Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cress (Lunar Chronicles, #3) 

Author: Marissa Meyer

Rating: 2.5 Stars

I can't say I enjoyed reading this; I counted down till the end. For those of you who aren't aware, Marissa Meyer and I have a love-hate relationship, leaning towards the latter, unfortunately. I found Cinder to be less-than-stellar, devoid of world-building and overtaken by a plot that was far too predictable. When the synopsis of Scarlet released, all it took was one mention of Wolf to have me scrambling for a copy. Admittedly, Scarlet had its flaws too, but I loved it. Unabashedly. For a few blissful months I felt like a white sheep; just like everyone else. And then I cracked open the spine of Cress.

Cress is a loose re-telling of Rapunzel, a tale which was once unknown but has now been popularly marketed thanks to the brilliance of Disney's "Tangled." In comparison to "Tangled," Cress leaves a lot to be desired. In comparison to Scarlet, it leaves even more. Where Meyer excels as a writer is in the fact that her plotting is impeccable, tight and focused without wandering astray even once. We begin this novel with a plan to stop Prince Kai's impending wedding with Queen Levana and, despite the hurdles thrown at these characters, that remains the goal throughout. In order to achieve this, however, Cinder & the Gang need the help of Cress, a Lunar born as a shell, lacking powers, who is trapped aboard a satellite where she spends her time hacking into computer systems, infiltrating into top secret facilities, and reporting information back to Sybil, a.k.a. Mother Gothel. And, as you can guess, of course Sybil works for Queen Levana.

When Cress first makes contact with Cinder & Co., she is eager to help them escape scrutiny from the Lunar Queen and find a way to escape herself. Needless to say, their plans fall through - rather catastrophically - forcing an unexpected visit to the Sahara Desert. With so much going on, Cress is a fast-paced, action-packed novel. Flitting from one perspective to the next, Meyer continues to build upon our understanding of this world. While the history behind the nascence of Lunars and their magic remains nonexistent, I've learned to survive without these vital tidbits of information. Instead, I appreciate the fact that Meyer has created a complicated political system at hand, one that Prince Kai  is constantly attempting to work through.

While Prince Kai may not have been my favorite character in Cinder, over the course of the past two novels he has truly grown. In fact, it is Kai and Cinder, the main leads of the first installment in this series, who continue to surprise me as this series wears on. Both of them play important roles in society, but their inner musings and the manner in which they navigate through their fears while still attempting to do what is right for the citizens of the world they live in is admirable. Meyer has, slowly but steadily, won me over to this couple which failed to spark my interest two installments ago. But, then again, Kai and Cinder have very little competition in Cress. Not only are my two darlings - Scarlet and Wolf - conveniently captive or unconscious for much of the novel, but Cress and Thorne are pathetically disappointing.

I will be the first to admit that I loved Thorne in Scarlet. Loved. Him. In Cress, however, I found that his character lacked the same dynamic, presumably because of the presence of Cress. Individually, I really enjoy the characters of both Cress and Thorne. As a couple, however, they leave much to be desired. The bulk of Cress follows this pair as they trek across the Sahara and my eyes glazed over the page far too many times. Quite simply put, Cress is no match for Thorne. Not only is she naive and shy, but she lacks the inner anger and fury that Rapunzel of "Tangled" possessed. Cress's rebellious streak starts and ends with her desire to escape. Once outside the confines of her satellite, she has little interest in much else. Except Thorne. Cress has had a crush on Thorne ever since the handsome rascal first made it across her news feed and while the universe may believe Thorne is a criminal, Cress already believes he hides a kind heart within.

While this could have been an incredible spring board to launch an epic romance, it sizzles and dies out quickly. Though Thorne tells Cress, immediately, that her infatuation with him is tainted by bias and lies, she holds onto those beliefs throughout the book. Even when she doubts Thorne, a small action of his - a kind, normal, human gesture - is seen as heroic. Cress places Thorne on a pedestal and though she experiences a unique growth arc, I feel as if she never falls in love with the real Thorne. Moreover, there is next to no development of Thorne's attraction to Cress until the last few chapters, which honestly sprang out of nowhere. I was blindsided and, honestly, a little upset over the direction this romance took. I believe that Thorne and Cress have the potential to become a worthwhile couple, but the way they were written never made me believe in their romance, let alone the equality and stability of their bond.

And yet, perhaps nothing takes the award for Disappointment with a capital D the way Scarlet and Wolf do. In Scarlet, this couple was sizzling, full of unacknowledged sexual tension, betrayal, and a complex scope of emotions. Both Scarlet and Wolf still have a long way to progress in their relationship, so the fact that they are separated early in the novel is a little jarring. (Especially as their separation occurs after the majority of the "Rapunzel" fairy-tale is told, so the re-telling in Cress is compressed to the first fifth of the narrative. Not a fan of that plot choice either.) If it weren't bad enough that Scarlet and Wolf are separated, they have just about two scenes each afterwards. Um...WHAT? With Scarlet, Meyer won me over with her ability to delve into the minds of two complex characters, all while sustaining a convoluted story scheme. With Cress, she fails to give Scarlet and Wolf the depth we know they contain. Instead, their intriguing story arc is pushed aside in favor of other characters. While it is difficult for me to continue on my angry rant about this decision without giving away spoilers, I'll leave you with this last thought: I don't think Winter can repair the damage of Scarlet and Wolf's relationship from Cress. Both these characters go through traumatic events in this novel and the effects of those experiences will, most likely, not be explored to their full capacity in the sequel, which disappoints me even further.

Speaking of Winter, though, we are awarded a taste of the mad Winter and her lover in Cress and I am rather intrigued to meet them in more detail. After coming this far, reading every novella and novel within this series, I plan to see it through to the end. Frankly, though, Cress has little to offer besides an enticing plot line. While this would, ordinarily, be alright, I read for characters, not for plot twists. I didn't wholly dislike everything about this novel, but I disliked enough to know that I won't be recommending this to many readers. In fact, I may just re-read Scarlet and rationalize it into a stand-alone in my mind. Still, take my words with a grain of salt: after all, I am the only reader to dislike this novel. (So far.)

Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Title: Heartbeat

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Rating: 4 Stars

Heartbeat first came to my attention because of an influx of negative reviews. As a reader who has attempted a handful of Scott's issue novels in the past - unsuccessfully as I simply could not get past those first few depressing chapters - I've been anxious to find a novel of hers that was equal parts charming and heartfelt. Scott's work is, generally, liked which makes it difficult to sift through the praise to discover whether or not that particular novel of hers will work for me. Thus, the phrases thrown around about Heartbeat - particularly that is featured an utterly unlikable heroine - surprised me. And thrilled me. You see, if the masses love a novel, the chances practically guarantee that I will dislike it. (After all, "black sheep" is my other name!) Going by that philosophy, I took a gamble on Heartbeat: if other readers disliked it, there was an equally high probability that I wouldn't. And I was right.

Scott's latest isn't an easy novel to read. Yet, that being said, it also isn't as crushing as Living Dead Girl which makes it a good place to start with her work. It contains her tell-tale stance on issue novels, along with the inevitable weight of pain that accompanies her books, but it isn't overwhelming. Not quite. Heartbeat is, after all, a story of grief. YA suffers from no dearth of grief novels, but Scott's manages to be different from the typical take on mourning. Emma, the protagonist of our tale, visits her mother in the hospital everyday. Only, her mother is dead. All that remains is her body which is kept alive to ensure that Emma's unborn baby brother will survive. Dan, Emma's stepfather, took the decision to keep Emma's mother alive without even consulting her and, as such, Emma cannot help but cast Dan in the role of the villain. Emma's mother never had a choice in her situation and Emma, frankly, believes that her mother would have been happier if she were not being kept forcibly alive when she is, in fact, brain-dead.

While Emma is mourning her mother's death - while strangely not mourning her mother for she sees her everyday - life moves on, without her. Emma was once one of the most competitive students in her high school. Now, Emma can't find it in herself to care for anything as silly as homework, as papers, as school projects. Not when her stepfather has betrayed her, her mother is dead, and Emma is grieving. Olivia, Emma's best friend, is a pillar of support for her during this time. While Olivia's life still continues - school, crushes, assignments - she never hesitates to lend her shoulder for Emma to cry on when Emma needs it. Olivia keeps Emma grounded into reality, forcing her to keep from giving into the grief that lies inside. And Olivia is an exemplary best friend. Although she cannot understand Emma completely, she tries.

But sometimes, all Emma really wants is for someone to understand her. Enter: Caleb. Ever since his younger sister died by falling off her bike, Caleb has been the resident bad boy. From drugs and alcohol to stealing cars, Caleb is the real deal. When Emma first sees him in the hospital, her first instinct is to stay away. And then she allows herself to look at him - really look at him - and the grief she sees mirrored in his own eyes surprises her. Before long, Caleb and Emma are talking. Walking. Spending time together. Caleb and Emma's relationship is complicated, full of messy emotions. Both of them are brought together by their grief and their ability to understand one another. As Emma realizes, though, Caleb cannot heal her. Caleb has no magical words, no mysterious gifts to heal her pain. And that is okay.

As Caleb and Emma grow to like each other for who they are, outward appearances set aside, Emma's relationship with her stepfather grows increasingly volatile. And I get why readers don't like Emma. Emma is angry, bitter, sarcastic, and upset. While she is torn over her mother's death - the lack of her mother's presence in their household - she is even more angry with Dan for taking such a monumental decision without consulting her. Now, it has become Dan & The Baby vs. Emma. At least in Emma's mind. Emma doesn't make many attempts to understand her stepfather, despite the fact that he tries - time and time again - to breach the gap between them. Emma walks away from conversation, shuts down those who try to get through to her, and lashes out at every chance she gets. Obviously, her behavior isn't likable. Emma isn't likable; she isn't meant to be.

Scott - from what I presume, at any rate - set out to write a realistic character, not an idealistic one. While we, the reader, would love for Emma to just listen to Dan once or allow herself to open up to him, it isn't easy for her. Perhaps I enjoyed Heartbeat as much as I did because I understood Emma. I saw some part of myself reflected back in her. It's such a common coping mechanism to shut down, to revert into your mind and re-evaluate situations with your own bias tainting the picture. So common. And this is exactly what Emma does. It doesn't make her an admirable heroine, but it makes her an understandable one. I was able to rationalize all of Emma's actions without needing to think them through and her growth throughout the novel, though messy and difficult, was worth the struggle.

Heartbeat is a novel I know can work for a lot of readers - if only we'd get past this stigma of an "unlikable" heroine. Even beyond that, though, this novel is an honest portrayal of grief, coupled with a realistic, but very swoon-worthy, romance that heals, but doesn't necessarily cure. In other words, Scott's latest was exactly my kind of novel. Give me an angry, bitter, lashes-out-at-everyone heroine over a Bella Swan any day. Oh, and for good measure, throw in an actual bad-boy, not one of those "I-look-like-a-player" or those "I-ride-a-motorbike" or "I-am-too-sarcastic" kind of bad-boys we keep having in YA. A bad-boy who steals cars, does drugs, and sets himself on a road to redemption and love. Yes, please.

Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Title: A Visit from the Goon Squad

Author: Jennifer Egan

Rating: 4.5 Stars

A Visit from the Goon Squad is like reading the first novel in a companion book series. We read about the protagonists, but also about the secondary characters. In fact, our connection to them whets our appetite to read about them as protagonists in their own right in the impending sequel. But imagine reading about those same characters from the angle of a different narrator. And another one, now from a different time period. Just try to picture following a series of characters, all loosely connected, but through the eyes of different narrators who hail from different time periods, continents, and backgrounds.

In a nutshell, that’s A Visit from the Good Squad. Egan follows the tale of Bennie, an old man who once used to discover the best bands and help them hit big. Using multiple perspectives, narrative voices, and time periods, Egan steadily builds a picture of Bennie from his adolescent years to his stardom and beyond. It isn’t solely a novel centered around Bennie, however. It’s about the lives of the people Bennie has touched, whether it be before or after their interaction with him. And the lives of the people those people in turn have affected.

Egan is a definite Pulitzer Prize winner due to her ability to spin such a tight, complex tale in a convoluted manner. A Visit from the Goon Squad never lags in pacing, but Egan’s creativity oozes out the pages, falling just under overwhelming. Jumping from first person to third, second person to distant futures we have yet to experience, even entire chapters told through newspaper articles or a PowerPoint presentation, Egan is a masterful storyteller.

Yet, the reason this novel is so worthy of its accolades and its 5-Star rating is for the raw emotion Egan is able to capture in just a few pages. Every chapter is a short story in and of itself, though they all connect to create a beautiful novel. While we never re-visit a narrator, we manage to grow attached to them in the short span we spend in their heads and grow ever-more anxious and curious to hear about them, even in passing, during other chapters. Although this method could have been used to wring out frustrating emotions, Egan writes tactfully, pulling us into her tale emotionally but enabling us to enjoy the journey she forces us on without becoming too messily involved.

Ultimately, Egan manages to re-create so many small, seemingly unimportant facets of life which hold greater meanings. By the end, it is breath-taking to see all of the minuscule details come together with spellbinding ease. Egan’s writing is effortless, flowing from one page to the next timelessly. While I cannot claim that A Visit from the Goon Squad changed my life, it did garner a greater appreciation for the art of writing. And, most importantly, like a picture, it spoke a thousand words without uttering a sound.

ARC Review: Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Title: Me Since You

Author: Laura Wiess

Rating: 4 Stars

Release Date: February 18th, 2014

I'll admit it: I picked up this book for its cover alone. In fact, I've been itching to try a Wiess novel precisely because of her covers. Either they are breath-taking in their beauty or eye-catching in their simplicity. Wiess's latest novel, though not perfect, has certainly ignited a thirst for more of her work. With an effortless writing style, Wiess captures dark, gritty emotions in their rawest form. Granted, her novels are not easy to read - not by a long shot - but they are worth it.

Me Since You is a difficult novel to describe, merely because it a two-fold story. Our novel begins with Rowan Areno cutting class. Rowan's father is a police man and after witnessing horrible crimes day after day, he's more than just a little over protective of his only daughter. After finding her sitting alone in a booth at McDonald's (after her best friend and two cute senior boys ditched her to go to the beach), Officer Areno takes his daughter home and is about to sit her down for a scolding when he receives an urgent call. As the closest one to the scene, Rowan's father cruises out to a bridge where a man is planning to commit suicide with his three-month-year-old baby boy in his hands. Eli, whose father was killed in the army, is also on that bridge, walking his dog. And despite the efforts of Rowan's father, the man jumps and kills himself.

After the incident, Rowan's life is turned upside down. For one, the neighborhood she lives in ostracizes her father for not saving the life of a depressed man. When the video of what transpired leaks online, her father gives in to his inner demons. While life with her father is no longer easy, it is still easier than what comes afterward: suicide. Rowan knows her father loved her and her mother but she cannot understand why he would kill himself. Me Since You explores grief in a deep, visceral manner, both as a recipient and as an outsider. After the incident on the bridge, Rowan struggles to maintain her friendships and push through with school, striking up an easy relationship with Eli who, shockingly, seems to understand her. Just as her life seems to be returning to a state of normalcy, however, her father commits suicide and Rowan shuts herself off from the world. Completely.

Me Since You touches upon the deep-rooted sickness of depression in an engaging manner. We first witness the extent of depression through the eyes of Rowan's father as he struggles to convince a man to live, to let his new-born child live. We see it again through the eyes of Rowan as her father begins to take medication, sees a therapist, and attempts to survive through each day. It isn't easy to see a parent, especially one you believed was constantly strong and a source of support, succumb to weakness. But Rowan's father does his best to get his life back on track. As requested, he takes time off from work. As advised, he goes to talk over his issues with a psychiatrist. As told, he takes anti-depressant pills. And yet, he still commits suicide. After all his efforts and despite the love his family bears for him, he loses his will to live on.

After this horrific action, Rowan needs time for herself. While her romance with Eli - understanding, sweet, calming, gentle - is just on the verge of taking off, she is blinded by her grief and unable to pursue anything more with him. Eli, who lives with his father's death every day, who walks the dog that served in the army with his father, understands better than anyone. Even when Rowan's friends ask her to heal quickly, even when her remaining family pushes her to forgive her father, Eli gives her the space she needs. As such, their romance is a minimal aspect to this novel, but an important one. While they don't heal one another, they do help one another, and the understanding they share due to their traumatic pasts makes them an ideal match.

One of my favorite aspects to this tale, though, is Rowan's healing. Not only does Rowan write letters to her father, voicing her disbelief, her anger, and her sorrow, but the relationship she sustains with her mother is beautifully portrayed. Both these women have been touched by the same grief, but in different ways. Rowan and her mother are healing at different paces and through different mediums. After her husband's death, Rowan's mother takes it upon herself to house stray cats - eleven of them. It is only when her parents - Rowan's grandparents - yell some sense into her that she begins to accept that her husband is truly gone. While Rowan doesn't need to be there for anyone, her mother does need to be there for her which makes that burden of grief all the more painful, in some ways. Wiess charts these issues with grace, though, creating three-dimensional characters we can get behind and emotions we feel, despite not wanting to touch these difficult topics.

Where my criticism with Me Since You arises is in its conclusion. Rowan's father, despite being a meticulous man, fails to leave a suicide note which haunts Rowan. Although she heals, she is unable to fully let go of her grief until, eventually, she does find a suicide note. For me, this felt like a cop-out. In her debut, Courtney Summers writes about a young teenage girl coping with the suicide of her father - a girl who never finds a suicide note, never finds a reason, but still manages to heal. Me Since You seemed to be following this very same and poignant path until the tail-end, which ruined the impact of the story for me. Nevertheless, despite that, this novel discusses the issue of suicide and depression in a heart-felt manner and for fans of issue books, this one covers that scope beautifully - and even beyond.

Showcase Sunday (#31)

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

For Review:

I've already read Fitzpatrick's What I Thought Was True and fell head-over-heels in LOVE with it. You won't regret pre-ordering it at all. As for everything else? I can't wait to dive in!

Bought: 

Not only is this one of my favorite trilogies, but it's one of the best. I'm struggling to write a review for this book but just know that is was very, very good.

Borrowed:

I've heard so much about all three of these books that I had to snatch them up from my library. Also, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Clean Sweep is a hit for me, especially after Magic Rises which I didn't enjoy.

Audiobooks: 

I don't make my love for Patty Briggs a secret - Mercy Thompson is easily my favorite UF Series out there - so when I saw the audiobooks for another one of her books, I snatched it up. On the other hand, I'm not sure if I can handle listening to a book about serial killers with Game, but I have it on hand if I'm feeling brave enough to try. 

Phew, that's my haul for the past month or so. As you can see, I'm drowning in ARCs (which is actually better for you since I'm also giving them away!). Don't forget to enter to win a gothic romance bundle and while you're here, stop by to check out Rosamund Hodge's guest post concerning bad boys in literature, particularly in her debut, Cruel Beauty. 

And link me up to your posts - I love hauls! :)