Underworld by Meg Cabot

Title: Underworld

Author: Meg Cabot

Reviewed by: Cassie

Rating: 3 glass slippers

Summary (from BN.com)

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, the dark reimagining of the Persephone myth begun in ABANDON continues ... into the Underworld.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn't dead.

Not this time.

But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey.

Her captor, John Hayden, claims it's for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they've come back as Furies, intent on vengeance . . . on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves.

But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there . . . and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies.

And unless Pierce is careful, this time there'll be no escape.

As a reader, I really liked Meg Cabot's retelling of Persephone's tale. Abandon stuck with me- the characters, plot, and details just clung to my brain. Even though I had my dislikes, it kind of slightly blew my mind. As we continue with Pierce's tale, I was a bit disappointed with the second book. I thought that this would be centered (FINALLY!) in the Underworld (thus the title) and we'd get to see just how Pierce would adapt to life as John's queen. I really wanted more details on the Underworld, but unfortunately I didn't get that. Soy un perrito MUY triste!! (I am a VERY sad puppy!!)

As the first book leaves off, Pierce is in the Underworld. She's having a nightmare and wakes up to one delicious sight. (not telling ;) Then John goes off to work and Pierce explores. Somehow she finds something alarming in her exploration and tells John. They then go on a journey to fix this problem. SPOILER ALERT: It's not in the Underworld.

The protagonist-
Pierce is the same as ever. Stubborn, good-willed, lovely, and... full of tears. In the beginning she cries so much. But as the story goes on, she steels herself and toughens up a little. She tries to do good to the world and shows her love.

The romantic interest-
Yep I'm using fancy terms today. Well, John is the same ol' same ol'. Same dark, wavy/curly long hair that occasionally falls into his eyes. Which, by the way, are a gray/silver. Apparently he has golden skin with many pale marks all over from mysterious scars. We don't find out how exactly he acquired these. He's very masculine, protective, strong, sweet, and mysterious. VERY mysterious about his past. For those who were curious about this past, it gets mostly revealed in Underworld.

The plot-
Compared to Abandon, I felt this plot line was weak and unnecessary. I was thinking Pierce would learn to be queen and maybe find out how to kill the Furies, but she ends up on this reckless, slightly-pointless rescue mission. Some of the mystery about John and the Underworld gets cleared up but I'm assuming in the last book we'll learn even MORE! Score.

Overall: I felt like this was a good book, but it was carried out wrong. It could have been amazing but instead I felt slightly bored sometimes. The details and story still sticks with me and I keep thinking about it (despite not wanting to so I can focus!) However, I felt like a certain scene about a touch of stars, cosmos, and whatnot (you'll know what I mean) with a scandalously rumpled white dress was VERY lacking!! My frustration was practically tangible. Non-enigmatic talk? The romantic scenes were lacking. Sure, there was some heat but the emotions were unavailable. There was talk about love but no actual... thoughts of it. Like, Pierce would feel this emotion and say "this is what makes me love you more, John" [cough, cough and possibly cry] but then there wasn't this deep love. It was more of a "I know some of your past! I'm attracted to you and you really care/obsess/love me! I'm intrigued by you and no one else is like you, thus I love you!" Now, she did love him but my standards are high. Very high. I am sure you will enjoy this book very much, as of course it is Meg Cabot. The Underworld is as gorgeous as ever, the stakes are high, and love swirls around in this memorable book. I recommend you read this if you don't have other books to read or you're off on an airplane ride/car ride/you know what I mean.

Now, toodles! Back to my homework!

....

Not.

Cassie

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Title: Lost Voices

Author: Sarah Porter

Reviewed by: Cassie

Rating: 2.5 glass slippers

Summary (from BN.com)

Fourteen-year-old Luce reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of her grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid.
A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?

I decided to read this book because I had read reviews saying to hold up their prejudices about mermaids and give it a chance. The plot they presented seemed intriguing and quite frankly, I wanted to read something about mermaids. Lost Voices is a haunting tale about murderous siren/mermaids. The characters are very conflicting and tortured, the world is stunning, and the ideas to create it are very impressive.

You must be wondering, however, why I rated it as only OK. The reason? Well, it was a bit too haunting for my taste. It's a dark book with murder and various other dark things. But what was nice was that it's a mermaid book that's dark, and that it's very unique. I did have my dislikes, but I also had my likes.

The plot-

I won't get too into it, but you find out right away that all of the mermaids come from a dark past and dislike humans. They enjoy luring them to their deaths, except for Luce and Miriam. To combine the theory of sirens, tortured young girls, and mermaids is a very unique twist. However, for me, it just didn't go well with my system. It may have been the fact that there's no romance with the main character (horrible, I know) and that Luce is only fourteen. The girls just seemed way too young for such a dark plot, but it's definitely got the wow-factor going on and it's definitely a beautiful darkness.

The heroine-

Luce has a very dark past that we learn and is very socially awkward and a loner. She also happens to be a reader. Now usually I'd be all "wow that's awkward! ... and totally me." But the thing is, she is extremely socially awkward. She wins gold medal for it. She had no friends in her school and even in her mermaid tribe she is an outcast, despite her abilities. However- she has a very good heart. While 99% of mermaids are murderous, dark human-haters, she is the sole mermaid in her tribe to actually want to save humans. She's complex and she acts in what she believes in, despite the deadly consequences.

World-

I felt like the world was also darkly beautiful. While their singing was deadly, it was gorgeous. While the mermaids were murderous, they were beautiful. While people died, they died in elation. Also- the creatures and environment is described masterfully and the details are impeccable. Plus it's mostly in the ocean, so that was nice. :)

I believe the sequel is out, and that there's finally a boy (GASP) in it... I'll have to read it soon!

Until next time-

Cassie

P.S. - now that I'm back in school I am in BOOK WITHDRAWAL!!! Gah! Anyone else having the same issues? 

Insignia by S. J. Kincaid

Title: Insignia

Author: S. J. Kincaid

Reviewed by: Cassie

Rating: (read on to find out)

Summary (snagged from BN.com)

More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?

Gripping and provocative, S. J. Kincaid’s futuristic thrill ride of a debut crackles with memorable characters, tremendous wit, and a vision of the future that asks startling, timely questions about the melding of humanity and technology.

So- I want to make something clear from the beginning: it's pretty much love or hate this book. For those who have read Ender's Game, I feel like you will LOVE this. Veronica Roth says readers will not be able to put this down. There you have another thing- if you enjoy Veronica Roth and her opinions, you should check out this book. This is die-hard dystopian with an all-out futuristic feel to it. For those who love these kinds of books (dystopian, futuristic, war, strategy, etc.) this books receives a five glass slipper review.

HOWEVER- those who don't enjoy that? I'd like you all to still try it out. Sure, it's may not be your cup of tea, but so? Just try it out- if you don't get hooked after the first few chapters, then you can go right ahead and be done with it. I'd say it's a 4 glass slippers book without the dystopian-love going on.

The protagonist-

Insignia is from the POV of Tom Reines- yes, you're definitely getting a guy's perspective in this one. He's arrogant, vicious, and has a "major attitude issue." Hmm, what's that? He sounds completely horrible? Ah, fear not. That's the side people with a stick up their butts think of him. Other people view him as a strong-willed genius-strategist who is huge on integrity. I'm pretty sure most will be able to relate to him in some way or at least cheer him on. He's the underdog who doesn't take crap- what's not to like? (plus he goes through this major transformation that's cool to read about)

The world-

Okay this futuristic world will ROCK YOUR SOCKS OFF. So think of one of your favorite worlds- maybe awesome, magical Harry Potter World? Now imagine a slightly less awesome (what can I say, J.K. Rowlings set the standards high) dystopian world. Not a magical or paranormal world. The possibly-future-Earth-world. It's startling. It's impressive. It's amazing. The creativity needed to make this up? Astounding. There are so many details and so much information inserted along the storyline you can just roll with it! There's enough information and past-references so that you get a feel for it, but there is so much more and so much futuristic-ness to it that you're left staring.

The story-

Hmmm..... Great story. The only thing? You really have to like dystopian. (and have a good attention span) Otherwise you get a major headache, want to call it quits, and think "ughhhh". Not that I did that, of course...

As a reader, you really have to focus on it. You have to connect the dots and keep pace, otherwise you'll get real confused. I thought I could skip ahead and get a baby glimpse, eh? Not so much. It's a wonderful story but filled to the brim with details and action. It's quite a thrill to read and once you get into it, the pages just keep turning and turning.

The side characters-

I figured I didn't just want to do his BFF. Why? Because there are a lot of characters in Insignia that you learn to love. Wyatt, Yuri, Vik, Neil, and even Beamer and Elliot. A lot of the time, I found myself cracking up- but beware: it's definitely a nerdy sort of banter. And my inner geek basked in it. [funny image, that] These characters are literally the smartest teens out there, but they all play their part in Tom's life. Vik with his humorous Spicy Indian personality. Wyatt with her awkward, outcast, hacker self. (sometime's she's so awkward it's unbearably funny) Yuri in all his buff, android-like Russian glory. Neil as his gambling, loudly-opinionated father. Beamer because he is Beamer. And Elliot because you get to learn the guy behind the image.

All in all? Great characters.

Thumbs up if you like geeky/dystopian/strategy/gamer books. Thumbs up if you don't know what you like. Major thumbs up if you try this one out.

Much love-

Cassie

P.S.- did I mention Tom is a gamer? 

Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout Book Trailer

Hey guys! Check out this newly released book trailer for Onyx, which comes out in FOUR DAYS! *squeals* I've been dying to read this for so long!
Just click this link... (trust me it's worth it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylY0ZDIAFcA&feature=player_embedded

And then you can proceed to fangirl crazily with me!

Until next time-
Cassie :)