Book Review: The Taking - Kimberly Derting

Title: The Taking

Author: Kimberly Derting

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

My Review:

I am not one to pick books that have an “alien” feel about it because it’s just not something I’m interested in, however, the idea of waking up and 5 years have passed, dealing with that and the fact that everyone else has aged and moved on while you’re exactly the same as when you left; I just found the premise enticing, thus saying ‘yes’ to The Taking.  I was not disappointed with this book in the slightest, it had the drama I was looking for and just enough of the sci-fi aspect to make a good story without taking it too far ::cough, cough:: ‘out of this world’ for my liking.  I felt like the book may have progressed a little too quickly in the romance part; while 5 years had passed for Taylor and he was acting on a childhood crush, only a few days had passed for Kyra – and after reading about her relationship with Austin, I wasn’t quite ready for Taylor.  Regardless, I was completely sucked into this book from the onset, the characters are captivating and the storytelling was truly excellent; I completely recommend reading this one if you’re into a light sci-fi theme.  I’m already anticipating the next book which is due to release in April (oh the day before my birthday in fact), and discovering more about why these people are being taken – is war coming? an invasion? or is it just basic evolution sped forward because of some weird black hole situation?

Rated: PG-13 - There's cussing  

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Romance

Rating:  4 of 5

Book Review: How to Hook a Bookworm - Cassie Mae

Title: How To Hook a Bookworm

Author: Cassie Mae

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Getting kissed for a birthday present should not be a big deal. Especially for Brea Mason, who doesn’t think of her best friend, Adam Silver, in any way other than… well, a friend. But after the liplock she can’t seem to get him off her mind. And she has to, because Adam is a senior while she’s stuck in high school for another two years.

Then BAM, the perfect distraction comes along in the form of a new, hot sophomore who actually seems interested in Brea, despite her anti-social personality. And with the stress at home, stress at school, and ignoring the reality of all her friends leaving come June, Brea welcomes the distraction.

But when she sees four fat Fs on her report card, Brea needs a study buddy, and the best candidate is Adam, book nerd and math whiz. So she enlists his help, hoping the birthday kiss was just a fluke. After all, she has a boyfriend now. It should be easy to ignore the butterflies and fizzy feelings that arise with the bookworm… right?

My Review:

How to Hook a Bookworm is book 3 in Cassie Mae's How To series, a series I have absolutely adored from the very beginning.  This book was my favorite though, which is surprising since I thought Band Geek would totally take that spot since I, myself, was a band geek.  There was just something about Brea and Adam I fell in love with; perhaps it was the best friend scenario, or the building tension, or just Brea's personal growth in general.  I also am always a bit thankful when a learning disability (no matter the form) is thrown into these books, because my son is dyslexic and struggles with things like test anxiety.  I feel like maybe someone who struggles with the same issues will pick up a book such as this one and feel like they aren't alone.  Another favorite part of this series is that all of the couples have put the sex issue on the other side of marriage for reasons that include "because I want to," and because they "stopped making decisions based on how popular they (the decisions) are." These are qualities I completely respect!

And, for all the How To fans out there - this book includes a certain wedding that you simply don't want to miss!! 

Rated:  5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult - Romance

Rating:  PG-13 - Teenage appropriate talk of sex, mild cussing

Book Review: These Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth. 

The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

My Review:

These Broken Stars was a good adventure of twist and turns, a new planet, and budding love, and I look forward to reading the remainder of The Starbound Triliogy.  At the start of the book I almost felt like I was back on a cruise ship with all the different decks, entertainment options; but I felt the book really took off once Lilac and Tarver landed on the unknown planet.  As for the characters, I really enjoyed Lilac and Tarver’s relationship, it was fun at the beginning with each of them trying to display disinterest and indifference, and then growing into fondness with obvious attraction into something more.  In the end, I think the best aspects of this book was the world building and the story line/emotional roller coaster that the authors takes you on.

Rated:  PG 

Genre: Young Adult

Rating:  3.5 Stars - While I did love the world building, the travel time/time between action seemed kind of lengthy

Book Review: The Law of Moses - Amy Harmon

Title: The Law of Moses

Author: Amy Harmon

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.

Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.

It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.

And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.

And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story. 

My Review:

I’m a fan of paranormal books, although I usually like to know when I’m reading one, The Law of Moses took me by surprise in that area, however the way that it is lightly paranormal mixed with real life written so well makes this book exceptionally awesome. Additionally Moses and Georgia's relationship unfolding scene by scene made this book very difficult to put down.  At first I thought the book was going to take the well worn story line of bad boy, trouble maker chasing after and ultimately winning over the nice, ‘perfect,’ innocent town girl; so I was happy when the story started down a different road all together and was filled with love, heartache,  mystery and suspense.  In this story it was Georgia doing all the initiating, making all the first moves and practically throwing herself at Moses, to which he eventually relents.  The “bad boy” persona of Moses is all drummed up gossip while he’s truly a stand-up guy who just wants to protect those people he actually cares for, and this makes him all the more appealing. Though, what I absolutely loved were the words forming the sentences making the book; this book was like reading one of the paintings Moses was plastering to the wall – very lyrical and colorful, one of those books that is very easy to picture in your imagination.

Rated:  Pg-13; some sensuality a bit of cussing I think…the rest of the book was so entrancing I can’t remember much cussing.  Any and all scenes of intimacy are spoken of emotionally rather than descriptions of the act.

Genre: New Adult 

Rating: 5 Stars - Beautifully Written

Book Review: Jackaby - William Ritter

Title: Jackaby

Author: William Ritter

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

Review:

I picked up this book because I loved the idea of a paranormal Sherlock Holmes, however it took me quite a while to really get invested in this book.  I think that was because this felt more like watching a TV series than  a movie.  As a reader you get a pretty basic idea of the characters and who they were, Jackaby being the easiest since we all know Holmes pretty well, but I didn't really feel like I got any character depth on any of them.  Jackaby's character was my favorite because while he did echo all the parts of Sherlock everyone loves, he was very much his own character exhibiting a bit more compassion and personable attributes that Holmes lacked.  I enjoyed the diversity of characters and the legends/theories/stories presented; they made the discovery of 'who-did-it' part of the book more enjoyable.  I believe that people who enjoy Sherlock Holmes, and (in my opinion a better comparison than Dr. Who) the TV Series Grimm, this book (series) will have a lot of appeal.

Rated:  PG

Genre: Fiction - Mystery

Rating: 4 Stars