythological elements.

All in all, the darker background and Meg's to-the-point writing style make Abandon a book that older Cabot fans (I am seventeen) will probaly enjoy, too. You just shouldn't expect a whole lot of action, although I liked the surprise at the end.

RATING: 2 out of 3 Smarties

Review #17 Evermore - Alyson Noel

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . . . 

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.


Published: 2009
Pages: 306 (Paperback)
Genre: Paranormal Romance

LONG STORY SHORT:

Although I tend to be disappointed by every Paranormal Fantasy novel I read, I fell in love with Evermore. I liked how you didn't need to pay attention so much to any kind of background information, the story was easy to understand. I didn't like some of the characters but all in all they were okay and I especially liked the plot and how reasonable the ending turned out to be. This is a series I'd turn to whenever I want a contemporary with a paranormal twist and a cute love story that doesn't become overwhelming and over the top.

REVIEW:

I bet everyone who has ever set a foot in the world of YA literature has heard of Alyson Noel and her Immortals series at some point. And so have I. I was skeptical at first, again bought the book only because I got  it for a very good deal and then found myself so glad that I eventually picked up Evermore, Blue Moon and Shadowland.

I know myself. I know that I was not a fan of the Twilight Saga, Hush Hush or Evernight. Why now do I like Evermore? The reason is plain and simple: It wasn't too much. With the paranormal Fantasy novels I mentioned above my biggest problem was how there were two persons and the male character was sarcastic and after some time they fell in love and were happy together and - of course - couldn't live without each other and then have to (live without each other, I mean) because otherwise the book would end after the first 50 pages.
Evermore was different in that way that the above happened here as well, but the author didn't forget that the characters were still normal (okay, almost) human beings. Noel ( I have not the slightest idea how I can do the two dots on the e) created a love story and still considered that the world surrounding the love birds might actually keep existing. And that there was a Before.

Apart from those romantic elements there were also some really tough issues not only the main character, Ever, but also her friends have to face. They have a life. And things happened and still happen that they have to deal with. A big part of especially Ever's story didn't even involve Damen, her love interest.

What I didn't like so much, though, was how Noel approached the problems the side characters had - especially Haven - but never went further. While Ever was able to develop and grow I felt like Haven just had some problems but she never came a step further to solve them and I thought that made her a bit more flat than she would've had to be. Then again, Evermore is only the first novel in a series of six ( I believe).

Talking about the plot the action really picked up at the end and a few times I wondered who to trust which I never had to with other Paranormal Fantasy novels I've read. Everyone's motives weren't always clear and - most importantly - the ending of the book wasn't clear. I kept guessing how everything would turn out until pretty much the last page.

All in all I liked Evermore a lot more than I expected, because it was different from other Paranormal Fantasy novels. As much as I loved the depth that the plot and Ever's character development had,  I would've wished for more of said depth in the side characters.

RATING: 2 out of 3 Smarties