Posts Tagged: ARC

Friday, February 15, 2013

Review: The Murmurings by Carly Anne West

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The Murmurings
Carly Anne West
Genre: YA Thriller
Publication date: March 5th 2013
by Simon Pulse

A teen girl starts hearing the same voices that drove her sister to commit suicide in this creepy, suspenseful novel.

Everyone thinks Sophie’s sister, Nell, went crazy. After all, she heard strange voices that drove her to commit suicide. But Sophie doesn’t believe that Nell would take her own life, and she’s convinced that Nell’s doctor knows more than he’s letting on.

As Sophie starts to piece together Nell’s last days, every lead ends in a web of lies. And the deeper Sophie digs, the more danger she’s in—because now she’s hearing the same haunting whispers. Sophie’s starting to think she’s going crazy too. Or worse, that maybe she’s not….

*A copy was provided by Simon & Schuster for review*

 

This cover…

…She is looking into my soul!! *rocks back and forth*

This cover is going to give any reader the expectation of a major creep-fest, and it does start out pretty fantastic on that front, hooking you from the first few pages. It’s bizarre and freaky, the MC seeing things from the corner of her eye and hearing unwelcome mutterings. It definitely gave me the heeby-jeebies. Along the way, however, I did feel like the book veered a little too off course for me, trapped in a web of Takers, Seers, and other explanations behind the story. There was also the lack of character development that stopped me from being one hundred percent immersed into it all. Furthermore, the romance is one I did not care for. I feel the book would have been better off without it. If I based it just on the creepy, though, it would be getting a 4!

As far as characters go, I liked Sophie well enough–although I did forget her name within minutes of finishing the book. To me she’s what I consider a surface character. She’s good for the story, she fills her role, but there isn’t much more to her. With this superficial personality I don’t feel like I really got to know her. In turn, this affected the romance in the book even further I’m quite sure, which is a part I didn’t particularly enjoy either. The way they meet and “connect”, the way they interact, even the way they kiss it all felt out of place. I’m not sure if it was my impatience towards wanting to move along and get more creepy happenings, but I don’t even understand how they got to be together. Suddenly, he was just there. Then poof, we’ve got a romantic subplot. Even though it wasn’t an insta-love in the sense that they were madly in love within days, the connection and the chemistry missed its mark for me.

Oh the murmurings! Whispers and strange mutterings, unable to understand what’s being said, feeling breath on your neck, mirrors that start to shimmer and move like liquid, seeing something from the corner of your eye; this is all pretty disturbing. I have to give props for this book’s creepy factor. While it wasn’t as constant as I was hoping due to the story kind of wandering off, this book has some great spine-chilling moments that gives its reader a bit of a rush. Those were my favorite parts hands down, and the way it’s played out in the plot is interesting enough with a unique way about it. It’s different from what I was expecting, though, it being a lore rather than unexplained phenomenon messing with your mind–which you gotta admit is much funner. Either way, a creepy book is what we have, it’s just unfortunate there isn’t much more to it than that.

For fans of thrillers, The Murmurings brings us an ominous mental institution with questionable doctors, and patients who are suffering a terrible curse. Its potential was bigger than its execution, had it had stronger characters and a tighter plot, but the book is great for an entertainingly eerie read.
 

3 Hot Espressos

Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Posted by on 02/12/2013 • 31 Comments

para·nor·mal: adj. not scientifically explainable : supernatural -Merriam-Webster

Meet Addison, or preferably Addie; Clairvoyant Divergent. Addie has the unique and thought-provoking ability of being able to see both sides of the coin. In other words, when she has a decision to make, she can see the future of each choice and pick the one that’s best. Fascinating, no? But what happens when you don’t want either future you foresee? This plot revolves around Addie’s venture into two futures after she was asked to pick between staying in the paranormal compound, or going with her dad in the normal world.

Told in dual reality perspective, reality one keeps us in the compound where life with abilities is the norm. From telekinesis to lie detectors, living with knowing someone may currently…

Review: Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye

Posted by on 02/11/2013 • 19 Comments

Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye Shari A. Brady Genre: YA Contemporary Publication date: June 11th 2012

Before my older sister Francesca died, I worked at the bakery and wrote songs, but now I write lists. Lists like ten reasons why it’s my fault Francesca’s dead, or five reasons why I should try and win Howie back, or one reason why I need to stop lying to everyone, including myself.

Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye is an extraordinary novel about one family’s struggle to make sense of their world after losing a family member to addiction. Through sixteen-year-old Carmella’s eyes, we witness the courage and strength it takes to overcome the consequences of grief, guilt and co-dependency. WIth conviction and determination, Carmella shows us what can happen when…

Review: Insight by Jolene Perry

Posted by on 02/05/2013 • 24 Comments

Insight Jolene Perry Series: Shadows, #1 Genre: YA ParanormalPublication date: September 3rd 2012by Next Door Publishing

Micah hates her ability to “see” things when she touches people. She’s terrified of relationships, holds on to guilt over the death of her classmate, Lacey, and has no idea what to do with a vision from Landon, a boy from her school. She feels him falling for her, but Micah doesn’t do friends, much less relationships.

Enter a spooky history project about a tragedy from three hundred years ago, and voodoo dolls that Micah somehow feels has to do with her gift. Suddenly she’s sure the shadows in the woods are following her every move—without Landon’s relaxed attitude about what’s happening in her life, Micah would be sure she’s going crazy.

With…

Review: The Ruining by Anna Collomore

Posted by on 02/04/2013 • 30 Comments

The Ruining Anna Collomore Genre: YA Mystery/ThrillerPublication date: February 7th 2013by Razorbill

Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door.

All too soon cracks appear in Annie’s seemingly perfect world. She’s blamed for mistakes she doesn’t remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she’s always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the…

Review: Fuse by Julianna Baggott

Posted by on 02/01/2013 • 16 Comments

Fuse Julianna Baggott Series: Pure, #2 Genre: Adult Post ApocalypticPublication date: February 19th 2013by Grand Central Publishing

When the world ended, those who dwelled within the Dome were safe. Inside their glass world the Pures live on unscarred, while those outside—the Wretches—struggle to survive amidst the smoke and ash.

Believing his mother was living among the Wretches, Partridge escaped from the Dome to find her. Determined to regain control over his son, Willux, the leader of the Pures, unleashes a violent new attack on the Wretches. It’s up to Pressia Belze, a young woman with her own mysterious past, to decode a set of cryptic clues from the past to set the Wretches free.

An epic quest that sweeps readers into a world of beautiful brutality, Fuse continues…

Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Posted by on 01/29/2013 • 20 Comments

As I got back into the desolation that is is Ember’s world, it didn’t take long until the rush of it all came right back. The first book, Article 5, was a lot of fun with tons of action and wonderful characters, leaving me dying for this one. The sequel begins where Article 5 one left off, with short recaps along the way for those of you, like me, who forget everything they’ve read previously. I often have difficulty getting into a sequel because don’t remember the story, nor my connection to the characters, but Kristen has a great way of bringing it all back as if no time had passed.

In Article 5 she created a world that was extremely dreary, yet believable for a futuristic setting; in Breaking…

Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Posted by on 01/28/2013 • 32 Comments

The Sea of Tranquility Katja Millay Genre: NA ContemporaryPublication date: November 13th 2012by Atria Books

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of…