Tumble & Fall, by Alexandra Coutts

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings

The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand.

Alexandra Coutts's Tumble & Fall is a powerful story of courage, love, and hope at the end of the world.




Let's just look at the cover for a moment, shall we?  It's gorgeous!  I love the font, the cover models, and the bokeh lights.

Sadly, that's the best part of the book.  Awesome premise.  Poor execution.  What kind of father hires a prostitute for his son?  Disgusting.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Twigs, by Alison Ashley Formento

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

One pint-sized girl. Ten super-sized crises. And it’s high noon.

They call her “Twigs,” because she’ll never hit five feet tall. Although she was born early, and a stiff breeze could knock her over, Twigs has a mighty spirit. She needs it, as life throws a whole bucket of rotten luck at her: Dad’s an absentee drunk; Mom’s obsessed with her new deaf boyfriend (and Twigs can’t tell what they’re saying to each other). Little sister Marlee is trying to date her way through the entire high school; Twigs’ true love may be a long-distance loser after a single week away at college, and suddenly, older brother Matt is missing in Iraq. It all comes together when a couple of thugs in a drugstore aisle lash out, and Twigs must fight to save the life of the father who denied her.




I seem to be in a NetGalley funk this past week.  I've read some real gems and some real...not gems.  And by "read," I mean "no way could I finish this book."

I really wanted to like this book, but there was SO. MUCH. GOING. ON. that it was hard to keep track of everything.  Really, how much melodrama does one person attract?

This is the review that most resembles what I would write if I wanted to spend more time on this book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Eloise, by Judy Finnigan

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Yesterday I almost saw her.

I was standing on the sun deck, looking out to sea, revelling in the unexpected warmth of the February sun. A butterfly trembled on a nearby buddleia and suddenly I smelled her perfume.

She wasn't there, of course. How could she be when I had seen her lying in her coffin just two weeks ago, the day before she was buried, her casket surrounded by the scented candles she loved?

She lay in Cornish ground now...

She was a daughter, a wife, a mother. She was a friend. But what secrets did Eloise take to her grave? Compulsively-readable and haunting, this is the Sunday Times bestselling debut novel from Book Club champion, Judy Finnigan.




I just couldn't finish this book; I was annoyed almost right off the bat.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Screwed, by Laurie Plissner

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Flattered by the attentions of Nick, the cutest guy in school, seventeen-year-old Grace Warren, captain of the math team, lets down her guard and gets pregnant the night she loses her virginity. Hopeful that Nick will drop to one knee and propose when she breaks the baby news to him, Grace is heartbroken--Nick wants nothing to do with her.

Her best friend, Jennifer, thinks she should get an abortion, but Grace is certain that her morally upright parents will insist that she keep the baby. After she comes clean to her super-religious, strait-laced parents, they surprise her by insisting that she terminate the pregnancy to avoid humiliating the family.

But when she sees the fetus on the ultrasound, she decides she can't get rid of it. Deciding to save the tiny life growing inside of her, Grace must face the consequences of being that girl - the good girl who got knocked up.




I wasn't a fan of Plissner's previous work, Louder Than Words, but I wanted to give her another chance.  I won't do that again. 

This YA novel feels like it was written by a twelve-year-old, not an established author.  And I have a very hard time believing that staunch Pro-Lifers would suddenly want to force their daughter to have an abortion.  I am Pro-Choice and would never ever ever force someone to terminate a pregnancy.

There was a lot that was unrealistic, but what really pissed me off was all of the slut-shaming.  Why do women do that to each other?  Sex is a natural part of life.  It's healthy.  It's fun.  Yes, teen pregnancies happen.  But they don't just happen to the "bad" girls--those who have sex more than once(!).  Grace is portrayed as so.much.better than those stupid whores who got knocked up.  They're all low-class, low-GPA, unambitious leg-spreaders.  Smart girls don't get pregnant, so Grace is at a complete and total loss about how this happened!  AS IS HER DOCTOR.

I just...can't.

I'm so pissed off at this book.  I won't be reading anything else by Laurie Plissner.  EVER.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

Amazon

Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.

One of Shakespeare's darkest and most violent tragedies, Macbeth's struggle between his own ambition and his loyalty to the King is dramatically compelling.

As those he kills return to haunt him, Macbeth is plagued by the prophecy of three sinister witches and the power hungry desires of his wife.





Confession #1: Despite my love of theatre and the years I spent performing on stage, I've never actually read Macbeth (though I still wouldn't dare to say his name in any sort of theatrical venue). 
 
Confession #2: I won't listen to Shakespeare again.  I am a visual learner and his works are too difficult to decipher just by listening to the performance; I need to see or read the play in order to grasp its meaning.

Confession #3: I did not actually finish Macbeth.  Instead, I am going to read a recap and call it a day.

Confession #4: The entire time I was listening, I kept thinking forward to January 2014, when my BFF and I are flying to London for the weekend, just to see David Tennant in Richard II.

The Awakening (Vampire Diaries #1), by L.J. Smith

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

A Love Triangle of Unspeakable Horror...

Elena: Searching for the ultimate thrill, she vowed to have Stefan.

Stefan: Haunted by his tragic past, he struggled to resist her passion.

Damon: Driven by revenge, he hunted the brother who betrayed him.

The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.






Um, okay.

So, I know that Smith wrote her series before Stephenie Meyer came onto the scene, but I couldn't help but think of Twilight.  The entire time I listened to The Awakening -- which, admittedly, wasn't very long before I gave up -- I was rolling my eyes and thinking this is such an Edward-and-Bella rip-off!

Yes -- even though Meyer wrote her books years later -- that's the only thing that kept running through my mind. 

Vegetarian vampire?  Check.  New kid at school?  Check.  Freaky-colored eyes?  Check.  Vampire interested in a human girl because of how she smells?  Check.

Check mate.  I'm done.

Louder Than Words, by Laurie Plissner

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

The debut novel of an American original, Laurie Plissner's is both medical thriller and lyric love story in the tradition of magical realism

Since the snowy night when her family's car slammed into a tree, killing her parents and little sister, Sasha has been unable to speak except through a computer with a robotic voice. Nothing is wrong with her body; that's healed. But, after four years, Sasha's memory, and her spirit, are still broken. 

Then one day, she's silently cussing out the heavy book she dropped at the library when a gorgeous, dark-haired boy, the kind of boy who considers Sasha a freak or at least invisible, "answers" Sasha's hidden thoughts -- out loud. 

Yes, Ben can read minds; it's no big deal. 

He's part of a family with a host of unusual, almost-but-not-quite-supernatural talents. Through Ben's love, Sasha makes greater progress than she has with a host of therapists and a prominent psychiatrist. With him to defend her, bullies keep the world from ever understanding Sasha, and he pulls away. 

Determined to win him and prove her courage by facing her past, Sasha confronts her past -- only to learn that her family's death was no accident and that a similar fate may wait for her, in the unlikeliest of disguises.

Cover love?  Yes!  It's beautiful! 

Intriguing Premise?  You betcha! 

Stereotypical "broken" character?  Ugh.  Yes.

Stereotypical "omg he's too hot for me" love interest?  Ugh again.

I started and stopped this book three times; it just didn't hold my interest.

It seems to follow the standard YA formula:

hot guy

average girl

super powers

"he's the only person who understands me"

misunderstanding or self-sacrifice

finally getting back together

I don't know if this is actually the case, since I never read further than the first chapter.
 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.