Review: Quest of the Demon by M.L. Sawyer

Title: Quest of the Demon

Author: M.L. Sawyer site

Format: Ebook

Published: 1/28/2011

Publisher: Smashwords

Source: Received from author for review

“Darci is a popular sixteen-year-old girl who plays basketball and lives in an ordinary country town. But her life is changed forever when she is accidentally transported to the land of Nahaba by a young apprentice wizard called Taslessian.

Within hours of her unexpected arrival, both teens are thrust into a dangerous journey to the cave of Grisham the Great in the hope that he would be able to send her home.

Upon reaching the cave, however, Darci quickly discovers that there is no such thing as accidents, and that their journey is only just beginning. 

The Quest of the Demon has begun”

-Goodreads

How it starts:

Darci wakes up in the middle of the night feeling as though something’s wrong, someone is in the house. Armed with only an old hockey stick she begins to investigate. Though she finds no one there, another world has appeared just outside of an open window. This portal transports her to the strange land of Nahaba, a whole other world filled with dragons, wizards, knights and other unfamiliar beings. All Darci wants to do is get home, but she did not arrive here by accident. Will she be able to win in an epic battle between evil and the light?

Characters:

I want to start by saying I’ve haven’t read a book with such strange names for characters since reading Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series. Taslessian, Maledorian, Defyance, Fritrence, Demolish, Trolog, and Domati are all featured in Quest of the Demon.

It took about 70 pages for the characters to take on form. It was a lot like trying to connect with characters from a fairy tale, you’re told what they are like but they don’t seem real. The characters began to come to life as the book progressed, but I still felt like I was viewing them from a distance.

Plot:

Having a group of characters go on a medieval quest is very unusual in YA today. But I’m glad to say that M.L. Sawyer pulled it off pretty well. The plot of Quest of the Demon did have some unique plot twists. I especially liked how original the ending was. That being said, there are a few over used clichés and some plot holes. There are a few parts of the book, specifically parts having to do with elves, which are rather reminiscent of Lord of the Rings.

Point of View:

Quest of the Demon is written in the Third person omniscient POV (“all-knowing; can include thought and perspective of all characters” *definition found here).

Overall:

Thought it got off to a rather slow start, I ended up enjoying Quest of the Demon. It’s classic medieval fantasy style was an interesting change from the normal YA fare.  I’m giving it 3.5 of 5 stars. 

Future Release Review: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Before I go any further, this book's title put a song in my head throughout my reading it. Just listen as far as the chorus to see what I mean. (1:10 minutes in) 

Title: Every Other Day

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes site

Format: Ebook

Release Date: 12/27/2011

Publisher: Egmont

Source: Netgalley

“Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . . She’s something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive . . . and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.”

-Goodreads

Every Other Day is set in a world very similar to ours. The big difference is that instead of Darwin discovering evolution when he set out on the Beagle, he discovered preternatural creatures (hellhounds, zombies, basilisks, ect.). And so the hunting Kali is compelled to do is very illegal, what with hellhounds being an endangered species and all. Through the whole book, Kali is wondering who she is; not her personality, but what species. As far as she knows she’s one of a kind.

Characters:

There weren’t any characters in this book I had problems with. I didn’t find anything about Kali I disliked; I just had a hard time relating to her for whatever reason. She has the whole “kick ass heroine” thing going on, and she’s easy to root for. She was just a little 2D personality wise.

Again, nothing liked or disliked with Zev. Although he’s the romantic interest, he doesn’t play a major role in this book. Perhaps we’ll see more of him in the sequel.

The real money is in the supporting characters. All the banter between Skylar and Bethany was so funny I almost peed my pants. (I always seem to like the funny characters the best. Never noticed this before.)

Plot:

This book has a great plot. Every Other Day is action packed, with a few tear-jerking moments and plenty of twists and turns. Some that even I didn’t see coming. (This, unfortunately, doesn’t happen very often.) And a cliff hanger ending completes the package that, hopefully, promises a sequel.

Overall:

I really enjoyed this book and found the concept (especially what species she turns out to be) very unique. It was well paced and I was never bored. I really hope there will be a sequel. Every Other Day gets 3.5/5 stars from me. I can see this book being a big hit! 

Review: If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

Title: If I Tell

Author: Janet Gurtler site

Format: Paperback, 244 pages

Release Date: 10/01/2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: Library

“Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a one night stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?”

-Goodreads

How it starts:

Jasmine has a big secret. She saw her mother’s younger boyfriend, Simon, kissing her best friend Lacey at a party. She plans to do the right thing and tell her mom. But Jasmine’s mother has some news for her first. She’s pregnant, with Simon’s baby. How can Jasmine tell her mother now?

Characters:

Jasmine, protagonist, was okay. There are some ways to relate to her character, and she isn’t unlikable. There just wasn’t anything imparticular about her the made me really want to root for her, something that made her stand out from the crowd. I did like that the author wasn’t afraid to have Jasmine have some flaws. Not of the 2-D variety, but of her personality. She is a bit of a hypocrite. And I like that this is later acknowledged in the story.

Jackson, love interest, was a funny character and had a lighter quality to him compared to Jasmine. The only problem I had with him, was that he was suffering from PCD, Perfect Character Disorder. He’s a little too “always understanding” and “fun loving” for an ex-drug addict. Not that an ex-addict can’t be that way just that no human being is that perfect. He’s a real “cutesy” character.

Plot:

I had no trouble getting interested in the story. There’s a big attention getter right from the get go. The only issue seems to be in the quantity craziness in Jasmine’s life. There is a lot of drama going on in If I Tell. There’s the stress of keeping a big secret, best friend betrayal, being biracial in a small town, losing friends/pushing people away, depression, learning to trust, and dealing with parent abandonment issues. The recurring theme that ties it all together seems to be “learning to forgive”. It’s not a bad message, maybe a little cliché, but still a good message. This book is well written, but it’s a little hard to believe that all of these things would happen to one person at the same time. Jasmine’s life kind of reminded me of a soap opera. Like there was too much going on in one book.

Overall:

I liked this one okay. I definitely liked it better that The Bell Jar, the last book I read. I’m going to give this one 3.5 stars. I don’t think this will be one of my favorites, but wasn’t half bad.

Review: You Are My Only by Beth Kephart

Title: You Are My Only    

Author: Beth Kephart site

Publisher: Egmont USA

Release/Published: 10/25/2011

Format: Ebook

Source: NetGalley

It book is definitely very unique. You Are My Only is written from the perspective of two people.

Sophie is homeschooled and moves around a lot. Her mother is very strict and doesn’t want her out of the house. However, Sophie begins to break the rules. She leaves their house and meets the boy next door, Joey. As Joey and Sophie become friends, Sophie begins to see how strange her life really is. Not being able to go outside, her mother wanting her to be perfect, them moving around all the time. At home the only books she’s allowed to read are books on advanced subjects like Archimedean solids. But at Joey’s house, thing are so different. Joey’s aunts are so loving. They read Willa Cather and bake cookies; Sophie’s even encouraged to think creatively. Why are Sophie and her mother running? What is her mother hiding?

Emmy is a new mother that has just discovered her baby’s missing, taken in broad daylight from her front lawn. All that’s left of her is one yellow sock. The police haven’t had any luck and her abusive husband, Peter, is furious. Emmy goes off on her own to look for Baby. She meets a nice man named Arlen whom saves her life and helps her look for Baby.  However, the police find this behavior very suspicious and consider her a suspect. After a mental breakdown, a judge deems Emmy incompetent to stand trial. She is then sent to a mental institution. How will she find Baby now?

You are My Only’s rhythmic and poetic style was kind of confusing at first. It was hard to follow in the beginning. But I kept on, and I’m glad I did! After my brain got used to the writing style, I couldn’t put it down. The plot paired with the unique prose writing makes this book both simple and eloquent. Even though I guessed what the connection was between Emmy and Sophie, I liked that that’s one of the big mysteries of the book. If you find it kind of obvious, not to worry: there are other surprises. I wish it was slightly longer though. But overall, I’d give this book 3.5/5 stars. It’s definitely worth reading.