Genre: Thriller


Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

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I received this book for free from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth NorrisUnraveling by Elizabeth Norris
Series: Unraveling #1
Published by Balzer & Bray on April 24th 2012
Genres: Sci-Fi, Thriller, YA
Source: HarperCollins
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three-stars

Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.

And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

To be perfectly honest, by the time I read this book I had completely forgotten what it was about. I thought it was a book about the end of the world – and okay in a way it is, but very different from what I had envisioned. Nevertheless, it’s a solid story in a lot of ways, and with 400+ pages it could have become an intensely powerful, in-depth read, but instead it felt overcrowded at times with topics like rape, mental illness, and ex best-friend drama (as well as ex-boyfriend) that felt rather directionless. On the other hand, it does offer a slightly different perspective on alternate dimensions, or at least it worked on delivering it in a highly suspenseful way.

The main reason why I wasn’t able to enjoy this book as much as many did was my lack of connection to these characters – most of which I didn’t very much care for. I found Janelle a bit whiny and her playing mini FBI detective became irritating at times. As far as the numerous side characters: while I’m normally a fan of large casts it was not so in this case. I found most lacked memorable qualities and others were simply underdeveloped. Occasionally, a name would get mentioned and I would have completely forgotten what role that person was playing. Furthermore, I can’t say I was a fan of the romance between Janelle and Ben. It wasn’t a source of irritation, but It was too quick for me to form any sort of attachment to them. Which is a shame since the relationship becomes the emotional focus of the ending’s “what ifs”.

With that out of the way, Unraveling earns its points in entertainment value. I mean, it’s told with a countdown, how can this not be exciting? From page one it’s an obvious cause for concern, continually building tension and anxiety. When we find out what it’s counting down to this increases the anticipation even more, making it appear to go even faster – whether it does or if it’s simply by the effect of making us turn the pages faster, I do not know, but it was absolutely suspenseful. Then, even though I didn’t connect to Janelle, the bond that she has with her little brother is incredibly real and, in turn, the thrilling scenes towards the end are full of emotional uncertainty – hope and fear are mixed in equal measure. Unraveling is also strong as a sci-fi read. The science introduced is thorough without being overwhelming.

If I hadn’t read so many alternate universe stories this past year maybe I would have found this one a lot more compelling – though the characters would still have been a hindrance to me. Regardless of my qualms with it, it’s it an entertaining read that I would not hesitate to recommend to fans of the genre.

three-stars

3 Hot Espressos

Review: Six Months Later by Natalie Richards

Review: Six Months Later by Natalie Richards

Posted by on 11/01/2013 • 21 Comments

I know I’m in the minority here but I think all the 5 stars gave me too-high expectations for this one. It is very close to a 4 star read so I’m far from hating it but, I expected more – or at least different.

I can understand why so many love it though. Suddenly waking up with no memory of the last 6 months is a very terrifying premise. One that had me completely stupefied, and thus absolutely engrossed. Chloe’s narrative is written with all the disorientation, annoyance, and anxiety of someone who may or may not be going crazy. As you can expect no one believes the “nonsense” she seems to be spouting. She’s an easy to like character with a fierce determination to get to the…

Waiting on Wednesday (98)

Waiting on Wednesday (98)

Posted by on 10/30/2013 • 34 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:

This sounds so up my alley it’s not even funny! It sounds like it’s being told from the ghost’s point of view (unless there’s a twist :D). Plus it’s Jodi Lynn Anderson! I haven’t read anything by her yet but she’s highly praised.

What are you waiting on?

Review: Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee

Review: Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee

Posted by on 10/28/2013 • 19 Comments

Oh my word this was weird. Like, disturbingly weird. Talking minister cat/squirrel/dog, deadly fog, walking corpses and all! Fortunately it was the kind of weird that was so weird it was creepy. Unfortunately, the weird turned into the religious which is almost always a complete turn-off for me.

In simple terms, this story is about the end of the world. We don’t understand exactly what’s going on at first. Everything is kept very cryptic with a constant ominous vibe. Little by little we learn about the earth’s condition, about what happened to bring it to this point including bizarre happenings that makes us wonder just how crazy it all is. The creepy definitely was my favorite part of this novel. When their dead mother’s corpse started walking about, it…

Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posted by on 10/25/2013 • 32 Comments

The Naturals is a hit or miss for me and very hard to review. Some parts of the book I really enjoyed, while others I found lacking. To give you an example – I’m not even sure if this book is part paranormal or not. As a serial killer mystery, however, it has its fair share of appealing qualities.

This novel starts by introducing us to our protagonist, Cassie, who’s always been good at reading people with only the tiniest of details. She quickly meets with an FBI team who takes her on to train as a profiler. That is about all we get as an introduction. Forget learning very much about this classified Naturals program. Moreover, we don’t find out where these special abilities come from. Are we supposed…

Waiting on Wednesday (97)

Waiting on Wednesday (97)

Posted by on 10/23/2013 • 25 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:

Holy crap did you read this blurb!? O_O Kate’s last book, Another Little Piece, was such a strange book – in a good way – and probably one of the most unique stories I’ve ever read told in the most mysterious of ways so I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us with this one!

What are you waiting on?

Cheryl Rainfield’s Top Thrill Reads + Giveaway!

Cheryl Rainfield’s Top Thrill Reads + Giveaway!

Posted by on 10/20/2013 • 7 Comments

Hi everyone! I have a special treat for y’all today! The Stained blog tour is stopping by with a fun top 5 list from Cheryl, as well as a fantastic giveaway! First let’s have a look at what Stained is all about!

Cheryl’s Top 5 Thrill Reads

Sometimes I don’t read a lot of thrillers, because my life was like a thriller–full of terror, anxiety, my pulse racing almost constantly–and I still need to learn to calm down. (smiling) It makes it easy for me to write with high intensity–it’s what I know. Other times, it’s what I want to read because it’s what I know and enjoy. I read a mix of YA and adult thrillers when I read them. Here are some of my favorites…

Waiting on Wednesday (96)

Waiting on Wednesday (96)

Posted by on 10/16/2013 • 34 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:

A new Brenna Yovanoff!! Yay! Paper Valentine is the only one I read from her but it was so well written – kind of gothic-y and creepy. I loved it. But even if it wasn’t an author that I know could rock it, this premise sounds right up my alley! And I mean, look at that cover!