We're an Open Book
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| Between 2013-2014 I attempt to read a large selection of David Levithan novels. See the full list here |
I’m reviewing these books together because they are both pretty short and deal with the theme of young people who become part of something bigger than themselves.
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- U.S Release Date: November 12, 2013
- Genre: Thriller
- Pages: 384
- Publisher: Bloomsbury
At Book Expo America last summer, Hostage Three was all the buzz at the Bloomsbury booth, so when I saw it on NetGalley I decided to give it a try.
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The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
I’ve reviewed a few sequels this year and though I usually have a pretty good idea of what to expect but Maggie Stiefvater really surprised me with her approach to The Raven Boys sequel.
The Dream Thieves is the sequel that’s not trying to be a sequel (and I guess it’s not since it’s the second book in a four book series.) It wasn’t trying to set up for an overarching plot or wrap up loose ends from book one, it just told a story. The complicated and dark story of The Raven Boys resident bad boy Ronan Lynch.
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- Release Date: December 10th 2013 (US)
- Pages: 374
- Genre: Science Fiction
- Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Traveling through hyperspace the cruise ship Icarus is supposed to be invincible. Carrying some of the richest and most noble people in the galaxy, nobody expects it to be pulled out of hyperspace. The violent crash leaves two young passengers, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux stranded on a mysterious deserted planet that tests their will to survive in a situation that feels hopeless….
- Publication Date: May 26th 2010 (ebook)
- Pages: 322
- Publisher: Carina Press (Harlequin)
- Series: The Kowalskis #1
Well, I have really been genre-hopping this year. I’m finally taking the time to read more than YA and checking out book categories I’ve wanted to know more about like literary and narrative nonfiction. Now I’m finally jumping into the adult romance genre.
The romance novel has always fascinated me. I mean they have to be some of the most lucrative and consistently popular genre novels over the past 50 years. Every time I go to a used book sale or used bookstore there is always a woman or two with a rolling basket in hand carefully scanning the Harlequins and stocking up. I’ve always picked up one or two because I figure they are cheap and not a big commitment, but I just never actually read them. At one point I’d read a few pages into a Regency romance, but couldn’t get into it. When I stumbled across this book for .50 cents at a library book sale I got it on a whim, it was about a journalist and a novelist so I figured I could relate. Plus, it was in third person which is my favorite POV….
New Adult or NA novels seem to be taking over! Every week it seems like more and more are being released and this week I take a peek at two NA novels.
The Space Between by Victoria H. Smith
This New Adult novel follows the relationship of a pair of 19-year-olds from two different sides of Chicago; Derek, the privileged adopted son of a Senator and Lacey, a struggling opera prodigy from the wrong side of the tracks with a mother dying of cancer. When these to meet in a blaze of passion, they have to overcome racism, class and their own family to be together. Seeing a romance that focuses on a biracial girl and Korean guy was definitely a first for me and I liked that Victoria wrote about this type of relationship. The plot relies a lot on insta-lust and I was kind of annoyed of how Lacey is constantly described as desert with chocolate eyes and caramel skin. Falling on the steamier side of NA, so there are quite a few scandalous scenes. This is the first in a series, so I’ll be interested to get the other ones if I stumble across them. Also how great is this cover !- ★★★
If You Stay by Courtney Cole
Pax Tate is a selfish, trust fund baby with an addictive personality and Mila Hill is an orphaned artist living a quiet life with her sister. Their first encounter is anything but romantic when Mila discovers Pax overdosing in his car. This gruesome meeting unravels into a NA story that is the rather standard good girl meets broken bad boy with a fair share of steamy moments. The story packs on the melodrama and angst with everyone having dark secrets. After about the third revelation it started to feel a bit… soap-operatic ? This book also has healthy a bit of slut-shaming, which I think I’m just getting used to in YA/NA fiction at this point. I don’t know if this is done to create foils for the main female characters, but if you are an openly sexually active female, chances are bad things will happen to you. If you want an angsty, steamy romance this may be your kind of book. I think this story had a lot of potential in the beginning, but if you’ve read any kind of NA before this story will seem generic. Also,a month after reading it, I barely remember anything about it. – ★★ + .5
