Review: Fated by Alyson Noel

Fated by Alyson Noel

publisher: St. Martins Griffin

release date: May 22nd, 2012

hardcover, 352 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: Soul Seekers, book 1

rating:


source: from publisher for honest review

description: Lately strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, and glowing people appear out of nowhere. Worried that Daire is having a nervous breakdown, her mother packs her off to stay in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico with a grandmother she’s never met.

There she crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes who she’s encountered before...but only in her dreams. And she’ll get to know her grandmother—a woman who recognizes Daire’s bizarre episodes for what they are. A call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Her grandmother immediately begins teaching her to harness her powers—but it’s an art that must be mastered quickly. Because Dace’s brother is an evil shape-shifter who’s out to steal her powers. Now Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and find out if Dace is one guy she’s meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.

Review: Well, after seeing a few disappointed reviews of Fated, I have to say that I was surprised to like this as much as I did. Granted I didn't love it---the main character was not likeable for much of the book and therefore a tough sell when I'm expected to root for her, but I actually really loved all the spiritual New Mexican culture that was in this. I've always been fascinated by tribal beliefs and that kind of thing, and to be honest I'm really not really sure if there is any accuracy to the way it's presented in Fated, but it was very imaginatively told and a mystical take on shaman lore. I loved the significance of the animals and the connection to the earth and nature.

Like a said, main character Daire was hard to take---she was so awful to everyone around her, and while I could see a little angst being thrown toward her flaky mother, the doctors that dismiss her visions as insanity, and the world in general, the way she acted toward her grandmother who was only trying to help her understand what was happening to her made her loose points with me. I also thought it was weird how she sort of did an unexplained turn-around as far as wanting to escape the town and then in the next few pages just unquestioningly going along with what her grandmother was saying. There's not much to the love story to really draw a good romantic in---its just sort of there. She dreams of him and she loves him in her dreams, then she meets him so she's already sort of in love with him. Aside from being a really nice guy, and being described repeatedly as amazingly gorgeous and radiating some sort of mystical warmth, there was not much to him that we get to connect with. I did really enjoy reading the character, Xotichl (and finding out how to pronounce that name! I've always wondered!). She was a blind girl with a fantastic witty sense of humor who befriends Daire.

Parts of this were really pretty gory and that was a surprise! Heads on sticks, some zombie like creatures, and the eating of entrails. Not all a bad thing, it definitely lent to some heart-stopping creepy moments.

All in all, not a bad read. It was interesting enough to keep me reading and I may even check out the second book to see where the story leads, but also hoping for a bit more character development.

Visit Alyson Noel's site: www.alysonnoel.com

Purchase Fated at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Cover Story : Favorite Recent Cover Releases

You've probably seen these floating around elsewhere on the web, but I just wanted to showcase a few of my recent favorite cover releases. There are some truly gorgeous books coming out in 2012!!



The Selection by Kiera Cass
Ooo, aqua blue. Love it. Gorgeous dress, an intense, icy feel to the whole thing, and the creepiness of the fun-house mirror, with the added eerie effect of being something other than her exact reflection. I love this cover...wonderful.

The Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
This is so cool. Love the rich warm colors, the intense look on her face, the perfect flow of the fabric. Really beautiful.

Fated by Alyson Noel
Wow, love this one. Purple is another favorite color, especially this plummy soft kind of purple. Love the birds, and the pretty feather earrings. Really cool. Now I'm not a huge Noel fan, but this cover is just beautiful!

Touched by Cyn Balog
Love all the cool details on this one. The swirling smoke (is that smoke? Or just a wierd energy thing?) , the spooky carnival in the background, the blues and grays and greens. Outstanding.

Body & Soul by Stacey Kade
I included this one, not because it is especially gorgeous, but because I love these two character so much, it's just good to see them again! :D Go, Will & Alona!





So what are your favorite recent releases??

Review: Shimmer

Shimmer by Alyson Noel

publisher: Square Fish

release date: March 15, 2011

paperback, 187 pages

intended audience: Middle Grade

other books in the series: Radiance (review)

rating:


source: from publisher for review

description: Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a vicious black dog, against Bodhi’s advice, she decides to cross him over. While following the dog, she runs into a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca’s sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she’s not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is lashing out by keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca forgive and forget without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?

Review: This was an enjoyable read, although I like the first book in the Riley Bloom series just a bit better. After Riley's big success at her first assignment to get lost souls to cross the bridge in to the Here & Now, her, her mentor, Bodhi, and her dog, Buttercup, have decided to celebrate with a little vacation down to St. John in the Virgin Islands so she can see where her parents honeymooned. While they are there, they come across some very dark, very lost souls. One in particular, Rebecca, is full of anger at the way her life ended and likes to trap other souls in memories of their own pain and anger. Riley insists on trying to stop her, but she has to be careful not to get trapped herself!

The historical aspect of the story was fascinating, but also very sad. It seemed well researched, but I felt a little more telling than showing---I had a hard time really immersing into this story, Still, the author does a terrific job keeping Riley's actions and attitudes true to her age (12 years). She is just as snarky and stubborn as ever, and rightfully, sometimes it works for her, and sometimes it gets her into deeper trouble.

The direction that the story took in the end was really good, but I was a bit unsatisfied with where the story was cut off. For me, I would have liked to see it end either a little earlier (very vague spoiler, highlight to read: where the main part of the story gets resolved) or a little later (again, very vague spoiler:after our fearless hero takes her lumps for her disobedience---or possibly gets commended for it, who knows?). The cliffhanger is so abrupt that it felt almost like a ploy to get the reader to read the next book rather than a satisfying ending that leaves you wanting more because you love it.

If you enjoy middle grade fiction with a bit of a dark side, definitely give this one a go!

Visit Alyson Noel's site here.

Purchase Shimmer at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Trailer:

Book Trailers: Wither & Shimmer

Some new books trailers hit the web!! Check them out!

Shimmer by Alyson Noel



Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Review: Radiance

Radiance by Alyson Noel

publisher: Square Fish

release date: August 31, 2010

paperback, 192 pages

intended audience: middle grade

rating:


description from goodreads:
Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley...

Review: Really enjoyed this one!! This one is short but sweet, and the story is a wonderful mix of curiousity, hilarity, and creepiness! While I only read the first two books in the Immortal series (I liked them, I just never got around to reading the rest of them!), Riley was decidedly my favorite character. I loved her attachment to Ever, her curiousity and nosiness, her general little sister-ness. Cracked me up that she used her ghostly state of being to snoop on movie stars. So, I was incredibly excited to hear more of her own story.

Riley has crossed over the bridge to the Here and Now and is completely lost. She doesn't understand the school she is sent to, the other people there or why some of them are glowing, or the strange meeting she has with the Coucil of Angels. This part reminded me very much of a movie called "Defending Your Life" where they viewed glimpses of Riley's life to decide where to place her in the afterlife. She is put to work as a Soul Catcher because of her own resistance to cross the bridge at first, where she will go back to earth and urge other souls to cross over. She is also assigned a guide, a boy named Bodhi that she encountered earlier and can't help thinking of him as "dorky guy". They get off to a rocky start when he reveals that he can hear every insulting thing that she is thinking about him. Their dialogue is funny and witty as they continually snark at each other.

The creepiness comes in on her first assignment. The spirits they encounter are actually pretty frightening!

There are some good themes going on here. It's very much about finding your place in the world, not taking things for granted, not judging people by your first impression of them, being brave. Its was a wonderful little book and I definitely look forward to the sequels! Yes, there will be sequels!! :) As a matter of fact, there is an excerpt of the next book in the back of Radiance! Grab this one if you get the chance!
Trailer:


Visit Alyson Noel's website here.
Or the Immortal Series website here.