Category Archives: Paranormal

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Beautiful CreaturesBeautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Little, Brown and Company

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Nothing ever changes in Ethan’s small hometown. That is, nothing until the day the girl who’s been haunting his nightmares walks into the halls of his high school. Lena Duchannes is every bit as beautiful and tragic as she is in his dreams. As the two fall in love, the weight of the curse hanging over Lena threatens to tear their worlds apart. On the sixteenth moon of her sixteenth year, Lena will be chosen by light or darkness as payment for the sins of her ancestors. Nothing can stand in the way of her fate, not even Ethan’s love for her.

It’s a familiar setup: one normal high school student and one bearing some kind of supernatural power. What’s less common, though, is that Garcia frames her story around an ordinary hero. Ethan’s an average guy surrounded by supernatural power, but kept apart from it. Lena bears a supernatural gift as a Caster, someone with power to perform magic spells. Ethan’s family housekeeper also possesses some supernatural gifting in her ability to create charms and contact dead spirits.

I liked that Ethan had only his humanity, his wits and affections to guide him through this labyrinth of a story. Sometimes his self-righteousness bothered me, though. He’s got very little to say about his town or his friends that’s positive or endearing. I get that he’s kind of a diamond in the rough, but that song and dance got old after a while. Still, his actions made him respect-worthy and much more likeable as the story progressed.

Lena definitely worked as a complex, tragic heroine, but some of her emotional motivations confused me. Sometimes she made decisions that didn’t seem to make sense in light of the rest of her character or in light of her relationships with other characters. She doesn’t trust her uncle, yet the guy is pretty consistently showing up to save her from disaster. She refuses to ask him for help, but it was unclear why she wouldn’t do that. I felt like I was missing some explanation there. Maybe it’s revealed later in the series.

Beautiful Creatures had some plot twists that took me completely by surprise, so I enjoyed that unpredictability. I wished I liked the characters more. Lena’s uncle was a definite favorite of mine, as was Ethan’s housekeeper. I liked the tension in the backstory between them, too. If you like paranormal high school stories, this is definitely one to check out.

Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Sexual Content
Some pretty intense kissing, but nothing beyond that.

Spiritual Content
Lena’s family are casters who use magic and have varying abilities. (Sort of witch versions of the X-men.) Some family members use their powers for evil.

Ethan’s housekeeper uses charms and contact with spirits to protect Ethan’s family. It’s got a very voodoo flare.

Violence
Lena and Ethan witness a Civil War skirmish in which a man is shot. Casters engage in a battle that causes injury to several people. It’s intense but not gory.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Book Review and Content, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Grave Mercy
Robin LaFevers
HMH Books for Young Readers

A strange birthmark spares Ismae from an arranged marriage with a cruel man, but thrusts her into the power of the sisters at the convent of St. Mortain. There, Ismae discovers she’s been gifted with great power. To understand her potential, she must embrace the training offered by the mysterious sisters. If Ismae agrees, they will teach her the arts of murder and seduction, so that she can be sent out into the world to bring the justice of an old god: Mortain, the god of death. When an opportunity arrives for Ismae to serve the young duchess of Brittany who faces an arranged marriage of her own, Ismae can’t help but accept, remembering her own past.

Determined to prove herself through this important assignment, Ismae soon finds herself overwhelmed by a court steeped in plots and betrayal. Unexpected feelings for her prime suspect complicate matters further. But more than Ismae’s devotion to her god is at stake. If she chooses the wrong allies, her mission will fail, and the young duchess will die.

I read this book without really knowing much about it. Marissa Meyer recommended it, and I love her books (Cinder, Scarlet and Cress) so I decided to give it a go. I spent most of the first part of the story waiting for the shoe to drop and for the god of Death to turn out to be evil, since that’s usually the way things seem to go. Instead, and I’ll try not to give too much away, Ismae learns that her understanding of the god’s will is not always perfect, but that he does indeed have a just plan for humanity.

The romance thread was nicely done. I found it refreshing that Gavriel was not the bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold type that’s so prevalent in current fiction, but that he was a gentleman who resents the implications about his relationship with Ismae and doesn’t take advantage of her or attempt to seduce her himself. That respect for her totally won me over.

Packed with intrigue, the plot really takes some big twists and turns. I love that it’s based on historical events. LaFevers definitely stirred my curiosity about Brittany and the young duchess and the real story of how the events unfolded.

Because I’ve read a little bit about the other books in the series now, I can see how this first story set the stage for the second and third ones. I’m curious enough about Sybella’s (one of Ismae’s fellow assassins-in-training) story to consider continuing the series, but it’s not sitting at the top of my list. I think I expected to like it as much as I loved Cinder, which admittedly isn’t fair to the author, and while I enjoyed it, I just have a hard time really getting into the whole “god of death as a good guy” type of story. It may be that the topic of corruption within the religious organization simply hits too close to home for me as I wrestle with some of my own issues about my own recent church experiences.

Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Sexual Content
Ismae’s new husband treats her roughly and makes it clear that their marriage bed will be one in which he treats her like an object. His behavior is ugly, but he’s stopped before having sex with her.

The servants of the convent of St. Mortain are taught all the ways of seduction, but readers are left to fill in the blanks on all that entails. Ismae’s past experience with men leaves her mistrustful and loathe to give herself to a man, even in service of her god. She makes a couple of brief suggestive comments. She lies naked against a man at one point, but not in the interest of having sex with him.

Spiritual Content
During the time period of the story, the Christian church had replaced many of the older traditions and belief systems in Brittany and referred to the old gods as saints. (There is apparently a lot of historical truth to this – I’ve not researched it myself, but you can read the author’s notes on the topic here.) Mortain, one of the old gods (a fictional one), still maintains a following largely through a convent of servants, trained as assassins and sent out to do his will, i.e., kill those the god has marked for death.

Ismae struggles with the morality of her tasks. What if someone has committed some wrong that earns Mortain’s judgement, but repents of the evil and finds a way to atone for it? Is there an alternate path for her to take rather than simply being an assassin? Ultimately she earns the god’s blessing for her mercy.

Violence
Several people fall victim to assassins, through means like poison, falling from a height, small arrows, etc. Brief battle scenes are described. Ismae walks through a field of dead soldiers looking for survivors. Descriptions are not overly detailed.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol – mead, wine, etc – at parties and taverns.

Review: Unenchanted, an Unfortunate Fairy Tale by Chanda Hahn

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Unenchanted
Chanda Hahn
Published by Chanda Hahn

Mina Grime has the worst luck ever. Just about everywhere she goes, bizarre misfortunes follow her: a bakery harpy, a stampede of nursery rhyme animals in the street. Mina soon finds out this isn’t a simple matter of luck, however. Her family has lived under a curse for generations. Now the curse has come after her, and if she doesn’t defeat it, her younger brother will have to face it. Mina sets out to complete all the fairy tales penned by the Grimm brothers.

The best thing about this book is its clever premise. The way Hahn recreates the familiar fairy tales in a contemporary setting is smart and cute. Those made for the best parts of the story, though in this first book in the series, much of the story is devoted to setting up the premise. Later books may focus more on the fairy tales, which would be, if I judge based on those included in this first book, very entertaining.

The characters are simple, not deeply layered and a bit cliché. The boy is handsome, thoughtful and perfect. The girl is insecure and fiercely independent. Her best friend is peppy and loyal. This didn’t ruin the story for me, but it didn’t make it stand out as one I can’t wait to tell all my friends about, either.

I listened to this story as an audiobook (largely because I adore the narration by Khristine Hvam) so I can’t speak to how well the book was edited for grammar and punctuation. As I browsed other reviews, I noticed several claimed there are some errors in the e-book version. If you’re considering purchasing the e-book, I’d recommend reading the sample pages first.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Mina’s family lives under a terrible curse. In order to undo the curse, she has to complete each of the fairy tales penned by her ancestors, the Grimm brothers. She encounters creatures from a fairy world (a fairy and a werewolf type creature, for instance.)

Violence
Brief battle scenes.

Drug Content
None.

When Wings Don’t Mean Freedom: Review of Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Paranormal, Romance, , ,

Nightbird
Alice Hoffman
Random House Children’s

Twig Fowler and her family return to her mother’s hometown after a childhood spent in the city. Her mother insists that she keep no friends and remains alone, holed up on an apple orchard baking pies and other goods to be sold in town. Twig’s brother James also chafes at the isolation. He only comes out at night, when no one will see the long wings sprouting from his back.

When rumors of a monster stir up the townsfolk, Twig begins to panic. If a search is called for, her brother might be discovered. It might be easy to stay hidden if it weren’t for Twig’s new neighbors, a family with two girls near her age. One late night Twig spots James and Agate, the older sister of the neighboring family, alone in the forest. But before James can be free to love and live as a normal person, they have to find a way to undo the family curse. Twig might be just the person to solve that problem.

There were a lot of great elements to this story: the mystery surrounding the curse, Twig’s mother’s sadness and her absent father, a boy with wings who falls in love. As I read, I kept comparing it to The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, which I think is a mistake, because Nightbird isn’t trying to be that kind of story. The similarities between the two really end beyond containing an important character with wings and a small-town setting.

I’m not sure if it’s my tendency for that comparison that left me feeling a little underwhelmed with the story. Everything resolves very neatly – and maybe that’s more appropriate for a younger audience. I found myself wishing for a little more of the complexity that filled the story’s opening pages to grace the story’s end. All in all, however, it was an enjoyable read.

This is more of a middle grade story than a YA novel. Readers aged nine to twelve would probably enjoy the story most.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A long time ago, a witch placed a horrible curse on the men in the Fowler family. The curse makes them grow wings.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Silverwood by Betsy Streeter

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, ,

Silverwood
Betsy Streeter
Light Messages Publishing

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

To say fourteen year-old Helen Silverwood has an odd family would be an understatement. Her brother draws the future. Nightmares of rescuing strange creatures plague Helen’s dreams. Her mother works nights at a job she won’t discuss with her children, and her father is missing.

As the family picks up to move again, Helen begins to unravel the thread of mystery surrounding her mother’s work, her father’s disappearance, and her place in all of it. The shape-shifting Tromindox prey on humanity and Helen may have the key to stopping them.

Silverwood is an imaginative story with enjoyable characters. Dreaded Tromindox feed on humans to survive. Each member of the Silverwood family possesses some gift to battle the Tromindox. As the story unfolds, they figure out their places in the fight against the creatures.

There were some plot elements that didn’t really work for me. Helen and her father have identical gifts. The Tromindox want to capture Helen because of this ability, but don’t seem interested in her father, even when he’s standing right in front of them. Odd. At one point, townspeople begin walking out into a lake and disappearing beneath the surface of the water. A woman captures this event on film – she records it and then leaves the lake. Doesn’t call for help, try to save the person, call 911, etc. Just leaves. No explanation is offered. She kind of just goes home scratching her head.

The story is written in present tense from an omniscient viewpoint, so the action feels very immediate. The omniscient point-of-view did make for a few confusing moments when the author shifts without warning from one person’s thoughts to another’s. Over all, it wasn’t too hard to follow.

Fans of really offbeat stories like The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards or The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster may enjoy this novel.

Language Content
Infrequent mild profanity.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Tromindox must eat humans to survive. Brief descriptions of them shape-shifting into creatures with tentacles and a poisonous barb which they inject into a human’s neck.

Drug Content
None.

Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The Scorpio Races
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Every year the deadly capaill uisce emerge from the sea. Lucky riders will capture one of these bloodthirsty water horses and ride in the Scorpio Races, competing for a prize purse – it’s enough money to change a life. And it’s exactly what Puck Connolly is hoping to achieve. If she can win the race, she can keep her family together in their home. If she loses, she will lose everything.

Sean Kendrick knows too well the risks of the race. As a boy, he watched his father murdered by the violent water horses during the Scorpio Race. Sean isn’t too worried – he’s won before and he will win again. He intends to win freedom for himself and the horse who means more to him than anything.

The race brings Sean and Puck into one another’s lives as uneasy and unlikely allies. As their friendship begins to deepen, both know one simple, terrible truth: there can be only one winner to the Scorpio Races.

From the very first page, Stiefvater immerses readers in the tumultuous world of Thisby Island with its mythic history, charming towns and haunting cliffs. The story unfolds through lyrical, emotionally charged prose, introducing the desperate and headstrong Puck, her brothers and her beloved island pony. Opposite Puck, we find Sean Kendrick, a renowned horse trainer and thoughtful/silent type. The American buyer who follows Sean around works as a great foil to add humor and lightness to Sean’s reclusive nature.

As the story progresses, the stakes continue to elevate. Every time it seems like the characters find a way out, some new conflict arises – definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! And those capaill uisce are terrifying. One scene is so intense I still shudder to think about it! (Not gross, just really suspenseful.)

This is a fantastic story. Phenomenal characters. Absolutely incredible story world. High-energy storytelling. This is Stiefvater at her best. (I’ve read Shiver and the first three of the Raven Cycle series as well.)

Language Content
Infrequent use of mild profanity.

Sexual Content
Brief sexual reference.

Spiritual Content
Many of the islanders attend a Catholic church. Puck visits Father Mooneyhan to confess her sins. There are other references to things like whether playing cards or getting angry is a sin.

The water horses also have a lot of lore and magic surrounding them. Riders use charms like bits of iron and bells to try to control them.

Violence
The water horses are deadly and unpredictable. Puck and her brother discover several animals that have been mutilated and killed by the capaill uisce. Puck is attacked and threatened by them. Several islanders are killed by the water horses.

Drug Content
None.