Series Review: Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs (#0.5 & 1)

If you've been noticing lately, I've gone through a bit of a Patrica Briggs binge. In fact, a "bit" is a major understatement. I recently reviewed the first couple of Mercy Thompson novels (HERE) and moved on promptly to the spin-off series, Alpha and Omega. Now, having finished it, I can honestly admit to liking this spin-off even more than the original.

Title: Alpha & Omega (A&O, #0.5) 

Author: Patricia Briggs

Rating: 4 Stars

Without a doubt, Alpha & Omega surprised me. For one, I wasn't expecting this prequel novella to be so integral to the plot line of this series. I actually only picked it up before Cry Wolf because I was in the mood for something shorter at first, but very quickly, I realized that Alpha & Omega is, in fact, a must-read before beginning this series. And what a beginning it is. 

Alpha & Omega begins with Anna, a submissive in her Chicago pack, phoning Bran to report that she saw a local missing boy being tortured by her pack alpha, Leo. For those of us who have read Moon Called, the torture of the missing boy in question is no surprise and the story line quickly begins to fall into place. Charles, the enforcer/assassin and son of Bran flies into Chicago, intent on investigating the strange doings of the Chicago pack. What he doesn't count on, however, is being instantly attracted to Anna when she greets him at the airport. Even more surprising, though, is that his wolf quickly claims Anna as his mate, but Anna's past may be darker than Charles anticipated and their mating not quite as easy as he plans. 

What I loved about Alpha & Omega, right off the bat, was Anna. Mercy and Anna are as different as heroines can come, but that doesn't make Anna any less fierce, strong, or brave. If anything, she is more. Anna, unlike most wolves, was changed into a werewolf without her consent and then told that she was a submissive in the pack. Just to add insult to injury, Leo, the alpha, passed Anna around like a whore to be brutalized by dominant wolves. As we soon find out, there is a reason for this disgusting behavior, but that doesn't change the fact that Anna is fearful of men, and dominant wolves in particular. 

Charles, as we all know by now, is as dominant as they come. Yet, being the only werewolf to be born in his wolf form, he is different from most. Although it is his wolf that first recognizes Anna as his mate - and his protective instincts kick in almost immediately - he slowly begins to care for Anna as a person too. Underneath her rigid and fearful exterior, he sees the inner strength that has kept Anna alive for three years as a wolf and he appreciates what she is. Moreover, he recognizes that she is no submissive, but an Omega, or one who obeys no dominant wolf and instead brings peace to those around her. 

Despite the fact that Alpha & Omega is a short novel, we are able to become thoroughly invested in the sweet romance at play here. Of course, it reads much like love-at-first-sight, but the undercurrents of deeper affection are easily felt. Even more so, our two leads, Anna and Charles, come into their own and become just as important and interesting as Mercy or Adam are as well. Furthermore, I loved the mystery of unraveling what had happened to the Chicago pack. It was different from the usual cases that Briggs has written and had much darker undertones, but perhaps I enjoyed it all the more because of that. Or maybe it was just the length - intriguing, short, and a quick conclusion without long and drawn-out details. Either way, Alpha & Omega is the perfect hook to what promises to be an excellent spin-off series and if you go into this expecting a quick read, you'll likely surprise yourself by scrambling to get your hands on Cry Wolf very quickly after.  

Title: Cry Wolf (A&O, #1) 

Author: Patricia Briggs

Rating: 3 Stars

For some reason, I thought I'd enjoy Cry Wolf a little more than I did. Alpha & Omega had me completely - hook, line, and sinker - for this spin-off series and even with such a short novella, I already felt invested in the lives of Anna and Charles. As such, it came as a surprise to find that, at the end, I only just liked this book. It wasn't mind-blowing and it certainly wasn't on par to Iron Kissed or Bone Crossed, but I have high hopes for the next two installments. Patricia Briggs has not disappointed me yet and I doubt she's planning to start now.

Cry Wolf picks up directly where we left off in Alpha & Omega with Anna adjusting to life in a new pack as Charles heals. Very quickly, however, Bran sends the two off to deal with a rogue wolf in the woods. As it turns out, however, there is more at stake than just a rogue wolf Charles and Anna may find themselves facing something - or someone - they are wholly unprepared for.

What Cry Wolf excels in, just as its predecessor did, is the characterization of Anna. I really enjoyed the balance that was reached both within her inner strengths and her outer weaknesses. At times, Anna can be a difficult character to understand, especially with the dual narration from both her perspective and that of Charles, but all-in-all, I couldn't find fault with her growth throughout this book. Charles, on the other hand, though kind and full of good intent, was ever-so-slightly irritating. For someone who has lived on this planet for nearly two centuries, he acted completely immature when it came to his relationship with Anna. At times, I wasn't sure who was more insecure - Anna or Charles - and Charles has no excuse, really. 

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the banter, mood swings, and creeping relationship between these two. Where Cry Wolf lost me, unfortunately, was in its mystery. Although it was very different from the norm and it pleasantly surprised me with its originality, I felt as if it dragged too much. I kept waiting for it to get over sooner for it didn't keep my attention or prove how high the stakes were really raised. I suspect part of this has to do with the fact that Cry Wolf takes place before Bone Crossed, the last MT novel I read, and I already know that these characters turn out to be fine, but if the ending hadn't left me feeling so relieved, I would have definitely enjoyed this one more. Nevertheless, Anna and Charles are a charming set of new leads, ones to rival my love for Mercy and Adam (Actually, who am I kidding? NO ONE rivals Adam. Except maybe Curran. Possibly.) and Cry Wolf, while not impressing me, has be thirsting for its sequel already. At the rate she's going, I have to presume that Patricia Briggs doesn't know the words "disappointment" at all. And I am so glad she doesn't.  

Jessica Darling: The Adult Years

It is undeniably nostalgic to arrive at the end of a beloved series, but doubly so when it is a series so close to your heart. While I can't say the conclusion was as perfect as promised, the series as a whole is one that changed me greatly and I have already bought the entire set in anticipation of all my future re-reads. In case you missed them, you can read my spoiler-free reviews of Book 1 and 2 HERE and Book 3 HERE. 

Title: Fourth Comings (Jessica Darling, #4) 

Author: Megan McCafferty 

Rating: 5 Stars

I honestly did not expect to like Fourth Comings as much as I did. If anything, I opened this book with trepidation, fully planning to give it four stars at best, but it wound up just blowing me away. While Sloppy Firsts and Charmed Thirds remain the most life-changing of all the Jessica Darling books for me so far, I think Fourth Comings is easily the most brilliant. It isn't the one I'll re-read the most or even return to too many times, but the clues scattered throughout this book, the intelligent conversations, the maturity of Jessica...and the manner in which it all comes together and ties up with that second-to-last word? Incredible.

Fourth Comings stands out as the most mature of the Jessica Darling books. In this, Jessica fully acknowledges her selfishness, her nuttiness, her insecurities, the TRUTH about her relationship with Marcus... And as someone who thrives on drawn-out drama and realistic, ambiguous endings, this was kind of perfect. It's so easy to get caught up in that magic of Jessica and Marcus but this book puts their relationship in an entirely new light - one that scrutinizes their flaws, destroying the idealistic image of these two we may have harbored before. 

Fourth Comings starts out with Jessica prepared to break up with Marcus, but before she can quite do so, Marcus abruptly proposes, leaving on a trip for a week and giving her those seven Marcus-free days to decide whether or not she wants to be with Marcus till death do them apart. As an individual who doesn't believe in the institution of marriage - and who was prepared to break up with her boyfriend - a marriage proposal is outrageous to Jessica. And yet, she cannot bring herself to give an outright rejection either. As Jessica embarks on her achingly normal day-to-day activities, though, she slowly comes to realize what she really wants from life - and whether Marcus really factors into that picture at all.  

For me, what makes Fourth Comings so phenomenal is the mere fact that by the end, everything comes together. Although dispersed with small meetings and intimate stories, all these separate journeys make a full circle, helping Jessica to become the self-assured person she is by the end of the novel. Fourth Comings continues to build upon the familial relationships Jessica sustains, both with her sister - who isn't the complete blonde airhead she once though - and her parents. I particularly loved this latter plot line as it was such a different, yet inevitable, type of relationship bred out of the follies of youth. Its contrast with the other romantic relationships in this novel, from Jessica and Marcus, Bethany and G-Money, or even Bridget and Percy, was stunning in its depth and subtlety. 

One of my favorite aspects of this novel, however, is the fact that we finally meet the elusive Hope Weaver. Although we don't know Hope intimately, mostly because her interactions with Jessica, though important, have been few-and-far-between, we have come to love and cherish her in our hearts. Quite simply, the ambiguity of Hope's character allows us, as the reader, to project our own ideals of the perfect best friend onto Hope - or even qualities our own best friends possess - which is what makes the interactions between Hope and Jessica in this novel so bittersweet. Not only does Jessica begin to realize that she has other friends besides Hope - that their lives don't revolve around each other anymore, but rather other subjects - but she also comes to recognize that there is still so much she doesn't know about her best friend. And although the scenes between these two could be laced with awkwardness and made me want to cry out for Jessica, I love the realistic path it took and its solid resolution as well. 

All in all, Fourth Comings is yet another unflinchingly honest installment from Megan McCafferty. Jessica, struggling to find a job, pay her rent, and find her place in the mesh that is NYC, is still the endearing character we first met. Although she has come a long way, she will always have so much more to go and it pains me to be so close to saying goodbye to her forever.

But. 

However. 

Unfortunately... 

As they say, all good things must eventually come to an end. While I wish there could be permanent AND postcard when it comes to this series, I am both excited and nervous to find out what finally happens to Marcus and Jessica. 

It could be FOREVER.

Or, you know, just WHATEVER. 

Title: Perfect Fifths (Jessica Darling, #5) 

Author: Megan McCafferty 

Rating: 3 Stars

At this point, the only option left for me is to take every single series/trilogy/duology finale and dump it into a giant cardboard box, tightly wrapped with duct tape, haul it into my attic and then write "Do Not Open Until 2014" on it. Quite simply put, this year is just not my year for series conclusion. I have yet to read a satisfying end to a series I have stuck with and loved and while Perfect Fifths may be the best series finale I read this year, that really isn't saying a whole lot. Unfortunately.

Frankly speaking, though, I was thoroughly enjoying this book until the last third emerged. While most readers found the shift into third person perspective jarring, I found it fit into the narration beautifully, switching between the thoughts of both Jessica and Marcus as these two bump into each other - literally - and later catch up through that ever-so-awkward conversation that laces the nostalgia and memories of their past. And all this was perfect. Granted, their conversation may have been a little pretentious, but it was real for these two and their time spent together was so heavily palpable with strangeness and connection. Moreover, the underlying theme of destiny and fate was beautifully interwoven into the tale - the utter inevitability of their meeting as if pre-destined by the heavens.

And yet, while this book is a enjoyable novel, it is not the satisfying ending I was hoping for. A quick analogy first though, yes?

Charmed Thirds:

I WISH OUR LOVE WAS RIGHT NOW AND

Fourth Comings:

I WISH OUR LOVE WAS RIGHT NOW AND FOREVER. WHATEVER.

Perfect Fifths: (Expectation)

I WISH OUR LOVE WAS RIGHT NOW AND FOREVER. WHATEVER. FOREVER.

Perfect Fifths: (Reality)

I WISH OUR LOVE WAS RIGHT NOW AND FOREVER. WHATEVER. AND

For me, at any rate, Perfect Fifths was not the finality of FOREVER or WHATEVER but rather the continuation of AND. Jessica and Marcus meet in an airport and catch up and realize they still have feelings for one another and...and...and what Megan McCafferty? What happens next? After Fourth Comings, which was both realistic in terms of their relationship and moving in terms of growth, I truly expected Perfect Fifths to solidify exactly why Marcus and Jessica were perfect for each other - not just RIGHT NOW but FOREVER. Not just in this re-incarnation of Marcus Flutie, but in every re-incarnation of Marcus Flutie.

And while I don't deny that the events of Perfect Fifths are utterly plausible for the romance arc between these two, it didn't wholly tie up the loose ends. Jessica and Marcus, for all I know, could break up again after this book. Since Jessica's feelings were realized in such a flimsy and rushed manner, that utter finality I wanted, that feeling that everything was going to be alright for these two no matter what hurdles came their way, was absent. And frankly speaking, I will probably be eighty with gray hairs and still wondering if these two really made it and got married and lived imperfectly ever after or not. Of course, this probably has something to do with my love of ambiguous endings (and the fact that I totally adored the ending of Fourth Comings) but I suspect much of it lies with the fault of this novel as well.

Even romance aside - for this book really does read like a romantic comedy movie script in prose - what makes Jessica Darling novels so special for me is not simply the characters or their lives, but rather the lessons learned in each novel. And I think the only lesson I took away from Perfect Fifths is the utterly cheesy realization that things happen for a reason. While this is all well-and-good, I was disappointed by the lack of insight into Jessica or Marcus's adult lives. I really enjoyed seeing the people they had become, molded by their pasts and yet the same. And yet, these plot threads were hanging by a bare string for I never felt the depth of feeling Jessica harbored for the students she taught and one in particular, Sunny. I never felt the passion that Marcus had for helping construct homes in New Orleans. All I felt was the whirlwind adventure of this eighteen-hour romance and even that didn't end the way I expected it too.

I don't deny that Perfect Fifths is an excellent ending for these two, I have never read this series for these two, so perhaps Perfect Fifths will be the perfect ending for readers who are more invested in seeing Marcus and Jessica wind up together. Yet, despite the fact that Perfect Fifths is my least favorite of the series, I cannot thank Megan McCafferty enough for giving me these characters and their lives. The Jessica Darling Series has changed me - profoundly - and I cannot recommend it enough. If there is one series any teenage girl should read, it is this one.

ARC Review: Out of This Place by Emma Cameron

Title: Out of This Place

Author: Emma Cameron

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Release Date: May 14th, 2013

Out of This Place, known and published originally as Cinnamon Rain in Australia is a novel I've been wanting to read for a long time. Whenever I'd saved enough money to indulge in an Aussie book, invariably, some other novel would rise up the list before this one and I'd tell myself that I'd buy it - next time. Thus, when it came up on NetGalley, like a starved child I lunged for it, fervently hoping I'd be accepted. You can imagine my surprise, though, when I opened it to find that it was a verse novel.

So, I'll say it now: Out of This Place is a verse novel.

I have nothing against verse novels, but the only one I can remember liking was Love That Dog by Sharon Creech - a novel I read nearly a decade ago. As such, my excitement suddenly turned into skepticism, mostly because verse novels and I have not had a very illustrious history. Emma Cameron is an Aussie author, though, and I placed my trust in her words to guide me through this book.

And I'm glad I did.

Out of This Place is very different from your typical read. It is split three-way and told from the perspectives of three characters, all friends, all high school students, and all trying to find their place in the world. Quite surprisingly, I found that I loved the manner in which this novel was written and it worked very well for the story as a whole, enriching it even further. You wouldn't think it, but it turns out that an unexpected amount of depth can be conveyed through simple verse - a feat that Emma Cameron manages to complete seamlessly.

Nevertheless, I do have to admit that I felt as if something was missing from this. It took me awhile to really get into the style of the novel and the perspective changes, but even more than that, I think I was simply expecting a little more. As a novel, this book lacks nothing, but as a reader who has heard nothing but high praise for this little novel, perhaps I set my standards a little too high. I emerged from this novel satisfied, but not overly impressed and - dare I say it? - glad that I hadn't bought this one online after all.

I will certainly be clamoring to pick up whatever Emma Cameron writes next, merely because she makes her characters and their problems seem all so very real, but for readers who, like me, have heard much hype about this novel, I'd caution you - but only slightly. Out of This Place is unique, different from the majority of other contemporary reads out there, and combined with its impeccable characterization and stunning writing style, it deserves to be read, regardless of that slight missing factor left in my heart afterwards.

Quick Reviews: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab & A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Quite obviously, these reviews aren't mini, but they're not quite my usual length either. And, I promise you, both of them are very quick reads - hence the title. I hope you enjoy! :)

Title: The Near Witch

Author: Victoria Schwab

Rating: DNF/2 Stars

You should know, right off the bat, that I am not a patient person. It's not one of my better traits, which is why I make such a conscious effort to be patient, to give every book an equal chance, to really try and connect with the characters. Yet, although the overwhelming majority of readers have loved this book, including some of my most trusted reviewers whose opinions nearly always match up with mine, I was unable to bring myself to actually finish The Near Witch. As Victoria Schwab's debut, it certainly succeeds in getting across its most important point - that Victoria Schwab can write. Schwab can string together words in a manner that can only be described as beautiful, but as far as characters, plot, or even romance goes? Unfortunately, Schwab couldn't even keep my attention for that long.

From the first page itself, The Near Witch is two things. (1) It is boring. Its plot drags on, giving us extraneous detail when we don't need it, revealing to us long and drawn-out conversation that is absolutely unnecessary and does nothing to further the plot. As such, it is very easy to let your mind wander for more than just a little bit. (2) It is shockingly unoriginal. The Near Witch is more of a fairy tale and less of a fantasy novel, but it is a long and drawn-out fairy tale. One which has been told so many times before.

Any seasoned reader of fantasy will tell you that the typical tale starts out in a secluded village (Check!), with a protagonist who is more of a tomboy than the traditional wife she is meant to be (Check!), and everything really only starts with the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Check!). At this point, a few things can happen. Either the girl will somehow wind up traveling away from her village with her stranger and, down the road, they have adventures and fall in love, all while saving their kingdom. Or, the stranger is unaccepted in the village, but the girl somehow meets him and falls in love with him anyway (Check!).

Now, all we need to add to our story is a mystery, a tale of a not-forgotten witch, and a missing child to spice everything up. As a lover of all things fantasy, this traditional set-up didn't turn me off. In fact, some of my favorite novels have followed this same pattern, but what makes them shine while The Near Witch will collect dust in my attic is the fact that their characters were compelling. Lexi, the protagonist of The Near Witch is headstrong and fierce, admirable traits for sure, but I never really felt any type of connection with her. If the plot itself had been a little more engaging, I suspect I may have warmed up to Lexi, but with such a slow plot-line, I couldn't bring myself to really care all that much.

Ultimately, I have to admit that it was the slow pace that made me put this down far before I'd reached the end. In all honesty, the story of The Near Witch could be condensed into a novella and have more success as, really, it is just a simple fairy tale. Schwab's debut is not, in my eyes, a full-blown fantasy novel and it lacks the plot structure to become one. Nevertheless, I have to warn you all to take this review with a grain of salt. Schwab's debut seems to have been a favorite of many readers and I suspect, as always, this is just another case of me being a black sheep. Although I fully intend to read Schwab's The Archived, perhaps I'll go into it with fewer expectations now. Either way, I can only hope Schwab's sophomore novel is far stronger than her debut could hope to be.

Title: A Long, Long Sleep 

Author: Anna Sheehan

Rating: 2 Stars/DNF

Well...this was a disappointment. A Long, Long Sleep is a well-known novel, acclaimed by nearly every single one of my most trusted reviewers. Clearly, there is something wrong with me. Although Sheehan's debut has an original premises with a futuristic twist on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, I unfortunately can't claim to be impressed. At all.

At first, it's difficult not to be enamored with this novel. It all starts with Rose waking up after six decades only to find that her parents and boyfriend have died, along with virtually everyone she knows, because of a great plague. Rose, who was "stassed" or kept alive in a chamber, must now face the futuristic realm she finds herself in, all while getting accustomed to the world of politics and intrigue she has simultaneously been thrown in.

While I loved the idea behind A Long, Long Sleep, I found its execution to be poor. Rose, for one, is a heroine I didn't feel much for. On one hand, I appreciate that she's physically weak from her ordeal and mentally confused, but she fails to make any attempts to improve her lifestyle. Furthermore, she seems fixated both on her first love, Xavier, and her new crush, Bren, who really isn't all that great as a hunk. In fact, the only secondary characters I liked were Otto, an alien, and, ironically enough, the villain who wants to prevent Rose from owning the large corporation her parents built when she comes of age.

A Long, Long Sleep also falls flat in the world-building department. Thankfully, it is present, but since it's told in large chunks, it disrupts the flow of the story and can drag. Moreover, the corporate political path that this book seems to take in the beginning is utterly abandoned in favor of a typical high-school love story. Even more unfortunate is the fact that there is virtually no difference between the futuristic society Rose wakes up in and the one she went to sleep in. I appreciate that Sheehan took pains to distinguish modern phrases, but either than a few technology shifts, not much has happened in six decades.

Granted, I abandoned this book in an interested spot, directly half-way through the narration. Yet, I think it says a lot about a novel that I had no qualms setting it down right as it explained a major plot twist. Even more than a lackluster plot line and execution, this novel failed to make me establish any connections with its cast. All in all, A Long, Long Sleep is just another one of those hyped up novels. Perhaps if I had gone into it without expecting something much greater, I would have been more satisfied. As it stands, I don't plan to re-visit this novel - or its author - again.

Review: Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz

Title: Lucid

Author: Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Forget everything you've been told about Lucid. Everything. I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a title of a novel I've been more mislead by, and not in a good way. Lucid promises to be an original, mind-boggling, and paranormal tale of two girls who can't discern their reality from their dreams, much like what happens to Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in "Inception." Lucid, I have to admit, certainly delivers on this front, but only during the last twenty percent of this novel. For the other eighty percent, we are slowly flipping the pages, bored senseless by the normalcy of the two lives we are presented and if, you're like me, banging our heads as Adrienne Stoltz has managed to cleverly weave two love triangles in one. While Lucid is by no means an excellent novel, its ending saved it from being a disappointing one.

Maggie and Sloane have the same name, but they could not be two more different individuals. Maggie is a teenage actress living in Manhattan with a widowed mother who is more careless than responsible and a beloved younger sister who Maggie dotes on, but also takes full care of. Sloane, on the other hand, has a loving family, a younger brother, a best guy friend who is always there for her, and a normal school life. In fact, the only tragedy to hit her life is the death of Bill, a childhood friend. For Maggie, romance enters her life in the form of Andrew and Thomas while Sloane is torn between James, the enigmatic new guy who wins her heart with his intellect and good-looks, and her life-long best friend, Gordy. What makes Sloane and Maggie connected, though, more than just their names is the fact that they dream of each others lives at night and now, they can't tell who is real and who is simply a figment of their own imagination.

Quite frankly, it took me awhile to get into Lucid. If I hadn't been reading this on a read-along, I most probably would have abandoned it at its half-way point. Each chapter switches from the perspectives of Maggie and Sloane and at first, I found myself zooming through Maggie's chapters to get to Sloane. Maggie, as an actress, is aloof and distant from the reader for much of the story, failing to form the immediate emotional connection that Sloane garners because of the normalcy of her life. As the novel wore on, though, I found that I began to care for both heroines and the stark differences between their narrations were very clearly felt, which is an obvious plus point in the direction of this debut author.

Unfortunately, though, the eighty percent of this novel shrouded in dullness is also filled with angst. We have Maggie, who likes Andrew, who has a girlfriend. We also have Thomas, who is an agent, who likes Maggie, who is seven years younger than him and isn't even a legal adult. Ew. On the other hand, we have Sloane, who is besotted with James - and I don't completely blame her - but he, too, is rather mercurial. Although Gordy is never a viable love interest because of the attention Sloane lavishes on James, our feelings towards James oscillate from love to hate rapidly. One of the most unique aspects of this novel is that by the end, some of this makes sense. My mixed feelings towards James, for instance, are perfectly explained and kind of mind-blowing in their subtle genius. Others, though, are merely present for drama, angst, and for the sake of prolonging the novel longer than it needed to be. Folks, the beginning of this story is not a fun ride - not at all.

Thankfully, though, the plot slowly gives away to a descent into madness. We see aspects of Maggie's life crop up in Sloane's and vice versa and, at first, we aren't sure what to think. When the ending arrives, it is stunning and explains so much - but not enough. It seems to be too obscure for me to fully fall in love with this novel, yet decent enough that I did like it. Nevertheless, I can only recommend Lucid to the most patient of readers, those who can barrel through angst and love triangles to finally get to the rather genius ending within. And, to them, I simply say this: good luck.

A huge thanks to Jasprit for reading this along with me! Without her, I would have undoubtedly given up and never been shocked by the utterly brilliant ending. :)