Thursday, February 16, 2012

Incarnate

Incarnate By: Jodi Meadows
Rating: Incredibly AWESOME
Age Group: 13+
Summary (from Amazon.com):
NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why. 
NOSOUL
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame? 
HEART
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? 
My Thoughts:  Oh my gosh, I LOVE THIS BOOK!  This book has all the things I love in it: fantasy, science fiction, romance, and reincarnation.  Guys, these are my favorite things that I think about to make me not feel so bad.  So, obviously, I adore the plot and I loved how the story progressed.  I totally did not guess the end, and I loved it!  Mrs. Meadows answers enough questions to satisfy my curiosity, while still leaving plenty of questions to be answered in the following books.  The world is very well crafted and believable, and so interesting!  I enjoyed learning about it with Ana.  Which brings me to Ana, who is spunky and smart and lovably defensive.  I think she grew a lot as a character during this story and I liked how she developed.  Considering how she grew up, I think it’s understandable that she would be so afraid of the world and I think that her reactions are realistic.  Now it’s Sam’s turn.  I kind of love the stuffing out of him.  He’s so very understanding and kind, but he still has a backbone.  He is also funny and very sweet, and I liked how he approached his relationship with Ana.  He is OLD, and his hesitation seems to stem from how conscious he is of his and Ana’s age difference.  Personally, I think the two of them have a lot of chemistry and I see nothing really wrong with their relationship.  Though I admit it brings up a lot of ethical questions, I think that adds to the complexity of the story.  Anyway, I really can’t wait to see where the story goes!  I highly recommend this book!
Book Recommendations:  Reincarnation By: Suzanne Weyn

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Witch Eyes

Witch Eyes By: Scott Tracey
Rating: Meh
Age Group: 13+
Summary (from Amazon.com):  A boy who can see the world's secrets and unravel spells with just a glance.
Braden's witch eyes give him an enormous power. A mere look causes a kaleidoscopic explosion of emotions, memories, darkness, and magic. But this rare gift is also his biggest curse.
Compelled to learn about his shadowed past and the family he never knew, Braden is drawn to the city of Belle Dam, where he is soon caught between two feuding witch dynasties. Sworn rivals Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe will use anything--lies, manipulation, illusion, and even murder--to seize control of Braden's powers. To stop an ancient evil from destroying the town, Braden must master his gift, even through the shocking discovery that Jason is his father. While his feelings for an enigmatic boy named Trey grow deeper, Braden realizes a terrible truth: Trey is Catherine Lansing's son . . . and Braden may be destined to kill him.
My Thoughts:  I’m afraid this isn’t my favorite book.  It isn’t necessarily a BAD book; however there were quite a few things that I didn’t particularly like about it.  The writing is pretty vague in generally, so there were a few scenes that I had to read several times because I didn’t understand how or why something happened.  Also, there were some scenes that were given one sentence descriptions that could really have used more.  Now, I DID like Braden.  He was funny and in many ways he was smart.  I also liked how his powers were described, and the most detailed scenes were the ones where he was using his magic.  Those parts of the book I really enjoyed.  Also, I adored Jade!  She was a cool cat.  I did like his relationship with Trey, though I didn’t find it particularly believable.  But I could look past that, because they were really very sweet.  However, the scenes with the two of them together tended to be the vaguest, which was kind of annoying.  The main character and his boyfriend shouldn’t have to interact in scenes-that-deserve-paragraphs-but-get-only-a-sentence sort of scenes, you know?  And I don’t mean just the romantic bits, the bits where they are just talking are still among the vague scenes that deserved more.  I liked the idea of the overall plot, but it didn’t actually pull me in very much.  I’m afraid I wouldn’t really recommend this book though I’m not going to say you shouldn’t read it either. 

Between the Sea and Sky

Between the Sea and Sky By: Jaclyn Dolamore
Rating: Incredibly AWESOME
Age Group: 12+
Summary (from Amazon.com): For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.
My Thoughts:  Oh my goodness, this book was so adorable!  I can’t say there was anything about this book that I DIDN’T like.  I love Esmerine, and I liked her interactions with her sisters and her parents.  Her love of books was, of course, endearing and I thought it certainly helped define her character and differentiated her from the other mermaids.  I also liked the description of humans and how they react to mermaids and the Fandarsee.  This is to say humans reacted believably distrustful and entitled in that many of the descriptions of human men were that they simply stole mermaids because they DESERVED pretty magic wives, which is an account that matches mermaid mythology.  Above all else, I adored Esmerine and Alan’s relationship.  It developed believably and it was just so sweet!  And Dosinia’s story!  I was very pleased with how that turned out, and I thought Esmerine’s reactions to her sisters life were, again, believable.  This book has the simplistic writing style that I love and was very descriptive in all the right ways.  I would highly recommend this book! 
Book Recommendations:  The Truth-Teller’s Tale and The Dream-Maker’s magic By: Sharon Shinn