Review: Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publishing Date: July 6th, 2010
Genre: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 352 pgs
ISBN: 9780312595678
Source: Bought

Summary from Goodreads:

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.
Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

 

 My Review:  

Well for some reason, I love me a book that is slightly disturbing and this book didn't disappoint.  This book is about a woman who is abducted from an open house she is hosting and kept captive for over a year.  The story is told as if Annie, the main character, is speaking to her therapist and it is such an addictive story.  I read this book in no time at all and felt a little sad when it was all over.  I wanted to know more about Annie and her road to recovery.  This book is really not for the faint of heart.  It goes into detail about being raped and being mind-fucked by an extremely sick individual.  At times I found myself cringing and I couldn't even imagine ever having to go through something like that.  I can see how after a while you may start to view the abductor as a person and start to have guilty feelings after a while.  Something like that would really mess a person up.  I liked that this book didn't just focus on the kidnapping but also what happens afterwards.  It focuses on how things can be difficult in your personal relationships when you get back because you have changed essentially as a person.  Your entire personality would be different after such a traumatic event.  I also really liked that there was a bit of a twist that I didn't see coming at the end of this novel.  I found myself sitting there with my mouth open thinking: Where did that come from?!? Bravo to Stevens for throwing me for a loop because it doesn't happen very often.  This was an amazing book that I had a hard time putting down.  Overall I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and I can't wait to read her other novels.

Ontario Book Blogger Meetup 2012

Our table: Me, Lindsey, Emilie, Kathy, Katie, Ciara

 I know this is a few days late but I figured better late than never.  Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a great event: the Ontario blogger meetup.  On the Friday night I rushed out of work and picked up Emilie from Emilie's Book World, Ciara from Lost at Midnight Reviews, Katie from Bookishly Yours and Kathy from A Glass of Wine.   We had a long trek ahead to Toronto for the weekend.  The Ottawa bloggers had decided to travel together and room together for the meetup in Toronto.  The car ride was lots of fun full of book talk and singing.  (Ciara, we know how much you love Taylor Swift).  Once in Toronto we were pretty tired so went to bed at a reasonable time.

Ottawa Bloggers with Michele and Liz

Saturday was the actual event.  We met at Watermark Irish Pub and were greeted by the organizers of this wonderful event.  They were ready and waiting to check us in with a large baby blue canvas bag of books.  We found a table in the center of the room and got comfortable.  We were also joined by Lindsey of A Storm of Words. The setting of the event was pretty informal and we were able to mingle and meet bloggers who we have been chatting with online for some time now.  I was excited to see Chrystal of Snowdrop Dreams of Books.  We had previously met and I was excited to hear all about her recent wedding.  I was also happy to meet Michele from Just a Lil Lost and Gisele of Book Nerd Canada.  I didn't get to meet nearly as many people as I would have liked but there were 71 of us and while I can be a little loud, I can also be a little shy.  I do remember thinking that I am surrounded by people who get me and that they were my kind of people. 

The Ottawa bloggers with Lesley Livingston & Elizabeth Miles

We also got the opportunity to meet some fabulous authors.  The highlights of my day were meeting Elizabeth Miles and Lesley Livingston.  I have read Miles' Fury but I have yet to read anything by Lesley Livingston.  After meeting Livingston though I have to say that I have to rectify this situation.  I will have to make it my mission to read some of her writing before the end of the year.

Our book motherload

We were also fortunate enough to meet many of the publishers that we have been in contact with over the years.  I am happy I got to meet Michelle from Simon & Schuster Canada, Shannon from Harper Collins Canada, and Amy from Penguin Canada.  If I have forgotten anyone, I apologize.

After the meet we had so many books that only 2 of the 5 of us could fit in a cab ride back to the hotel.  Since I lived in Toronto for a few years I helped navigate Ciara and Katie back to the hotel with a short pit stop at the Eaton Center.  When we got back to the hotel we went through all our goodies from the meetup and were excited to see that we all got Sever by Lauren DeStefano and a hardcover finished copy of Envy by Elizabeth Miles.

At the pub

My poor heel

Once we had some time to relax, Ciara, Katie and I headed back out to enjoy some Toronto nightlife.  We made our way to Manderly Hall and spent the evening enjoying a few beverages and some great live music.  The only downfall to the evening was losing my heel in the middle of the bar.  This is something that could only happen to me.  We ended the evening eating some greasy food at a diner and heading back to the hotel.  The next day we drove back to Ottawa and said our goodbyes.  Overall it was a fantastically bookish event and I couldn't have been happier.

Laughing at the diner

WoW: Black City

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it is a weekly feature where bloggers share what they are excited to read next.


Here is my pick:

Here is a summary from Goodreads:

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war. In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable--they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash's long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they're caught, they'll be executed--but their feelings are too strong. When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

This comes out November 13th, 2012.  It looks great and the cover is beautiful! Happy Reading! 

Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffen

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publishing Date: April 24th, 2012
Genre: YA, retelling
Pages: 319 pgs
ISBN: 9780062107794
Source: bought



Summary from Goodreads:

Everything is in ruins.
A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them.So what does Araby Worth have to live for?Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.But in the depths of the club--in the depths of her own despair--Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight for--no matter what it costs her.

My Review:

I have to say that the cover of this book did it in for me.  I knew that I had to have it based solely on the cover and then I found out it was a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's more famous story and I knew I was in for it.  I know that Poe is dark and twisted and who doesn't love a dark and twisted story.  I was hoping for the same feel when I picked this book up and I wasn't disappointed.  The book focuses on Araby and her world that has been taken over by the Plague.  Her and her best friend frequent a club called the Debauchery Club and the name pretty much says it all.  While there they get themselves into all kinds of trouble and it is during this time where we meet the two boys in Araby's life.  Will is the bouncer at the club and Elliot is a mysterious, upper class gentleman.  Both boys have a bit of an edge but they both have really endearing qualities.  That being said, I couldn't really choose which boy I wanted Araby to be with.  One minute I thought Will was a little sketchy but then he'd show his sensitive side.  Then I'd think Elliot was great but he'd show another side to himself too.  I kept going back and forth between the two and I think it's because I always suspected them of not having Araby's best intentions in mind. 
I also like how each of the characters is flawed in some way.  They are not all good or all bad but a mixture of both which is a little more realistic for me.  The world in which they live in is so dark and it would be difficult to live there without having some sort of flaw.  They are desperate to live and this plays well in the book. 
Griffin's writing style is great too.  I felt like once I started reading I was transported to a place and time much different from my own.  You get sucked in and you can't help but read through this at a very quick pace.  Overall, it was a great book and I give it 4 stars. 

Mara Dyer Week

Well, today I'm over at A Glass of Wine talking about Mara Dyer.  Pop on by Kathy's blog and check it out.  She has been hosting a full week about Mara Dyer and is even hosting a giveaway.  Please take the time to check it out.   

WoW: Sever

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it is a weekly feature where bloggers share what they are excited to read next.


Here is my pick this week:

Summary from Goodreads:

What if you knew exactly when you would die? In the not-too-distant future, genetic engineering has turned every newborn into a ticking time bomb — males only live to age 25 and females only live to age 20.
In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by "the Gatherers" to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Rhine has only one purpose after she has been married to her new husband, Linden: to escape and find her twin brother.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden’s eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant to whom she is dangerously attracted, Rhine is desperate to learn the truth and protect those closest to her. But, as her sister wife Cecily keeps insisting, her role may be much bigger than that.
In the first two books of the Chemical Garden trilogy, Wither and Fever, Rhine struggles to escape the mansion and then to navigate the brutal world outside. Now in Sever, the third and final book, Rhine uncovers some shattering truths about the past that her parents never had the chance to tell her and the alarming implications regarding her own genes. She may be the one who can save the human race.

Oh the Chemical Gardens continues.  Some of the characters in these novels really make me angry but I think that's a sign of a good book.  We get to see what DeStefano has in store for us February 12th, 2012.  Happy Reading! 

Book Review: Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books
Publishing Date: September 11th, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary, Verse
Pages: 604 pgs
ISBN: 9781416983309
Source: borrowed from the library



Summary from Goodreads:

Three teens, three stories—all interconnected through their parents’ family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the lives of the teens begin to tilt….

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year—and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister’s impending death. Can he accept Alex’s love, knowing that his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen—a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Love, in all its forms, has crucial consequences in this standalone novel.

My Review:

I have loved all the books I have read by Ellen Hopkins thus far so I was excited to read Tilt.  It is a companion novel to Hopkins' adult novel Triangles which was a bit racy at times.  This novel is a young adult novel and it focuses on the teens that were introduced to us in Triangles.  The book parallels the story in Triangles and at first I thought this would be great but as I kept reading I found that I wasn't as interested in the story because I kind of knew what was coming.  The big reveals for Triangles were not so big reveals for Tilt.  I think that if you read this novel before you read Triangles it would be quite good.  There are so many issues in this novel that at times it seems like there are too many jammed into one book.  It just seems like you can't fully dive into the issue because there are too many to fully go into detail.  I suppose that this could be because teens face each of these issues all the time.  They don't just have to deal with one at a time but several different things are present throughout their teen years: teen pregnancy, STDs, bullying, dieting, date rape, ect.  
I enjoyed this novel but I wouldn't say that it's my favourite book that I've read by this author.  Again, it doesn't have anything to do with the writing style.  I love reading verse books because I find that you can read them in so many different ways, depending how they're laid out/presented.  You can also read them fairly quickly.  Overall I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.  It is a great story but it was one that I had already read.  I think that many will enjoy this novel as much as Hopkins' others.