technically 3.5 stars
345639
This story follows Paige who is new to town and doesn't know really how to connect with people. There is a secret in her past she wishes to stay hidden, but it seems that God hates her. For, one night she finds a dead body in her jacuzzi and in an effort to remain hidden and be able to continue her current life, she removes the body and hides it. However, with some very helpful anonymous "tips", the police keep finding their investigation to lead to her. So, we follow her through this crisis to watch her face down some old demons.

The story is decently written with some very good twists and turns. The character development is good, although there were some events that I thought could have been elaborated on. The chapter change usually means a change of perspective to another character. Where this usually is easy to follow, what I didn't like was that there was one perspective throughout that was on a different time clock than the rest of the storyline. This made it quite confusing for me to follow and is my complaint about the book. All the other perspectives added to the story as a progression. However, this out of synced one made it confusing to understand why it was placed where it was. In the end the details fit in with the plot, but I think it could have been handled through the line better. All in all, a good page turner that kept you guessing and anxiously awaiting the next twist.
4862132
If there's one thing I can say about The Promise of Amazing, it is that it truly lives up to its name. The book definitely contains the promise of an amazing story, but sadly fell short of what I was expecting. Even though I kind of liked Wren and Grayson, and even thought their story was pretty darn cute at times, there was just something about this novel that didn't work for me. (Sidenote: it kind of reminded me of this particular book, though I might have enjoyed this one a smidgen more.)

As mentioned, the characters in this book were kind of likeable. Wren Caswell is a girl looking to find her own place, which is something teens and adults alike will be able to relate to. As someone who enjoys watching people discover the truth about themselves, it was no surprise I liked seeing Wren figure things out, though a lot of those realizations came a bit too conveniently. Plus, I adored her friends - Jazz and Mads - who were the best! Grayson Barrett, on the other hand, almost felt stereotypical: the bad boy who finds something someone that inspires him to be better. This is not to say I didn't like him, because I did - especially when I witnessed how he was around his family. His friends, unlike Wren's, are pretty much jerks.

The story is told from alternate points of view, which gives readers a sense of knowing everything that's happening for Wren, Gray and Wren + Gray together. Their individual stories were pretty compelling, which sort of made up for how quickly these two fell for each other. It's not quite clear whether it's simply a case of insta-lust, serendipity or love at first sight, but the romance certainly happens fast. The book had an odd combination of authenticity in some parts and dramatics in others, particularly towards the ending, which kind of left me feeling confused and a teensy bit irritated.

The story might have had a bit of a heavy hand on the dramatics and sweeping statements; it also somehow managed to be tongue-in-cheek and sweet in a few rare moments. Even though it didn't particularly wow me, The Promise of Amazing was okay.
310268
Graceling is a modern throwback to the fantasy books of the 1980s and 1990s - a straightforward story, relatively low key romance, and complete lack of over the top heroines and too-modern-sounding teens.  But at the same time, some of the more frustrating YA staples are here: adults are evil and the guys all have a case of insta-love on our heroine. But it is decently enough written to keep me entertained with the Audible version.

Katsa is a graceling - blessed with an ability (in her case, ability to kill easily) that marks her as different.  Her uncle, the king, uses her as his personal enforcer, sending her out to hurt those who displease him.  On one such trip, Katsa encounters a young man, a prince from a neighboring country, and after that, their fates will be entwined as she must learn to use her abilities compassionately and not as her Uncle's thug. But he has a secret grace and she will be drawn into politics of the world on a grand scale.

This is a stand alone though there are two other books in this same world (one a prequel of sorts and the other a sequel but both with different characters). I did feel the book floats around quite a bit and lacks a good solid structure.  As well, it can get tiring hearing Katsa echo the same thoughts over and over.  Yes, we get the idea you don't want to marry.  No, we don't need all the guys falling all over you even though you're supposedly deadly.  And yes, we have a hero who is once again just a bit too good to be true.

I would probably rate this around 3.5 stars.  It's nice to see a return to more traditional fantasy (rather than the ubiquitous YA urban fantasy) but at the same time, I wish the characters were a bit more distinct and multilayered.
3704751
3.25 stars:  on the Pretty Good side of OK.

The main character's a little too good at everything, giving us an enjoyable, quick read.  If the story continued in the same vein, I wouldn't have bothered with the second book.

This first book was well-written, with minimal copyediting or proof-reading issues.  Several times, a third point of view could have been condensed or cut, but overall this was a strong debut.
4063329
3.5 Stars

THINGS I LOVED:

The vocabulary. The English major in me was internally happy dancing for joy. Honestly, if I could get away with it, I would totally use this to teach SAT vocabulary. Its awesome. And oddly enough, it works for the main character. Hes quirky and collects antiquated tech like no ones business, so embracing elevated vocabulary suits his complex personality.

The conflicted, debilitating slew of guilt, depression, and uncertainty weighs on Sebastian heavy enough to rival Atlas. The emotions are poignant, gut-wrenching, and you kind of just want to hug him and tell him its not his fault. Its impossible to escape your past in a small town and to be blamed and ostracized for something you did as a toddler? Its completely unfair, dangerous, and totally happens. Even if you break this story down to bare bones foundation, living with the catastrophe results of a mistake can be too much, too haunting, and crush you from the inside  out. Bang explores these heavy ideas in a way thats relatable and so incredibly honest.

The mystery. Throughout the book, there is so much leading that you're basically being tugged along on this train of thought. You know that Sebastian plans on doing something terrible, ending it all with a gun in a perfect circle of how his life metaphorically ended as a toddler. But theres a twist. I did not see it coming. Theres just enough to keep you hanging on, desperate to know how it ends.

THINGS IM TORN OVER:

Aneesa. Dont get me wrong, I LOVED Aneesa and the fact that she calls people out on their stereotypes, is honest about her fears, and is 100% a proud Muslim young lady. I adored how vocal she was about misconceptions about Islam, how she called out the haters, and truly loved who she is as a person. That sort of confidence and openness is inspiring. In some ways, I did like that Aneesa, having her as a friend, was helping Sebastian deal with his suicidal thoughts; I didn't like that she was the ONLY thing. Sebastians so-called male best friend was a fleeting character that had little to no presence and everything was on Aneesa-not that she knew Sebastian was suicidal. Aneesa isn't really that interesting. Despite the fact that shes nice and opinionated, shes pretty bland, at least for me. There weren't any particularly memorable lines or scenes that made me say, Aneesa is a character that will stick with me for a while.

The focus. This book is all over the place. While it does do a fairly good job of getting back to Sebastians thoughts when hes going to bed at night and thinking about his life, the book turns into pizza after pizza for ages as he builds his YouTube channel and it felt like so much of that could be cut because it slowed the pacing and made me want to close the book.

Nowhere near enough confrontation with his parents. They don't talk about it. They ignore everything and have for years. No wonder Sebastian is flooded with emotions that he doesnt know how to express or positive ways to deal with his overwhelming sense of guilt and failure. The two big scenes that do happen wereexplosive. I felt rage. So much rage.
504263
3.5 stars

I have enjoyed this series and have been looking forward to Adam's book. He is a musician that is finally finding his stride and is ready to go on tour with his new band. But his new lead singer, Davis, can't come on tour unless his sister, Landry, comes with them. For Adam that could be either the best or worst idea since he has been attracted to Landry since he first saw her. She's got a crush on him too. But her brother has already made all of the guys promise to stay away from her and also make Landry promise not to get involved with any of his band. So she is off limits and they are stuck in a tour bus together while they pretend they are not interested in each other.

Adam is charismatic, talented, but controlling and stubborn. He wants to do things his way. So when Landry and the band challenges that, it causes tension. Landry is more a shy, awkward, geek that does not see her own appeal. And her past has traumatized her.

But the more they are together, the more sexual tension, repressed feelings, jealousy, and anger rears its ugly head. Even as they finally admit what they want to each other, Landry still wants to keep them a secret from her brother and the band to avoid conflict.

So it is a precarious situation that could unravel at any time. Not to the mention the really good reason that Landry had to go on tour with them in the first place. Adam has to figure out what is best for him, Landry, and the band.

I had a bit of a disconnect with this couple and story. I am not exactly sure why. The fact that previous playboy Adam took one look at Landry and basically saw "forever" was a bit much. It was definitely a slow build and took quite a while for them to progress past their insta-attraction. And then the whole hiding thing further hindered them. It was a bit hard to get invested in their feelings when they were hiding them so much.

It was told in dual points of view which I did like. I enjoyed the cameos of the other characters from previous books: Bo, Ann Marie, Noah, Grace, Finn, and Mal. And I liked the band Davis, Rudd, and Ian (and his wife, Berry).

It was a love-on-the-road-fledgling-rock-band read with an off-limits-friend's-little-sister component. there was also a bit of suspense due to Landry's past. It was enjoyable enough, but was not that angsty or romantic. It did not have quite the emotional hook or turmoil that some of the other books in this series has had. But I do like the dynamics of the group of characters. Their banter and humor is fun. Mal still needs his story and now she has opened the door for a spin off with Davis or Rudd.
4343489
Really I'd give this a 3.5 rating.

Things I liked:
I thought this book had loveable central characters and an overall good core storyline.  The relationship, while in a compressed timeframe, showed growth and was endearing.

Things that weren't my favorite:
I did feel this wasn't the easiest writing style to read, it took a few chapters in before I could adjust.  There are parts that seem disjointed and don't quite flow within the details although to be fair does still work within the big picture.  The Jade arc seems more of an afterthought rather than something to build tension throughout; it could have been used to create more depth.

I will probably read another by this author before passing further judgment.
2549355
So, I hesitated between a 3 and a 4. There are parts of this book I really enjoyed, and other parts that I just didn't. There were parts that felt right, and parts that felt like filler to make the book longer. There were parts that were fun, and parts that were just, not. I'm not sure if the author meant to bounce around so much, but it felt sometimes like the characters were caught up in a whirlwind with no place to go. I think the characters needed more substance, and the plot needed a better direction. In my opinion, there is too much meaningless sex - by that I mean raw lust with no passion. In my opinion, life-mates need more substance than just sexual, brain dead lust. I ended up giving the book a 4 because the characters are endearing, and I would probably recommend it to a friend who wanted something easy to read.
165937
It was relatively hard to rate this.  For me personally, it was more of a 3, borderline 4.  I didn't dislike it, but it wasn't gripping.

I don't generally have any issue with a book primarily about teens.  Though some parts of it were weird; like, these are some of the most hands-off guardians imaginable.  It works, and it doesn't defy credibility at any point, but at times I was scratching my head going 'what kind of adults are these?'  Maybe that was partly the point.  The bits of bad parenting motivated by homophobia made sense, but not all of the oddities are explained away by that.

There's a bit more homophobia here than I was perhaps expecting.  Its generally in the periphery, and while it shapes the characters lives, it doesn't dominate the stage so to speak.  Its not anything unrealistic, sadly.  In this story the characters do move past it and build support groups that are untainted by it.

There is a good love story here and its really the focus.  The narrative device (of frequent context switches) attempts to show us both sides of this developing connection; it occasionally made the dialog a bit hard to follow. An omniscient narration might have been easier to follow.  This story is sprinkled with some side events (from teenage life) that are at times humorous, but the focus never leaves it for long.

In general, the first half of the book flowed better, while the second half dragged a bit for me and I can't really explain why.  Your mileage will probably vary.  In spite of that, I do like where the story ended up and it left me with a positive feeling.
628117
I'm torn on how many stars to give this book, once again wishing for half stars. I'd go 3.5 if I could. I mostly liked it, but some parts of the writing style made it feel like it was just ok.

I like re-tellings as a rule. It's always fun for me to see a different take on a familiar story, and though I love Disney, I don't take their versions of the fairy tales as the untouchable definitives. Ms Thomas does a nice job of imagining what it really would be like to wake up with all around you gone, in the future, with a prince you didn't fall in love with, but who merely kissed you. In this version, the castle didn't sleep, so her family is gone. Many princes had tried before to wake her - the one who managed it doesn't seem particularly worthy, and why would she love him immediately? Why would he love her?

Add to that a kingdom that's been in civil war since her father died, the current king with dubious motives, and a girl who doesn't seem to even know herself, and it's a good story.

However... Maybe it's just a function of Aurora not being on an even keel herself, but I had a harder time connecting to her than most main characters. I get that there is conflict between her mother's (echoed by the current queen's) strictures, being raised to be a perfect princess, and her own sense of right and wrong. But I found her to be wishy-washy and therefore kind of annoying. Maybe that's the Disney lover in me, but if she's going to be a spunky heroine, be one. Perhaps I'm just impatient.  I will say that this aspect was when the book dragged for me. She'd do something fun or thoughtful, then agree to do nothing and that led to a lot of sitting in her room, thinking. So, that's where I'd disagree with the editorial review on the product page that says it's a "dazzling" story.

Also, we are clearly going to get a sequel. I don't mind sequels. In fact, as I say in lots of my reviews, I actually adore series that involve long character development arcs. But those that I adore can always stand alone, with a clear beginning and end, even if you jump in out of order. Sadly, Ms Thomas seems to go with the "Empire Strikes Back" school of sequel thought, without a definitive ending, and that just ticks me off.

Overall, I was entertained, though, and I'll keep an eye out for the next. There is a good possibility going here, and the writing skills aren't bad, so I hope the next will improve a little.
1555984
"Torch Song" takes us on a journey with mercenary Rica Marin, who has been commissioned to root out various evils in a post-apocalyptic future.

On the negative side, the pacing of this novel drags somewhat at times, and characterisation falls just short of real depth for some of the characters (especially the villains), which also impedes the romance aspect. I also ended up feeling as if this novel was the set-up for a sequel, which isn't something I appreciate.

On the positive side: In spite of the fact that Rica is hardly a "kickass" heroine, she is a very likeable protagonist. Also, quite a lot of the static nature/plot issues/less than stellar characterisation is balanced out by very vivid and solid writing from the author.

Does the good balance out the bad? For me it did. In a genre where readers really give more leeway than they should when it comes to quality, Singer has taken a lot of care, and it shows. If I could have added half a star, I would have.
3738138
3.5 stars
I enjoyed getting to know Faith and Caleb, but there were moments when I felt like I was going into an existing story instead of a stand alone effort.
Ms. Douglas is a newer author for me, so I don't know if it is just her style of writing or if there is a series somewhere I am missing.
Both Faith and Caleb are interesting characters and I liked their interactions, but I would have enjoyed a deeper dive into who they are vs some of the technical music fest discussions. Some of the secondary characters also seemed to take on a prominence that never really played out through the rest of the story.
From a pure entertainment standpoint, this was a well written, good book. I am curious to read more about Cloud Bay.
1152020
I think it is work 3.5 stars - a bit better than OK, but I felt it was rather predictable and some of the characters were 2 dimensional. The setting was well described, I could feel myself there. Worth a read, but did not sweep me off my feet.
3100964
(I'd give this one 3.5 Stars, if only it were possible)
Diana Harrison's novel "The Keeper's Curse" creates a world so unusual, there's no way to describe it adequately in a review, but I shall endeavor to give you the short version.

*deep breath*
Emmy Rathers is fifteen-years-old, and thinks her parents are overprotective of her. So, she has to sneak out at night. One night, she gets back to her room without being busted. She goes downstairs for a drink of water, surprises a burglar, then the living-room goes all poltergeisty, with whirling winds and stuff flying around, chasing the burglar from the house. Emmy's mom comes downstairs, sees what's happening, and tells Emmy to pack, that they're leaving in five minutes, and that she'll never see this world or her father again.

Emmy packs her suitcase. Her mom leads her to a secret passage in the house. At the end is a sort of glowing snow-globe thing. Emmy and her mom grab it, and whoooooosh, they are sucked into the ball, and end up on an orb called "Methelwood." Emmy's mom scraps with some security goons, who throw her in jail. Emmy finds refuge with friends of her mom's, with whom her elder brother has been living the past five years. (Emmy's parents had told her her brother was away at boarding school, which isn't really that much of a lie, it turns out)

So there are dozens of these orbs, which share a common hub, called Ministrial. Each one is a little world unto itself. The kids at Emmy's school--Urquhart Institute--are trained in one or more supernatural skillsets--Superman-like speed and strength; flight; the ability to control people's wills, etc. There's one kid in school named Breckin, and he has all of the powers. When he comes of age, he'll basically be running all of the orbs. When he was 12, his mom performed a ritual where his soul was transferred to another person for safekeeping (since he's so powerful, bad sorts would be trying to kill him). As it happens, his soul ended up inside an 11-year-old girl who lived on Earth. Her name? Yup. Our Emmy.

Emmy makes friends at her new school, and grows closer to Breckin. There's a complete jerk named Cyril Crow, who is Breckin's sworn enemy. But...well, it's complicated.

One night, during a Methelwood dance, all sorts of hell breaks loose, and Emmy and her friends find themselves fighting for their lives.

"The Keeper's Curse" is a good book, full of unique mythologies fused with standard teenagers. In fact, the worlds and mythologies are so detailed, that it was hard sometimes to keep everything and everyone straight. There were some funny interactions between the teenaged characters, and a curious love triangle. Actually, if you consider all the factors, it could actually be a love rhombus, or a love pentagon, for that matter.

It's a complicated romantic ensnarement. We'll leave it there.

There are many complicated situations in "The Keeper's Curse." Indeed, if I had to find one fault with this book, it's that it feels like it overreaches, that it tries to do too much within the framework of a YA-Fantasy/YA-Paranormal novel. It sort of bogged down the story at times.

While I like this quirky world Diana Harrison created, I think the truest, most compelling parts of the story dealt with how Emmy finds herself caught between two boys who are enemies. Neither of them can understand how Emmy can tolerate the other. In a world where teenagers have spectacular powers, perhaps the most formidable power of all belongs to Emmy, as she negotiates that dual-boy minefield--not to mention the bruised egos and petty squabbles among her other friends.

Like everyone else, Emmy has her share of human faults. In the end, it is her normal, non-superpower-enriched human heart--her willingness to take a chance and love--that ultimately makes "The Keeper's Curse" such a satisfying read.
713007
5 star price + 3 star quality = 4 star overall
1236656
3.5 stars

This was a short, flirty little romp of a story with adventure, spies, death, misadventure, hidden social taboos, blackmail, womens rights, and more stuffed into it willy-nilly. Its hard to believe that so much could be packed into so little space, but there you have it. A talented author can do magical things with words, cant they?

While some of the story was lost in translation as I hadnt read any of the previous books in the story line, it was easy enough to follow. Sebastian and Gabrielle were both spies for EnglandSebastians aristocratic lineage could get him into places most people couldn't dream of being; Gabrielle because of circumstances beyond her control. Theyd parted six months earlier after a brief three day affair; being reunited to work together over this case made both of them unhappy. That she was a spy surprised him; that he was a spy didn't surprise her but it didn't make her happy either. They both knew that their future could never be. But forces beyond their ken were playing a dark game, and either they could fight to live

Or die in each others arms.

The sex scenes were hot, the chemistry was undeniable, but I felt the story suffered from its brevity. I felt that some of the emotional attachment felt unrealistic, and that some of the characters held on to their anger and/or coldness a little too long. I felt it was forced. However, it was overall an enjoyable read and for whiling away an afternoon, certainly is worth giving a try. Thanks!
1076819
It wasn't the caliber of the previous stories, but it was Ok. It was 3.5 of 5...