HBIC Review: Birthmarked

Title: Birthmarked
Author: Caragh O'Brien
Page Count:
Publisher:
Genre: young adult, dystopian
Copy for review compliments of the public library

50 words or less: Gaia never questioned here responsibilities as a midwife, not even when she had to bring three babies every month to the Enclave within an hour of their birth. Then her parents are arrested for an unknown crime, and life as she knows it is changed forever.

Sigh. I love dystopian novels. I mean really love them. The worldbuilding is so intricate and unique, the struggles are so real, and the power of the human spirit is all over every page. I'd heard great things about this book before it was picked as a May Blog With Bite selection; pretty much across the board, the book didn't really live up to my expectations. Set phasers to stun, then, and read on.

Birthmarked took a long time to get going. I was totally okay with there being a lot of lead in because it's important for me, when I read a book, to really buy into the rules of the world in the story. This is especially true of dystopian novels; if I don't feel how monstrous the world truly is, then it's hard for me to connect to the characters and understand their plight or root for their cause.

This is pretty much what happened for me when I was reading Birthmarked. I felt like the divided society, the weird laws, the genetics, all of that, were described in an almost clinical fashion, as if by someone who was observing the society from afar or watching about it in a movie. I had an abstract idea of what people's lives were like, but no real connection to any of the characters.

The same thing extends to Gaia herself as a narrator. While one common trait of young adult dystopian novels is that the narrator is almost always wise beyond his or her years and has unusual skills or abilities, usually focused on surviving, I felt that, as informed as Gaia was sometimes, she was remarkably ignorant at others, and in ways she shouldn't have been. Gaia transformed immediately from someone who was obedient to the society in which she lived, to a rebel who was incredibly well-informed about people in power and their motives. Where did these sudden flashes of insight come from? The disjointed, sometimes lecturing narrative made it hard to really immerse myself in the story.

There were a lot of other disjointed elements that prevented me from fully enjoying the story as well. Some of this was purely a lack of relevant details. For example, for the outsiders, they were remarkably complacent in the whole infant advancement in exchange for pitiful rations. Nobody except the mothers whose babies were being taken seemed to really have an issue with this and we never really get an understanding of why. There are a few scenes where someone tries to explain why the community ended up the way it is, but they were very thinly sketched and abstract. I just didn't buy that everyone in these communities was cowed enough, or brainwashed enough, to just stand by and be like, well, that's that. Where was the history? Where was the development? We got plenty of tender vignettes of Gaia with her parents, but nothing that really explained anything.

I thought most of the secondary characters were pretty forgettable, for the most part, or were introduced only so Gaia wouldn't be talking to herself when some plot point was revealed. The setup for a sequel was apparent, so maybe the secondary characters will get more development there, but frankly I don't really want to wait- we met these people now, we should be learning something about these people now. Even the supposed bad guy, Mabrother Iris, was two-dimensional and frankly kind of reminded me of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons more than anything else.

There were some parts of this book that shone, that's for sure- I thought the bit on cooperation versus complacency was well done, and I enjoyed the evolution of the relationship between Gaia and Leon. I was left with lots of questions about the setting of the story and how the events of the book would affect the other players. I was curious about the wider world of the novel- what other communities exist, and are they all as strange as this one? The structure was here for this to be a really great story, but at the end of the day I felt like the focus was on being plausible instead of being vivid and the story as a whole suffered for it. I'm totally on board with setting up a series if the story merits it, but I personally didn't find enough in this book to make me want to read subsequent ones. Many other folks are over the moon about this title, though, so if you're into dystopian novels or want to explore a debut novel for 2010 it might be worth checking out still.

Overall Grade: C-
Blog with Bite Rating: 2/4

Discussion Questions
1. When reading dystopian, the scary aspect is thinking, "Could this happen one day?" Did you ask yourself this while reading Birthmarked? Do you think a future like this is possible? I think that elements of the story rang true for me- the class divisions, the segregation, the abuse of knowledge of genetics, but as a whole, without the sense of history of the world of the story, I didn't find the overall setting all that convincing.
2. How did the puzzle aspect of the story work for you? Did you figure out the code or was the explanation a surprise? Does this element work for you in a story or is there one you like/appreciate more? I was very interested in reading about how the code actually worked although I fully admit that I didn't see the things the narrative was pointing out. But then again, I can't see anything in Magic Eye pictures either so it's probably me.
3. Gaia follows in the steps of her mother as a midwife. For Gaia in the beginning its service and only later does she realize what taking the babies signifies. Can you put yourself in the mothers role, what would you do if Gaia tried to take your newborn? Honestly I think it depends on whether you're a member of the society in this book or not- it seemed like the people of the story had kind of accepted that advancing babies was a way of life that wasn't going away and that raising a fuss only drew unwanted attention. I'm not honestly sure how I would behave or react in the setting of this story.
4. Gaia feels ugly because of her scar and unable to fit in within the wall (enclave) because she wasn't perfect. Do you think finding out that her parents lied to her [about how she got the scar] was able to move the story along?? I think, frankly, the only purpose served by Gaia having the scar at all was to show how determined her parents were that she not be advanced. It kept coming up, over and over again, and after awhile I felt a little browbeaten by the whole situation. I did think it interesting, though, that people inside the Enclave were so interested in the scar while simultaneously being so enamored with genetics. They viewed her scar as an imperfection, but it's not one that can be passed on. Interesting contradiction.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien HBIC Review

 Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien
Review copy purchased form Amazon.com, kindle edition.

PJVs QUICKIE POV: Your typical dystopian, Birthmarked pairs an innocent girl with an oppressive society, makes that girl not so innocent anymore (knowledge) and narrates girl attempt to kick societies butt. I enjoyed Gaia’s story, and I’m a big fan of the genre. Birthmarked is up against some heavy hitters, though, such as The Hunger Games, Inside Out, and The Uglies which in comparison, Birthmarked does fall short…but it was an enjoyable read. The gritty setting, the iron-fisted ruling class, the conspiracy laced lies that society is founded on; all are well played and thought provoking. The main incendiary act of the oppressing society is quite disturbing and gets under you skin. O’Brien did a wonderful job with her world building and I look forward to the second in this series.

REVIEW: The world is set in what appears to be a post environmental apocalypse. The great lakes are dried up craters and the area that surrounds the community is called the wasteland. The main society is a walled community called the Enclave and is ruled by a dictator called the Protectorate. The people within the wall are pampered; they have electricity, clean clothing and indoor plumbing. The people outside the wall are the second-class citizens, hardly any electricity, living in hovels and completely repressed. They are so completely lorded over by the enclave that they even give up their newborn children to advance the genetic diversity of the people that live within the wall.
Everything is going good for the Enclave, citizens are giving up their children with very little complaint. They believe their children will get a better life if they go behind the wall. That is until Gaia’s parents are taken under arrest…and Gaia refuses to just sit back and allow the Enclave to take control of her life. And so begins the story of the young mid-wife and her slow realization that life isn’t exactly how she pictured it, the world is a nasty place but if you look deep enough, you might just find something that is worth fighting for.

RECOMMENDATIONS: A safe and entertaining read for teens, and mature enough for older readers. Fans of dystopian should enjoy Birthmarked.




1. When reading dystopian, the scary aspect is thinking, "Could this happen one day?" Did you ask yourself this while reading Birthmarked ? Do you think a future like this is possible?
No. If an environmental disaster would occur that would dry up lakes and turn the country into a wasteland, I don’t think the human element would wall themselves up in an Enclave. JMO. But it is probably because Climate Change is a pet peev of mine.
2. How did the puzzle aspect of the story work for you? Did you figure out the code or was the explanation a surprise? Does this element work for you in a story or is there one you like/appreciate more?
No. I’m not good with puzzles. A little slow here. I wasn’t really a surprise though, I could kind of see it, just not really. It was like a 50% realization.
3. Gaia follows in the steps of her mother as a midwife. For Gaia in the beginning its service and only later does she realize what taking the babies signifies. Can you put yourself in the mother’s role, what would you do if Gaia tried to take your newborn?
I don’t think I could casually give up my child to a governing body. I think I would take her and run.
4. Gaia feels ugly because of her scar and unable to fit in within the wall (enclave) because she wasn't perfect. Do you think finding out that her parents lied to her [about how she got the scar] was able to move the story along??
I think it showed the drastic measures that her parents were willing to take to keep her and not let her get sucked into the Enclave. While intensely selfish, I think it shows desperation. I think I might have done things a bit differently if I was Gaia’s parents.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien Review Posted by Tina @ Tinasbookreviews

March 2010 by Roaring Brook Press Hardcover, 320 pages

Purchased Copy

Book Synopsis

After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested. Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned. Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.......(GoodReads)

Review

A mother after hours of labor gives birth to a beautiful newborn, exhausted from labor but thrilled to be looking at her child, quietly sips her tea. After only moments of happiness, fear and anger rip through her body as Gaia marks, bundles and leaves the mothers home to hand over the beautiful newborn to the enclave.................so go's life in the world of Birthmarked, children are payments to the government and babies are in high demand. In this dreary, dark and crumbling society, questions will arise for the reader many thought provoking scenarios such as, humanity, civil rights, child bearing and incestuous breeding. And not since Neal Shusterman’s Unwind, have I felt an author writing to the YA audience provoke such tough questions in the sense of human life and personal freedoms.

After the arrest of her parents Gaia works against the clock, trying to sneak into the enclave, rescue her mom and dad and escape to the forest, but like all good plans with the best intentions she is caught and jailed. Gaia will have to cooperate with the enclave officials if she ever wants to see her parents alive again and she must unravel a code that is near impossible. Little does Gaia know that her parents fate have already been handed down, that her life will soon take a turn of inevitability and that she might along the way just find a love that is worth fighting having children for.

A little slow getting started I found myself immersed in this world and enjoyed the entire story. An amazing debut showcasing a strong, somewhat naïve, but ultimately brave character.

Rating

Birthmarked is a fantastic dystopian novel that can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike. Violence, intense action, mild blood and gore, social and political commentaries, mild adult content including fertility and "adoption" are all topics touched on in this novel. Suitable for 15 and up.

3.5/4- YA- Dystopian

BWB Discussion Questions

1.When reading dystopian, the scary aspect is thinking, "Could this happen one day?" Did you ask yourself this while reading Birthmarked? Do you think a future like this is possible?

I think its possible something like that in a dystopian novel could happen....I think that's the draw to these novels, its taking the worst possible scenarios and putting characters through hell- or to know that however terrible things might get, the human spirit is always stronger than the horrors and will overcome.

2.How did the puzzle aspect of the story work for you? Did you figure out the code or was the explanation a surprise? Does this element work for you in a story or is there one you like/appreciate more?
The puzzle made the story more intriguing for me as a reader, I was surprised when she discovered the code...because I had no clue. Of course it was a bit far-fetched but I still liked that once revealed could make sense in the world of Birthmarked.

3.Gaia follows in the steps of her mother as a midwife. For Gaia in the beginning its service and only later does she realize what taking the babies signifies. Can you put yourself in the mothers role, what would you do if Gaia tried to take your newborn?

Well I am a mother and in the world I live in....I would fight Gaia to the death for my baby, but in the Dystopian world view, I would hope I had the strength to fight Gaia and flee to the Dead Forest.......Sometimes the scariest thing is a mother protecting her young.

4.Gaia feels ugly because of her scar and unable to fit in within the wall (enclave) because she wasn't perfect. Do you think finding out that her parents lied to her [about how she got the scar] was able to move the story along??

I knew from the beginning that Gaia's parents hurt her....I'm thinking it was very drastic, perhaps they could have picked a better spot, say her arm or leg...why the face people? I thought it fit well with the story but did nothing to move the plot along.

June Polls Closed

The June books have been chosen - by like crazy margins. So according to these polls we should have 250 people reviewing these books, right? :)

These are our June Selections.

Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
Review Deadline: June 14th

Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: DAW; Original edition (April 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756406005
ISBN-13: 978-0756406004

How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n' roll?

Easy...

She's Touched by an Alien

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the "agency" to perform crowd control. He's Kitty's kind of guy, no matter what planet he's from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.



Incarceron (Incarceron, Book 1) by Catherine Fisher
Review Deadline June 30th

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Dial; 1 edition (January 26, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0803733968
ISBN-13: 978-0803733961

Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born ...

Discussion Questions for Birthmarked

1. When reading dystopian, the scary aspect is thinking, "Could this happen one day?" Did you ask yourself this while reading Birthmarked? Do you think a future like this is possible?
2. How did the puzzle aspect of the story work for you?  Did you figure out the code or was the explanation a surprise? Does this element work for you in a story or is there one you like/appreciate more?
3. Gaia follows in the steps of her mother as a midwife. For Gaia in the beginning its service and only later does she realize what taking the babies signifies. Can you put yourself in the mothers role, what would you do if Gaia tried to take your newborn?
4. Gaia feels ugly because of her scar and unable to fit in within the wall (enclave) because she wasn't perfect. Do you think finding out that her parents lied to her [about how she got the scar] was able to move the story along??
   
   

Sign up For Birthmarked

Have you read/reviewed Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien?

Grab a BWB Banner and stick it on your post and link the review here with Mr. Linky. It is that easy.  For those of you with Mr. Linky troubles --- leave the link in the comments section.

Review Deadline is May 31st.

We've switched sign-up tactics because Mr. Linky won the majority vote with the poll that went out earlier this month.

Winner of Assassin's Honor

Well WINNER really (need to make a new graphic) of Assassin's Honor....

donnas @ donnasbloghome.blogspot.com

Congrats you will be the proud owner of Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns. I hope you like it just as much as we did.

If you didn't win... this is a great purchase! Highly recommended.

Donnas - email me at parajunkee at gmail.com with your snail addy so I can forward it to Ms. Burns!

Stay tuned everyone for our next Contest...coming sooner than you think. Release party on June 1st with Jessa Slade!

Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns

Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns
Posted by Tina @ Tinasbookreviews

June 2010 by Penguin/Berkley
Paperback, 352 pages
Review Copy

Memorable Quote

Like Lake Michigan during a storm, the deep blue of his eyes echoed with a mysterious, dark danger..........Pg. 26

Review

Emma Zale, an archaeologist with a special talent to visualize the history of a relic makes a discovery that will validate the existence of an ancient order of people, called the Sicari. But during the discovery her mentor and friend Charlie is murdered and all eyes are on Emma. Soon after the murder Emma meets Ares and life as she knew it………over……….

The Sicari want the ancient relic but so do The Praetorian, the Sicari’s enemy. Ares does his best to protect Emma but after she is attacked by a man in mysterious robes, she flees to Ares and The Sicari.

I loved that this PNR did not have vampires and wolves….I loved that Ares and Emma were not immortals but regular people with special gifts. Ares has special powers with telekinesis, but doesn’t have any creature characteristics. Also along with intense drama to deal with, Emma and Ares realize almost immediately the attraction to one another. The author lets their tension and chemistry build to almost mid-point of the book before the two finally let their towels er…guards down and fully fall for each other. I loved the relationship between these two and thought hotness aside their romance was sweet and genuine. I mean of course this was a steamy romance, but romance aside most of the book focused on mystery, suspense and the world of the Sicari rather than be bogged down with raunchy sex scenes. I must say, I really enjoyed the writing and the mystery. The combination of adventure, mystery and hot romance will be sure to please any PNR fan out there!!!

Rating

Assassin’s Honor contains- graphic erotic sexuality, murder, violence, graphic language, intense action scenes that rock and adult content. Recommended to adults.

BWB -3/4- PNR-Assassin's
A Special Thanks to Monica Burns for Review Copy

Assassin's Honor HBIC Review from Emily @ What Book is That?

Title: Assassin's Honor
Author: Monica Burns
Page Count: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Copy for review provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Read the first three chapters here

50 words or less: Archaologist Emma Zale is reeling from the murder of her parents and her mentor when Ares DeLuca appears on the scene and sweeps her into a world of assassins, honor, love. betrayal, action and drama.

One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday morning is to lay in bed and read an entire book cover to cover with no interruptions (ah, the joys of not having children.) This week's pick for the honor was Assassin's Honor and it was a fun, exciting, engrossing read- perfect for a lazy morning or a day at the beach.

Although this book marks the author's first foray into the world of paranormal romance, she jumps right in like a pro and sets up a complex, layered world that I as a reader could really sink my teeth into. There's a lot of world building and details about the Order of the Sicari, their roots in the time of the Roman Empire, their conflict with the Praetorians, the rules and codes of the Sicari community, and much more. A good part of the book is spent (as is the case in many initial novels in a series) setting up the rules of the setting for the story, but it's a unique setting and, being the sucker for world building that I am, I didn't mind that.

The hero and heroine are also unique. They have instant chemistry, sure, and their scenes together are spicy, of course, but what I really enjoyed was the depth of emotion that each one showed throughout the novel. Emma is a tough, independent woman, but when she gets upset it's because something or someone has made her feel that way and not because she needs to put on an act. Likewise, Ares is a typical alpha male, but he understands that not everyone finds those traits and behaviors appealing, and realizes that Emma has no reason to want to like, trust, or even talk to him, as he's certainly imposed tremendously on her. Oftentimes in PNR the feelings and thoughts of the characters take a distant back seat to the goings-on in the world at large, and I'm happy that each main character had a chance to really develop as an individual. I hope these two make appearances in future books.

Another interesting thing about this book- no immortals in sight! The fact that everyone in this story can die just like regular people helped to ramp up the drama during the fighting and battling, and illustrated the depth of feeling that Emma and Ares had for each other- "I don't want you to get hurt" takes on a whole different connotation when you mean that literally, instead of just figuratively because the other person can't be killed.

Maybe it's because the hero and heroine were so well-developed and felt so authentic to me, but the main thing I didn't care for about this book was the sort of two-dimensional secondary characters. Lysander and Phaedra are immediately set up as the hero and heroine of the next book (due out in September) but beyond that we don't really get to know anyone else. It felt like most of the ancillary characters were introduced because the specific scene where they appeared required it. Who is Cleo? Whatever happened with Ewan- is he a good guy or a bad guy? What about all the other Sicari that were so distrustful of Emma at first? The villians in this story felt pretty flat too. We didn't really find out for sure who was behind the murders of Emma's parents and her mentor until the end of the book, and once the mastermind was revealed, it didn't feel all that climactic- nothing was ever revealed about the guy!

I love how, even though I know a story is going to have a happily ever after, I can still be on the edge of my seat while the final plot elements are resolved. I found the happily ever after in this book to be especially satisfying considering the wringer of drama the characters had to go through to get there, and that sealed the deal for me wanting to read the next book in the series when it comes out.

Despite my reservations about the supporting cast, this was a fun read with lots of action and adventure, mystery, intrigue, and, of course, a really sweet romance.

Overall Grade: B+

This week is Assassin's Week. And our featured assassin, Ares from Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns just happens to possess telekinesis.  To tell you a secret I've always wanted to be telekinetic - I would probably become really lazy though. No more getting up for the remote, or to refill the wine glass right??

What would you do if you were telekinetic?
I found a funny little video on YouTube.com for everyone's viewing pleasure. But first don't forget to enter to win the Assassin's Honor Giveaway - and vote on our June polls!

June Adult Selections

It's time to pick the titles for June! As always, vote for the book that you personally want to read, all the book summaries are from goodreads.com, and have fun!

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse book 1) - Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, but she keeps to herself and doesn't date much because of her "disability" to read minds. When she meets Bill, Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's the type of guy she's waited for all of her life, but he has a disability, too--he's a vampire with a bad reputation. When one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next.




Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman- My name’s Bonnie Torres. Recent college grad, magic-user and severely unemployed—until I got a call out of nowhere to interview for a job I hadn’t applied for. It smelled fishy, but the brutal truth was I needed the work,so off I went. Two days later, I’m part of the Private, Unaffiliated, Paranormal Investigations (PUPI) team with four other twenty-somethings, thrown into an entirely new career in forensic magic. The first job we get is a doozy: proving that the deaths of two Talents were murder, not suicide. Worse, there are high-profile people who want us to close up shop and go away. Looks like this job is gonna get interesting. The only problem is, we’re making it up as we go along.…

Master of None by Sonya Bateman- ONE UNLUCKY THIEF. ONE UNLIKELY GENIE. ONE VERY ODD COUPLE.

Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.

Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.

At first Donatti’s too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be, or the entire world could pay the price...

Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch- How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n' roll?

Easy...

She's Touched by an Alien

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the "agency" to perform crowd control. He's Kitty's kind of guy, no matter what planet he's from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane- THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased.

Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch, freewheeling Debunker, and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing human liars and banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot and dangerous water.

Chess owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump. And Bump wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

June YA Selections

Here are the Blog with Bite polls for the Young Adult June Selection. As always, vote for the book that you personally want to read. Thanks! As always, summaries of the books are from goodreads.com.

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black - Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, Dana decides she’s had it with being her mother’s keeper, so she packs her bags and heads to stay with her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, she finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone wants something from her, even her newfound friends and family. Suddenly, life with her alcoholic mom doesn't sound half bad, and Dana would do anything to escape Avalon and get back home. Too bad both her friends and her enemies alike are determined not to let her go . . .

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher- Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born ...

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony - The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.

Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.

Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour.

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready- When her boyfriend dies a most untimely death, Aura--who can see ghosts--is forced to reconsider her relationship with the living and dead in SHADE.







Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead- St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

HBIC Review: Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns

Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns
Review copy provided by the author.

PJVs QUICKIE POV: A sexy little romp through a very imaginative world. Burns has created a delightfully entertaining and teeth gritting PNR that is sure to please die hard fans of the genre or newbies looking for an introduction. While at some points the world did over-power me, in essence it was a well-written and thought out novel.

REVIEW: Emma Zale, archeologist, is on a dig near Cairo when her mentor is brutally murdered and the MO is the same as her parents murder 5 years earlier.  The authorities immediately look at Emma as the number one suspect. When locals step forward with conflicting evidence, Emma is released and is sent back to the States, but her reputation is tarnished and she will not be able to go on any more digs.

Faced with this sudden change, her life is reeling, especially after she finds a strange coded message from her father and a very hot assassin pulling a little B&E in her apartment. When hot assassin, better known as Ares DeLuca tells her that her life is in danger and she needs to go into hiding, trusting him with her future and protection, after their stormy introduction she isn't very open to his ideas.  It takes a brush with death and an encounter with a not so friendly assassin for her to change her mind and follow Ares into his world, giving up her own.

The world of the Sicari is richly described and quite remarkable.  Burns paints a picture that will drag you down and have you believing there are hot Italian assassins running around with swords and telekinesis. From the intermingling of Latin and Italian phrases, to the portrayal of Sicari customs, you can tell Burns put a lot of effort in her world building and it paid off. There were only a few things that irked me, but nothing that detracted from the overall likability of the novel.  The first was that a few plot threads were left hanging, hopefully these will be rectified later in the series. The human bad guy was eradicated a little bit too quickly for my liking - but it might have been done this way to show exactly how ruthless the Praetorians are.  Then the characters were a bit too stubborn. It drove me a bit crazy. I understand a bit of pig-headedness drives a romance and builds tension - but I really wanted to slap the two of them and be like "get over yourselves!" But, once again, the novel was excellent, well worth your time.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Adult novel with heavy sexual content, violence and cursing (usual in Latin or Italian), for a mature audience. Fans of Paranormal Romance will really enjoy. A great PNR introduction for romance fans ready to take that paranormal plunge. Fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Kenyon's Lords of the Underworld, York's The Moon Series, should enjoy.


BWB Rating 3/4