Question of the Midweek! [1]

Question of the Midweek!
Hopefully each Wednesday I'll feature a random book-or-writing related question to answer!
It's a fun way to share thoughts and see what other people think about certain topics.

I was actually all set to do another question on here, but then another one came at me from out of the blue. This week's topic is Young Adult Love Stories. Ohh la la!
So the question for today is:

When you're reading either a book or series, and that book/series has a love story, do you like to have/need to have the love story element be really complicated and dramatic? And if love stories are a little on the simple side, do you count off on your rating or does it make you enjoy the story any less?
A lot of "mini" questions, actually, but basically what I'd like to know is if really really complicated love stories are *always* a win for you?

Review - DARKLIGHT

Darklight (Wondrous Strange #2) - Lesley Livingston

Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
# of pages: 312 (hb)
Publisher: HarperTeen

Where to even begin with this book. I'll try hard not to just re-write what I said about Wondrous Strange, but what I'd really like for you all to know is this: Lesley Livingston's series is, so far, the best faerie fiction that I've ever read (with the exception of Artemis Fowl). It by far surpasses all the other faerie books out there (in my opinion), and if you enjoy faerie books, this series needs to be in your TBR.
Darklight picks up about five months after the events of the first novel. The characters here are just as lovable and well-rounded as in book one, and the new characters added to the ensemble are just as interesting, detailed and useful. No character-dropping here - everybody has a place and contributes to the overall story. And the storyworld of the series is so unique, detailed, and original. Unlike Wondrous Strange (which took place exclusively in New York City), this novel features world-hopping between the mortal realm and the Otherworld, the land of the four courts of Faerie. For the amount of time spent there by the characters, I thought the author did a fine job of bringing that world to life: just enough description and also, just enough mystery left for book three.
What made Wondrous Strange really stand out to me was the author's sheer cleverness: cleverness in the faerie world and its history, cleverness in the unique cast of characters, and (ESPECIALLY) cleverness in the witty dialogue that truly does ring reminiscent of the bard himself. Thankfully all those components are still present in Darklight, though this installment was a tad darker in its tone. Like most Second Novels, Darklight raises the stakes, story-wise, and the actions that drove the plot seemed more accelerated than in the first. This made for an extremely engrossing read. I have no doubts that this series will suck you in and completely absorb you, for however long it takes you to read it.
I've already mentioned how unique and lovable the characters of the series are, and I am pleased to say that I loved Kelley and Sonny as much in Darklight as I did in the first novel (sidenote: have you ever seen characters just sort of fizzle out as a series plugs along? Isn't that a bummer?), *but* I will say that there were a few times when I didn't really understand why Kelley (the MC) would do something or why she would say certain things. There were a few dialogue segments between Kelley and Sonny that sounded almost out of character, as well as a few times where I couldn't help but blurt out, "Say what?" But she was still likable, and that was good.
Now...the ENDING. Hmm. Not really what I was expecting and still not really sure what to think about it. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I didn't like it, but...I guess I don't really get why Kelley thought "it" (the situation) was her only option. It's kind of like she created a situation where she felt like there was no other way out and so she had to do this certain thing, but... I'm sittin there thinking, "Well, why didn't you do [whatever]?" So what I mean is... while the overall story is great, and I still think the series is brilliant, the ending just didn't work for me. And so I'm going into Tempestuous a little more cautious than I was going into Darklight . . .
How are Kelley and Company going to get themselves out of this quagmire that (I say) they created? HMMM?! And that, my lovelies, is where I will leave the WS trilogy until next time!
Final Grade:Right up there with Wondrous Strange all the way!! except the ending :)

Your Favorite Reads - 2010

Here's some of what you all have been saying about your favorite 2010 books:

"I loved Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins! I'd just finished reading Hunger Games and Catching Fire a few months earlier so I was really excited to read it and see what would happen. At some points, I did feel a bit let down and things didn't go how I wanted. Such as the fact that there was so much pain at the end of the book and Finnick died! Ahh! But I still love it:D"

"Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. I loved it before I even read it because of the beautiful cover. Then I read it and loved it even more. Calla is so awesome. I particularly love that I've been able to share it with my friends and that they love it just as much! Now I have my favorite people to talk to about it as we all try to figure out if we like Ren or Shay better."


My FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE!!! Release of 2010 was Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. It had me laughing the entire read through. I wasn't expecting such a hilarious and light-hearted read. The few things I enjoyed the most were the vampires; they weren't romantic and beautiful, they were old corpses who were Dracula wannabes. Her best friend was a mermaid who actually looked like a fish and even though her ex was a creepy stalker I wanted to know his motives. And Evie wasn't the normal paranormal heroine I was expecting. She was girly, fashionable, funny, and all she wanted was to be around normal teens. I loved it."


"My favorite 2010 release was The Clockwork Angel. I loved the chemistry between Will and Tessa. And this book had a bunch of twists that kept the book interesting."


"Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner.
I love Eugenides and I am ultimately thrilled to read more about him. But the most important thing is that, it is lovely to see another piece of the puzzle being put together in this series. I seriously cannot wait for the next book to be published!"




to be continued...

Review - SAPPHIQUE

Sapphique (Incarceron, #2) - Catherine Fisher

Genre: YA Dystopian/Sci-Fi
# of pages: 480 (pb - British edition)
Will be released: December 28, 2010
(Note: I read this book earlier, in March, by ordering the British edition from Amazon UK. This is part of that original review)
This book was pretty good. I think I enjoyed it more than Incarceron, pretty much because I was familiar enough with the basic storyline and didn’t have to spend so much time figuring everything out. The pacing was pretty good, but the last 100 pages really, REALLY dragged…and it got to the point where I came dangerously close to not caring anymore…that’s not usually a good sign.
And yet… I don’t want to make it sound like I didn’t like the book, because I did…but Catherine Fisher's writing style became quite tedious. You know the phrase “show, don’t tell”? Well, she pretty much tells how characters feel/act, she doesn’t show. Characterization is definitely not her strong suit in this series – everybody was pretty wooden and it was hard for me to relate to them because they didn’t seem very real. There was just this hollow, shell-like feel to her characters and that was a major distraction. Claudia, in particular, was just incredibly frustrating. She was easier to relate to in Incarceron because you understood *why* she acted like such a conceited brat. In Sapphique, pretty much all of her conflicts have been resolved, so why is she still so MEAN?! It was stuff like this that made reading Sapphique a bit cumbersome. I didn’t really like Keiro, either, because to me he seems like the embodiment of Evil: he’s an individual with pretty much no conscience – he doesn’t know compassion or remorse, and according some of my teachers (and the Harry Potter series), true evil is that which is excessively vain and devoid of compassion or remorse for one's actions. I’ll admit it: I like it when characters “get their comeuppance” and he didn’t get any comeuppance!
Also, the ending…very mediocre and a bit bizarre. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the ending just really didn’t make sense if you take into account the overall story. It seems like Catherine Fisher spent so much time creating this really intense situation, and then the ending comes and it’s “ta da! We’re finished now! The end!”
It was a pretty engrossing read, most of the way through. Catherine’s exceptionally imaginative, and the Incarceron series is one of the most thoroughly original books I’ve ever read in my life. However, her books aren’t the best books I’ve ever read.

Strengths: creativity and action.
Weaknesses: very wooden and shallow characters, spiraling last 100 pages…and a lackluster ending.
Last Word: The Incarceron books were an amazing and interesting idea, an incredible premise of a dystopian world never seen before. The idea/premise, however, ended up being the best part of the series, and the story (Finn's attempts to escape Incarceron) really ended up dragging. And characterization was severely lacking in both books but especially here. I would definitely recommend this series for its sheer originality and overall enjoyability, however it's not one of my favorites and it's been quite easy to forget.

Contest Question! Need your help deciding what to do!

Hey there everybody -
So the response and enthusiasm to the Blogoversary Contest has been phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal. And for those of you who haven't yet entered - you still have 2 weeks left!

I've been reading over many of yall's responses to the "What was your favorite 2010 book?" question, and I'm lovin' the answers!
HERE'S MY QUESTION:
I would love to feature a random answer a day/week, sort of to count down the remaining weeks until the contest closes. I'd love for other people to read the really cool responses too and (who knows?) maybe get some TBR-pile ideas.
What do you guys think of that? Would it be a good idea?

In My Mailbox [27] + MUST READ ASAP!

In My Mailbox is hosted by the Story Siren.

Added 3 new books to my shelf this week:The Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare (yep, gonna try some Clare again)
The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness
(since I loved the first one so much...wait a minute...I haven't *read* the first one yet! *FACEPALM*)
The Cinderella Society - Kay Cassidy (you guys recommended this one! Can't wait to give it a try!)

And now...the reading pile. Don't know how much I'll be able to get through over the holidays, but I have got to get these books read ASAP!
So this is my holiday goal, to read:
Tempestuous (that'll be easy - I'm reading this one right now)
Darkness Becomes Her
Haven
Deadly
Heart's Blood (ohh you betcha. It's like I've got a mental clock that says 'It's been approximately X-amount-of-time since you last read a Juliet Marillier book. And if you don't get your recommended dose of Juliet Marillier, your psyche will shut down.')

What did you guys get? And what's your Holiday Goal?

Review - PRINCESS OF THE MIDNIGHT BALL

Princess of the Midnight Ball - Jessica Day George
Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling Fantasy
# of pages: 280 (pb)
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

My Thoughts:
POTMB was just a fun, relaxing and highly enjoyable read. It was the perfect addition to the Thanksgiving holidays. Every once in awhile, you just need to get lost in a fairytale!

If you can't tell from the title, POTMB is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses story, and it's rather faithful to the original tale - there really are *twelve* (count 'em) princesses who mysteriously wear out their dancing shoes every night. Mystery and intrigue ensue, and a veteran soldier takes it upon himself to solver the hoofer mystery. There's another book that I'd recently read that dealt with the Twelve Dancing Princesses story - Wildwood Dancing - but I guess George's adaptation is more true to the original material. I'd still recommend WD as well, though :) As far as retellings go, this was a very decent adaptation, but I was a teeny-weeny bit underwhelmed by the love story. It's one of those situations where they characters just seem to decide that they're in love, despite having spent no time together and knowing nothing about each other.
But I just find it so amazing that George can take a pretty short and straightforward fairytale and weave it into a complex, intriguing and original story. That's incredibly talented! I also liked how the twelve princesses had distinct and unique voices, even though there were twelve of them!
And the nefarious King Under Stone was all-around creepy. Brilliant, Mrs. George! I was certainly hooked!
For what it was - a sweet, fun, fairytale retelling - I thought this book was very well-done. It was a solid story, stayed true to its fairytale inspiration, and had strong, likable characters involved in an exciting, engaging plot. I was not disappointed at all!
Final Grade: