Pop Culture Curmudgeon

Book Review: My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

I just finished My Soul to Keep, the third installment in Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series, and I loved it.

You may remember that I was not as in love with the second book, My Soul to Save, but I am glad for the developments in that book now. Everything that happened in the netherworld and with the annoying tween superstars had a profound effect on the events that transpire in this book.

The review is spoilery, so stop reading if you don’t want to know.

We open after Kaylee is released from the grounding she got at the end of book 2. She and Nash find out that their classmates are starting to experiment with a hip new drug called frost. But frost is a little more nefarious than the average drug: it is actually demon breath sent out of the underworld in balloons.

What seems to be a pretty standard tale of Kaylee and Nash fighting the netherworld’s influence in the human realm becomes a tragic exploration of their relationship in light of Nash’s addiction to demon breath. Vincent does a good job of handling the problems substance abuse causes in a relationship while staying true to the young adult characters and audience. Nash takes tremendous advantage of Kaylee, valuing his addiction higher than her, and when she finds out she is horrified and hurt. Nash’s addiction places a huge strain on their relationship, and I am looking forward to the next book to see if and how they can work through it.

Emma’s character was underused and underdeveloped in this installment in the series. I’d like to see her develop a little more as Soul Screamers progresses.

I enjoyed the level of Tod’s involvement in the storyline–in book 2, there was a little too much Tod for my taste, but he is growing on me. He was integral without being too much in the way this time.

I liked the introduction of the lampades, who exist simultaneously in the netherworld and the human world. As the worlds commingle more, it is interesting to see new and different types of supernatural creatures.

I’d like to see future books tackle the effects of Kaylee’s uneducated trips into the netherworld more. The things she did in book 2 had huge ramifications for book 3, and I can’t help but think that book 4 will show even greater ill effects.

I also would like to see a little more development of the idea that Kaylee may have special powers for crossing into the netherworld, as evidenced by her unwitting crossovers during her sleep. Were they really just because of the possessions, or is she special even among bean sidhes?

Have you read the book yet? If so, what did you think?

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I Couldn’t Read Flash Forward

I tried and I tried to read Flash Forward.

I really enjoyed the show until ABC ruined any momentum it had by sticking on that awful legal drama for three months. I had a hard time getting back into it because I had forgotten a lot of what was going on up to that point. So I thought, Why not read the book? It will be better than the show anyway; books always are.

In this case, though, the show was much more fun. The book’s first two chapters were bogged down with a whole bunch of science jargon and explanation that kept me from developing any interest in the characters and the events. And this is why I often don’t enjoy science fiction written by men: They spend so much time proving they know the science behind what they are writing that they wait way too long to prove they know their characters.

So, I decided to cut my losses and move on to something much more fun: The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter. Check back in next week to read that review. And, take a minute to enter to win a copy of One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau.

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Book Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

I was so excited to read The Dead-Tossed Waves. I had been desperate to find out what happened to Mary after she made out of the forest at the end of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. So, I went immediately to the library when they emailed that it was in.

But I got the fear when I sat down with it and noticed that it was a “companion” to the previous novel. And sure enough, it opened with a whole new main character in a whole new location. And, in this book, the characters know much more about the zombies and their place in the world around them, so it offers a much more expansive universe than Forest did.

Of course, Carrie Ryan sucked me into this new character’s story almost immediately, and soon enough I could see how it meshed with Forest. Mary was there, as were some of the other characters from the previous book. They were just older, because this book takes place a few years later.

The main character, Gabry, is placed immediately into danger as one ill-advised trip out into the unprotected area ends in tragedy for her and her friends. Her fear and weakness play a large role in what went wrong, and she spends much of the rest of the book beating herself up for one small mistake.

Her mistake changes her relationship with her childhood love, Catcher, in a way that she isn’t sure she can overcome. Then when she meets a newcomer, Elias, she isn’t sure she wants it to go back to the way it was. Ryan treats this love triangle with care and respect so it never feels trite and you aren’t sure until the end who Gabry will choose.

After my initial disappointment that Mary wasn’t the central character, I quickly became enthralled with this book. I recommend it highly. Buy it from Amazon or Powells.

I haven’t heard anything new about the movie adaptation of the first book, but you can stay up to date on there here or at Carrie Ryan’s site.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

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Book Review: My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, and My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

I bought My Soul to Take when it first came out, but I confess that I didn’t get around to reading it until a couple weeks ago. And, once I read it, I immediately had to buy the sequel, My Soul to Save, and the prequel short, My Soul to Lose.

My Soul to Take is extremely fast paced, as one expects from a young adult novel. It follows a young girl’s discovery that instead of a mental case, she is a bean sidhe (aka banshee) who is just coming into her powers. She, her best friend (Emma), and her new boyfriend (Nash) work together to solve unexplained deaths in their local area.

In My Soul to Save, Kaylee and Nash fight the evil influence of a media conglomerate that catapults its stars to fame and fortune with the help of some demonic influences. It’s a fun story and a great way to explain the rise and fall of some of our recent tween idols, but I wasn’t as enthralled by the Britney Spears/Lindsay Lohan-esque character.
Both books contain a believable level of teen angst, as Kaylee wonders why a boy as popular and handsome as Nash would want anything to do with her. And, they contain a believable but appropriate level of sexuality. The lack of sex is one of my problems with many young adult books—sex isn’t necessary for a romance, but I’m pretty used to it and its absence is usually notable.

I was less pleased with the prequel, My Soul to Lose. It gives good character background to Kaylee be recounting an episode mentioned in the first book, but I was disappointed with how short it was. That is probably my biggest complaint with young adult books. They are so fast-paced, and I always read them too fast.

The next installment, My Soul to Keep, comes out June 1, and it does not appear to have an annoying pop star element. I will be pre-ordering the Kindle edition so I can read it on my iPod Touch.

Note: This review contains affiliate links.

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Book Review: One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau

Edited to add: Want to win a copy of this book? I’m giving away my review copy. Enter to win by 11:50 p.m. on June 7, 2010.

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting when I began reading this book, but it didn’t live up to them.

Billed as a humorous horror novel, One Bloody Thing After Another should have brought me laughter. But the humor is subtle, funny as an intellectual exercise rather than laugh out loud funny.

The horror aspect is definitely present, as the book opens with a character who coughs bloody chunks up on the table at a job interview. (Yes, all involved in the interview agree that it “did not go well.”) After that opening salvo, the gross factor is dialed back quite a bit and much more is left to the imagination. Comeau throws in disturbing scenes and elements, but they are on a psychological level rather than a visceral one.

Comeau uses a spare approach to writing that provides barely enough details to visualize the characters and the story. In fact, while I was reading, I felt as if I were watching a movie on an old TV set with bad over-the-air reception—full of ghosts and snow. Despite the lack of detail, the characters were well developed and interesting. I was surprised when I realized I cared about anyone other that the dog. (I am innately predisposed to love the dog in any book I read or video I watch. The author doesn’t have to do anything to make me emotional about the dog. This is why Marley & Me is now banned from our home.)

I don’t think I would read this book again, and I am not sure I would seek out future works by Comeau. But, if you are looking for a quick, macabre read, this might be the book for you. Fans of Comeau’s web comic, A Softer World, would also be a good fit.

Buy One Bloody Thing After Another at Amazon or Powell’s.

Disclaimer: I was sent a review copy of this book through the Shelf Monkey program. I received no compensation to read or review it. The purchase links are affiliate links.

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Book Review: Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

J.R. Ward, I wish I knew how to quit you.

I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. The heroes have become alpha male caricatures. The stories jump back and forth so much it is almost impossible to keep things straight. And the product placement. Oh my god, it has become insane.

In Lover Avenged, we see Rehvenge’s love story play out. As you may remember from the earlier books–and don’t even think of jumping into the series with this book; you have to have read the others, or you will be hopelessly confused–Rehvenge is the town drug lord and owner of ZeroSum, the bar where the Brothers hang out. Rehvenge is using massive amounts of dopamine to supress his symphath side. In a routine doctor’s visit, he is tended by Ehlena, the only nurse who can stand to be around him. Ehlena feels strangely drawn to the enigmatic man, but she prefers to pursue a safer choice in men and rebuffs his advances. For a while.

Their love story follows the typical course: Rehv pursues Ehlena. She agrees to see him once, and somehow on their first date, she and Rehv wind up in bed and he releases his bonding sperm. They angst over their star-crossed romance, but eventually get their happily ever after, which coincidentally soothes all of Rehv’s lifelong emotional baggage. (I’m not giving away any spoilers, here. We know the HEA is coming.) There is a bit of a role reversal, with Rehv being the partner in peril, but other than that, it is pretty standard BDB fare. I was afraid to read Rehv’s story because I did not like him at all in the previous books, but Ward did a good job of making me care about him and his woman.

We get too-brief glimpses of our other brothers. Wrath and Beth work through some relationship issues. Tohr gets back on the Brotherhood horse. Vishous, Butch, Phury, Zsadist, and Rhage get perfunctory roles, mainly so we don’t forget they exist. John Matthew pursues his bizarre attraction to Rehv’s androgynous henchwoman Xhex, but Blay and Quinn are almost completely absent. These younger Brothers have become my favorite characters in the last few books, which have focused on unappealing brothers and lackluster women.

We get cold, emotionless sex scenes that have no romance whatsoever. The sex scenes are written well, with the level of detail you expect from J.R. Ward, but they are so unsatisfying because the characters are either having sex for revenge, blackmail, or malice or because the characters involved are keeping themselves closed off, so the sex is not an extension of the characters’ complete openness with one another.

All of this should add up to a book that I hate, but I enjoyed it. I read it fast because I needed to see how it all played out. I recommend Lover Avenged to the BDB diehards. If you haven’t experienced the immersive and sometimes bizarre world of J.R. Ward’s vampires, visit her website to get a feel for it before committing to the series.

I still enjoy Black Dagger Brotherhood books. They haven’t become an unpleasant chore, as some other vampire series have. Perhaps the final blush of the happy ending outweighs the annoyances throughout the book. I don’t know. I can’t explain it.

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I'm Included in a Book Review Blog Carnival

My review of the Demonica books is included in the May 10 edition of the Book Review blog carnival hosted at Love Romance Passion. Check it out for a load of reviews of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books.

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Book Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

[digg=http://digg.com/arts_culture/Book_Review_The_Forest_of_Hands_and_Teeth]I hate post-apocalyptic books and movies with a passion. I wince when Mr. Pop Culture Curmudgeon wants to watch Mad Max or The Road Warrior. The thought of being forced to watch or read The Postman gives me shivers. The only book I didn’t finish in my comparative literature class in college was Riddley Walker.

I had some misgivings when I started Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth and realized that it was a post-apocalyptic tale. I soldiered through the first few pages, quickly drawn in to the story of Mary, a girl on the cusp of womanhood living in a village under siege by the zombie hordes. She watches as those she has grown up with and those closest to her become infected with the disease that causes them to return after death as mindless, shambling creatures intent only on savoring the flesh of the living. The broken bodies of these Unconsecrated keep coming, stopping only when they are decapitated.

Circumstances lead Mary to join the nuns of the Sisterhood rather than pursue the boy she loves and dreams of marrying. She fools herself into thinking that she can be content to live within the confines of a village surrounded by zombies, with only the stories of a world outside, a world before the Return, a world where people have hope, to keep her company. Until an Outsider appears in the Village.

The arrival of this Outsider, a girl very much like Mary, changes everything and leads Mary to begin a quest for a life outside of the village.

The author of the Shifters series, Rachel Vincent, described this as a beautiful zombie book on her blog. She was right. It contained the human element that is missing from most post-apocalyptic stories I’ve come across. Stephen King’s The Stand is a notable exception, but it’s claim to fame is the government conspiracy and the sweeping nature of the struggle between good and evil. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is much smaller in scale, but not in meaning. Mary is fighting for her life, and her fight becomes the measure by which we gauge everything else that may be going on in the world. If Mary is unable to keep her hope alive, then all hope in the world will die. It takes a skillful storyteller to put the weight of the world behind a story that in less skilled hands would be small.

This book, Carrie Ryan’s first published novel, reminded me of The Dazzle of Day, Molly Gloss’s debut novel. Both stories were told by a female protagonist who felt constrained by her circumstances. Both also represent hope for the future of humanity. Both are written in a similar style by writers with a strong voice. But where Gloss’s book gives us no one to root for, we cannot help but root for Mary with every fiber of our beings. We feel her pain and her brief moments of happiness. And, more important, we care.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Edited to add: Apparently, they are fast-tracking this book into movie production. Read more about that here.

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Book Recommendation: One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

[digg=http://digg.com/arts_culture/Review_Sherrilyn_Kenyon_s_One_Silent_Night]It makes sad to say this, but I fear that the Dark Hunter series has jumped the shark. It should have ended with Acheron. But here we are reading Stryker’s story in One Silent Night.

The book is well-written, and Kenyon seems to be enjoying the changes to the rules of her world that Acheron allows her. The characters’ motivations match their history, and the development of some of the minor characters is interesting. It makes me sad that I didn’t like this book more than I did.

Stryker’s story doesn’t have the same pull as the other Dark Hunters’ and Were Hunters’ stories. And Stryker is the type of male character that I absolutely hate–the kind who forces the object of his affection to love him. I much prefer the stories that involve longing and misunderstandings, not the ones where the uber-alpha male keeps a woman against her will for two weeks until she loves you. It was hard to care about the romance.

I do not recommend that you read this book unless you are waiting with bated breath for Fang’s story and need to make sure you get all of the background characters’ and mytharc development. Or if you are one of those people who just can’t stop reading a series once they start. I’ll probably read Fang’s book, Bad Moon Rising, but I don’t think I will rush to do it as soon as it comes out. I have a hard time saying goodbye to characters I have grown to care about–I did watch season 7 of Gilmore Girls, after all.

It’s too late for Sherrilyn Kenyon, but I much prefer my stories end on top rather than when they have beaten every inch of life out of the characters and the world. What about you? Which book or TV series dragged on way too long? Which ended just right? Which ended too soon?

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Book Review: Demonica Books 1-3

[digg=http://digg.com/arts_culture/Book_Review_Demonica_Books_1_3_by_Larissa_Ione] Yup, it’s another three-book review for the price of one.

Here, I review Pleasure Unbound, Desire Unchained, and Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione.

As a whole, the books are a lot of fun, and full of lots of good hot sex, gorgeous demon men, and fun, feisty women. I enjoyed them wholeheartedly.

Pleasure Unbound introduces us to Underworld General, a hospital that treats demons, shapeshifters, vampires, and assorted otherwordly creatures. The head of the hospital, Eidolon, meets a new patient who isn’t any of these things. Instead, Tayla is a human. A human whose sole purpose in life is to kill vampires, shifters, and demons.

As Eidolon and Tayla explore their forbidden feelings for each other, they also must work together to stop a band of black-market organ thieves. We readers learn about multiple species of demons and the special powers of Eidolon and his brothers Shade and Wraith. These three are Seminus demons, incubi with ridiculously strong sexual gifts and needs.

The intrigues and relationships of all the hospital workers and patients reminded me quite a bit of General Hospital, probably because I was raised on a steady diet of ABC soaps and Diet Coke.

Shade takes center stage in Desire Unchained. As the title implies, there are more than a few chains and whips involved in this book.I didn’t love the BDSM elements in this book–it’s not really my thing–but it was still quite fun to read.

Shade, who carries an inordinate amount of guilt over the deaths of his mother and sisters, is coming up on his sexual maturity, when he will be forced to either mate with a female and eschew all other women, or go insane bedding female after female trying to impregnate them. The typical Seminus demon is killed by a jealous husband before insainty sets in.

Shade meets up with, Runa, a former girlfriend who has since been turned into a werewolf. The organ harvesting ring the brothers thought they shut down in the last book has started back up, and the leader turns out to be someone very close to them with a very macabre plan for bringing the brothers down.

Finally, we move on to Passion Unleashed, Wraith’s story. The book opens after Wraith has reached sexual maturity and has gotten himself infected with an incurable demon disease. The brothers must find a way to save Wraith’s life, because they soon realize that Wraith’s life is not only inextricably linked to the welfare of Underworld General but also to Eidolon and Shade.

The brothers also see the signs of an epic battle brewing between the forces of good and evil, one that could bring about the Armageddon, or the Reclamation, as the forces of evil call it.

Eidolon finds a solution. A woman, Serena, holds a charm that protects the wearer from all manners of physical harm. But while Wraith works to get Serena to willingly give him her charm–it must be given willingly–he finds himself falling for her. Wraith must choose between saving the woman he loves and saving himself, his brothers, the hospital they built, and the entire world.

Find out more about the books at Larissa Ione’s website.

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Posts tagged: book review

Book Review: My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

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I Couldn’t Read Flash Forward

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Book Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

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Book Review: My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, and My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

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Book Review: One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau

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Book Review: Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

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I'm Included in a Book Review Blog Carnival

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Book Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

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Book Recommendation: One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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Book Review: Demonica Books 1-3

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