Review: Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Posted on July 29, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

So you want to know my absolute favorite thing about this blog? Not only has blogging helped me discover oodles of fantastic books, but it’s helped me become aware of the large and thriving book community right around where I live. A community that includes published authors, soon-to-be-published writers, agented writers, non-agented writers, bloggers, and everything in between. A little over a year ago, I had never heard of Myra McEntire. Since then, I’ve discovered her fabulous books, but more importantly, I’ve gotten to know her, and she’s become a wonderful friend.

Next week, the last book in Myra’s Hourglass trilogy, Infinityglass, will hit shelves, and I’m so, so excited for you to read it.

This review is going to be a little different from my usual, because I actually had the privilege of beta reading Infinityglass. So I can’t review it with complete objectivity, since I was so involved in the writing process. (Really, I just want to write READ IT READ IT NOW IT’S SO GOOD YOU’LL LOVE IT READ IT NOWWWWWW!) But I’m going to try my best.

The Plot (from Goodreads):

The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series.

The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time travelers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order.

With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does.

But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn’t an object. It’s a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?

My Thoughts:

From the first few moments of Infinityglass, it’s clear that this is going to be a different sort of story from the first two books in the series. For one thing, as with Timepiece, we have a new narrator — but this time, there’s two of them, and one of them is someone we’ve never met. And for another thing, it moves out of Ivy Springs, Tennessee, to the bustling streets of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The first voice we’re treated to in Infinityglass is the titular character herself, Hallie. Hallie’s different from the other female characters in the series; she’s bold, reckless, assertive, and a bit on the dangerous side. She also, like the other members of the Hourglass, has the time gene, giving her unique and uncanny abilities. However, Hallie’s grown up in a very different environment from the Hourglass folks we know and love, and her attitude about time genes, time rips, and her role in it all does not necessarily jive with what all the characters have believed and discovered in the first two books.

Enter the second narrator, Dune. Unlike Hallie, Dune is a character first introduced in Hourglass, but he’s always remained a secondary character, his powers explained, but not explored. In Infinityglass, Dune finally gets his chance to shine. He goes to New Orleans as an expert on the Infinityglass, tasked with figuring out the best way to handle “it” now that they know “it” is a “her.” Now, I liked Michael, and I loved Kaleb — and I know many of you did too — but Dune is not either of them. He’s his own person, strong and quiet, intelligent, analytical, and haunted by a few demons of his own.

One of my favorite things about this series is the diverse cast of characters (both in personality and heritage), and all the different ways a person can be strong and complex. And of course, in true Hourglass series style, there are swoons and kisses galore throughout the book, both from our favorite established couples, and from a sizzling new pairing.

Together, Dune and Hallie try to puzzle out what it means for Hallie to be the Infinityglass, both for her personally, and for the world as a whole, which is still being flooded with ever-intensifying time rips. Meanwhile, the nefarious Jack Landers is still at large, along with Teague, the head of the anti-Hourglass organization Chronos, who wishes to use the Infinityglass for her own, undoubtedly villainous, purposes. The more Dune and Hallie learn about the Infinityglass and Chronos, and Hallie discovers about her frightening abilities, the more it becomes clear that they’re going to need help from the rest of the Hourglass team.

The book builds to an action-packed conclusion, allowing the key players from the first two books to return while keeping the spotlight firmly on this book’s two protagonists, Dune and Hallie. Questions posed throughout the series are answered, action is abundant, and it ends on a satisfying note full of promise for the future. Just like the first two books, it’s chock full of action, kissing, superpowers, witty banter, and pop culture references (including several Doctor Who nods — of course). I loved it, and I hope you do too.

Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Posted on July 26, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

Ever since The 5th Wave came out a couple months ago, I’ve heard nothing but people raving about how un-put-down-able it is. I didn’t know much about it other than it was about aliens (which, enough said, right? I mean ALIENS!) and was apparently The Awesome. It’s been way too long since I’ve read an alien book that I absolutely loved (like, decades-long. Hm. This is a problem.), so I was super excited when my library got a copy right before I was about to leave for a couple weeks of various travels. Traveling times are always great reading times, so I tucked this one into my luggage (along with several other books, obviously. My luggage was heavy.) and started reading a few days later.

Guys. PEOPLE WEREN’T WRONG.

The Plot (from Goodreads):

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

My Thoughts:

I’m going to try to give away as little as possible of the plot in this review, because I honestly feel that going into this book knowing essentially nothing about it is the way to go. It made each reveal thrilling and satisfying, and made it impossible to stop turning pages. It’s been a while since a book has led me to stay up way past my bedtime, because I simply could not put it down. But this book was one of those books that reminded me how much I love reading, and how much I love the sci-fi genre in particular. This was the alien apocalypse book I never knew I always wanted.

So let’s get into it. The 5th Wave follows two primary points of view, Cassie and another guy whom I will let you discover as you read (he is not, as the blurb suggests, Evan Walker — although Evan does get one short POV section, as does one other character). Both eighteen-year-old protagonists have survived the atrocities of the first four waves of invasion, and both have suffered heavy losses. Their stories run parallel for most of the book, with neither of them ever being aware of the other’s existence (either pre- or post-invasion), but there are common threads in each of their narratives that keep the stakes climbing for both of them. It’s brilliantly executed, and kept the tension ratcheting up throughout the story.

Each of the characters in The 5th Wave was a fully-realized person. You can see how Cassie progressed from normal high school senior to semi-automatic-toting survivalist, and the same is true for all the main characters, from children to teens to adults to aliens. I felt like I knew these people, and it made me that much more invested in their struggle for survival against staggering odds.

I loved — loved — the logic of the waves of invasion. Both the order of events and the execution were — with one minor exception — flawless. (I took issue with the birds. I have questions about the birds. But the rest of it is so well done that I don’t really care.) The aliens took a sculptor’s approach to the eradication of humanity, removing massive chunks at the start, then pulling out their fine tools to whittle down the survivors. It was terrible, but fantastic at the same time.

And as far as the story itself, it was a constant adrenaline surge from beginning to end. Rick Yancey didn’t pull any punches. Each loss hurt, and victories came at a price. There were no characters who felt safe, no challenges I was sure could be surmounted. It’s one of the reasons this book is so hard to put down — you just don’t know if they’re going to make it. In a story where 97% of the human race is dead at the beginning, survival and success are very much not guaranteed.

Overall, The 5th Wave was a thoroughly entertaining roller coaster of a book that kept me up all hours of the night. The premise is fantastic, the characters felt real, and the twists and turns of the plot kept me constantly on my toes. I loved it.

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Posted on July 3, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

I’ve had several conversations in the past few months about Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I’ve heard friends rave about the writing, but also furrow their eyebrows and scratch their heads when it came to the plot. It was enough to pique my interest. I had friends who loved it and friends who were incredibly frustrated by it, so of course I had to see for myself. Plus I’m always up for some well-crafted fantasy.

The Plot (from Goodreads):

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Thoughts:

First off, Laini Taylor’s writing is gooooooorgeous. There are many authors who write beautifully, and I admire them greatly, but hers is possibly the most vivid and flowing prose I have ever read. The only problem with it is that it was so lovely and lyrical that it kept putting me to sleep. I need to emphasize, this is not because the story was dull. It’s because it was the reading equivalent of listening to soothing music, and once you throw in a bed or a recliner or a sunny day…I didn’t stand a chance. It was the strangest experience. I’ve never had that happen before with a book I actually found interesting. Normally, books that put me to sleep are boring. This one wasn’t. Just soothing. I should probably have read it in a straight-backed chair with a cup of coffee, but that’s no fun.

Her world building is also fantastic. Every setting, from the streets of Prague to the otherworldy homes of the seraphim and chimaera, is fully realized and tangible. She painted detailed word pictures that really brought the environments and characters to life. In reading this book, I felt like I was getting a master class in setting and description. It’s amazing.

The characters are varied. Karou is great, brimming with personality and quirks and feistiness. Especially in the first half of the book, before the history really comes into play, she is so much fun to read. Her conversations with her best friend, as well as the tiny wish-pranks she pulls on those who cross her, were some of the highlights of the book for me. Once her story merges with Akiva’s, she looses a bit of the vivaciousness that I enjoyed about her, but never falls flat.

As for Akiva, he left me wanting a bit. I understand why he is the way he is — a warrior who has trained himself to suppress his emotions, empathy, and gentler instincts for the sake of survival — but this granite persona didn’t seem to me to be a natural complement to Karou’s fierce vitality. Their relationship, especially at first, didn’t seem to be based on a whole lot more than his stunning attractiveness. It just left me wondering if there could be a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking*. He’s not unpleasant, he’s just a little flat. For me to buy their deep ties to each other, I wanted a bit more from him. I hope it happens in the sequel.

As for the plot, I can see where some people had difficulty. The book really changes tone about 2/3 of the way through. Not only does it change from more lighthearted and occasionally witty to dark and epic, but it shifts focus from Karou’s quest to learn what’s happened as a result of the black handprints, to Akiva’s story of events that happened before Karou was even born. The back story becomes the plot, and the result is that essentially nothing happens in the “present” for the last third of the book. You just learn why the things that have happened, happened.

Now I really can’t tell you how to feel about this. For me, it was a little dissatisfying to realize that the present plot — Karou’s plot — was not going to move forward before the book ended. But at the same time, all the history that is revealed is imaginative and fascinating, so while I wished there was more plot progression, I enjoyed everything I learned. I absolutely plan on reading the sequel, and look forward to finding out what happens to Karou and Akiva now that all the history has been revealed. I also hope that several enjoyable characters from the beginning of the book who disappeared in the latter half are able to make a reappearance.

If you’re a person who really needs to know what is going to happen, and not only why it’s all happening, this book may not work for you. But if you think you will enjoy a book that is primarily character exploration, world building, and back story — so essentially, set-up for the sequel — then this book is beautifully executed and I highly recommend it.

* sorry, I couldn’t help it.

Cover Reveal + ARC Giveaway: FAKING NORMAL by Courtney C. Stevens

Posted on June 24, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

I am BEYOND thrilled today to be able to host Courtney Stevens’ cover reveal for her debut YA Contemporary, FAKING NORMAL. Courtney is a dear friend of mine, and while I have not read FAKING NORMAL (yet!), I have read a bit of her other writing, including some involving a few of the characters from FN, and mark my words, friends: She’s going to be A Someone in the book world. I can feel it in my bones.

FAKING NORMAL doesn’t hit shelves until next February (not April! It got moved up! *happy dance*), but until then you can all salivate over the gorgeous cover. I could probably write a sonnet about how much I love it (her eyes! her freckles! the trees!), but I won’t. Instead, I’ll let you form your own opinions, while introducing you to Courtney. She’s a person worth knowing, friends.

Without further ado, here’s Courtney Stevens!

Hello awesome people! Before we get into the cover stuff, I want to thank all the bloggers and authors who are helping today with this reveal. This is such a fantastic and talented community, and I’m fortunate to be a part of it.

And now on to the main event, the cover of Faking Normal:

Designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

Reasons I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cover:

1. It’s beautiful.

2. It tells a story without words.

3. Have you seen the awesome paper cut trees???

Here’s what the publisher (HarperTeen) has to say about Faking Normal:

Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

At school, nobody sees the scratches or her pain. The only person she connects with is the mysterious Captain Lyric, who writes song lyrics on her fourth-period desk for her to complete. With pencil marks and music, Alexi carves out a comfortable space for herself as she and the Captain finish each other’s songs – words on a desk feel safer than words spoken aloud.

But when Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend who understands her better than anyone. He has secrets of his own and knows all about suffering in silence. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally speak up.

With her powerful, moving debut novel, author Courtney C. Stevens emerges as an extraordinary new talent to watch.

Faking Normal will be released from HarperTeen on February 25, 2014. Yes, this is earlier than the date listed on Amazon.

About the author:

Courtney C. Stevens grew up in Kentucky and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is an adjunct professor and a former youth minister. Her other skills include playing hide-and-seek, climbing trees, and being an Olympic torch bearer. Faking Normal is her first novel.

The goods on the Cover Reveal Contest:

You don’t know me. Twitter doesn’t know me. Facebook doesn’t know me. Goodreads doesn’t know me. Amazon pre-sales doesn’t know me. (This is one of the great challenges of being a debut author.)

Please help change my anonymity by placing Faking Normal on the radar of readers, bloggers, reviewers, and you know … people who like to win stuff.

A few deets on the prize package-

The winner receives:

– A signed ARC of Faking Normal

– A hand-painted cover rock by Court

– Signed postcard

– Silicone “Channel Your Brave” bracelet

Since hand-painted cover rock isn’t usual book swag, I thought you might want a little background. In my little family, we paint rocks for significant events. I currently have three different book rocks that someone in my family made. One for when I got an agent, another for when I went out on submission, and finally one for when we sold Faking Normal.

I thought it would be cool if I shared the tradition with one lucky winner by making a cover-inspired rock.

(You might also be interested to know the bottom of the rock contains a spoiler: some of the first lyric quotes written by the main character and her Captain Lyric.)

Enter by filling out the Rafflecopter below.

(U.S. only. Giveaway ends July 8, 2013.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find Courtney here:

Email – channelingbrave@gmail.com

Twitter

Tumblr

Facebook

And she would love if you would add Faking Normal to your Goodreads shelf and pre-order Faking Normal on Amazon.

Special thanks to the other bloggers and authors participating in the Faking Normal cover reveal:

S.R. Johannes (to be posted 6/27)

Myra McEntire

Kristin Tubb

Josie at All Booked Up

Kai at Amaterasu Reads

Taherah at Books As You Know It

Jessica at Lovin’ Los Libros

Alli at Magnet 4 Books

Petra at Safari Poet

Jonathan at Scott Reads It

Writerly TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Posted on May 30, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

You may or may not be aware that we just passed the 10th anniversary of the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show that, despite its silly name, is often considered by both fans and critics to be one of the greatest shows of all time. I admit, I held out on this show for a while. I saw the original movie, and it was terrible. So although the show premiered while I was still in high school, and although I had friends who watched and loved it, I didn’t think it would be for me. I wasn’t really into teen shows, and I wasn’t into vampires.

Years later, after graduating college, I got a job working the graveyard shift at a hotel. It. Sucked. But one day, as I ate “lunch” at 4:00 p.m. while preparing for work, I turned on the TV. My options were limited. But eventually, my channel surfing paused on a show that looked interesting. The dialogue was snappy and smart. The characters seemed interesting. And holy whoa, suddenly there was kung-fu. While snarking.

After a few minutes, I was hooked. Buffy became my daily get-ready-for-work show, and even though I started watching mid-season 5 (A WEIRD TIME TO START THE SHOW, LEMME TELL YA), I eventually figured out most of the back story and mythology. Using powers of mind control I have still never been able to replicate, I convinced my fiance (now husband) that this show was not too girly for him, and he joined me in my addiction. We watched through the end of season 6, then started from the beginning as the reruns cycled back around. We caught up just in time to catch the final season as it aired. I remember watching the series finale in his parents’ basement, a month before our wedding. We had gone out for the evening on some sort of wedding-related activity, but demanded that we return in time for Buffy. IT WAS QUITE IMPORTANT. (BTW: DVRs are a good invention. I appreciate them quite a lot.)

So what’s the deal with Buffy? Maybe you heard it was awesome, and watched a few episodes of the first season, then gave up. I wouldn’t blame you. (Okay, I would, but not a lot.) The first season was working with a low budget and a big concept. The effects are awful. The season-long Big Bad is campy. And it followed a monster-of-the-week format featuring creatures that were often just plan weird.

I am fully aware that this is not from Season 1. And of who the monster is. But you have to admit, this gif still sums up the problems of Season 1 pretty well.

It. Gets. Better.

Buffy really starts to come into its own in Season 2, when it started to embrace serialization and season arcs a bit more. It also dared to go a bit darker, which helped immensely. And as the show matured, it grew bolder, took bigger risks, told broader stories. Not all the seasons are perfect — every one has a few stinker eps — but even Buffy at its weakest is better TV than many shows at their strongest.

The strength of Buffy is not in its kick-butt action sequences (although the karatepires are indeed awesome). It’s the characters, and how they evolve over whatever length of time we get to spend with them. Characters we meet as villains become heroes, and heroes become villains. Characters with superpowers fail, and characters with no powers triumph. They are constantly growing and changing, making mistakes and learning from them. More than anything, they feel real. While Buffy Summers is indisputably the main character, her friends, family, allies and nemeses all get fully fleshed out. They each have their own struggles and arcs and amazing development. If you want to know how to make an audience invest in side characters, or how to make each and every character the hero of their own story, this is the show to watch.

Additionally, Buffy remains one of the best shows for witty banter, ever. The writing is sharp and tight, somehow managing to perfectly blend humor and darkness, tragedy and levity. It’s a serious show that deals with serious issues, but it’s also hilarious and silly. Its emotions are real and raw, but it balances them with moments of unexpected lightness.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not just a show about a girl slaying vampires, or kids developing superpowers. It’s a show about growing up, finding yourself, making mistakes, facing challenges, and developing the relationships that help define who you are. Yes, there’s monsters and action and magic, but if that’s all it was, it would be no different than the dozens of other shows with that M.O. There’s a reason Buffy is the bar all the others aspire to. There’s a reason it’s considered great, and not just lumped in with all the other “vampire shows” or “teen shows.” It uses a supernatural setting and fantastic conflicts to tell stories we can all relate to. It takes character archetypes we think we know — the cheerleader, the homecoming queen, the book nerd, the bad boy, the comic relief — and turns them on their heads, exploring how these people are the archetypes, but are also so much more.

For writers, I think it’s a fabulous study not only in character development and banter and story arcs, but also in the unexpected. Buffy never shies away from going to the places we don’t anticipate. It takes the tropes and forms we’ve come to expect, acknowledges them, and then takes them in a new direction. It also is an excellent example of not letting setting take over story. Lots of times, especially in paranormal stories, it’s easy to make the main conflict “THERE ARE VAMPIRES/ZOMBIES/WEREWOLVES/ETC AND THEY MUST BE STOPPED.” And that’s it. But with Buffy, while there is often a Big Bad that must be dealt with, much of the conflict is internal, as the characters struggle to overcome personal obstacles and relationship struggles and existential crises.

I could go on forever about Buffy and all the reasons it’s amazing, and about why it’s an excellent tool for writers — especially if you’re writing paranormal, but really, it can apply to anything. But I think I’ve made my point. If you’re still over there thinking, “I just don’t like vampire shows,” then you’re about where I was back in 1997. Maybe you need to wait six years, then stumble onto a rerun and watch them out of order. Maybe you need to be bored and in the mood for something action-y on Netflix. Maybe you just need to be told one more time that it’s awesome anyway.

Or maybe you’ll never watch it, and will never really understand what you’re missing, and will always kind of wonder why it keeps showing up on “Best of” lists. And you’ll always think those of us who feel so very passionately about it are a tad wrong in the head. Perhaps we are.

But if you come over to the dark side, we have cookies.