Mini-Reviews: Paranormal Novels

Teardrop
Author:  Lauren Kate
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 441 pages
Publication Date:  October 22, 2013

From Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.

And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.

Can everything you love be washed away?

Review:
Special girl meets hot mysterious stalkery guy and bumbles around trying to figure out what's going on because said hot guy won't explain anything even though he knows everything.  That's the plot in a nutshell (actually, that's the plot of so many books, I should start a list).  Now I know how negative that sounds, but the book is actually okay and I think it has a lot of promise, but I finished it and realized that almost nothing happened.  That's the problem with trilogies sometimes, there's one overarching story and the first book is just an introduction to that story.  Eureka (don't get me started on the name) is reeling from her mom's death.  She's tried to kill herself and just doesn't care about anything at all (used to love running, quits the cross-country team, etc). Her mom leaves her three things in her will that she just doesn't understand, and that starts the quest for answers.  Enter said hot guy, who has loved her from afar (that's not spoilery, you learn that from the first chapter).  I just didn't understand why he kept popping up, being cryptic, and then leaving without telling her anything.  What was the point?  Why not just tell her what was going on?  Made no sense.  And then Brooks, her best friend...I really wish we got to know him better so that when certain things happen, I actually cared.  And then, just when the book is getting interesting, it ends.  So it's decent, and I think the series as a whole has promise and could be quite good, but this book, standing alone, just is not.

The Chaos of Stars
Author:  Kiersten White
Publisher:  HarperTeen, 288 pages
Publication Date:  September 10, 2013

From Goodreads:
Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

Review:
Romance novel dressed up as a paranormal type book, for absolutely no reason.  Isadora is the human daughter of gods and she is angry because, although her parents could have made her immortal, they chose not to.  So she decides that since her life is not permanent, she can never love because even if you stay together, you die.  So what's the point of ever starting something when it's just going to end.  So basically, you have angsty teenage girl who is gorgeous (of course) and then when she meets hot guy, she doesn't want to have anything to do with him.  What about the gods?  Well, they play a very minor role (and it's not even playing the role of gods, just dysfunctional family members).  So I was disappointed, to say the least.

Unbreakable
Author:  Kami Garcia
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 320 pages
Publication Date:  October 1, 2013

From Goodreads:
When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Review:
Fun and fast-paced novel about a group of teenagers who fight vengeance spirits controlled by a demon...definitely had that Supernatural feel to it.  There's a lot of action and adventure as the group (known as the Legion) goes on a journey to find the pieces of a weapon to defeat the demon.  Kennedy, the MC, is saved by twins Jared and Lukas, who are convinced she's the fifth member of their group.  Kennedy, however, keeps resisting the idea because if she is a member, that means her mother was a part of the group, and she just doesn't believe it.  Jared, Lukas, Priest, and Alara have been training for this while Kennedy has no clue what's going on and of course bumbles around, messing things up.  I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one, but I do wish there had been a bit more character development, especially because the characters are interesting and have so much potential.  With all of the running around and battling ghosts, we don't get much but it's understandable, they're not going to sit around and chit chat while all of this is going on.  And the romance...way way way too fast.  I think the whole book takes place during one week, so it's a bit ridiculous.  All in all, highly entertaining and I'm looking forward to the next one.  I'm hooked!

Posted by:  Pam