Review: The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees

Title:  The Waking Forest 

Author:  Alyssa Wees
Publisher: Delacorte
Publishing Date:  March 12th, 2019

Pages: 304
Genre:  YA Fantasy Fairytale

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  ARC

 

The waking forest has secrets. To Rhea, it appears like a mirage, dark and dense, at the very edge of her backyard. But when she reaches out to touch it, the forest vanishes. She’s desperate to know more—until she finds a peculiar boy who offers to reveal its secrets. If she plays a game.

To the Witch, the forest is her home, where she sits on her throne of carved bone, waiting for dreaming children to beg her to grant their wishes. One night, a mysterious visitor arrives and asks her what she wishes for, but the Witch sends him away. And then the uninvited guest returns.

The strangers are just the beginning. Something is stirring in the forest, and when Rhea’s and the Witch’s paths collide, a truth more treacherous and deadly than either could ever imagine surfaces. But how much are they willing to risk to survive?

I was so very excited for this read when I first discovered it. The cover, the title, the synopsis, everything screamed “you will love this book” Well, I didn’t love it. It some issues with the read. I did finish the book because I wanted to find out what happened and I felt I had put so much time into reading it, I needed to finish. It was not what I expected and it just fell flat for me. I am kind of really bummed about this as I wanted to love it, I love fairytale type books. But I just couldn’t find any love with this book.

This is kind of three stories in one. There is the story of the wishing witch, the witch who live in the forest with lots of fox friends and granted wishes for children. Within that story is a story told by a boy that involves a princess with magic who lives in a kingdom where the king, her grandfather, punishes those with magic. Then the third story involves a family of peculiar girls in the modern world, one of the girls seems to have some magic and she befriends darkness.

Confusing right. Yup I thought so too.

There were a couple things I did enjoy about this book. I enjoyed a bit about each story…. Mainly I loved the wishing witch. She was very interesting and I wanted to know more about her. I knew she was important to the entire story and I wanted to know where she fit in. I also enjoyed the sisterly love between the 4 sisters in the modern world. I enjoyed reading about their lives. The boy telling the third story to the witch was okay. I sometimes struggle with stories within stories, but this wasn’t too bad. I did enjoy knowing more about the princess and her world. To be honest, the concept behind the story, the way the stories all intertwine together… that was a great part of the story and probably the only reason I kept on read. The idea behind it all was pretty genius.

What I had an issue with was the execution. The writing was confusing for me. AT times I had trouble keep up with what was going on. The lines were a little blurred on what was happening. There were a ton of characters to keep up with. More than I like. It was hard to keep up with who was who. The ending seemed to confuse me a bit too. Maybe because I was reading really fast at this point so I could finish the book, maybe I missed something. There was one particular character I just didn’t understand who he was or what he was.

The book also had some pacing issues. There were some very slow moments and I was quite bored at times reading this book. This made it extremely hard to really connect with the characters or get into the story. I found I could only read this book in short increments because I would get bored. The need to finish was still there, but it took me way longer than it should have to get through this book.

The characters were okay. Like I said, there were so many of them, and I really couldn’t connect. I didn’t dislike any but there was only a couple I could say I liked. The others were just meh.

I am very disappointed with my feelings for this book. I truly thought I would love it but I just couldn’t.

I didn't feel it. 

Alyssa Wees's debut novel is The Waking Forest. She lives and writes in Chicago. To learn more about Alyssa and her writing, go to her website alyssawees.com, and follow @AlyssaWees on Twitter.

Review: Squad by Mariah McCarthy

Title:  Squad

Author:  Mariah McCarthy
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publishing Date:  March 12th, 2019

Pages: 384
Genre: YA Contemporary

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

This darkly comic debut novel by an award-winning playwright is like Mean Girls meets Heathers with a splash of Bring it On.

Jenna Watson is a cheerleader. But it’s not some Hollywood crap. Cheerleaders are not every guy’s fantasy; they are not the “popular girls” or the “mean girls” of Marsen High School. They’re too busy for that. They're literally just some human females trying to live their lives and do a perfect toe touch. But that all changed after Raejean stopped talking to Jenna and started hanging out with Meghan Finnegan. Jenna stopped getting invited out with the rest of the squad and she couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or if it was all in her head.

This book has been a maybe for me for quite a while. I love the cover, but the synopsis just didn't say too much for me to really get a handle of what this was about. My best guess.. I thought there would be some kind of dark humor, revenge... that is what it sounds most like from the synopsis. This book really wasn't anything I thought it would be. I really have mixed feelings about the entire read. 

Jenna has been a cheerleader with the same friends for as long as she can remember. One day everything changes. She loses her friends, she becomes and outcast, and she goes off the deep end with just revenge tactics. She kind of loses her way.. that is until she finds a place amongst her brothers friends. These friends consist of a group that aren't the type that Jenna is used to or fully understands. She starts a friendship and a romantic relationship with this group and finds there is an entire different world that exists out there and she may find her place outside of her norm. 

Okay so there are some points I would like to make about this book. 

It was very well written for what it was. The story was well told and would mean so much to so many teens out there. The book was very informative about many things. I didn't dislike it. I think it was very well done. 

My problem lies here. I am not a teen and this book is really a ya meant for teens. This is not at all the books fault or the authors fault. I know as an adult there are ya books that are just not going to be for me. I understand that and I am okay with. If I had known more of what I was getting into... maybe I would have enjoyed it more or maybe I would have not read it. 

I enjoyed the characters. Jenna was a very unlikable character at first, but she grew and she figured herself out and she made some much needed changes. I loved the growth of her character. The book also had great family support. I love seeing this in ya books. Much of the characters were just wonderful. 

This book deals with issues of self worth, bullying, acceptance, and much more. So it's a good book. Just not for me. 

I found myself not connected and bored through most of the read. It just wasn't anything that really caught my interest. I really didn't find it humorous or dark and that is what I was looking for. 

I really did struggle with my rating for this book. I don't think it's a bad book... quite the opposite, I found it beautifully written... just not my type of book. So in the end I went with rating it for my enjoyment. I don't want to discourage others from reading this book. If coming of age and dealing with all the teen issues in the schools right now is what interests you.. grab this one, you will probably love it. 

Not my kind of read. 

Review: The Dysasters by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Title: The Dysasters 

Author:  P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publishing Date:  

Pages: 320
Genre: YA Sci- Fi Fantasy

Series:  The Dysasters #1
Source:  Audio

 

Foster Stewart knows she's different. Her life has never been "normal." Talking to plants and controlling cloud formations aren't things most seventeen year olds are into. Tate "Nighthawk" Taylor is perfect. Star quarterback and all around dreamy boy next door he never thought about his "extra" abilities. What quarterback wouldn't want night vision? That's not weird, right? It's cool!

But on the night of their first meeting a deadly tornado brings them together and awakens their true abilities - the power to control the element air. Unbeknown to Tate and Foster, they are the first in a group of teens that were genetically manipulated before birth to bond with the elements. Which truly sucks for Foster, as she has to face the fact that Dr. Rick Stewart, her beloved scientist father, betrayed her and now wants to use her and the others for his own nefarious world domination plot.

Foster and Tate must stop Dr. Stewart and his minions before he destroys their lives and the world.

I was really excited about this book. I didn't particularly like the House of Night books but this book sounded interesting so I figured I would give this book a chance. I am very torn on  my feelings for this book. I had some issue with this read but I also found the idea and premise interesting. So I am torn. I enjoyed it but not really. It's really hard to put into words my final judgment. I will try. 


There are these kids that are being hunted because they have an infinity to the elements. Wind, Fire, Earth, and water. They can call on these elements and make things happen. A mad scientist did this to them when they were babies or when they were created. Their powers are now coming in since they are all truing 18 years of age. The mad scientist wants them back. Full reasons unknown, but he thinks he can use them for multiple things. These book is mainly getting to know some of the kids and what they can do and watch them as they learn they are special.

Okay so let me get into this. I always find the idea of elementals to be interesting. I would love to have an infinity to an element. I think mine would be earth. But hard to say. I know once upon a time this was a more common idea in YA books but as of late they aren't really out there. SO I wanted to grab this one up and read it. I was so very excited.... then I was disappointed. 

The things I enjoyed... watching the kids learn to control their powers... learn what they could do. 
The idea that these kids were being hunted and they were constantly on the run. 
One character... the grandfather of one the kids... just stole the book for me. He was so fun and awesome. 

That is about it. The rest of it I had issues with . Here are my issues. 

The authors seemed to try to hard on diversity. It felt forced and still stereotypical. I am all for diversity... it needs to feel natural and that it belongs. It's worse for me to have the diversity in the books when it feels forced. As if a statement was needed to be made and that was it. I want it to feel the world is full of diversity so duh so are our books. 

All the characters felt cliche and fake at the same time. I really couldn't connect. They were developed so cliche but the cliche they had didn't seem to fit right either. So it was strange. 

The romance was all wrong. I really couldn't feel it. It went too fast from I hate you to I  love you with nothing int he middle to show they were even remotely starting to feel for each other. 

Too many questions about the scientist and they kids and original four elementals that were older. I just felt so much was missing. 

There were too many corny cheesy... more than what is fun...lines in the book. I was rolling my eyes quite often. 

So there you have it. My problem is this. I did still enjoy it enough to want to know what happens but disliked it enough to be fearful of reading more. I really want to know more... because of all the things that were missing. Also only 4 of the 8 elemental kids were introduced. Maybe the others will be better. Maybe just the two main characters I really didn't like. So will I read the next one. I think I will give this series one more chance. I won't be in a hurry though. 

I really feel that this book was just rushed and lacking so much personality and gusto. I found nothing special with it and didn't connect. It felt more like a rough draft than a finished product. I hate to say this. But the idea and the potential was there. Just fell short in the end. 

Uh.... well I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. It's just like meh. 

PC was born in the Midwest, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school, she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. PC is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Best-Selling author and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath. PC is an experienced teacher and talented speaker. Ms. Cast lives in Oregon near her fabulous daughter, her adorable pack of dogs, her crazy Maine Coon, and a bunch of horses. House of Night Other World, book 1, LOVED, releases July 11th. SUN WARRIOR, book 2 in the Tales of a New World series releases October 17th.

Kristin Cast is a #1 NY Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author who teamed with her mother to write the wildly successful HOUSE OF NIGHT series. She has editorial credits, a thriving t-shirt line, and a passion for all things paranormal.
When away from her writing desk, Kristin loves going on adventures with her friends, family, and significant other, playing with her French Bulldogs (Grace Kelly and Sir Laurence Olivier), and discovering new hobbies. This year she'll work on handstands, gardening, and taking her new puppy (Baloo) to puppy classes.
#HoNLoved releases July 11th.

Review: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Title: Pretty in Punxsutawney

Author:  Laurie Boyle Crompton
Publisher:  Blink
Publishing Date:  January 5th, 2019

Pages: 304
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  ARC 

 

A Groundhog Day meets Pretty in Pink mashup from author Laurie Boyle Crompton, Pretty in Punxsutawney tells the tale of a girl willing to look beneath the surface to see people for who they really are.

Andie is the type of girl who always comes up with the perfect thing to say…after it’s too late to say it. She’s addicted to romance movies—okay, all movies—but has yet to experience her first kiss. After a move to Punxsutawney, PA, for her senior year, she gets caught in an endless loop of her first day at her new school, reliving those 24 hours again and again.

Convinced the curse will be broken when she meets her true love, Andie embarks on a mission: infiltrating the various cliques to find the one boy who can break the spell. What she discovers along the way is that people who seem completely different can often share the very same hopes, dreams, and hang-ups. And that even a day that has been lived over and over can be filled with unexpected connections and plenty of happy endings.

I was so very excited for this book. I mean look at this cover. It just drew me in. The name.... I am not sure where Punxsutawney is but it's fun to try to say. The synopsis.... I mean Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, and Groundhog Day all in the same story. So yes I was really looking forward to this read. Unfortunately, it fell a little short of my expectations. 

Andie has moved to a new town. She moved over the summer and so far has met two people... boys that work at the local movie theater, a place she where she loves to hang... The boys...well a nerdy theater geek and a good looking popular flirt. Of course she knows who she wants to hang out with... with the new school year starting, she has a foil proof plan. Have this boy show her around school then make him fall madly in love with her. 

Well nothing goes as planned when she wakes up the next morning on the couch in a pink polka dot vintage dress... and late. She goes to school and nothing goes according to her plan.... well this is how the school year is bound to go... except not, since the next day is a repeat and now Andie has a second chance, after screwing it all up again, she finds she has yet a third chance, and a fourth, and well many many more... until she gets it right. She just needs to figure out what right is. 

Okay there were many things I liked about this book. I liked the references to the 80's movies, I liked many of the secondary characters, I liked the message I think was supposed to coming through the pages. There were some cute parts and some funny parts... and the idea was just so cute, but really it ends there. 

What I didn't really like... I didn't much care for the main character. I mean she thought she could learn about life through the old movies she loved to watch with her mother. She was rude and whiny at times and I felt she was very superficial. Now I can say she does grow some throughout the book, but really not as much as I hoped. 

The story was pretty fast paced for the most part, but there were times I found myself a little bored. I was really getting tired of the same thing every day except for the group she tried to infiltrate. I just felt she was getting nowhere time after time. Of course I also kept thinking... at any time the light bulb will come on and both me and Andie will see where this is going and the ending will be epic. Except that didn't happen. Andie I guess finally figure it out but it wasn't epic, it was just... oh okay well now life can move forward... it was just a meh feeling. 

The romance. I think this was supposed to be a romance. I didn't feel the romance at all. I felt it could have been so much more. I really loved the love interest. He was great. He was my favorite character. I figured once Andie figured out how great he was... again it would be epic, the kiss would be epic, there would be fireworks, and eye popping, and heart warming... it was only oh yup about time. 

There really wasn't any strong relationships building. With all the people Andie was getting to know and discovering what was special about them. The next morning came and was a on replay... Andie just abandoned who she befriend the day before and moved on. It was kind of sad really. 

I kept thinking is this a book about friendships, is it about accepting people for who they are and coming together, is it about opposites attract, is it about finding right guy. In the end I just didn't feel a part of the story, I didn't feel satisfied. 

I loved and adored the idea, the execution lacked. I did enjoy the writing style... so even though this story fell flat for me, I think I would give this author one more try. 



It just didn't hit the mark for me. 

Laurie Boyle Crompton is the YA author of PRETTY IN PUNXSUTAWNEY (Blink/HarperCollins 2019) as well as ADRENALINE CRUSH (Macmillan/2014, Square Fish/2016), BLAZE (or Love in the Time of Supervillains), THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH and LOVE AND VANDALISM (Sourcebooks/2013, 2014, 2017). Growing up in ‘Pennsyltucky’ in the 1980s, Laurie couldn't wait to escape rural life. After saving up her tips from waitressing at a local greasy spoon at 18 she packed up her acid wash jeans and moved to NY. Where everyone else had stopped wearing acid wash.

She graduated first in her class from St. John’s University with a BA in English and Journalism. Since then she’s written for national magazines like ALLURE, survived a teaching stint at an all-boy high school, and appeared on Good Day New York several times as a Toy Expert. And yes, ‘toy expert’ is an actual profession. Really.

She has lived in places like Orlando, Florida where she and her husband spent all of their spare time and money visiting theme parks before moving to the Cotswolds in England for six months, which was every bit as cool as that sounds. The Cromptons are now back in New York where their two children resent never going to Disney.

Laurie occasionally enjoys hanging out in fields of blooming flowers and also reffering to herself in the third person.

Review: Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Title: Blonde Ops 

Author: Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publishing Date:  May 6th, 2014

Pages: 288
Genre: YA Contemporary Mystery

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Kindle 

 

Expelled from yet another boarding school for hacking, sixteen-year-old Rebecca "Bec" Jackson is shipped off to Rome to intern for Parker Phillips, the editor-in-chief of one of the world’s top fashion magazines. But when a mysterious accident lands Parker in a coma, former supermodel and notorious drama queen Candace Worthington takes the reins of the magazine. The First Lady is in Rome for a cover shoot, and all hands are on deck to make sure her visit goes smoothly.

Bec quickly realizes that Parker's "accident" may not have been quite so accidental, and when the First Lady's life is threatened, Bec is determined to uncover the truth. On top of that, Bec must contend with bitchy models, her new boss, Candace, who is just as difficult as the tabloids say, and two guys, a hunky Italian bike messenger with a thousand-watt smile and a fashion blogger with a razor-sharp wit, who are both vying for her heart.

Can Bec catch the person who's after the First Lady, solve the mystery of Parker's accident, and juggle two cute boys at the same time? Blonde Ops is a fun, action-packed romp through the hallways of a fashion magazine and the cobblestone streets of Rome.

So this book has been on my TBR forever. I mean it feels like forever. I fell in love with the cover and the book sounded quite interesting and fun. I started this book a while back and it took me a while to get into to. I have been reading a lot of books lately, and maybe compared to so others it just wasn't exciting enough. I think I needed more from this book. 

Bec is an amateur hacker, well she is more than amateur. She is pretty darn good. She has been kicked out of her school, again, and so her mother sends her off to Italy for the summer. She is too summer intern with a fashion industry run by a family friend. Bec is excited because it's Italy but bummed becuase her mother will not be there and she has to spend her summer with a stranger. While there she ends up in a mess of security, CIA agents, and a conspiracy so it seems. 

This book had potential. There were parts I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the setting, the fashion industry, and the main character Bec. I really liked her. I thought the pacing lacked and I thought much of the story was eye rolling.  So it just seemed to have lacked for me. 

Bec is a great character. She was smart and sassy and really just fun. She had a nose for finding things out she had a knack for hacking and she always seemed to find trouble. She loved to put herself in the middle of things and wasn't scared of a little danger. She was the one character I really liked. 

There were to love interest in this book and though love was never mentioned, just crushes and attraction, I felt there was a triangle that I just didn't like. I really didn't connect to either boy and so the romance felt off to me, rushed. I didn't get into it in at all. 

The writing was okay, it was the pacing that was off. I was bored in the middle. It felt that the plot took forever to take off and make any sense. I didn't find much of the mystery a mystery. I just couldn't find myself really caring where the story went. Much of the events and action sequences just didn't jive with me. I mean I know it's fiction but it was just a little too unbelievable. 

I really think the premise had potential and I really did like the main character. The ending wasn't bad either. The in between and the meat of the story just really lacked for me. I needed more. 

Just wasn't up to par for me. 

Until Hollywood calls, Charlotte lives in NJ with her husband, three children, two needy cats and sometimes a deranged squirrel. Evolution Revolution: Simple Machines is her first solo novel. She is also the co-author of Blonde Ops (St. Martin’s/Dunne) and the Sirenz series (Sirenz, Sirenz Back In Fashion, Flux), and one of 13 authors in the anthology, Beware the Little White Rabbit (Leap). She’s written for magazines and newspapers, and has given presentations and workshops at NJ SCBWI conferences. Currently she’s working on sci fi, historical, fantasy, and time travel novels and loves to hear from fans.

Natalie Zaman is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency. When not on the road she can be found in central New Jersey where she lives with her family, a dog-bear and several fine looking chickens.