Book Thoughts: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Title: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between #1

I really really wanted to love this book (because seriously, it has a freaking gorgeous cover and the description sounds amazing) and at first I was afraid I wasn't going to. It didn't feel particularly well-executed at first. It was really really obvious that River had some kind of paranormal thing going on that was drawing Violet to him, and I thought the whole book was going to be "but WHY do I like him so much?!"

...it wasn't.

I can't tell you where it was that I went from slightly disappointed to absolutely enthralled, but I do know that I actually put off lunch for a solid two and a half hours because I was too busy reading this to go make food.

There is some seriously creepy stuff in this book. In a good way. It felt like a paranormal romance at the beginning, and by the end I was positive I had just finished a horror novel -- to which I needed the sequel, like, immediately.

Definitely put this one on your list of "scary books to read leading up to Halloween." And if you think the first couple of chapters are a little hard to get through... stick with it. It gets so much better. Oh, and my advice? Read it with the lights on.

Book Thoughts: Equal Rites

Title: Equal Rites
Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld #3
*Imported from tumblr.*

Eskarina wants to be a wizard. The problem? She’s a girl, and women can’t be wizards — it’s against the lore. But good luck convincing Esk to be anything other than exactly what she wants to be.

This is the third Discworld book I’ve read and I loved it. Terry Pratchett has a knack for satire that I can’t quite put words to. It had me laughing out loud and reading passages to whoever was in hearing range. It’s a feminist book that doesn’t feel like a feminist book, and it’s a bundle of hilarity that manages to hit close to home.

Also, I want Granny Weatherwax to be my granny. It’s worth reading just for her sass and steeliness.

tl;dr if you’ve never read Terry Pratchett, you should.

Book Thoughts: Shadow and Bone

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Grisha #1

After the first chapter of this one, I was reeling trying to keep track of all of the Russian-influenced words and place names. I’ll give it one more chapter, I told myself, and then I will put it down for the night.

The next time I bothered to check anything, I was several chapters and 53 pages into the book. I just had to know what would happen to Alina, what the Darkling’s secrets were, and whether they really could brave the Shadow Fold.

Leigh Bardugo creates in this series a fascinating world, obviously influenced by Russia but something entirely its own. And the Grisha are just a fantastic new twist on elemental magic. I thought I was going to be super confused trying to keep the details straight, but the writing makes it actually very easy to keep up. The story is unabashedly honest, dark, and twisty — and also beautiful. I put it down only to sleep. After the first chapter, I didn’t think I was going to like it, but keep going, because by the end of the book? I was turning pages hungrily and waiting desperately for the sequel.

Book Thoughts: Unspoken

Title: Unspoken
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: Lynburn Legacy #1
*Imported from tumblr.*

I loved this book. Also I am a little bit fuming with outrage that I have to wait until the end of August to read the second one.

Kami Glass is a pretty normal girl, except for her imaginary friend. So when a new family that no one will talk about moves back to down, animals start dying, and her imaginary friend is suddenly a real person? Burgeoning investigative journalist Kami has her work cut out for her.

Unspoken is clever and funny, with Sarah Rees Brennan’s fabulous serious-yet-comical voice. (I think I would read a phone book if she wrote it the way she writes novels.) And you never want to put it down because you just have to know what’s coming next. The cast of characters is absolutely fabulous (I want Holly to be my best friend, and Angela kind of reminds me of someone I know). Also, I super duper love that Kami is focused on the mystery at hand like a sane person rather than on “ooh which of the steamy male leads shall I fall in love with?" There is a love triangle and some romance, but it definitely takes a backseat to the plot and Kami handles it rationally. And, just, *flails because I loved this book.*

Long story short: go find this book and read it, now.

Book Thoughts: Wicked

Title: Wicked
Author: Gregory Maguire

My favorite movie as a kid was The Wizard of Oz and I loved the book, and I recently developed a deep love for the musical Wicked -- so of course the next natural step was to read the book on which the musical was based.

When I first wanted to read Wicked, my dad told me I should wait because it was too "grown-up" for me. I finally got back around to it and at first didn't understand what it was that he thought was so awful about it; there were some allusions to sex, one unpleasant murder towards the end, they said the word "nipple" once, but nothing that seemed to justify having me wait to read it.

Having finished the book, I think I understand. It's not that the content would have been horribly inappropriate (although I probably would have asked some uncomfortable questions about sex, true), it's that the themes -- religion, politics, the nature of evil, whether there is a soul -- would have confused little-me and gone right over my head.

I have to say I prefer Baum's original and the musical version because I'm a sucker for happy endings and the writing style of Wicked wasn't as engaging as I would have liked, but I did really enjoy reading this one. It's given me a lot to think about, and it was really awesome revisiting an old favorite from a completely different perspective. I'm glad that I waited to read it, because I got so much more out of it now than I would have several years ago. There's a LOT in this book that's food for thought. I would definitely advise trying it!

Book Thoughts: The Demon King

Title: The Demon King
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Series: Seven Realms #1

I read this at the prompting of both my roommate and my brother and was not disappointed. It has the air of a typical fantasy novel: small villages and ornate palaces, swordfights (no gunpowder), and a mysterious history riddled with magic. And of course, there are evil wizards (and not-so-evil wizards).

I can't give this book a summary that does it justice (seriously, check out the Goodreads link), but I can tell you that I was sucked into both the lore and the story and very much drawn to the characters. Raisa is an awesome mix of kick-ass and the more typically feminine traits, and Han is a wonderful hero as well.

Fortunately, my brother has the second and third books in the series, so I'll be stealing borrowing those soon!

Book Thoughts: Beautiful Creatures

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series: Caster Chronicles #1

The book I was reading today was absolutely FANTASTIC. Like, I'd put the book down, walk by a mirror, and be like "...wait a second. That's me. Oh, right, this is the real world. Becky, not Lena and Ethan." It's that well-written. You can completely forget about the real world and just get lost in the characters and their story.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, tells the story of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. The people of Gatlin, South Carolina are pretty much stereotypical Southerners. Their families have lived in Gatlin for years and years and years, and they still have Confederate flags and talk about the War of Northern Aggression or the War for Southern Independence, and nothing ever changes. Ethan Wate is the only one who seems to want to leave. So when Lena Duchannes moves to town and things start happening, Ethan can't help but be drawn to her.

A strange song called "Sixteen Moons" keeps popping up on Ethan's iPod. The weather goes crazy around Lena. And strangest of all, they have the same dreams - about each other. As their friendship grows and changes, they discover a mystery, a curse, and things that Ethan never could have dreamed he'd encounter in Gatlin. Danger, mystery, romance, magic, and a sense of something bigger coming... this novel has it all.

I know I rant and rave a lot about great books, but when I say a book is good, I mean it. And when I say a book is great, I mean it. And when I say a book is Seriously Fantastic and you Must Go Read It Right Now, I most definitely mean it. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES falls into that last category. The conflict, the mystery, and the danger are all wonderfully developed, and the story moves quickly (so don't let the length of the book scare you off). But the action does not at all take away from the characters. Ethan and Lena are two very complex, very real characters who really can make you forget about yourself for a few hours. I completely adored this book. Not an exaggeration. Read it, you guys, it is made of awesome. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a beautiful book.

Book Thoughts: White Cat

Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Series: Curse Workers #1

The first book in a proposed trilogy, WHITE CAT was full of amazing characters and intricate plots, and oh my goodness it was wonderful. Everyone should go read it, right now.

The novel is set in the United States, basically as we know it but with one major difference: everyone wears gloves. Always. That's because of the curse workers. About one in a thousand people can work magic with just a single touch. Each one has a different gift: changing emotions, messing with memories, changing dreams, giving luck, causing death, even transforming things (although that one's really rare).

Cassel Sharpe has always been the only member of his family not to be a worker. And since the age of fourteen, he has carried the burden of knowing that he killed the girl he loved. Now, Cassel is trying to blend in and forge a new life for himself at a boarding school. He can't quite stay away from the life of a con artist, but he's more normal than he's ever been before.

When he wakes up on the roof of the dorm building and starts seeing a mysterious white cat everywhere, even in his dreams, everything starts to change. Cassel is wrapped up in a mystery only he can solve, and the stakes are high: the lives of almost everyone he cares about.

Go read this book. Right now. You guys, the Curse Workers series (or at least, the first installment of it) is FANTASTIC. Readreadread.

Book Thoughts: Hex Hall

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall #1

I read Hex Hall over twoish hours this morning. It was an absolutely wonderful book. I will confess that I figured out the plot twists about halfway through the book, but that's something I do a lot, and the great thing about this book: it doesn't matter, because it's still fun to read.

Sophie Mercer is a witch. She's always tried to use her powers to help people, but after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she gets sentenced to Hecate Hall, nicknamed "Hex Hall." It's basically a reform school for witches, shapeshifters, and faeries. Sophie has a hard time fitting in. The most popular, most beautiful, and most powerful witches on campus become her enemies almost immediately; the guy she likes is dating one of those witches; the only person who will be friends with her is Jenna Talbot. Jenna's also the only vampire on campus. And to top it off, Sophie knows next to nothing about being a witch. So, she doesn't really fit in.

When students start turning up drained of blood, Sophie's one friend is the only suspect. But Sophie doesn't think the attacks are Jenna's doing. She's convinced that there's a far more powerful enemy out there. And whoever the enemy is, Sophie is one of their biggest targets.

I was expecting something fun but girly, full of giggling and girliness and love spells and so on. What HH delivered was much more than that. The dangers Sophie faces and the situations presented are much deeper and darker than shallow, surface-level popularity crises. There are demons, there is torture, there are all manner of dark, lurking secrets. It's a fantastically woven plot. But the narrative style is light, fresh, sarcastic, witty - Sophie sounds just like a regular teenager. A very fun book. Definitely go read it.

Book Thoughts: The Color of Magic/The Light Fantastic

Title: The Color of Magic (book 1), The Light Fantastic (book 2)
Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld #1 and 2

Rincewind is a failed wizard. Twoflower is the Disc's first tourist. The Disc? It's a flat world carried through space on the back of a giant turtle.

It sounds strange, but bear with me. Brilliant satire. Intelligent, laugh-out-loud humor. Bizarre adventures. Excellent writing.

Not to mention some ridiculous shenanigans involving a Spell that has lodged itself in Rincewind's mind, a magical picture-box, some barbarians, RP-ing gods, and of course, the Luggage that has a mind of its own. The Luggage may be my favorite character. (Unless Death is my favorite character.)

There is some seriously awesome world-development going on here, plus some stories that you will not want to miss. They're very difficult books to describe to anyone, but they are definitely worth reading.

Book Thoughts: The Magicians

Title: The Magicians
Author: Lev Grossman

Let's talk about how much I love The Magicians. I read it at the prompting of a friend of mine, and I was not disappointed.

Quentin, certifiable genius and severely depressed, inadvertently stumbles across Brakebills, a college for magic and gets accepted: cue whirlwind of magical education and adventure.

The catch is, magic is work. And magic college is still college. Quentin discovers sex, booze, hard work, and beautiful friendship like any other college student; he just happens to be studying magic.

The Magicians is a brilliant deconstruction of Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. The parallels are evident at every turn but it is in no way a knockoff; it alludes to childhood fantasy stories while being something entirely its own. It's about depression and love and the search for happiness and being careful what you wish for, because even fantasy isn't always as perfect as you dream it will be. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time.

And Alice! I have to talk about Alice because she's my favorite character. She's smart, shy, quiet, yes, but also strong and independent. I adore Alice's character. I would read a whole book just about Alice.

Basically: if you get the chance to read this book, definitely do.

Book Thoughts: Invisibility

Title: Invisibility
Author: Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Wow. That's the first thing I have to say about this book. Wow.

Stephen has been invisible his whole life. It's part of a curse placed on his mother before he was born. No one - not even Stephen himself - has ever seen him.

And then Elizabeth moves in, and she sees him plain as day.

As they start to fall maybe-in-love, Stephen and Elizabeth (and Elizabeth's brother Laurie, who might just be the most fun character in the book because of all his snark) are plunged into a whole new world of cursecasting and spellseeking in a desperate attempt to unravel the curse on Stephen - before it kills one of them.

The emotion in this book is just incredible. Ever wished you could just be invisible? You won't anymore. It's kind of a haunting look at the downside of one of those go-to "superpowers," as well as what it means to really care about somebody.

The writing is beautiful, the characters are kick-butt, and the story - well, I couldn't put it down. Seriously, read this ASAP. This is a truly fantastic book.