YA

Review: Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Kanin Chronicles #1

frostfire -amanda hockingBryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who’s determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

4 Drink Me Potions

Before I started reading this book, I wondered if I had to have known a little bit about the Trylle series in order to understand the workings of this “world” Hocking has created. Fortunately, as a first time reader into the land of the Kanin and Trylle, it seemed understandable enough.

The world building
I think this was the most fascinating and probably my favourite part of the book. Initially, I saw huge parallels to the fantastical world that was created in Graceling. Even the sound of the blurb on the book made me think of it, one of my personal fantasy/adventure favourites. So Frostfire truly had something to live up to for me.

What broke away and made this world so unique to me was that it was still set in today’s modern world. Like, what? Magic and tribal wars…set in the woods in the prairie provinces of Canada? Kings and Queens ruling over rustic city capitals like Doldastam, which reminded me of the grand palace and city in Throne of Glass. It was the strangest idea, yet somehow it unfolded into such a delicious way to deliver central themes in the story.

I’m still kind of grasping at the amazing way Hocking managed to put this wonderful world and its history in a way that intertwined with modern day human society. Honestly. Mind blown.

The characters
I liked Bryn well enough. She was a tracker, someone who went out into the “human world” to bring back changelings, people of her kind that were put into the human world so they could get their trust fund from their host families before returning to Doldastam. She was independent and worked hard for her career. I just didn’t like her near-obsessive attitude towards her job sometimes. Like, talk about being consumed by it.

Family was an important aspect in the story too. Bryn worked with her father, the Chancellor or appointed voice of the people, as well as with the royals occasionally. That’s what drove her to hunt down the traitor who nearly killed her father prior to the story’s timeline. I liked that her parents were more than just very miniscule secondary characters, but that they actually had big roles to play.

And that brings me to the one aspect that I DID NOT like.

The romance….Wait, what romance?
Honestly. What romance? I was expecting some sort of forbidden love to actually DEVELOP. It was just Bryn discovering her feelings for Ridley. I liked him, I truly do. And of course, through their mild flirting, I’m sure he likes Bryn too.

But hello! Nothing REALLY happens. He’s dating another girl, and Bryn sure as heck doesn’t want to put anything in jeopardy with her career. She freaking flipped out on one of her best friends for getting pregnant and having to not work for a while. That was totally not her call to yell at her friend for “letting that [pregnancy] happen to her”.

Anyway, the sum of their forbidden romance in this story? One kiss. Whoop-dee-doo. And Bryn flips out (of course) and avoids confronting those feelings. Sighhh. I hope Ridley does something in Ice Kissed, aka book 2.

Oh, and even worse than the lack of romance? I smell a love triangle in the air. I absolutely abhor love triangles. I don’t find them necessary to prolong a trilogy and add drama to a relationship. But what’s even worse than that? The potential other suitor is most definitely NOT someone I’d approve of to move to that status. Sure, as the story progresses, it sounds like he’s more “complicated” than his initial portrayal, but hey! That doesn’t right everything he’s ever done.

Why do I get the feeling that he may win Bryn over Ridley? I may flip a table or two if that day comes. Just saying.

Last Thoughts
I loved the world building and the actual plot too much to let my disappointment in the romance department hurt my rating. There is a lot of potential for where this story is going. I do think that Amanda Hocking could’ve extended this story a little longer. She ended rather abruptly at a cliffhanger, but one that was only slightly built up to at the end. I didn’t really feel like a whole lot actually happened in Frostfire, strangely enough. The author just set the stage of her wonderfully-crafted world and threw in some tidbits of action. I can’t wait to see what happens next (with fingers crossed that it doesn’t break my heart or cause some table-throwing action).

Overall Recommendation:
On some level comparable to great titles like Graceling and Throne of Glass, Frostfire delivers a beautiful world of magic and royalty right smack in the present day world, located somewhere in the middle of Canada. Where it lacks heavily in the romance department (and oh boy, I mean heavily), hints of conspiracy and attacks on the children of the Kanin have left me anxiously awaiting for the next installment to the Kanin Chronicles. Hopefully, it’ll live up to expectations.

YA

Review: Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Superlatives #2

perfect couple -jennifer echolsPerfect Couple is #2 in the Superlatives series about seniors at a Florida high school who are selected for their class’s superlative categories in the yearbook, and how the labels change the way they view themselves and alter the course of their lives.

Can your heart be put to a popular vote?

As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents’ bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper can’t see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They’re total opposites—the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the “perfect couple.” Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they’ve found themselves drawn together–first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they’re very attracted to each other and both of them admit this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can’t forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

2.5 Drink Me Potions

I had a lot higher hopes for Perfect Couple after reading its predecessor, Biggest Flirts. Cute and slightly erratic football player paired up with the yearbook photographer who’s his total opposite in every way? Sounds intriguing with a room full of potentially sweet moments in the plot.

It didn’t really happen that way.

First off, I’ve never really read any of Jennifer Echols’ writing before this series. I can honestly say, it may just be her writing style that doesn’t quite mix well with me.

Oh, and the anti-climatic way she ends her books. This is 2 of 2 so far where I felt the end could’ve gone better. It left me with this dissatisfied taste in my mouth. The way the two protagonists, Brody and Harper, had ‘got back together’ after their big fight within like, 20 pages or less because that was where the book ended, was so rushed. Honestly. Suddenly everything was okay again between them? That was the question floating through my head the moment I realized I had reached the last page. Followed by “And then what?!” . How are they going to be able to work out their obvious differences THIS time? I wouldn’t know…at least until I read the next book I guess.

I did feel a little happier that the tension between the protagonists of Biggest Flirts were somewhat smoothed out in this book. At least there was the resolution I had wanted to see at the END of the PREVIOUS book. Was it too much to ask that it would’ve been placed in a book where those characters were actually central to the plot? I sure hope not. So this little taste of their new relationship there helped quench something at least.

What I will give kudos to Echols for is the ability to create such flawed characters. Brody isn’t necessarily some sweet and charming popular boy who suddenly would do anything for the shy and slightly quirky girl he’s falling for. Nope. Not that kind of Prince Charming ideal here. He has no concerns at all for his own safety, tending to dive head in to any situation without too much thought about it. He also doesn’t “cheat” on girls because he doesn’t quite consider himself with any girl. So he can do whatever he wants and not feel bad about it.

Harper was a quirky in the beginning, wearing retro-style glasses and clothes that she handsewn together for herself. Then over time, she starts wearing more “normal” clothes like a t-shirt and shorts or a bikini and contacts to…I’m not sure still. To impress Brody? That was the rumour around school, but I don’t even know why she ended up sticking to her new style. It’s not that I don’t like her change in fashion sense, but Echols didn’t make her as the kind of protagonist who’d ALWAYS be a little unique. Harper wasn’t perfect either, even if it meant changing a little of what she thought made her her and into something more like the other girls.

Either way, I think it’s nice to see imperfect characters come to realize their imperfections and work it out together. I think the storyline could’ve gone better and definitely come up with a better ENDING. Other than that, it was an average book in a genre that is full of similar plots that were probably executed better.

Overall Recommendations:
Possibly going into the book with far too high of an expectation, Perfect Couple isn’t a story where two total opposites magically find themselves falling for each other. Echols kept it realistic with two rather flawed characters trying to figure out if they were meant to be when they had such HUGE differences in their way.

It wasn’t a perfect book, nor was the ending satisfactory at all. It felt way too rushed, like Echols wanted to get rid of the climax and quickly complete the story on a somewhat happy note. There just wasn’t any true resolution of the problems that Brody and Harper faced. The plot could’ve been written better. Either way, I can say I’m not a huge fan of Jennifer Echols’ writing style, but the book was still somewhat enjoyable for an idle afternoon of reading.

YA

Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

black ice -becca fitzpatrickSometimes danger is hard to see… until it’s too late.

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn’t prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there… and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

4 Drink Me Potions

I wasn’t sure for the longest time what I would end up rating this book as. The first approximate half of the book dragged out a little longer than I would’ve liked, with our protagonist Britt and her bestie Korbie being dragged into a hostile situation with two men in the middle of a huge snowstorm. That’s basically what the synopsis already says, right? So I was waiting to see the action come in rather impatiently.

That being said, Black Ice really surprised me after reaching a certain point. I know a lot of other reviewers were anguished with the apparent Stockholm syndrome developing between Britt and one of her captors, Mason. However, I never really felt that Becca Fitzpatrick depicted him as a clear-cut “bad guy”.

Whatever the situation may have been, even when it got downright scary and menacing for the girls, Mason was always surprised with what his partner was willing to do or say to get what he wanted. It was like he didn’t want any of this to happen, but was helpless in stopping it. He was a puzzle to be solved because he clearly wasn’t simply a straightforward criminal. He hadn’t even wanted the girls to get kidnapped in the first place.

So, Stockholm syndrome? It might still be a little bit, on Britt’s part. But as the story progressed, she had many chances to get away. Mason wasn’t really holding her captive anymore. She had the choice. Can I really say that their ensuing chemistry bothered me? No, not really. It went as any fast-paced and intense romance went. Some chick-lit books have even faster whirlwind romances. Boy meets girl, BAM. Instant love.

Their attraction, I felt, was realistically played out, especially when it came to the conclusion of the story. I can’t say much more than that without giving away too much, but I really think Black Ice has a lot more to offer than the initial thought of “Eww, why does she have to fall for one of the kidnappers?”.

Britt is also the kind of girl who has always depended on the men in her life to help her with things. She has a protective father and older brother who baby her. She just felt that if it came to trouble, they would be there for her. Now, I liked that she was able to grow a backbone and figure out through this horrible situation that she could be strong on her own, and even be relied on by a male. Mason helped her do that, so how can I possibly dislike him? He’s sweeter than any other character in the story, including Britt’s somewhat deranged best friend Korbie.

Why do I call Korbie deranged? She keeps a list in her diary comparing her and Britt’s achievements or owned accessories. Then she gives out points between them, like 10+ points for having a more luxurious car than Britt’s old Wrangler. Like, come on! What kind of best friend would do that? Honestly, Britt needs to find better people in her life. Don’t get me started on Calvin.

The plot “twist” was rather predictable, or at least I saw it from 100+ pages away. Don’t let that deter you. Fitzpatrick still makes it interesting as you follow along and see how Britt can possibly get off this mountain alive.

Overall Recommendation:
Black Ice deserves more than its label as being a rather creepy romance delving into Stockholm syndrome. Mason was never a clear-cut “bad guy” that we were meant to hate immediately upon reading about him. There was a whole lot more to his story than what the situation may have made him seem. Sure, Britt may have started to fall for him while she was still under his “captivity” but she was even knowledgeable about what Stockholm syndrome was, and she knew there was a mystery to be solved around his presence in the mountain.

The intensity of the story picks up in the latter half, but I’d say that living through the slow pace of the first half was worth it for what happens later. With loose ends being tied up, and the ever constant nagging thought that a murderer is among them on the mountain, Black Ice may be quite the entertaining read.