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Redheads Read

~ what all the cool Gingers are reading…

Redheads Read

Monthly Archives: May 2012

Review: Chosen by Sarah Swan (The Seeker Saga #1)

21 Monday May 2012

Posted by Rachel in Reviews

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Tags

Chosen, Paranormal Fantasy, Sarah Swan, Seeker Saga, YA Fiction, YA Paranormal

Could you live your whole life feeling empty?
 

A New Life
Seventeen-year-old Tracy Bachman feels that something is missing in life. Despite a normal upbringing, she can’t help but yearn for more. That is why she decides to transfer to a new boarding school, in a move that takes her all the way across the country.

An Unforgettable Adventure
When Tracy arrives at her new school, she expects an ordinary enough life. But what she finds there instead changes her in ways she could never expect.
A love interest she did not ask for. A power she does not know she holds. And a clique of mysterious, popular girls hell-bent on entangling Tracy in their affairs.

A Hidden Purpose
The girls Tracy meets all know she is different. Beneath their easy smiles lies a friendship laced with dark intentions. Will Tracy understand what they want in time to protect herself? Or will she find herself hopelessly ensnared in their web of secrets?
 

A Forbidden Romance
A suggestive glance. A secret rendezvous. In the midst of everything else, Tracy finds temptation in the very boy she is prohibited from speaking to. But as she pushes herself away, she falls right into the arms of another…

A Mystical World
Slowly, Tracy starts to understand that beneath her school’s veneer of splendor lies a dangerous, secretive world brimming with supernatural powers. And before she knows it, she finds herself deep in the heart of that cryptic, mystifying world.
All expectations are thrown to the wind as Tracy struggles to balance love, friendship, adventure – and her newfound power. But will she be perceptive enough to realize that there are those who would use her for that power, lurking closer than she can believe?

Chosen is different than anything I’ve ever read, to say the least. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. I liked it, and more than likely I will read the sequel if for no other reason than to find out where Swan is going with this story.

I can’t really say too much about the book without giving anything away, but I will say this: the beginning was very slow going. Details are obviously necessary to help the reader imagine the setting and characters of the book, but overuse can take away from the actual storyline. The beginning was overloaded with descriptions that, in my opinion, took away from the story more than added to it. There were also parts in the book left me confused as to why they were there in the first place. Like drawing attention to a particular character, describing him and and the main character’s interaction with him in such a way that I was positive that he was going to be a big deal. Nope. The way Swan talked him up, I expected to at least see him later on in the story. Wrong again. He may have a pivotal role in the next book, but in this one, his character could have practically been omitted.

I admit, I was a little bored in the beginning, but my curiosity was piqued enough to continue reading. About one-third of the way through is when the book really picked up and I kinda couldn’t put it down. I loved the originality. I was riveted by the turn of events and the fact that some “friends” were, in fact, enemies. I want to know more about the characters and and their motives and intentions. I have so many questions that I hope she answers in the next book. I really hope she hits the ground running with the second book. If she does, it could be really good. If not…well, let’s just say I probably won’t be reading the third book.

Swan’s writing style was very wordy at the beginning, but evened out later on. She’s pretty young, I think, for an author, and it almost seemed like she was trying to prove herself by using unnecessarily large words. Words like “abashedly” and “surreptitiously” and “fruition”. While these are all great words, I don’t think they really belong in a young adult book. Especially since the main character doesn’t even talk like that later on in the book. Also, in the first chapter and a few of the seceding ones, the tone was almost like Tracy was sitting us down for story time, using phrases like “but I digress” and “but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give the bullet points now”. I felt more like Tracy was telling me a story of something that had happened to her, rather then reading a book about a character named Tracy. However, later on in the book, it no longer felt like like story time, but that I was reading a book with a cast of characters. It was confusing and inconsistent.

Overall, it was a pretty good book, and its originality was refreshing. I give it three stars.

Chosen on Amazon: Chosen (The Seeker Saga, #1)

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Review: Between Worlds by Amanda Zabski (Rite of Passage Series, Book 1)

01 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by Shannon Morton in Reviews

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Tags

Amanda Zabski, Between Worlds, Rite of Passage Series, young adult fiction

Jamie Nevin struggles with her identity as much as any sixteen-year-old girl. Well, maybe a little more.  Jamie just discovered that she is not human—at least not exactly. The child of a doomed union between a noble of the Unseelie Court and a Seelie Fae, Jamie has been raised by her mother hidden away from both courts in a small New England town.

Troubled by vivid dreams when asleep and plagued by paralyzing headaches when awake, Jamie knows something is wrong. After the strange disappearance of her mother, and the unexpected appearance of family she never knew, Jamie is forced to accept a truth about her past that puts her future at risk.

To make matters worse, while she works to determine who to trust, Jamie’s best friend Allie keeps a powerful secret from her.

Thrown into a world she doesn’t understand, Jamie must use her fledgling powers in a fight to stay alive and avoid capture by the Keeper, a soulless creature that frightens even the things that go bump in the night.

Shannon and Rachel here again…we had so much fun chatting about Amber Lynn Natusch’s Framed, that we decided to review debut YA author Amanda Zabski’s Between Worlds together too! Don’t worry, we’ll let you eavesdrop…

Rachel: I’ve never really given much thought to fairies. I mean, other than the required high school reading of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (which I don’t think I fully read) and watching “Tinkerbell” with my four year old, fairies have just never had a place in my life. Until now…

Shannon: See, I’ve always loved the crazy world of the fae…dark little mischievous creatures that they can be…minus the whole Sookie thing…I’m not a reader of that series but I watch the show (don’t judge me, Eric Northman is a GOD) and I don’t see her as a fairy…just sayin’…but Jamie…

Rachel: I love Jaime. She’s quiet and withdrawn, but she is definitely not weak. Everything she learns she takes in stride. She never freaked out, even when things seemed extraordinarily dire, but it fit her character. She has one friend; her best friend. I wouldn’t call her a loner, though. I think she understands that having one true friend is more valuable than having a lot of fake friends. And Allie is definitely a true friend. She is more outgoing than Jaime, but still has no more friends. Allie is strong as well, but I think she shows a bit more weakness than Jamie… Patrick is one of those “main men”, if you will, who just kind of flies under the radar. He’s not extremely handsome, but also not revolting. He has a great personality and lots of charisma that make him seem more handsome than he is.

Shannon: I loved the characters…Zabski did an exceptional job with each one of them. I felt like I was walking in Jamie’s shoes…and then Zabski pulled the rug out from underneath me. I love an author who has the ability to totally change my perspective of both the story and characters over the course of the book while still staying true to them and, can I just say, Zabski is a genius??!!!

Rachel: YES…I love everything about this book!! The plot, the storyline, the characters, and especially the way it was written. Zabski has incredible talent and I love her writing style. She has an incredible way of building up anticipation and I was on pins and needles wondering what was going to happen.

Shannon: Me too!! I swear I got up to check the locks on my doors like, twenty times while I read this book. Her writing style is just so exceptionally descriptive. Zabski has a way of contrasting the mundane with the remarkable so that the reader gets a sometimes beautiful, sometimes eerie, but always crystal clear picture of her world.

Rachel: Um, can I just say that I was disappointed by the ending of this book??

Shannon: WHAT?!?

Rachel: I hated that it had to end!!! I actually think she ended it brilliantly, which can segue perfectly into the next book (which I am eagerly anticipating!!!).

Shannon: I wanted more, too! Which, of course, is one of the signs of a great book. Amanda Zabski nailed it with her debut, Between Worlds, and these reviewers are clamoring for the second installment in the Rite of Passage Trilogy…

A happy side note that this book is a true Young Adult novel. No sex, language, or other shenanigans make it a great read for middle school aged kids, yet captivating enough for reviewers in their twenties and above (I’m not saying how far above, so don’t ask)–this is a book for all ages. We heart this book!!

 We definitely rate Between Worlds 5 shooting stars    

Betwee Worlds at Amazon: Between Worlds (Rite of Passage Trilogy)

                           

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