Friday, August 02, 2013

Review: Memory by Christoph Marzi

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I received this book for free from Hachette Children's Books UK in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Memory by Christoph MarziMemory by Christoph Marzi
Published by Orchard Books on August 1st 2013
Genres: Paranormal, YA
Source: Hachette Children's Books UK
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two-stars

This is a book about a ghost called Story.


She's lost in the city - alone, afraid and without her memory.


Then she meets Jude, a boy who sees the dead.


And he is the only one who can help her remember...



This blurb, this cover, it gives off such a wonderful creepy vibe that intrigued me immediately. Ghosts! London Cemeteries! A girl with no memories! All things that made this book an instant must-have. Although one part does have its share of thrill, the mythologies introduced felt out of place, the characters are flat and boring, and the story is nothing if not cheesy.

The book begins with Jude finding this girl in a cemetery who is not quite a ghost, but not a live person either. People can’t see her, yet she’s not cold nor does she have any other ghost qualities. She also has no memory of who she is. It was an attention grabbing beginning which I thought for sure a good sign. Then we start to learn how these ghosts can sleep, eat, and other bizarre non-ghostly things I started to have a cocked eyebrow that never really went away. There were other lores introduced as well, like shape shifters and magical sea creatures. I usually would have found this interesting, except I didn’t think it was a good fit in this particular story. This is made worse since they aren’t really ever explored, merely mentioned fleetingly. This, in addition to what turns out to be some paranormal infused mob-like story made the plot feel like it wanted to be bigger than it was. I think it would have made for a stronger, more polished plot had it chosen a main direction. As it lay it was not a very chilling read, there was simply too much distraction and cheesiness. It even felt more like an MG novel at times, except for the few violent parts at least.

The writing was also peculiar in parts. I think, from what I’ve gathered, that this book is originally German and was translated to English. You can definitely tell at parts. I know it’s set in London so some dialect and sayings will be different, but even so, there are some sentences that I’m pretty sure were not correctly translated. It made reading it a little jarring at times.

What I did enjoy were the cemeteries we visit or that are eerily described throughout. It was the one part that delivered in creepiness. The mystery of the men without faces as well as the inclusion of stone angels, too, were haunting. If only it had ended on a terrific note it might have saved this book for me. Alas, that wasn’t the case.

This book could have been a lot of things – it’s an original premise with tons of potential – so it’s unfortunate that its execution fell flat in almost every aspect. But you never know, it’s different enough that it may gather a niche audience.

two-stars

2 Hot Espressos

Book Girl Don’t Cry: Review Reading Habits

Book Girl Don’t Cry: Review Reading Habits

Posted by on 08/01/2013 • 35 Comments

Book Girls Don’t Cry is a weekly feature where we each discuss/vent/advise on the chosen weekly bookish topic. Don’t miss Jenni on Mondays, and Amy on Saturdays:

 

Review Reading Made Complicated!

Do you find yourself avoiding certain reviews or hiding from Goodreads when you want to be completely unswayed about a certain book? We’re wondering how many share the same habits for reading reviews – hence the reason for our topic  this week! I’m particular about which reviews I’ll read and when. For instance, if I know I will be starting a book in the next couple of weeks, I’ll avoid reading reviews on it. I love going into it with zero expectations. A lot of the time I don’t even refresh my awful memory by re-reading the blurb,…

Waiting on Wednesday (88)

Waiting on Wednesday (88)

Posted by on 07/31/2013 • 30 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week:

Did you read that blurb? There’s just something about it that calls to me. It’s so vague, yet so intriguing! I also hear this author is pretty great though I haven’t read any of his other work.

What are you waiting on?

Review: If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

Review: If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

Posted by on 07/30/2013 • 26 Comments

This was very different from anything I’ve read before. A very short book at only a little over 200 pages, If You Could Be Mine examines not only life in Iran, but life in Iran for a young girl in love with her best friend, Nasrin.

From a very young age, Sahar knew she wanted to many Nasrin and spend her whole life with her, they’ve been in a secret relationship for years now, and being found out could mean imprisonment – at the very least – for these two. This was my first book set in Iran and I found the culture and laws quite intimidating. Even though I’m not blind to what life is like in that country, especially for women, it was still shocking to find…

Review: False Sight by Dan Krokos

Review: False Sight by Dan Krokos

Posted by on 07/29/2013 • 16 Comments

*Spoiler free for the series*

I’m feeling torn on this one. On one hand it was a highly entertaining read, very unique (as expected), and I definitely want to know what happens next, but it was such a different book from the first and I’m not sure how I feel about the direction it went in. Being different is not a bad thing – who wants a repeat of it predecessor? – but I feel like the increased sci-fi-esque of this whole plot became a little… too much for me, maybe?

I was a big fan of False Memory when I read it last year. I remember loving all the excitement and the unknowns – it has an awesome unreliable narrator -, as well as the great overall group…

Stacking the Shelves (65)

Stacking the Shelves (65)

Posted by on 07/28/2013 • 50 Comments

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews featuring the books we got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the past week. Hey psst – you know who has a birthday this weekend? My gal Kara from Great Imaginations! You should all give her a bday shout-out! 😉 Also it’s less than a month to go until I’m off to Boston for my anniversary and to meet a few bloggers (my soulmate Amy for one) while I’m there at a book blogger meetup! If you’re from the area you should totes come! It’s on August 17th, and you can join our Facebook group here!

THIS WEEK’S BOOK HAUL: (Click on cover or title link for Goodreads)

I received for review:

Continue Reading »

Fresh Batch (New Releases July 28th – August 3rd)

Posted by on 07/27/2013 • 12 Comments

Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Indelible Dawn Metcalf Series: The Twixt #1 Publication date: July 30th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads Purchase

Some things are permanent.

Indelible.

And they cannot be changed back.

Joy Malone learns this the night she sees a stranger with all-black eyes across a crowded room—right before the mystery boy tries to cut out her eye. Instead, the wound accidentally marks her as property of Indelible Ink, and this dangerous mistake thrusts Joy into an incomprehensible world—a world of monsters at the window, glowing girls on the doorstep, and a life that will never be the same.

Now, Joy must pretend to be Ink’s chosen…

Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Posted by on 07/26/2013 • 26 Comments

Wow what a sad story this was! Told in the voice of a morose, yet incredibly intelligent teenage boy, we’re given a raw look into the road to suicide, and how depression affects your thoughts.

What I noticed immediately was the writing style which stood out to me as something very… honest. Not only is it told in first person – which I consider a requirement for a story such as this – but we get a format that emphasizes his unhealthy state of mind even more so. This includes foot notes on his interpretations of certain situations and people; pages that only include 1 single word for a whole sentence; “Letters from the future” which had me baffled at first but ended up leaving me teary eyed. Knowing…