ARC: 'Shattered Blue' by Lauren Bird Horowitz

Book details

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: The Light Trilogy, #1

Publisher: Skyskape

ISBN: 9781503949973

Release Date: 15 September 2015

Synopsis

For Noa and Callum, being together is dangerous, even deadly. From the start, sixteen-year-old Noa senses that the mysterious transfer student to her Monterey boarding school is different. Callum unnerves and intrigues her, and even as she struggles through family tragedy, she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Soon they are bound by his deepest secret: Callum is Fae, banished from another world after a loss hauntingly similar to her own.

But in Noa’s world, Callum needs a special human energy, Light, to survive; his body steals it through touch—or a kiss. And Callum’s not the only Fae on the hunt. When Callum is taken, Noa must decide: Will she sacrifice everything to save him? Even if it means learning their love may not be what she thought?

[From Goodreads]

Review

I received an advance reading copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my opinion on the novel or its author.

The first few pages of this book were like finding the rabbit hole that leads to Wonderland – tremendously exciting. I was so blinded by anticipation of what I might find at the end that I didn’t stop to check that my expectations were realistic. I dove straight in.

Then, just like falling through the White Rabbit’s massive dark hole, it began a downwards spiral. Not in a good way. The fall was long and boring – until big things, like chairs and tables, started randomly springing up and knocking the wind out of me as I tumbled through the air with nothing to cling to. And suddenly – BAM – I hit the bottom of the rabbit hole.

But I realised it wasn't Wonderland. Instead, I was sitting in a dark cave with piles of broken climaxes and snapped plot twists lying all over the place. And there was a funny smell in the air. Like rot and instalove.

I can understand why so many people love this novel as much as they do. Horowitz is a lovely writer, and her talent for world-building is exceptional – I really enjoyed the way she painted a vision of Aurora, the Fae world, without ever actually having her characters take the reader there. The way she developed Colour Fae and Clear Fae was intriguing, and such a creative twist on the faery legend. I was also mesmerized for the whole of Part One, drinking in Noa’s beautiful poetry and wanting to linger in her mind forever.

But when Callum entered the scene, things seemed to fall apart.

The first issue I had was that Noa seemed to fall in love with Callum mere seconds after meeting him. They literally had that horrid clichéd moment where their eyes meet and they fall into some love-trance. Not only that, but as soon as Noa enters Callum’s presence, she immediately becomes a damsel in distress. For somebody who showed such potential as a strong, fierce superhero at the beginning of her story, she really let me down.

This wouldn’t have put me off so much, except that things only got worse as the story progressed. Significantly less plotting seemed to go into the second half of the book, and then suddenly the author tore up her entire story at the end as if even she didn’t like the explanations she’d come up with in the middle. Everything was hastily torn apart and thrown back together in a single, clumsy final chapter, only to be destroyed once again in the epilogue. I had to read the last two chapters three times before anything made sense.

I would recommend giving Shattered Blue a chance, because there really are some charming aspects to it. But if you get itchy in the presence of love triangles, shaky plot twists, instalove and weak heroines, beware. 

Rating: 3/5

Recommended to: Readers of Wings by Aprilynne Pike, and lovers of badass fairies.

The Last Word

Spoiler Alert.

I don’t hate love triangles. After reading The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, I’ve made my peace with them, because sometimes it can actually add to the overall feeling of tension and excitement in a novel.

But love triangles between brothers?

That is so not okay. Firstly, if you picked the older one first but later decide you have feelings for the younger one, tough luck. I don’t care how desperately in love you are with both of them – you stick by the older one and don't even touch the younger brother, because you will cause some massive family feud (especially if there are already some massive unsolved issues regarding unrequited love in that family), which could potentially result in the end of your world, if you’re Noa.

I don’t even want to know who she’s going to end up with. I can’t deal with that amount of stress in my life right now.

Unbound: Origins by Byna Whitlock

Date finished: 10 June 2015

Series: Unbound

Rating: 4/5

Short, fast-paced and edgy, Unbound: Origins is an anthology of short stories that create an atmosphere of confusion, tension and excitement in anticipation of Whitlock’s upcoming novel, Unbound. Although the stories provide only fragments of an apocalyptic world in which a zombie virus is rapidly spreading, it’s pretty evident that Whitlock has a knack for weaving together a dark and suspenseful story.

Zombies and the apocalypse are two of my favourite things (to read about, obviously), but that’s only one of the reasons I’m so excited for the release of Whitlock’s novel. Although zombies are probably the least-explored aspect of all things supernatural and spooky in literature (and even then, they're still pretty prominent), it’s very difficult to come up with a story that’s both original and interesting. From what I’ve read, I think Whitlock has succeeded in doing just that. On top of this, her writing is strangely addictive in its clipped yet enticing style, which really enhances her stories.

I'm currently struggling against a desperate need to read the novel right now. Even though Unbound: Origins is just a snippet of the world Whitlock's created, I'm already obsessed. If her short stories are anything to go by, the novel is bound to be dark and phenomenal - the kind of book you bunk school or work to read, and then force your friends to do the same. 

Highly recommended.

Official website | Twitter 

ARC: 'Soaring Through Stars' by Rajdeep Paulus

Date finished: 20 April 2015

Series: Swimming Through Clouds, no. 3

Rating: 4/5

With its beautiful whirlwind plot and deeply moving prose, Soaring Through Stars is the perfect conclusion to a trilogy that has undoubtedly caused its readers to work their way through many, many tissue boxes.

Jesse and Talia face even more challenges as they prepare for the ultimate confrontation with their father. As if they already haven’t suffered through enough pain, Gerard Vanderbilt seems determined to break his children’s spirits. While the Vanderbilt teens struggle to find their way alone in the world, an unexpected visitor throws everything out of the balance, and they are pushed to the limits of their faith and determination to find justice.

Paulus’s talent in weaving raw emotion into her characters is unprecedented in the YA Fiction genre. Because of this, they have come to life in such a way that I’m forever startled to glimpse up from reading their stories and find that they’re not right beside me. Her characters are so moving, so real, that I know I’ll keep encountering them in my memories for a long time.

Additionally, Paulus has introduced a new way of writing to the world – one that mirrors the distortions of reality through its heartache and sorrow, with an underlying gold thread of hope and genuine love. The world she’s created, although unjust and often disheartening, is woven using beautiful words that fill her readers with an overpowering sense of wonder for life. There is something truly powerful about her writing, and I sincerely hope that she continues to publish many more novels. Otherwise I’ll just have to invest in a lifetime supply of chocolate ice cream and cry my way through this wonderful series all over again.

ARC: 'Seeing Through Stones' by Rajdeep Paulus

Date finished: 28 February 2014

Rating: 4*

View on Goodreads.

Paulus has – once again – astounded me with a beautifully tragic novel. Her sequel to Swimming Through Clouds follows the healing process of the Vanderbilt siblings as they struggle to flee their history of domestic violence. Talia’s much-awaited story continues as she hides in a safe house for survivors of domestic violence, and Paulus contrasts this with the excitement of the story of heroic Jesse, who searches for his father in the streets of Chicago, thirsty for revenge.

Paulus’ slow, steady and intricate development of characters is going to be the reason I need emotional counseling. Thinking back to the first novel, where Talia was too afraid of her father to even talk to a single other person outside of her house, and comparing it to the way Talia grows throughout the second novel until she is finally presented as a strong, healed, independent woman brings tears to my eyes. And don’t even get me started on Jesse…

I’m not going to lie, when Paulus started the story with a chapter in Jesse’s point of view, I was more than a little cynical, and immediately felt a strong dislike towards his determination to get revenge on his father. However, about two-thirds of the way into the novel, I suddenly realized exactly how connected I felt to Jesse, and how I was empathizing with him even though I have never experienced anything remotely close to what he went through. Somehow, Paulus had managed to subconsciously attach me to Jesse as the story progressed. That is good writing at its finest.

Another thing that makes me go a little gooey inside is Talia and Lagan’s relationship. Usually, I despise perfect, overly cute and fluffy love stories, and yet somehow Paulus managed to make me fall in love with the way Talia and Lagan are in love. Despite the numerous times I had to groan at Lagan’s cheesy pick up lines, I had to smile just as often at the way their love story was beautifully unconventional. And I think Rajdeep Paulus should get a prize for inventing the most adorable relationship that manages to avoid the clichés constantly presented in romantic comedies that our society has grown to love.

Paulus’ seemingly effortless knack for comparisons made a serious impression on me as well. There were times when I had to pause for a moment so that I could think about their sheer genius before I carried on reading. Not only does each and every metaphor make complete logical sense, but they are also impressively unique and poetic.

I’ll admit, there were times where I started to find the story a little dull and repetitive, but as soon as I started to get bored, suddenly another climax would jerk me out of my daydreams and I would be caught up in a whirlwind of emotions once again. Let me also just point out that it is not a good idea to read the last few chapters of Seeing Through Stones in public, because the amount of times I gasped, squealed, bolted upright, and protested loudly against some of the events that occurred was enough to make my family later admit they didn’t want to be seen with me in public any more (let it also be known that I was inside my house at this point – so ensure you are in a soundproofed room as well).

Overall, this was another stunning and breathtaking novel from Rajdeep Paulus, and one that I highly recommend reading.

ARC: 'Swimming Through Clouds' by Rajdeep Paulus

Date Finished: 19 January 2013

Rating: 5*

View on Goodreads.

Maybe if each person in the whole world contributed one tissue to the pile of mush that has become my life, I would be able to soak up the absolute river that erupted from my eyes after finishing Swimming Through Clouds.

Maybe.

But let’s just leave my mental health and tendency to get too attached to beautiful characters in novels behind for a moment, and cut straight to the point, shall we?

Swimming Through Clouds was phenomenal. It’s been a very long time since an author has stunned me speechless with the combination of an incredible storyline, impeccable writing style, and realistic, lovable characters. I highly doubt many books will be able to live up to the standard that Rajdeep Paulus has set.

I think that if there were one thing that I had to praise the author the most on, it would be her writing. Paulus’ writing was breathtaking. Honestly, if I could write like her, I would write all day, every day, and then gloat about it to every single person that I met. Not that it would earn me any friends, but then again the whole world would probably be in awe of my writing, so…

Anyway, I was completely ensnared within the first paragraph:

“I live in the in between. Between what if and what is. It’s how I manage. It’s the only way I know. Everyone has their way. This is mine.”

After reading those first few lines, I was convinced. I knew straight away that this was not simply the work of another wannabe writer with a simple, catchy idea for a storyline in her head. This was the work of a great novelist, who is able to capture the entire theme of a novel, to completely sum up a tormented soul’s heartache, within a single paragraph. This was the way to grab a reader’s attention, and damn was Rajdeep Paulus doing it all the way to Jupiter and back.

She could make me laugh with the flick of a pinkie finger, cry with the bat of an eyelash, and then absolutely bawl my eyes out right through the last chapter and leading into the epilogue. I don’t know how she did it. But she did. And it was incredible.

It was not only the writing style that impressed me, but also Paulus’ ability to make me feel like I could relate to a girl with whom I shared almost no common ground, and to make me entirely lose all sense of time and place when I was reading. I would tear myself out of Talia’s world to find that the sunlight had long since vanished, my nails had been bitten down to stubs, and that a chunk of the novel had just vanished into thin air. And as I said before, my attachment to her characters has proven to be most worrisome. I loved how they were real. Not “real”. REAL. I didn’t come looking for a plastic Barbie doll that cried when her vampire boyfriend dumped her - I was looking for bittersweet reality. And that’s exactly what I was given. Even though I have never been in a situation anywhere close to Talia’s, I have developed a strong bond with her, and feel like I can relate to her. That is another sign of genius writing at work.

One last thing: as a teenage girl, I have taken it upon myself to decide that – for the sake of the world – all boys now have the responsibility to write romantic sticky notes to girls all day, every day. On second thought, if I could just have a Lagan to lock up in my closet and force to write me sticky notes all day, every day, that’s also acceptable. Maybe those sticky notes can help me to hang on to what remains of my dignity and mental health until the sequel to Swimming Through Clouds is published.