The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson

The Reluctant Heiress takes place in (where else for Ibbotson?) Early 20th Century Vienna. Tessa is working herself ragged for a touring Opera company, but she is not who she seems. When Guy Farne, a wealthy Englishman, buys Vienna's most valuable palace, she becomes unwillingly involved in the festivities and finds herself in a dangerous position: love.

I have read and loved all 5 of Eva Ibbotson's standalone novels. She is truly a brilliant, lyrical writer, and weaves a nice heart-warming love story. Once I read one, I became addicted. They are all very similar, with different characters and slightly different plots, but I love them even if I can predict the end.

This one was no exception, it followed the classic storyline, however, I didn't like it nearly as much as the others! Maybe it was because I read it last? But no, the leading man was FLAT and seemingly perfect for Tessa, but more jerky than acceptable. She fell for him with seemingly no reason. He was distant and mean most of the book. And in the end, he is shockingly cruel to his admittedly crueler fiance.

The other characters were brilliant! Jacob and Klovsky. The Aunts. Even Maxi. But Tessa also fell flat for me. She was TOO classic Eva. There was not much to distinguish her. She was nice, but too altruistic.

The end was a good one, what should have happened, but I found myself unattached to the story, unlike all of the others, which I lived and breathed for!

Sadly, didn't measure up. However, since it was the last book, perhaps I am being unfair. I still love her and her writing, and it went pretty quickly. So:

3/5
--Shay-la

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare!!!!!

Yayyyyy!!!!! It's Finally here!!!!! I'm ashamed to say it was out for almost 2 weeks before I could get my hands on it. I made up for lost time by devouring it quickly. My understanding is that these last few books will be like their own trilogy, adding onto the original trilogy. Clare marked the change by putting 2 characters on the front of the cover, instead of one.

Jace is distant, Simon is alone, Clary is confused. The ending of the third book left the characters in a nice place, but now things are starting to get messy. Simon can't tell his mother about anything, and refuses to be a part of his own world. A new player is determined to use his Daylighter abilities and now he is even less sure who to side with. Jace is also being torn by his love for Clary and his fear of loving Clary. He is plagued by nightmares and can't even look at her. She is left in a mixed up state, not knowing how to help Jace, or even what is wrong with him. In the background looms a danger that none of them have faced, that will defeat them unless they fix the division among them.

Okay...hmm...what to say first. The book was great, especially the end! It wasn't my favorite, it seemed a little less kick-a than the first 3. Not a whole lot of action or fights, mostly mystery and arguments that required more thinking and talking than battling. Sadly.

And Jace. WTF! He is whiney the whole book, and I get pretty frustrated with him. I know he's going through something awful, but he didn't handle it well. At all. Simon rocks though, like always. I love him as a vampire! I wish he would have been able to explore his abilities more. Not the Mark of Cain, that's creepy. I mean his super-fast reflexes and sight and strength! COOL! But Simon is Simon, and he doesn't really appreciate losing his humanity.

Saddest of all was Clary's character. She was weak and not very interesting this book. It seemed like Jace and Simon and the other lead characters were the ones causing the action, and she was simply reacting. There was one exception, and that was pretty awesome. But otherwise, meh. She isn't studying the Shadowhunter lore or tactics, but expects to be treated like one of them? She has 17 years of time to make up for, but instead she just wants Jace to kiss her. I don't blame her, I want him too as well, but she should be out learning to kick butt! Instead she kills demons with luck and backup.

All the negative out of the way, I still love the MI series. It was a necessary addition to the trilogy, I believe. That ending.................................ouch.

In fact, most readers seem to agree that the ending was the best part. You find out everything then, and it's shocking. A little out of nowhere? Maybe. Creepy? Ohhh yeah. My heart was pounding the whole time though, and I kept screaming at the book. My best friend was next to me, about 10% behind me, and I kept waiting for her to catch up and freak out like I was. (It was so good we sat next to each other and read, with occasional commentary).

So, in closing, I would like to add that no matter the negatives of the book, I was addicted to learning about the characters. I have to know what happens next, and that's why this series is a huge success.

4/5

***Shay-la***

The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

Calder is a Fetch, a Death escort who travels with souls to the other side. It only take one Death scene to change him forever. Convinced it is God's will, Calder defies his vows and leaves his position to join the mortal world in search of his Star Fetch. What he gets is more complicated and dangerous than what he had intended. He finds himself sucked into memories of his mortal life, part of a political war, and plagued by restless spirits. In order to set both worlds right, he has to find the key and open the door to his world again.

This book was written in storybook prose that was so different from what I was expecting. I expected a personal, modern take on death, a darker romance. Instead, it was a light-hearted, innocent, and intriguing story for which one could use words like "tale," "spun," and "fairytale."

Not to say I didn't like it. I realllly did. Calder was smart and cute and wise and I liked his pov.

The world building was awesome! I've never thought of Death like that. It was very detailed, although I felt some holes were left. Fetches are present for Death Scenes, in which a soul makes a decision to live or die. If they die, the Fetch escorts the soul through the Aisle of Unearthing to the River, which takes them to Heaven. The thing I liked most was the religious factor. Fetches are God's workers, and they pray and meditate, as well as recite psalms. It is refreshing to find an author who takes a position on God, instead of carefully avoiding the topic.

It was an adventure, and I liked how the historical mortal world was realistically tied in. The book claims to be a romance, but that didn't come in to play much, only at the end.

It was a nice story, and a very very intriguing take on the spiritual realm. It kept me reading for a while! Though there were some aspects that weren't exactly what I look for in a novel, it was a great read.

4/5

Shay-la

Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala

Miranda, or more recently, Rand, has a secret. She has suffered the loss of her sister and blames her parents for driving her away. She tries to cling to Xanda's memory, tries to be like her. In the end, she pushes away her oldest friend and loses her new ones. Now, she has no one, except a tiny secret in her belly...

This was my first ever Audiobook, and for good reason! I never have time to listen! My daily drive in 1.5 minutes long, and only on weekends do I spend any time in the car. I got Tell Me a Secret because the podcast is free on iTunes, and I thought it would be good to pass the time on longer drives into town. It definitely did pass the time, and I'm glad I stuck with it, thought I considered giving up...

It wasn't boring; it was angering. The narrator, Rand, was horrendous! She was a jerk and a pushover at once. The poor thing is bullied by everyone and barely has enough room left for a personality of her own. When something goes wrong, she might try once to fix it, but chickens out when it doesn't go perfectly. I was so annoyed by her weakness, I almost couldn't connect with her.

When she meets Kamran, I was excited for her! I thought maybe something happy would happen to little Rand and she would get over herself...but instead, two lines on a pregnancy test add another problem. Here, I started to feel for her, but she totally didn't handle it the right way.

She never sticks up for herself, so when her new "friend" Delaney starts telling lies about her, steals her boyfriend, and leaves Miranda completely alone, she doesn't plead her case. After that, it became much harder to be on her side. Miranda's home life is horrible. They never talk about Xanda, and rarely talk at all. Her naggy mother tries to persuade her to give the baby away, but Rand knows she can't. She sees the baby as a way to escape, and it's no wonder why. All she needs is someone to love her for once, and maybe learn not to push them away.

Gradually, Rand learns. She starts to see things in a new way, and gains some perspective. Things start looking up, and by the end, she's a real girl. It was interesting to watch it all come together. This story was heart-wrenching and emotional, for me anyway. Rand doesn't have many emotions. The topic of teen pregnancy is hard-hitting and relevant now, and this was a very different approach. It was well-written, with a few too many metaphors for my taste, but neatly put together.

The reader Jenna Lamia was awesome! She did voices and accents that I thought were funny but believable. She sounds like Miranda. It was a very good experience as my very first audiobook!

Anyway, to wrap it up, it was a good book and good reader. Cupala is a good writer, but Miranda frustrated me so much it detracted from the overall experience.

3.3/5

--Shay-la
--Shay-la

The Return: Nightfall (Vampire Diaries)

In a whole new series, L.J. Smith continues the story of the teenage vampires, Stefan and Damon, and their life with the mortals Bonnie, Meridith, Elena, Matt. Elena is back, but not back to normal. As Stefan works to bring Elena back to health (and sanity), a whole new type of danger is present in Fell's church. It will take all of them to foil it in a fast-paced battle where no one is sure who can be trusted...

Wow. This will be hard to do. The book was sooo confusing for my emotions! I thought the Vampire Diaries ended so nicely at Dark Reunion, and was unsure why she wanted to write more. I think this was a good reason that she made it a new series, like an alternative world for people who wanted to read more.

Let's just say...I liked the book. Really, I did. After reading a lot of mixed reviews, I came to see a lot of the negative sides of the book, but most of them didn't bother me while reading. And a lot of things I wasn't sure how to feel about. So I didn't dislike most of it. I was whipped around a lot between viewpoints and situations all around...that was fine, and made it a quick read. But the book also whipped me between like and dislike. I loved parts, and hated others, and some were uncomfortable or hokey while others were edgy and scary.

It's a whole new decade in this series, though it continues right where Dark Reunion left off. You can see evidence of the new decade in the technology mostly. Damon buys a video phone, which is hilarious, because back in the other books, mobile phones weren't heard of yet. I had to laugh. It was a very unique and brave thing to do, bringing characters from the 90s into the 2000s. I'm surprised at how well it worked. You can also tell it's been modernized by the language. Smith doesn't shy away from profanity, though it is still rarely used, for the most part. And the situations have become more mature, very edgy, and not as (juvenile?) as the previous series. Lots of nudity? I don't know why she seemed to be obsessed with naked characters in the book, but let's just say it would make an awkward movie.

The characters remained the same, primarily. It's always difficult to tell for me, because I didn't make them up. But I think she did a good job portraying their personalities considering how long its been since she's written about them. Same old bossy, self-important Elena, same heroic Matt, and same shifty Meredith. Stefan is a bit much. He's suddenly all mushy and lovey with Elena, which they have never been before. It was always a "fight next to me" romance, while now it got soft and cuddly...Damon isn't himself most of the book, so I couldn't get an a grip on him. You have to read it to understand what I mean. He alllllmost got soft on me, and I was about to get mad, but then he was back to the smart-a I love.

The plot moved quickly, I think I read 400 pages the first day. I'm not sure if that was because the book was good or I was just that attached to the characters. Things kept happening that made me stressed out! So much happening! The villain, like the previous one, also came out of nowhere, but I guess fighting vampires and old lovers over and over would have gotten old. There was some Asian influence in this book? Weird...There was a lot of horror, and some gross detail that cheesy 90s L.J. would have blushed at.

And it was loooong. I read nonstop, so it went by fast, but it was twice the length of her other books!

About 5/6 of this book was good. Then, the end. Whaaaat? There were mashed up sentences and fast scenes where I didn't understand anything and random details that came out of nowhere...I felt lost. I had to re-read several sections. Then it got weird, and I was like, really? Where the heck did THAT come from? I predicted how the end would play out though. I suspected, but I had hoped it wouldn't come to that...it did. :(

P.s., the one thing I had hoped would happen didn't! But hey, as long as poor Elena is okay, then all is well...grrr...

Yes, I liked it a lot, still. It was weird and awkward and probably a bad book. But I liked it. I will read the next one, Shadow Souls, as well, and might even like that one. Please don't let my snarky comments keep you from reading the book, because I enjoyed it. Only a book that important to me could frustrate me so!

4/5

--Shay-la