Book Review: Angelfire

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton - (2011 Debut Author Challenge: 2 of 12)

"First there are nightmares. Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

"Then come the memories. When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street corner at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the keys to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

"Now she must hunt. Ellie has power that no one else can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember." (Cover blurb on book).

Before I joined the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, I found an interview with the author of this book on a web page. The cover and the cover blurb caught my interest immediately. When I found the 2011DAC a few days later, I knew I had to sign up. What better excuse could I possibly find to buy more books? And once I registered, this book was added to the list without a second thought.

After finishing it, I have to say that I'm glad I read it. From what I've heard, a lot of people are writing angels these days, but this is the first book I've read in a while including that kind of subject matter. It was a nice change from vampires, which are okay, but I've read a lot of those recently. Besides, this book also deals with reapers, which are pretty awesome if you ask me.

The main character was realistic. Her voice had a nice flow to it, and I found myself reading a lot faster than I wanted to... because I like to make my books last at least two days. The side characters all had their own voices and Ellie's friends all sound like teenagers, which was good. Of course, like always, my favorite character was a side character and a villain.

Over all, I found the storyline to be engaging. The overarching plot line was interesting and I found myself wanting to find out more about Ellie's character, as well as the world of the reapers. And while all of this supernatural-big-picture stuff is happening, there's the part of Ellie that is desperately clinging to her old life, which makes it easy for the reader to relate to her.

On the whole, I genuinely liked this book and I'm looking forward to the second book.

This book can be found in stores and online:

Angelfire

Happy reading!

PS: I think I'm doing away with the rating system from here on out. I'm finding that it's really difficult to determine what sort of rating I would give a book, when my opinion tends to change on a day to day basis. If you would like to see the rating system continue for book reviews, let me know! I'm willing to keep it if it's important to you.

Book Review: XVI

XVI by Julia Karr - (2011 Debut Author Challenge: 1 of 12)

 "Every girl gets one. An XVI tattoo on the wrist -- sixteen. They say they're there for protection. 

"Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay. 

"Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal life is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help -- and he may just hold the key to her past.

"But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure... for Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet." (Cover blurb on book).

Rating: 4/5

I went shopping yesterday or, perhaps, I went wandering and just so happened upon a bookstore. The point is, I ended up spending and hour and a half trying to decide on the perfect book instead of drinking coffee and writing as I had originally planned. I came home with one... this one (I know, an hour and a half to find one book is a little bit sad, but I might have just been enjoying the new book smell and absorbing the atmosphere).

When I saw this on the shelf, I recognized the title from the list of novels debuting this month and I thought I would give it a go. I started reading at 5:30 yesterday and I read for an hour or so. Then I picked it up again after school today and finished just a little bit ago... kind of watching movies in between chapters. I think I should clarify something right now. I did receive the book that was in the mail and I have started reading that, but this one just caught me.

XVI is a dystopian novel and an addicting read. Set in the year 2150, things have changed. Everything is ruled by the Governing Council and people literally fight to survive in a world that is supposed to be perfect. But that's just the thing, no one thinks anything is wrong. Media is pounded into their heads day after day and there's never enough silence to think for themselves, which is where Nina's journey begins.

I really enjoyed this novel. For a debut, I think it's impressive. The characters were engaging - even the ones I didn't like - and the plot kept me turning pages more rapidly than usual. Nina was a strong lead and her point of view offered the perfect mindset for this story. The only thing that really caught me off guard was the pacing. It seemed to be going along at a nice rate until I got toward the end and I realized there were ten pages left to wrap up everything. I became doubtful, but it turns out that I didn't need to be.

The ending didn't quite feel finished to me at first and the pacing still seemed off, but after looking it up, that's because it isn't finished and some of this is carrying on into the next book. According to the author website, there's supposed to be a sequel coming out at some point (wish I knew when), and this is news that I'm genuinely glad to hear. I'm not done with this world or these characters just yet.

So why the four out of five?
Well, I really was expecting a bit more action regarding the tattoo. I felt there was a lot of build up for what little came of that, but that plot wasn't necessarily the main one - as it seemed in the beginning - and perhaps it'll show up in the sequel.

There was one scene that really kind of threw me off too, but I won't go into that since I don't want to spoil anything for you.

Also, I caught a few typos, which was kind of weird. I've never seen those get through before, but maybe I'm just not usually paying attention.


But, overall and those things aside, I would have to say that I loved this book. I'm interested to see more from this author, and not just the sequel to XVI. For the moment, though, I offer my congratulations to Ms. Karr on a great debut and I recommend this book to any of you interested in YA dystopians.

This book can be found in stores and online:

XVI

Happy reading!


PS: This book is probably best for ages 14 and up.

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Hello, everyone!

Today I discovered the 2011 Debut Author Challenge on another blog and, because I'm feeling motivated and spontaneous this afternoon, I've decided to participate. I know, what a surprise, right? But, honestly, who doesn't like an excuse to read more? And it might just be me being too hopeful, again, but the image above (which they created) has diamonds on it, so I'm hoping that means we're anticipating a lot of good books this year.

What does this mean for you? Well, I will be posting book reviews on here for all twelve of the books I end up reading on top of those reviews I was originally planning on posting. Why? Because book reviews are nice, and I'm always looking for recommendations or warnings against books before I buy them. Also, because posting the reviews is part of the challenge.

Planning to Read:

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Queen of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

And... that's all I've had the time to look into so far but, obviously, there will be more. I'm excited!

Anyway, I'll be posting a nice link for easy access to the challenge over on the sidebar in a few minutes.

Anyone else signing up?