Posts Categorized: Review

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Review: dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman

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dancergirl
Carol M. Tanzman
Release date: November 15th, 2011
by Harlequin Teen

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Ever feel like someone’s watching you? Me, too. But lately it’s been happening in my room.
When I’m alone.

A friend posted a video of me dancing online, and now I’m no longer Alicia Ruffino. I’m dancergirl. And suddenly it’s like me against the world—everyone’s got opinions.
My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy—even he’s acting weird. And some stalker isn’t content to just watch anymore.
Ali. Dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you’ve seen me online, I’ve trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose way more than just my love of dancing. I could lose my life.

 *A copy was provided by Harlequin for review purposes*
 
Oh wow! For a book that I had no expectations, I ended up really enjoying it! I love when that happens. The creepy premise is what made me want to read this. A girl being stalked because of an online video – count me in!

dancergirl (very hard to not put a capital D *twitch*) starts off smoothly and brings us into the life of Alicia – Ali – who is just a regular girl with a passion for dancing. Ali is your average high school girl who thrives on popularity. Which is why she’s fine with the video that’s been posted online by a classmate, of her dancing at a concert. What she doesn’t expect, is when another video is uploaded of her dancing… in her room, alone. I really enjoyed Ali’s personality. She wasn’t perfect and she makes some bad decisions, but that’s what makes her real. I did have a problem with her having no qualms about the first video getting online, though. Sure it was taken from a classmate she knows, but he never asked if it was ok to post it online, and she just shrugs it off, then agrees to do more! See what I mean about her bad decisions? Videos online = stalker magnet! Everyone knows this. This was, however, the only issue I had with her character.

As I’m sure you guessed, there is a lot of dancing in this story. Ali has a deep love for dance; her life revolves around it. I was never as much into it as Ali, but I love dance as well. I’ve taken classes for a few years and performed at a couple of shows. So I could really relate to the dancing and the rush of performing. I got stage fright right along with Ali – I could feel it! Those part were a lot of fun for me and added some lighthearted moments to the otherwise anxious mood of the book.

Now on to the best part – the stalker plot. All throughout the book I felt chills for Ali and feared for her. It’s so incredibly easy to imagine all of this happening, that it got me very unsettled. Not knowing when someone’s watching or what part of your privacy is being taken from you – that’s incredibly discomforting. I didn’t find it hard to guess who the stalker was. I do read and watch a lot of suspense stories like this though so it’s hard to surprise me anymore. Regardless, I still thought it was a fantastic thriller with a realistic setting and gripping suspense. I’m curious what the rest of the series will entail since this one ends like a stand alone. But I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. Carol is a great author and I absolutely recommend you give dancergirl *twitch* a try.


4 Hot Espressos

Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Posted by on 11/08/2011 • 29 Comments

The PledgeKimberly DertingRelease Date: November 15th, 2011by Margaret K. McElderry Books

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In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she’s spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It’s there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she’s never heard before . . . and…

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Review & Giveaway: Become by Ali Cross

Posted by on 11/07/2011 • 27 Comments

BecomeAli CrossRelease date: November 11th, 2011

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Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

*A copy was provided by Ali Cross for review purposes*

 Become is not your average YA paranormal. We’re thrown into an intense novel about the battle between angels…

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Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Posted by on 11/05/2011 • 20 Comments

The Dead-Tossed Waves(The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #2) Carrie RyanReleased March 9th, 2009by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead….

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Review: Pyxis by K.C. Neal

Posted by on 11/04/2011 • 21 Comments

PyxisK.C. NealRelease date: November 4th, 2011by Stonehouse Ink

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Two worlds… one 16-year-old girl must learn to protect them both.

The nightmares haunting Corinne and her friend Mason hint at a universe that exists beyond the one they know. Her destiny is to protect a weakness between the two worlds, but her mentor is dead. As Corinne and Mason search for answers, she tries to ignore the sparks igniting between them, but can’t deny she feels safe only when he’s nearby. Will they find help before their nightmares break free?

*A copy was provided by K.C. Neal for review purposes*

With quite the original premise, Pyxis takes you on a fun and mysterious ride with Corinne and her best friend Mason. All throughout the book, you’re…

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Review: Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

Posted by on 11/03/2011 • 24 Comments

Hunting LilaSarah AldersonReleased August 4th, 2011by Simon & Schuster

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17-year-old Lila has two secrets she’s prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she’s been in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust – her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they’ve found them. Trying to…

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Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Posted by on 11/01/2011 • 17 Comments

Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2)Richelle MeadReleased April 10th, 2008by Razorbill

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Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But…

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Review: Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender

Posted by on 10/31/2011 • 26 Comments

Bad Girls Don’t DieKatie AlenderPublished April 21st, 2009by Hyperion

When Alexis’s little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey’s shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child…

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