[REVIEW] The Hollow – Jessica Verday

Jessica Verday
The Hollow (The Hollow, Book 1)
Simon & Schuster (US & CA: 1st September 2009; UK: 1st October 2009; AU: 1st November 2009)
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Rumour in Sleepy Hollow has it that Kristen Maxwell’s death was a suicide. Her best friend Abbey Browning is not convinced, but only sets about looking into her BFF’s past when Abbey’s new boyfriend (maybe) Caspian suggests so. Luckily, she discovers Kristen’s secret diary…

Had it not been marketed as paranormal romance, and had the setting not been Sleepy Hollow, for the most part this could’ve been straight YA, about coming to terms with Kristen’s death, and Abbey’s sanity really would be a question. The paranormal clues are rather obvious, though – note what Caspian says his surname is, and the first name of the elderly woman. Also easy is Abbey chancing upon a yearbook.

Nikolas is my favourite character, and the cemetery setting is amazing – hopefully it’ll inspire more tourism. Also, the persistent presence of snickerdoodles made me rather jealous, on account of I don’t have any cookies. But Astrid, Caspian’s “nickname” for Abbey? Creepy. If he’d called her little star or something, that would’ve been fine, but Astrid is a person’s name, making me suspect that Caspian has a ladyfriend named Astrid in his past.

Perhaps what’s most curious about the novel is that it’s over 500 pages, because some sections really didn’t need to be there: the cheerleaders at school, visiting with relatives, getting a job… Maybe they’re included to show how much time passes between scenes with Caspian, but other than that they could easily have been scrapped.

Yet, there’s no denying that The Hollow is indeed a page-turner – you don’t stop to think; you just read. And the loose ends definitely shout out for closure, making the sequel, The Haunted, a must-have in 2010.

[REVIEW] Devoured – Amanda Marrone

Amanda Marrone
Devoured
Simon & Schuster (US & CA: 22nd September 2009; AU: 1st November 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Megan Sones originally applies for a job to keep an eye on her boyfriend and his clingy best friend, but then she meets someone else who can see and interact with Megan’s twin Remy – who died aged seven. Meanwhile, there’s something very disturbing about the family that owns and manages the amusement park.

This stand-alone novel works a treat. The blend of Brothers Grimm, Gossip Girl, and V. C. Andrews creates a shadowy atmosphere with genuinely creepy moments and some truly effed-up characters. Land of Enchantment is suitably spooky with its over-the-top cheese and vicious underbelly. A definite page-turner!

Library Loot

This meme thing is from Marg at Reading Adventures.

Rarely go to the library nowadays, but since since I binge-reserved a stack of books recently, I collected five on Monday. And have been reading them, and thus spending less time reading blogs and Twitter feeds.

1. Amanda Marrone’s Devoured: Finished, and I loved it. Will review sometime later.

2. Jessica Verday’s The Hollow: Currently reading. Almost 100 pages in, and it’s been a bit slow thus far. When a book is over 500 pages long, it better be that long for a bloody good reason. I shall persevere…

After this I shall be reading:

-Justine Larbalestier’s Liar
-Cheyenne McCray’s Demons Not Included
-Kresley Cole & Gena Showalter’s Deep Kiss of Winter

But I’ll only be reading Ms Showalter’s story, and I’ll likely skim-read it due to my experience with Seduce the Darkness.

[COVER ART] Wired – Robin Wasserman

US cover for Robin Wasserman’s Wired. Am still waiting for Crashed to be released here in Oz. Really enjoyed the first novel, Skinned. Fiction needs more mechs, y’all.

P.S. Maybe this isn’t the final cover, but I found it on Amazon nonetheless. Check out the tagline right above the title

[REVIEW] Crimson & Steam – Liz Maverick

Liz Maverick
Crimson & Steam (Crimson City, Book
Dorchester Love Spell (US: 29th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

It’s bad enough human journalist Jill Cooper has to witness her vampire lover Marius Dumont marry someone else in the name of political harmony, but worse is the virus that kills one of Crimson City’s vampires…and is having a radical affect on Marius, too. To obtain the cure, Jill must willingly infect another vampire, or win the race against time by studying the papers of a young inventor in 1850s London.

At first Jill is so desperate that she’s bloody annoying. Admittedly, she’s having a rough time but she acts like life without love is not worth living. That’s right, all the single ladies – put your hands up! But keep reading, because the rest of the book more than makes up for Jill’s melodrama.

Though set in an alternate (or even futuristic) Los Angeles, with all the royalty, corsets and whatnot it seems rather Victorian, so it’s not a shock to switch to 1850s England. In fact, the steampunk sub-plot is the most fascinating part of Crimson & Steam. There are clear parallels between Jill’s and Charlotte’s troubled relationships, but Charlie still has her dignity.

The Crystal Palace hosts the Great Exhibition that rose engineer Charlotte visits weekly. A tempest prognosticator seems innocent enough, but not even its creator could predict its dire consequences. I still have questions about the device and how it works, and Crimson City’s geography with its strata is bloody confusing, even though we’re told who goes where. More memorable, however, are the crafty mechs.

The government conspiracies, and political divisions between the vampires/humans/werewolves, may seem tired, but the science and steampunk are winners. Totally glom-worthy, Crimson & Steam gives one much to think about, and hope for future instalments. Add to this the mind-bending concepts of her futuristic novels, and Liz Maverick stands above other authors treading the well-worn paranormal path. Can’t wait for her next innovative novel!

[COVER ART] Waking the Witch (CA) – Kelley Armstrong

Here’s the Canadian cover of Kelley Armstrong’s Waking the Witch, and the dirt-encrusted character looks somewhat creepy.

[COVER ART] Dark Life (UK) – Kat Falls

UK cover for Kat Falls’s Dark Life. The US edition was okay, but this UK one has more colour and more action – and thus more to my liking

[REVIEW] The Laughing Corpse – Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton
The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 2)
Penguin (US: 2nd August 2005; CA: 29th September 2009); Hachette Headline (UK: 3rd September 2009; AU: November 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Anita Blake can raise the dead, and is usually willing to pay the price (killing a chicken). However, the older the zombie, the higher the cost, and to meet overtly wealthy Harold Gaynor’s requirements she’ll have to make a human sacrifice. Anita may be known as the Executioner, but there are some things a self-respecting animator won’t do, no matter how many millions are offered to her. And no matter how much she’s tortured.

There’s a good reason readers have fond memories of these early Anita books – they’re bloody good. This, the second in the series, may be fifteen years old, but it’s aged rather well. The content is fascinating, the characters are suitably annoying and/or creepy, and Anita has toy penguins. Not a shag in the novel, though she admits her lust for an emopire who wears a really hideous shirt, Jean-Claude, but he declares her lust is “desire”. Vampires are habitually up themselves, so this should come as a surprise to no one.

And it’s nice to see Anita strike up a new friendship-of-convenience of sorts. Private investigator Veronica Sims may not be good enough for her, but prostitute Wheelchair Wanda is more than just someone from whom to get dirt on Gaynor. Speaking of Harold, he is one sick bastard, but still not the scariest character in the story. That honour is reserved for Dominga Salvador, for whom with much power comes…well, that woman is seriously effed in the head, and not in a “diagnosed mental illness” way, but rather “she’s totally sane and gets her jollies off these horrible things”. Just wait ’til you meet the monster – some broken pieces should never be put together…

The Laughing Corpse does seem somewhat slow, but so do all the other LKH books I’ve read. Still, I pretty much read the last half in one sitting, and it’s an absolute cracker. Quality novels like this make me feel all the more disappointed that the series later jumped the shark.

[COVER ART] White Tiger – Kylie Chan

International cover for Kylie Chan’s White Tiger. And by “international”, I mean USA, Canada and UK. Because the trilogy was realised in Australia a few years ago, and thus had a different cover.

Of Family Guy & Writing in Public

New Zealand author Maree Anderson issued me with a very vague topic (something readerly or writerly), and a certain episode of Family Guy I watched during the week inspired my topic choice.

And no, it didn’t involve Stewie asking, “How are you going on that novel?”

Read Of Family Guy & Writing in Public