Book Review Backlog: Rooms, Between the Spark and the Burn, The Rose Society, Nowhere But Here

Over the past couple months I've noticed that every few books, despite my feelings toward them, get pushed farther and father back in terms of writing a review - and the farther back from the read date they get pushed back, my notes make less and less sense.

I don't know why it happens, but it does. Maybe I have too much to say and don't know how to pick out the important things or maybe I don't have enough to say. Or maybe the laziness in me just wins out. Who knows.

So without further ado . . . A few of these backlogged reviews  :)

Series:	Standalone
Genre:	Adult, Ghosts, Paranormal
Publication.Date:	January 1, 2014
Pages:	Audiobook
Published By:	Ecco
Website:	Lauren Oliver
	Rooms on Goodreads
My review copy:	Borrowed from my local library

Where to get:

The New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy makes her brilliant adult debut with this mesmerizing story in the tradition of The Lovely Bones, Her Fearful Symmetry, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane—a tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways

Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance.

But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.

The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.

Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is resonant.

(Goodreads)

Rooms is an all encompassing story that pull readers into the lives of the Walter family and that of their two resident ghosts. It's a story of family, love, relationships, heartache, grief, secrets . . . life. I was engrossed in each family member's perspective, helped by the fact that they had their own personalities and didn't blend together in to one lump sum. (My favorite was definitely Sandra.)

Lauren drags the story out (in a good way), allowing the reader to get to know each character on their own and through the eyes of others. She keeps the secrets close to her chest and drops knowledge bombs out at just the right moment. This isn't a spooky horror story, but a realistic story that examines the lives (even of the dead), of these characters and brings to light that sometimes life isn't all sunshine and puppy dogs. 

Series:	Between #2
Genre:	Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Horror
Publication.Date:	August 14, 2014
Pages:	320 (paperback)
Published By:	Speak
Website:	April Genevieve Tucholke
	Between the Spark and the Burn on Goodreads
My review copy:	Won / Gifted

Where to get:

The conclusion to Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, this gothic thriller romance with shades of Stephen King and Daphne du Maurier is a must-read for fans of Beautiful Creatures and Anna Dressed in Blood.

Freddie once told me that the Devil created all the fear in the world. But then, the Devil once told me that it's easier to forgive someone for scaring you than for making you cry. The problem with River West Redding was that he'd done both to me.

The crooked-smiling liar River West Redding, who drove into Violet's life one summer day and shook her world to pieces, is gone. Violet and Neely, River's other brother, are left to worry—until they catch a two a.m. radio program about strange events in a distant mountain town. They take off in search of River but are always a step behind, finding instead frenzied towns, witch hunts, and a wind-whipped island with the thrum of something strange and dangerous just under the surface. It isn't long before Violet begins to wonder if Neely, the one Redding brother she thought trustworthy, has been hiding a secret of his own . . .

(Goodreads)

I absolutely love Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea and I almost wish April had left it at that. I'm not entirely sure what happened during Between the Spark and the Burn, but I felt unfilled, let down, and confused upon finishing. The magic, mystery, and intensity was missing from the second half of this duology.

April's writing style is still excellent and engaging, but plot wise I feel like she lost momentum somewhere around the middle. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it was a lot of . . . nothing. The twist was lackluster - and while I didn't see it coming - it felt as if the character's did. It happened and their reaction was "Oh, well that's interesting" and then they moved on with their lives.

I really wanted to love Between the Spark and the Burn as much as I did Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea, and there were aspects I enjoyed but overall I wanted more.

Series:	The Young Elites #2
Genre:	Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia, Science Fiction
Publication.Date:	October 13, 2015
Pages:	Audiobook
Published By:	G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Website:	Marie Lu
	The Rose Society on Goodreads
My review copy:	Borrowed from my local library

Where to get:

Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good, when her very existence depends on darkness? 

I think I'm giving up on this series. I felt iffy about The Young Elites, but stuck it out until the end in hopes that it would improve. Luckily it did, but I didn't feel the same gumption for The Rose Society. This series is wonderfully written with compelling characters, an engaging and fast moving plot, and enough tensity to make you want to pull your hair out. I just couldn't really get into it.

I finished The Rose Society because of my love for The Young Elites, but by the time I finished it my feelings were "meh." Marie is taking these characters on an intriguing journey full of grey area and I do think you should give this series a chance if you haven't already.

Series:	Thunder Road #1
Genre:	Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Publication.Date:	July 14, 2015
Pages:	Audiobook
Published By:	Harlequin Teen
Website:	Katie McGarry
	Nowhere But Here on Goodreads
My review copy:	Borrowed from my local library

Where to get:

An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible.

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Katie and I started out great - can we just talk about how much I love Pushing the Limits and Dare You To? - but after that we slowly started to drift apart. Things got cliche and stagnant, which is why I was so glad that Nowhere But Here is set in a different world. Well, not really a different world, but one apart from her Pushing the Limits characters.

Oz isn't a bad boy in need of redemption and Emily isn't a troubled girl who needs saving. Not that any of the other girls needed saving, but you know what I mean. However, despite that I didn't feel myself particularly drawn into the story of the characters. I will fully admit though, that they may have been in part of the narrators, which is unfortunate. They were good, but seemed far too old to be voicing 18 and 17 year old individuals, but sounded more like they were in their late 20s.

Narrators aside, I do think Katie has gotten a new gusto with this series. It wasn't about redemption and troubled lives, but about family and what it means to be one, both via blood and water. The romance isn't instalove and it takes Oz and Emily a long time to admit their feelings for one another. I really enjoyed the minor characters and well and I'm interested to see how Katie is going tackle this issue of cyber-bulling in Walk the Edge.

Book Review: Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn

Genre:	Adult, Horror, Thriller, Paranormal
Publication.Date	April 21st 2014
Pages:	464
Published By:	Gallery Books
Author	Ania Ahlborn
	Within These Walls on Goodreads
My review copy:	Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Where to get:

From indie horror author and bestselling sensation Ania Ahlborn, this brand-new supernatural thriller questions: how far would you go for success, and what would you be capable of if the promise of forever was real?

With his marriage on the rocks and his life in shambles, washed up crime writer Lucas Graham is desperate for a comeback. So when he’s promised exclusive access to notorious cult leader and death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb, the opportunity is too good to pass up. Lucas leaves New York for the scene of the crime—a split-level farmhouse on the gray-sanded beach of Washington State—a house whose foundation is steeped in the blood of Halcomb’s diviners; runaways who, thirty years prior, were drawn to his message of family, unity, and unconditional love. Lucas wants to tell the real story of Halcomb’s faithful departed, but when Halcomb goes back on his promise of granting Lucas exclusive information on the case, he’s left to put the story together on his own. Except he is not alone. For Jeffrey Halcomb promised his devout eternal life…and within these walls, they’re far from dead.

(Goodreads)

“To wonder meant to want, if only in some small way.”

“Every mother has the miraculous ability of momentary blindness.” 

“That kind of loss came with a lot of guilt, and guilt made people defensive.”

“Life is hard. Death is easy.”

“Marriage did strange things to people. It could have been World War III in that kitchen, but if there was coffee, two mugs would always be served.”

“She’d crossed her fingers for so long they had fused together like the branches of a tree.”

“It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Nothing is dead. People feign themselves dead, and endure mock funerals and mournful obituaries, and there they stand, looking out the window, sound and well in some new disguise." —Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's like a screwy mix of The Following (the TV show) with the Skeleton Key, cherry-topped with some heavy-ass existential dread and drenched in human's most basic fears and darkest nightmares. I absolutely loved it!

       True-crime writer Lucas Graham is on the edge of failure. He knows he has to do something and he has to do it fast, or his life will crumble to pieces and he'll loose his daughter forever. When death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb contacts him with the exclusive opportunity to write down his story, Lucas grasps at the chance, packs up and moves from New York to Washington state. Jeffrey Halcomb is the infamous cult leader and mass-murderer who lured his faithful followers to death. Now, this deranged and horrifying human being wants Lucas to tell his story, but he will only talk if Lucas agrees to stay at Halcomb's farmhouse - the murder-scene. Lucas is determined to turn his fate around and desperate enough to accept Halcomb's eccentric conditions. He'll do anything to capture the true story of Halcomb's slaughtered lambs who were promised the eternal life in peace and love. Little does he know, that promise did not go entirely unfulfilled...

     Ania Ahlborn's writing style is truly something different. A curios mixture of intensely morbid and dazzlingly poetic. Her prose is magnificent and creative, and so incredibly substantial, it fills you up with feelings and thoughts. It's not a wordy style at all, Ania gets straight to the point. She chooses her words carefully - it is obvious, for each of her words carries weight and makes you pause and consider its meaning. Short sentences deliver strong punches. This is a very powerful writing style, thoroughly atmospheric and evocative. So many writers get caught up in long descriptions and meaningless dialogues - and that can be particularly damaging for horror books, because you really need to focus on the feelings and creepy events to be able to scare the reader. Ania's descriptions make your skin crawl. They're not gruesome, though they're definitely vivid and mesmerizing. She makes it all too easy for you to picture the creepy ghost reflected in the washroom mirror,  the creaky rooms of the old house, or the abandoned orchard. And the isolated, foreboding setting only adds to the disquieting atmosphere of the book. 

    This is a modern classic in the making. It's scary, but in that sticky and crawly kind of way that really gets under your skin. Ahlborn flavor of horror is not the cheap, B-style, in-your-face type of horror, it's more of a subtle, nagging, deeply unsettling fear-fest filled with sadness, existential dread and failure. The story becomes more chilling and more eerie with every page turned, and the ultimate twist at the end, elevates it to a whole new level of terrifying. 

     In a genre filled with contrived, unoriginal dramas posing as thrillers, Within These Walls truly stands out. It's genuinely creepy and emotionally affecting. Ahlborn pulls you in with her sticky, flavorful writing and keeps you in shackles all the way to the end. And once you reach the end, you wish you could go back... This book stays with you long after you turn the last page. Whether it's a good or bad thing, is up to you to decide.

Book Review: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Series:	Standalone
Genre:	Young Adult, Horror, Suspense
Publication.Date:	September 15, 2015
Pages:	400 (hardcover)
Published By:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Website:	Dawn Kurtagich
	The Dead House on Goodreads
My review copy:	Borrowed from local library

Where to get:

Three students: dead.
Carly Johnson: vanished without a trace.

Two decades have passed since an inferno swept through Elmbridge High, claiming the lives of three teenagers and causing one student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect: Kaitlyn, "the girl of nowhere."

Kaitlyn's diary, discovered in the ruins of Elmbridge High, reveals the thoughts of a disturbed mind. Its charred pages tell a sinister version of events that took place that tragic night, and the girl of nowhere is caught in the center of it all. But many claim Kaitlyn doesn't exist, and in a way, she doesn't - because she is the alter ego of Carly Johnson.

Carly gets the day. Kaitlyn has the night. It's during the night that a mystery surrounding the Dead House unravels and a dark, twisted magic ruins the lives of each student that dares touch it.

Debut author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves together a thrilling and terrifying story using psychiatric reports, witness testimonials, video footage, and the discovered diary - and as the mystery grows, the horrifying truth about what happened that night unfolds.

(Goodreads)

I can't remember everything that happened the morning I woke. It comes to me in terrible slaps that are shari like glass son my memory, and I've been trying to piece it together. I remember that there wasn't enough air, and what air there was, was hot - too hot. I couldn't breathe because it boiled in my lungs, and I gagged on the alveoli bubbling up into my throat. I ran - ran out the door and maybe down the corridor, maybe down the fire escape - that part's foggy.

I fled the room, fled the wing, fled the school. Fled my mind, Dee.

The Dead House tried to keep me, to trap me, and I'm so afraid. I couldn't wake up. I couldn't open my eyes! It wouldn't let go of me. It was tricking me. I thought I could feel Carly with me in there, but I was wrong. It's something else. I don't know. I tried to leave, but the doors were all locked. My haven is a Venus flytrap. I can hear it calling to me even now while I'm awake. I can feel the walls, the damp, the rot - I can hear the churning Dead Sea. Sleep is the realm of the Dead Things, who want me. I must not sleep. I must not sleep.

I'm so alone.

I. Must. Not. Sleep.

I'm afraid of the dark.

I am was am a child of the night - I even need it . . . and I am petrified of it. Some kind of joke, right? But it's true. And more than I'm afraid of the dark, I fear the light (ha ha). I fear the sun, and I fear the exposure. So, really, I'm not fit for life. One or the other, kid. And if I face the truth for too long, Dee, it'll break me. So I have to lie to myself to survive.

I love scary books. I love the creep factor and feeling the chill of a perfectly written horror novel. I don't love the waking up at 2:00 in the morning convinced that somebody is knocking on my closet door (which leads to the attic), but that's the price I pay.

The Dead House is the perfect book if you feel the same way I do. I love reading this story through Kaitlyn's entries, her doctor's notes and recordings of their sessions, as well as recorded sessions with a detective and various individuals connected to Kaitlyn / Carly.  These varying narratives make this novel a uniquely written and terrifying book. Through her diary entires, we witness her slow decay into madness. Kaitlyn and her sister Carly are two souls that share the same body, with Carly "awake" from sunrise to sunset and Kaityln "awake" from sunset to sunrise. Kaitlyn refers to herself as the Dark Half and Carly as the better of the two.

Another piece of their lives we get to encounter are the notes they write to one another through purple post-its or their message book. Their relationship is extremely interesting as they consider one another sisters and state they've been together since they were born, that their parents knew, and look forward to the day they can move to London and have it just be the two of them.

After leaving the mental hospital and going back to school Carly befriends Naida, a girl from Fair Island who believes in Mala and is convinced that Kaitlyn and Carly are two souls sharing one body, refusing to believe Dr. Lansing diaganious of DID (Dissociative identity disorder, once called multiple personality disorder). She warns them that this is dangerous and evil spirits will be after her, which happens after a Halloween party where their friends play with an Olen board, which brought Kaitlyn / Carly to the attention of said malevolent spirits.

While the story before this was interesting, after Halloween is when things really take a turn and you find yourself completely sucked into the story. I couldn't put The Dead House down! The mixture of diary entries, videos, and interviews keeps you guessing and trying to figure out what is happening, but you have no idea. This is one of the best things about Dawn's writing, in my opinion. I didn't need a standard narrative to enjoy this story or characters. If anything, such a narrative wouldn't have made The Dead House as perfect as it is.

I cannot say enough good things about this novel and I don't want to speak too much more about the plot because I don't want to spoil things. Half the fun of the novel is getting surprised by the twists, turns, and scares on each page. You won't regret reading this into the late hours of the night - just make sure you can convince yourself that those noises are your dog and not something in your closet.