Wednesday Reads: A Hunger Like No Other

Every Wednesday (or most Wednesdays, or some Wednesdays) will bring you book reviews. Of a special variety. Yes, I am telling you which books are awesome and totally worth reading. But the point of my reviews is to hopefully make you conscious of the market and why this particular book was published: quality of writing, character and plot development, unique quirks of writing, characters, and plot that make it stand out. Take my tips to your own reading and writing, and through Constant Vigilance, will you succeed as a writer.

A Hunger Like No Other is the first installment of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. (Some lists will list it as the second installment, but the first is a novella, and Hunger stands well on its own as the first--plus, I didn't read it as I am, in fact, listening to the series, and the novella's readers did not receive good reviews).

Synopsis: From the synopsis of any book you read, you can teach yourself how to write a query letter. This section will both tell you about the book, and what you should learn from the back cover blurb.
 
This is my favorite structure for romance, first one of the lovers (male or female) then the second, and if you need a third paragraph, it sums it all up so nicely. Note here, how you get a sense of the world without a dedicated sentence to world building. Yet you still know what and where and especially the who. Romance lovers are immediately sold on the why we care.

A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her…

After enduring years of torture from the vampire Horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.

A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy...

Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents--until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae--and their notorious dark desire--ebb as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.

An all consuming desire...

Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be...?

Brownie Points: I feel there is a stereotype developing about Paranormal Romance, especially with the upsurge of YA ParaRom and it's this: Mortal girl meets immortal male, he possesses her, her life changes to accommodate his. And what I love about Kresley Cole is that most of her novels take place solidly in The Lore (we are aware of the humans, but we are very much in the paranormal world with the paranormal creatures). So there's that Brownie Point. Another is Emmaline, a beautiful example of a Weak Female Lead who becomes sure of herself in the end, learning how to accept herself and trust in her own strength. But never at any point during her WFL moments is she a weak character--we know her quirks, her unique voice, everything that has made her who she is and will become.

Beefs: Honestly, none come to mind.

The Narrator's Performance: I give the narrator of the audio book, Robert Petkoff, a 9 out of ten. I became engaged in his story telling, his accents were spot-on, he didn't read too slow or too fast, inflections and pauses were great. The only thing keeping his performance from a 10 is he is male and I remembered it every time he read the woman's voice (very few readers, male or female, can get a 10 out of 10 for this reason).

Who should read it: Anyone who loves ParaRom, obviously. I was recommended this book after I'd complained I had read all of JR Ward's novels. KC is a true contender for the top spot on my "Favorite ParaRom Authors." High praise if you know my love of Ward. So if you compare your writing to Ward, you have to read KC (among others of course).

Happy reading!

New for November

What's new for November? Besides NaNo?

I'm keeping you crazy NaNo-ers in mind this fall and starting two new blog series.

The first will kick off your week: Monday Madness. It's not quite as fun as it sounds though (except for me). It's quick grammar, vocab, etc, the simple mistakes I see as an agent (and a concerned English Major who is Facebook friends with non-English Majors).

The second will wrap up your week: Fortune Cookie Friday. This is exactly as fun as it sounds! Words of wisdom brought to you by Confucius, Yoda, and internet Memes! Completely unrelated to writing but we'll make them be relevant to us! (look for the first tomorrow-- words for you, Yoda has)

Wednesday Reads will continue (I know you've missed them) because tons of great books have come out this fall and I'm scrambling to read them all!

And, when the muse descends, I'll grace you all with my own advice and theories of this crazy world we exist in. And I'll answer your questions! If you have anything you want to know about, or ask me in general, please ask in the comments section of this post!

I'll leave you on this first day of NaNo with this:

Be safe this November... don't hurt anyone who interrupts the creative process.

Happy NaNo-ing!

Wednesday Reads: The Liar Society

The Liar Society by sisters Lisa and Laura Roecker (website here) was a fabulous read. One of the things that makes this book unique is clearly stated on the first page. This plays into voice, plot, and character development: the main character has pink hair. Some girls in the throes of grief cut their hair off, or dye it black. Kate Lowry dies her hair pink. Right there, that's a character I can like.

Synopsis:

Since when do the dead send emails?
Kate Lowry's best friend Grace died a year ago. So when she gets an email from her, Kate's more than a little confused.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu
From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu
Subject: (no subject)
Kate,
I'm here... sort of.
Find Cameron. He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell. They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. She teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not-so)-shining armor-the dangerously hot bad boy, Liam, and her lovestruck neighbor, Seth. But at their elite private school, there are secrets so big people will do anything to protect them-even if it means getting rid of anyone trying to solve a murder...

First Sentence: "Her email didn't move or disappear or do any of the creepy things I'd expect an email from a ghost to do." You'll hear over and over again that your opening scene needs conflict, something that occurs that grabs our attention and allows us to watch the main character struggle through. This is Kate's conflict. What do you do with an email from a ghost? It's riveting to say the least.

Beefs: I'm actually going to complain about something a little odd here. Before reading the book, I read some other reviews. Many complained about the amount of Latin used, said that it bogged down the book and overpowered the plot. I would like to say, "Um, what are you talking about?" The use of Latin was well done and explained perfectly so that all of us who don't know a lick of Latin could follow along. And yes, the Latin was necessary to the plot.

Brownie Points: I've already mentioned Kate's pink hair, so I guess I need to find something else. Easy peasy. Inner conflict. Even a year after Grace's death, Kate is in turmoil over losing her best friend (two best friends really, since the other no longer talks to Kate). This is real. Tragic. And done so well. Everything in her life connects back to Grace. What would Grace do? What would Grace say? Why should I be happy/flirting with super cute boy when Grace is dead?

Recommendation: Read it. It's mystery, suspense, contemporary, little bit of love but it isn't dominating, deals with death, riddled with secrets. It's actually much heavier than the title suggests, but not "I'm carrying the world on my shoulders, angst driven" heavy.

Would I represent it? Most definitely. Throw some more mysteries my way. I remember why I read so many of them when I was a kid.



And, because I happen to have it, a picture of me in a pink wig. I'm very excited about having more excuses to wear my pink wig now!


Happy reading!

Wednesday Reads: Past Midnight

I cannot for the life of me remember where I found this book or if someone suggested I read it.  It probably came up in one of my giant Amazon searches, though according to Amazon, the sales numbers aren't that high.  Not that I care; this was one fun read.  Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen has two scheduled sequels to be released next year, and I'm interested enough to read them.

I thought ghosts had been done enough times.  A girl can see ghosts, she's being haunted, only she can help them find peace... yadda yadda yadda.  But this YA paranormal does what I like seeing, a very real YA situation that deals with grief, death, and loyalties combined with the paranormal.  Really, you could take out the paranormal and have a touching contemporary.  You could take out the contemporary and have a rather thrilling paranormal haunting.  Neither would be quite complete without the other; together, it makes a well rounded, balanced book.

Synopsis: Charlotte Silver's parents have their own ghost-hunting reality show, which makes high school awkward for shy Charlotte who switches schools more often than an Army Brat.  Finally settling down to one high school for her senior year, Charlotte gets the chance to make real friends.  Avery, popular cheerleader, befriends Charlotte immediately, but she's keeping secrets from her new friend.  In fact, the entire school is keeping a secret from Charlotte, and it might have to do with Avery's absent boyfriend and Jared, an attractive social outcast with a limp.  But Charlotte is keeping her own secret.  Her parents' work has followed her home, in the form of a potentially malevolent spirit intent on getting Charlotte to help it.  Between ghosts and secrets, Charlotte needs to get to the bottom of both mysteries before time runs out.

First Sentence: "I was never normal, but I liked to pretend that I was."  This one sentence embodies one of the main themes of the novel: acceptance.  Charlotte discovers how to accept herself, crazy parents included, just as the other characters learn to accept certain things in their lives.  It's a good first line that probably appeals to everyone, not just teens.  Who doesn't think they aren't normal?

Beefs: Don't go in thinking you're going to get a Twilight type of romance.  Charlotte gets her first serious crush and she becomes friends with moody, possibly dangerous, and totally hot Jared, but the push and pull of forbidden love is nowhere to be found.  It's refreshing actually.  And helps keep the focus where it counts: out of teenagers' pants and into their hearts.
Beef number two: I didn't completely buy Charlotte's past of being alienated because of what her parents do.  I let it go however, and substituted "total humiliation" with "Charlotte was embarrassed and wouldn't let people into her life".

Brownie Points: Besides being well written, you get to know the characters really well.  Each character is real and whole.  Too bad the book couldn't have been another 50 or 100 pages longer so we could have seen more interactions.  But, short as it is, it's sweet.

Ending: Left me smiling.  Things were mostly resolved, as you'd expect them to be.  But what I liked most, was that the teen drama wasn't magically all better, it was left with the reader knowing their problems still needed to be worked on.  That's real life people.

Would I represent it?:  I can label this book as "quiet."  And that label is the reason for Amazon's low rating.  I wish more people would read stuff like this, then I could sell more of it.  But, swept up in the post-Twilight thrills of big bangs and bigger sexual tension, a book like this just can't fly up into the spotlight.  I would love to represent something like this, it's unique enough to stand apart from "Oh-my-gosh, I'm being haunted by a ghost" books, but familiar enough (the contemporary side) to appeal to teens (and me).

Happy reading!