Book Review | Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Shutter (Shutter #1) by Courtney Alameda
Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 3, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Goodreads Giveaway
Goodreads: ★★★★ 1/2

Horror has a new name: introducing Courtney Alameda.

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.

When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.

Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a week.

REVIEW

If you are a lover of young adult paranormal, run to the nearest bookstore and pick up Shutter. This horror novel is the first in a new series by Courtney Alameda, and features a great cast of characters as they go on an epic adventure to kill the ghost who has infected their bodies and is literally killing them from the inside out. I raced through this novel, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a dark and thrilling tale. 

My favorite thing about Shutter is Alameda's writing style. She is able to create a dark aura surrounding her words that evokes a real sense of eeriness for the reader. The tone reminded me a bit of the Blood of Eden Series by Julie Kagawa, though the stories are quite different, of course. 

Alameda also excels in character development. Shutter has four main characters – our narrator is Micheline Helsing, a descendant of Van Helsing who is trained to hunt the undead. Her reaping team is made up of three young men, Ryder, Jude, and Oliver, who each have a distinct personality. These four characters work so well together, and each is likable both individually and as a team unit. 

My critiques of the novel are very few, and they are quite trivial. First, there are a few instances in the novel where traditional gender roles are accepted. However, these moments are fleeting one-liners, and probably only stick out to someone like me who is keenly aware of gender relations in all that I read. I also found the beginning of the novel to be a bit complicated, as the world building threw a lot of vocabulary and technology my way all at once. Luckily, as the novel progressed, I quickly grew to understand the world. 

Other than those small issues, I loved everything about Shutter, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to be released. Whether you love ghost stories, or perhaps you're looking to break into the young adult horror genre, I highly recommend Shutter. It's a dynamic read that is sure to keep you turning pages to the very end. 

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Book Review | Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

I've wanted to read a Scott Westerfeld book for years ever since hearing about his Uglies series, so I was very excited when I got the opportunity to review his new release. Afterworlds is a unique book that contains two stories in one. First, we follow 18-year-old Darcy Patel. She is a recent high school graduate who moves to New York City after getting her first book deal. The book she wrote is called Afterworlds, a young adult paranormal. Westerfeld's Afterworlds opens in Darcy's world, and then the chapters alternate so that we get to read Darcy's book as well. This back-and-forth makes for an interesting reading experience.

I'll admit I was a bit nervous to read Afterworlds. At just over 600 pages, I was worried I wouldn't get through this lengthy novel, or that the two story lines would be confusing. Luckily, Westerfeld does an amazing job at intertwining his stories. In fact, I was really impressed with how easy it was to keep up with both stories at once. Westerfeld definitely gets an A+ for crafting Afterworlds.

That being said I was a bit disappointed overall. I really loved Darcy's storyline. I found her chapters very interesting, as not only do I live in New York, but I liked learning about the publishing industry from a new author's point of view. Plus, Darcy is forced to grow up rather quickly, and has to learn how to deal with the beast NYC can be. I definitely liked her story better between the two in Afterworlds, though I feel like her ending was a bit abrupt and cliché. If I was to rate her story separately, I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Darcy's Afterworlds, on the other hand, was a bit lackluster for me. It begins with a bang when protagonist Lizzie is the sole survivor of a terrorist attack in the airport. When Lizzie plays dead to avoid being killed, she ends up transporting herself to the afterworld, the land of the dead. There she meets Yamaraj, a death god who explains to Lizzie that she is now a psychopomp. Afterworlds follows Lizzie as she learns what it means to be a psychopomp, and deals with this new aspect of her life.

I really wanted to love the Afterworlds story, but there were several issues along the way. For instance, the characters were a bit underdeveloped, events occurred without good explanations, and the ending was unsatisfying. I was unsure whether Westerfeld crafted Afterworlds to be purposefully weak, since Darcy is a debut author and therefore writing for the first time, or if the storyline just fell flat. I also know that Darcy is writing a sequel to Afterworlds, so that may be why the ending didn't completely wrap up perfectly, but as a reader of Westerfeld's Afterworlds I would have liked a bit more. Finally, Lizzie does something completely unforgivable in Afterworlds that I can't explain due to spoilers. What I will say, however, is that her behavior was extremely off-putting, and took away a lot of credibility for the entire Afterworlds plot. Rating this part of the book alone, I would give it 2 out of 5 stars.

All in all, I did really enjoy reading Afterworlds despite the issues I have with it. I read the book rather quickly in under two weeks because I wanted to know what would happen next. I think the story was quite unique and fun, but could use some more polish. My overall rating for Afterworlds is 3 out of 5 stars, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a different kind of young adult novel. You can purchase Afterworlds on Amazon HERE. Please let me know in the comments what you thought of this book!

This books was provided by Edelweiss for my unbiased review. I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

In the spirit of Halloween I wanted to share my thoughts on a young adult book that I read over the summer. I had heard great things about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, but was hesitant to pick it up due to the creepy cover. When I won the book in a giveaway, I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is not a scary book at all!

Miss Peregrine's opens with teenager Jacob living his life, when all of a sudden his beloved grandfather is found dead in the woods by his house. Jacob rushes to the scene only to discover a monster lurking nearby, but no one believes that the monster is real. Instead, Jacob's family and friends, and even his new psychiatrist, believe that Jacob created the monster out of grief for the loss of his grandfather. Because of this, Jacob convinces his father to accompany him on a trip to Europe to visit an island where his grandfather spent time after escaping the Holocaust. At first it seems that no one left on the island remembers Jacob's grandfather, but everything changes when Jacob finds a home full of peculiar children.

As you can probably guess from my brief plot summary, Miss Peregrine's does have mysterious and spooky elements to it, but I would not consider it a horror novel at all. Instead, it is an interesting story with paranormal elements, and lots of twists and turns throughout the way. There is no denying that Ransom Riggs has created a new and unusual world, and I want to mention how incredible it is that he includes vintage photographs in the book to illustrate the story. The use of photos gives the story life, and helps the reader visualize things that would otherwise be lost in the imagination.

That being said, I did have a few issues with the book. The beginning is a bit of a downer. In fact, I almost didn't want to continue reading because I was afraid the entire story would be depressing. Luckily, I was able to move past that and discover the fantastical story Riggs created. However, I also felt that the ending to the book was quite rushed. Things happened so quickly that I had trouble grasping what was going on. In this way, I think Miss Peregrine's has an awesome plot, but could use some polishing at the start and finish. Nonetheless, I gave the book a solid 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and would highly recommend it for young adult readers who are looking for something different.

Miss Peregrine's is the first book in a series that continues on with Hollow City. I'm not sure whether or not I will continue reading this particular series, but I do look forward to other books by Ransom Riggs, as they are sure to be imaginative. You can purchase Miss Peregrine's on Amazon HERE. Of course, please tell me your thoughts on this book in the comments!

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Book Review | The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa (Blood of Eden Trilogy, Book 3)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE IMMORTAL RULES AND THE ETERNITY CURE, THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE BLOOD OF EDEN TRILOGY. PLEASE SEE MY NON-SPOILER REVIEWS HERE AND HERE.

Today I'm bringing you my non-spoiler review of the final book in the Blood of Eden Trilogy by Julie Kagawa, The Forever Song. If you have not read books one and two in the series, I do not recommend this review, but if you are debating whether or not to get the last book in the series, this is the perfect post for you!

With the crazy cliffhanger at the end of The Eternity Cure, I'm sure you wanted to pick up The Forever Song right away. In this book, we follow Allison, Jackal, and Kanin as they search for Sarren and try to stop him from completing whatever evil plan he's brewing. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way, and at times the characters are truly unpredictable. I loved how epic this book was, and read through it as quickly as possible.

That said, The Forever Song was a solid, four star book for me. One of the plot points greatly mimicked another popular dystopian book, and I felt like the ending itself was a bit rushed. I would have enjoyed a lengthier ending scene, but was overall happy with the series's conclusion.

This was my first time reading any books by Julie Kagawa, and I greatly enjoyed the experience! I would give the Blood of Eden trilogy a total rating of 4.5 stars, and definitely look forward to rereading it again in the future. This series has inspired me to pick up more paranormal books, and I definitely want to read more of Kagawa's works. I would also love a companion series to the Blood of Eden trilogy in Jackal's perspective! That would be awesome!

You can purchase The Forever Song on Amazon HERE. Please let me know in the comments if you've read the series! I would love to discuss it!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa (Blood of Eden Trilogy, Book 2)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK IN THE BLOOD OF EDEN TRILOGY, THE IMMORTAL RULES. PLEASE SEE MY NON-SPOILER REVIEW OF THE IMMORTAL RULES HERE.

Today I'm continuing on with my reviews of the Blood of Eden Trilogy by Julie Kagawa with my thoughts on the second book in the series, The Eternity Cure. This review will remain spoiler free, but I only recommend reading this if you've read the first book in the series.

The Eternity Cure follows Allison after she leaves the humans in Eden. She is on the hunt for Kanin, as her blood tie is alerting her that something is wrong, and he may be nearby. But to Allison's surprise, her blood tie leads her to another vampire that she must befriend in order to help find her father and save him from whatever it is that is tormenting him. What follows is an exciting and adventurous journey that reads like a horror novel.

I know my summary is a bit vague, but I think it's best to go into The Eternity Cure not knowing much. The Eternity Cure is definitely my favorite book in the series! It's funny and dark at the same time, and the characters are awesome. My one criticism with The Eternity Cure is that there are a few inconsistencies in the story between this book and The Immortal Rules. These inconsistencies don't have an effect on the overall plot, but were quite noticeable to me when I read the books back to back. This is definitely an editing mistake, and it takes a bit of credibility away from the author when I can notice these holes in the story. Nonetheless, I rated The Eternity Cure a 4.5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads, and would have given it a full 5 stars had it not been for those inconsistencies.

If you've read The Immortal Rules and you are debating whether or not to continue on with the series, I think you really should! The Eternity Cure contains some background information to refresh the reader where the story is headed, so you don't need to worry about rereading the first book. You can purchase The Eternity Cure on Amazon HERE. Stay tuned for my review of the last book in the series, and, of course, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Blood of Eden Trilogy, Book 1)

I've always been hesitant to read vampire books, especially in the young adult genre, since the Twilight phenomenon. Then I started hearing about the Blood of Eden Trilogy by Julie Kagawa. It's described as a mix of vampires and dystopia, so I had to give it a try. I read all three books in this series back-to-back, and will be reviewing each book for you. This first review will be spoiler free, so it's perfect for those of you who are looking to learn more about the first book in the series, The Immortal Rules.

This series follows our main character Allison Sekemoto. She lives in a vampire district as an unregistered citizen. This means she is not recognized by the government, and thus isn't given food or any means of survival. However, Allison does not want to register, because registered citizens must give their blood to the vampires who rule over the city. Allison hates everything about the vampires. Not only did they kill her mother, but they've forced her into a life of crime.

One day, Allison goes outside of the city walls to hunt for food. She discovers a hidden, storage cellar of canned goods, and encourages her friends to help her raid it. Unfortunately, when they go to get the food, they are attacked by rabids – dangerous creatures that are vampire mutants. Allison's friends are killed, and she is on the verge of death when a vampire appears out of nowhere. He gives her the opportunity to become a vampire, or to die. Despite her hatred for vampires, Allison makes the choice to become a vampire and live forever. The remainder of The Immortal Rules follows Allison as she learns what it means to be a vampire, and follows her as she discovers the world that exists beyond her city's walls.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Immortal Rules, and gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. While the beginning of the book is a bit of a "typical dystopian," once the world-building is completed, the story develops into something very unique. I love Kagawa's character development, and the vampire versus human element that runs throughout the plot. My only issues with the book were very minor. I found some parts of the story very predictable, and some parts a bit slow. Otherwise, I loved everything about The Immortal Rules, and was ready to pick up the second book in the series right away.

If you are looking for a new spin on the dystopian genre, I highly recommend The Immortal Rules. This is also a great series if you want to give the paranormal genre a try, but are unsure of how you feel about vampires. You can purchase The Immortal Rules on Amazon HERE. Make sure to stay tuned for my review of the second book in the series, The Eternity Cure!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Back in May I attended a Teen Panel at Barnes & Nobel Union Square, and one of the authors on the panel was Sarah Mlynowski. She was there to market her latest release, Don't Even Think About It, and even though I knew nothing about the book I decided to pick it up and get it signed. I'm so glad I did!

Don't Even Think About It is a young adult book that is a mix between the contemporary and paranormal genres. It takes place at a New York City high school, when the sophomore class is getting its annual flu shots. Everything is going according to plan, until a few hours after the shots are administered the students start hearing things. It turns out the shots gave the students mind-reading abilities! What follows is a hilarious story told in the first-person plural from the point-of-view of all the students with ESP.

I loved Don't Even Think About It, and finished it in a few hours. Mlynowski's writing is quite easy to read, and I loved how she used the first-person plural to demonstrate how none of the kids have secrets anymore since they can hear each others' thoughts. I also thought it was great that the novel accurately portrayed high school life even with this paranormal spin on the story. There was teenage love, teenage angst, and even though I'm a twenty-something, I still loved the story. I laughed out loud many times, and thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience.

I gave Don't Even Think About It a full 5 star rating on Goodreads, simply because it was a great read and I can't tell you one thing I didn't like about it. This is also the first book in a new series, and I can't wait for the next one to be released. I highly recommend Don't Even Think About It if you're looking for a fun read. You can buy it on Amazon HERE. I look forward to checking out more books by Sarah Mlynowski in the future!

 I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.