This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: This Is What Happy Looks Like

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Release Date: 1st April 2013

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

In A Nutshell:

This Is What Happy Looks Like was a quick, predictable, romance read but it didn’t quite have the ‘awwww’ moments that I so desperately wanted.

My Review:

Having read and enjoyed The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, I was keen to try another, longer, novel by Jennifer E. Smith. This Is What Happy Looks Like was a quick, predictable, romance read but it didn’t quite have the ‘awwww’ moments that I so desperately wanted and that I found in Statistical Probability.

This Is What Happy Looks Like was a nice enough story, and the adorable and totally random prologue gave me hope, but unfortunately the almost 400 pages that followed just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Reading it, I found myself skimming pages, hoping to find something ‘more’ but unfortunately it just didn’t happen.

Ellie and Graham are quite endearing and I think I could have warmed to them more if I had had a chance to get to know them through their emails, the same way we are told they got to know each other. Instead, after their initial emails (the prologue), we are thrown straight into their first meet-up and the predictable problems surrounding that and I don’t think that as the reader we feel invested or enthusiastic enough about their relationship to really care where the story goes.

Thankfully, this has not deterred me from trying the other Jennifer E. Smith novels I have in my possession. I can only hope they resemble The Statistical Probability instead.

Indigo Awakening by Jordan Dane

Title: Indigo Awakening

Series: The Hunted #1

Author: Jordan Dane

Release Date: 1st December 2012

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He's warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish. On her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can't explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy — even though he scares her.

They discover Lucas is running from the Believers, a fanatical church secretly hunting psychic kids — gifted 'Indigo' teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind. Now Rayne's only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power — a force darker than either of them imagine. A force that could doom them all.

In A Nutshell:

Not for me. Too little in some areas, not enough in others.

My Review: 

I’m sorry to say that Indigo Awakening really didn’t do it for me. There are a lot of characters involved and we are shown what is going on from all of their perspectives, at least nine different points of view. There were lots of characters to ‘follow’ and I got to the point where I really wasn’t caring about what was going on. At times, I found the descriptions of what was happening, what the characters were thinking and their reasons for doing things, over explained or repeated and I felt these could have been edited down quite a bit.

In terms of the storyline, the abilities of the Indigo Children are not really explained. After finishing the book, all I really understood about them is that they can communicate telepathically with each other, but I don’t really understand what else it is that they can do. Gabriel’s abilities were both under-explained and over-explained. When he uses his abilities, there is lots of detail about what is going on and the process that leads to the manifestation, but it’s not really clear exactly what it is he is doing.

While I’m sure there are plenty of people who enjoyed Indigo Awakening (see second opinions below), it wasn’t what I was expecting. I spent most of the novel wanting to skip past the other characters and just focus on the developing relationship between Rayne and Gabriel.

Second Opinions
The Eclectic Reader
I Heart YA Books
Books With Bite

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Title: The Catastrophic History of You and Me
Author: Jess Rothenberg

Release Date: 21st February 2012

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:

Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever.

BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally.

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after.

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

In A Nutshell:
The plot was lacking but the characterisation was great.

My Review:

Before I start, in the interest of full disclosure, I read an ARC of this. Certain things may have been edited before publication, but most likely not everything I had an issue with.

My first impression was that the storyline really didn't grab me (hence why I waited almost a year before finally reading it) and that the first few paragraphs are just one long rant. I persevered because I had heard some wonderful things from other bloggers, and I admit that towards the end of the novel, my opinion of it rose a little when some issues were explored a little bit more. But for me, really, the whole story really was missing something.

What I didn't like: I thought it was a bit over dramatic. Brie's actions after her death, and even the fact she died of a broken heart, grief or no grief, were a bit too much for me to take seriously. I struggled with the whole vengeful ghost gets revenge-learns acceptance-seeks redemption-discovers reincarnation story arc. I got a bit confused towards the end with how everything was wrapped up and really, it was just a  bit too much for me on the supernatural/paranormal side of things.

What I really liked: The characters. I liked the them all; Brie, Patrick, everyone at Slice, Brie's friends and family, Jacob. Had they all been in a contemporary novel, I think it could have been fantastic. I love how Brie is obsessed with 80's music and stationary. I was excited by how much love was shown for Disney movies and one of my all-time favourite quotes has come from this book - "There's no such thing as too much Disney". I also totally love the use of song lyrics as chapter titles (and that the artist was included at the back of the book in case you couldn't figure out what they were!).

My parting thoughts? Everything in life has consequences, good and/or bad. Live your life (and in this case, your death) without malice and leave revenge up to karma because there are always two sides to every story.

Second Opinion
Reading Wishes

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Title: Switched
Series: The Trylle Trilogy #1
Author: Amanda Hocking

Release Date: 6th January 2012 (first published 12th July 2010 - self published)

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she's not the monster her mother claimed she is, she does feel that she doesn't quite fit in..

The new girl in high-school, Wendy is bored and frustrated by her small town life - and then there's the secret she can't tell anyone. Her mysterious ability - she can influence people's decisions, without knowing how, or why...

When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night, her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist...

In A Nutshell:
This is a story that wont be for everyone. I'm still deciding if it was one for me :S

My Review:
I opened up Switched expecting to be completely blown away by the words I would find. This was based purely on the massive online following Amanda Hocking received as her e-books became a sensation and the international bidding war that the trilogy went through at the hands of publishers. Unfortunately, I felt rather ambivalent towards the story that followed.

It’s strange, I liked how the story started and Wendy’s character at the beginning of the book, but once she met Finn and everything changed, I kind of wanted to knock some sense into her. And the fact that her brother and aunt didn’t feature much in the story really annoyed me as I liked their characters. One of the only characters I liked after Finn revealed all to Wendy, was Tove because he was intriguing and I would love to see where his character gets taken in the future.

It wasn’t until the very end of the story that I really started to like the other characters and care about what happened to them. The ending is exciting and I think its sequel has the possibility of giving us something new and certainly intriguing. For me, I don’t think this will be one of those books where I wait for the sequel. Had I had a copy of Torn sitting next to me when I finished Switched, I would have picked it up out of curiosity, but I don’t see myself making the effort to get hold of a copy now (much like I haven’t been interested in reading Crossed by Ally Conde – the sequel to Matched).

I think fantasy stories are probably not what I am interested in anymore. The fact that the characters in Switched are trolls is something I find really hard to see past. Every time their ‘troll-ness’ is mentioned, I find it very difficult not to picture them as the trolls from fairy tales, even though, in this story, they are supposed to look like normal people.

I know I seem to be alone in my feelings but ultimately, I’m just a bit undecided about the story :S

Oh but what a pretty cover!

Second Opinions
Novels On The Run
Cotton Candy Reviews

Torn and Ascend will be released in paperback format in February and March 2012 respectively.

Alaska by Sue Saliba

Title: Alaska
Author: Sue Saliba

Release Date: 27th June 2011

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:

mia's heart made a sound that no one heard except for mia late one night when she woke from dreams into darkness. ethan was asleep beside her, and em was a forest away. outside it was night and dark and alaska. the sky was upside down.

When Mia follows her sister halfway across the world to Alaska, she discovers that love can be found in the most unexpected and beautiful of places. But can Mia find the courage to follow her heart in Alaska? And what if the one you love is not all that you wish them to be?

In A Nutshell:
I'm sorry to say that I just couldn't connect with the story or it's characters.

My Review:
I have read quite a few good reviews of Alaska so I think I am most definitely in the minority here when I say that Alaska really didn't grab me. I don't like writing reviews for books that I haven't enjoyed so I am going to try and keep this short. I found Mia, our main character, quite difficult to like and just couldn't connect with her. I thought she was a naive, lost little girl who seemed to think her life would become a fairy-tale and that all the bad things in life would go away once she had arrived in Alaska. I realise it is a coming-of-age story but I still didn’t feel 'it’.

Mia has come to Alaska to visit her older sister Em, and to disappear from her undesirable life. Em escaped to Alaska a few years ago and left Mia in Melbourne, caring for their alcoholic mother.

The story follows a couple of different storylines. Firstly we have Ethan, the boy Mia meets in the forest and who seems to be her perfect fairy-tale guy. I couldn't warm to Ethan either and pretty quickly thought there may be something 'off' about him. While I had my suspicions, I wasn’t completely right. Then there is the storyline of Mia’s mother who is in hospital back in Melbourne. Mia battles with the feelings of wanting to stay in Alaska with Em and Ethan, and the responsibility and love she feels for her mother back home. There is the relationship between Em and her husband Terrence that Mia ponders and how it has changed Em from the sister she used to know to someone else. And finally there is the forest, a beautiful Alaskan forest that an oil company wants to get rid of in favour of a pipeline. Mia takes an interest in the protest group who are fighting to save it but can’t quite get Em or Ethan to be as enthusiastic as she is.

With so many different storylines, the only one that really gets any sort of closure is the one concerning Mia and her mother, with a semi-conclusion to Ethan, and I was left wondering the outcome of the other plots. My favourite part of the book was the environmental aspect and fighting for what you believe in but it’s fate is left unknown. I also wanted to know more about the relationship between Em and Terrance. There is the suggestion/implication of a controlling spouse but it just never really develops into anything.

I understand the story is about Mia’s journey, how she changes as a person due to the time she spends in Alaska, but I didn’t like being kept at arm’s length with the other characters. I suppose the story is supposed to show that you can't run away from your problems and expect everything to turn out bright and shiny. But who knows, maybe I just totally missed the ‘magic’ of the whole story?

FYI, there were no capital letters throughout the entire story and this bugged me. But, isn’t the cover pretty?!


Second Opinions
inkcrush
Words on Paper

August by Bernard Beckett

Title: August
Author: Bernard Beckett

Release Date: 28th February 2011

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:

Trapped in a car wreck, upside down, bleeding, broken and in pain, Tristan and Grace are staring at death. When dawn breaks, they might be seen from the road and rescued, or not.

They wait, desperately holding onto life, unravelling the sequence of events that brought them together.

Tristan is a philosopher struggling with the question of free will. Grace's life of hardship allows no place for such ideas. But a brief encounter changes their lives, setting them on a collision course with love and death, and each other.

Part philosophical thriller, part love story, August is a compelling novel about will, freedom and what it means to live.

My Review:
August was quite the head-tripper and wasn't at all what I was expecting. It is set in an alternative time where a Holy Council is in control and those who are not worthy, live beyond the city walls. Both Tristan and Grace are originally from inside these walls but as their individual stories unfold, we discover the paths they took which led them to inhabit the outer regions and the circumstances that have led to their paths crossing on this fateful night.

It wasn't until I was well into the book that I realised August is not really aimed at the young adult market, more adult or at the least, upper secondary. Like Genesis, one of Beckett's previous releases, it questions human nature and is a philosophical thriller. It looks at human weakness, free will and probability. I personally struggled with it due to the content as I am not one to ponder philosophy and religion. However, I do enjoy Beckett's style of writing, and am eager to try Jolt and Malcolm and Juliet as they sound a little more up my alley, but unfortunately, August was not for me.

Teachers notes can be found here.
My review of Genesis is here.

Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

Title: Everything Beautiful
Author: Simmone Howell

Release Date: 1st November 2008

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
I believe in Chloe and chocolate.
I believe the best part is always before.
I believe that most girls are shifty and most guys are dumb.
I believe the more you spill, the less you are.
I don't believe in life after death or diuretics or happy endings.
I don't believe anything good can come from this.

Riley Rose doesn't want to be at Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp. Riley wants to be partying with her best friend Chloe at the beautiful Ben Sebatini's house. She has a plan to get away from the jumpsuit-wearing counsellors, the feel-good mantras, do-gooder campers and the monotonous schedule of team-building exercises and outdoor activities.

But is everything at the Spirit Ranch as it appears? What secrets are waiting for discovery in the abandoned Fraser house? And why doesn't anyone want to talk about the accident that landed the mysterious Dylan in a wheelchair last year?

My Review:
I had been wanting to read this for such a long time and I had heard so many wonderful things about it but I was kind of disappointed, it just didn't grab me like I thought it would. I can't quite put my finger on why though.

Riley is a pretty miserable girl who hides behind false bravado and seeks 'companionship' wherever she can find it. Due to the death of her mother and her father's new way of living - and girlfriend- Riley finds herself best buds with Chloe, a total wild child and Riley is her new protégé. Finding comfort in food, boys, bitterness, bitchiness and an I-don't-give-a-shit attitude, Riley is on her way to self destruction.

Forced into attending Spirit Ranch for a week (cliché filled and enough to drive me crazy) Riley decides to stir up as much trouble as she can. But, despite all her own pain, there is a good person hiding inside and she still manages to help others around her, the camp outcasts Olive and Bird, self-pitying Dylan and sheltered Sarita. The question is, as Riley's days at camp slowly come to a close, has she learnt anything? And have those around her managed to help her find what she has been searching for?

This is a relatively good read with a message of self-esteem and kindness between the pages but overall, for me, it just didn't live up to the hype.

Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti

Title: Waiting For You
Author: Susane Colasanti

Release Date: 11th August 2010

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start, and hopefully her first real boyfriend. Could it be popular dreamy Derek? Or geeky Nash, who just might have a crush on her? Then there's the underground, anonymous DJ, whose podcasts are the hottest thing at school and who seems to totally understand Marisa. But she doesn't know who he is...or does she?

My Review:
I have mixed opinions about this book. My initial thoughts were that I didn't like the style of writing. There is a lot of teen-speak such as the number of times 'like' is said and how all the verbs are annoyingly repetitive.

For example:
"What?" Stirling goes.
"I'm just saying,"Andrea goes.
Sterling's like, "Could it be any hotter?"

It's as bad as saying he said or she said after every sentence. Keep in mind these are not all in the same paragraph, although they are from the same page, but they are a small example of the language I found irritating. I'm not sure if this is because I'm Australian or because I am no longer a teen but either way it was annoying. The story itself was predictable. I was able to pick the ending within the first few pages.

What I did like was that our main character Marisa suffers from anxiety and depression. I don't think these are subjects that get discussed a lot in YA literature, especially anxiety. Marisa has her highs and lows and we as the reader get to experience these with her. We also see how she pulls herself out of her slumps and how those around her effect her moods.

Other issues Marisa has to deal with include her parents' surprise separation, her best friends' online boyfriend who may be a creepy old man, an old friendship rekindled and a new relationship with her crush. Marisa's journey comes full circle when she learns to live in the now and stop waiting.

A recurring theme is the age-old don't judge someone before you get to know them. You never know what may be happening in their life or why they act the way they do. This is universal and such an important message.

By the end, I felt the language had changed a bit, or maybe I just wasn't noticing it anymore, but it was easier for me to read without getting annoyed. The story finished just how I predicted it would but somehow that was ok with me because Marisa grew as a person and there were lots of important messages that got addressed. This is very much a teen read and I do not think it will be enjoyed by those who have finished high school.

Immortal by Gillian Shields

Title: Immortal
Series: Immortal Book 1
Author: Gillian Shields

Release Date: 14th September 2010 (Australia)

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, exspensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.

Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl- a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she can not control. And as the extraordinary elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

My Review:
Immortal is a suspenseful mystery based on elemental magic that spans generations.

I really like that the story is based on magic and witchcraft, and that the chapters alternate between present day with Evie and then pages from Agnes' diary (Agnes is the ghostly-girl mentioned in the blurb), allowing us to see a comparison between the two.

I wish that there had been a little more depth to all the characters. Agnes is the most interesting of all but Sebastian is rather irritable and difficult to like (not unlike how I felt about Daniel in Fallen). I also feel that the relationship between Evie and Sebastian has been fast tracked too much and they are all of a sudden madly in love, making it unbelievable.

The last chapter felt a little hurried as an attempt to tie up some loose ends and there are still quite a few unanswered questions. I'm guessing the sequel, Betrayal, will tie those up. Some scenes though just seemed pointless, such as the appearance of a local stable boy. I feel there should have been at least a little bit of an explanation as to why he was brought into the story. And if he isn't going to make an appearance in Betrayal, then why include him at all?

My initial impression at the beginning of the story was that it seemed like a mix of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Fallen by Lauren Kate. I don't think I was that far off in my predictions. I feel that if you are a fan of Fallen then maybe you will like this story. Personally, I am indifferent to it, but everyone has their own tastes.

An easy, semi-predictable read.

For a second opinion: Black Nailed Reviews, Bookduck, Secretly Captivated

The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

Title: The Poison Diaries
Author: Maryrose Wood (based on the concept by the Duchess of Northumberland)

Release Date: 1st July 2010

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
In the right dose, everything is a poison... even love.

Jessamine Luxton has spent her whole life in a cottage close to her father's apothecary garden, surrounded by medicinal plants and herbs that could kill her - although her father has never allowed her into the most dangerous part of the grounds... the poison garden. She's never had reason to be afraid - until now. Because now a newcomer has come to live with the family, a quiet but strangely attractive orphan boy named Weed.

Though Weed doesn't say much in words, he has an instinctive talent for the apothecary's trade, seeming to possess an extraordinary sensitivity to growing things. Soon, he and Jessamine share a close bond. But little does Jessamine know that passion can be just as poisonous as the deadliest plants - for behind Weed's gifted knowledge of the garden lies a terrible secret...

My Review:
Although I found the premise of The Poison Diaries to be rather interesting, I really struggled to get started. I will admit it now, I am not a fan of reading historically set fiction. I like it set in the present day. I usually find historical fiction boring and tedious. Taking this into account, I didn't really have any urge to continue reading the book as it really wasn't grabbing me. It wasn't until our newcomer, Weed, shows up about a quarter of the way into the book, that I was able to sit down and read without getting distracted by something else going on around me.

What I did like about the book were the lessons Weed learns. Weed can talk to/understand plants. This is not me spoiling anything (I have read quite a few synopsis's where the reader finds this out even before opening the book). Through this connection, the plants attempt to educate Weed on the concept of right and wrong. Is there actually a difference between right and wrong or will it always be based on the individual circumstances and perspectives? This is also relevant to one of the main themes of the story. How far would you go/what would/wouldn't you do for the person you love?

I also loved the personalities of the different plants, especially those from the poison garden. This was my favourite part of the book. I think they were imagined/interpreted brilliantly.

Plain and simple, I did not like the ending. It is so unjust and unfair. I found it frustrating! That is all I can say without spoiling the ending for anyone who plans on reading this.

Chasers by James Phelan

Title: Chasers
Series: Alone Book 1
Author: James Phelan

Release Date: 27th May 2010

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
Four teenagers. One destroyed city. Thousand of infected predators.

Jesse is on a UN Youth Ambassadors camp in New York when his subway carriage is rocked by an explosion. Jesse and his three friends, Dave, Anna and Mini, crawl out from the wreckage to discover a city in chaos. Streets are deserted. Buildings are in ruins. Worse, the only other survivors seem to be infected with a virus that turns them into horrifying predators...

My Review:

I am in two minds about this book. On one hand I really enjoyed it but when looking back, not a great deal happened. It is like the movie you kept watching, even though it had no really big storyline, because you wanted to see what happened at the end.

This is James Phelan's first foray into YA literature and while the premise of the story is perfect, I do feel it is missing action, the kind that young adult readers need in a book to stay with the story. This could mean they don't stick with the story and therefore do not discover just how good it really is. While this wasn't the case for me, I do think it will be a problem for many that do pick it up.

That said, Phelan is a very good writer as I was constantly on edge waiting for the climax, reading the whole book in an afternoon. To me, the fact that the big twist didn't come until the last chapter didn't deter me as he has built the story up for book 2 in the trilogy to be really exciting (well I hope that is the case anyway). The first chapter of book 2 can be found at the end of Chasers and it sounds like there will be a great deal more action in it, with the reader finally get some answers to what has happened to New York City because at the end of Chasers, we still have no idea what caused the sudden destruction. The characters had plenty of theories but nothing particularly concrete. The story finished very much on a 'to be continued...' cliff hanger.

There were a couple of times when I got slightly confused as to the way a character suddenly reacted to a comment or action by another character. Sometimes it just didn't make sense and I wondered if it was a writing error or part of the story. Without spoiling anything, I can say that it was part of the story. This too applies to the rather annoying lack of speech marks!

Chasers has a lot of similarities to Charlie Higson's The Enemy; children fighting for survival, being alone with no authority figures, having to rely on themselves and their own instincts. I have to say that I prefer The Enemy as more happens in the story and there is more depth to the characters that Higson has created. Bottom line, if you don't have the patience to stick with Chasers until at least the second book, don't bother.

Book 2 Survivor released October 2010 and Book 3 Quarantine released 2011.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen
Series: Fallen Book 1
Author: Lauren Kate

Published: 7th December 2009 (Australia)

My Rating: 2/5

Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant, even evil, history.

It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here, though she doesn’t know what it is, nor does she understand Daniel’s frosty demeanor towards her. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is.

I have mixed opinions of this book. I feel the first half just took too long and I just wanted something major to happen or for something to be explained. It took too long for the revelations to start. That said, the last 150 pages had me speed reading to see what would happen next.

I feel the sequel will be a lot more interesting and engaging now that the ground work has been laid, almost like this was a prequel. Keep an eye out for it in September 2010.

Essentially, not enough was explained, leaving me with many unanswered questions, and what was explained, took too long.

I really liked all of the characters except for Daniel as I just wanted him to help Luce understand what was happening. I found it frustrating!

Also, I think the cover is absolutely stunning, one of the best I have seen in a long time, and I think it will get people to pick it up in the first place, it's what made me.