NEW RELEASE!! Elemental Lies by Elle Middaugh

Title: Elemental Lies

Author: Elle Middaugh

Series: The Essential Elements, book 2

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Release Date: July 24, 2017

Valerie Moore is an Elemental, a person who commands one of the classical elements of wind, water, fire, or earth. She’s special, though. She controls two—fire and water—though sometimes it seems like they control her.

After the accidental exposure of Elementals to humanity, Valerie finds herself—and all of her kind—struggling to attain equality. Three different groups fight to secure leadership, and with all of their hidden agendas, she doesn’t know which side to choose. The balance between peaceful cohabitation and all-out war is precarious, at best.

When a chance meeting brings Val and earth Elemental Cade Landston back together, everything changes. She realizes what she knew in the beginning—that he’s the one she wants. Her desire to win him over draws her closer to him, and his vengeful mission to hunt down her murderous grandfather brings them both closer to trouble.

From mysterious doppelgangers to reckless rescue missions, scapegoat bombings, and evolving Elemental powers, Valerie strains to keep up.

All she knows is she must stop her grandfather at all costs. To do so, she has to figure out the truth. But how can she, when almost everyone she knows has been telling lies?

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“I can control average emotional outbursts. I can counter, deflect, and dissolve enemy Elemental attacks. I am physically stronger and more fit, as well, and can survive on my own in the wild if need be. I’m ready to go home.”

But still she shook her head. “You understand how to handle like-adversaries. But what about the two Elements you don’t control?” She uncrossed her arms and walked closer to me, picking up a charred branch from the ground.

The skill with which she spun the stick, had my head reeling. She was like a damn samurai. Her fingers knew exactly where to touch. Her body knew exactly where to move. When she slammed the burnt stick down into the ground, the earth formed a wave that knocked me off my feet. I managed to tuck and roll and land gracefully, but I couldn’t deny that I had zero control over her Element. I had no idea how to block or counterattack.

She narrowed her eyes. “If you can beat me, we can go home.”

I mirrored her expression with an added shot of aggression. I might not have known exactly what I was doing, but I sure as hell had to try.

“Game. On.”

Elemental Secrets

Book 1

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Available HERE

 

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Elle Middaugh lives in the Allegheny Mountains outside of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, with her wonderful husband and three beautiful children. She spends most of her time raising kids, writing stories, playing video games, reading, and attempting to keep a clean house.

She’s a proud Navy wife, a frazzle-brained mother, a fan of health and fitness, a lover of hot tea and iced tea, and a believer in happily ever afters.

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Flight of Life (Essence #1) by E. L. Todd

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This is a young adult paranormal novel and a good read. The hero, Calloway, is strong and likable but is still the epitome of teenhood – confused. Having worked with teenagers most of my adult life, the author did a really great job of making him real without being really annoying. He manages to be nice but is still intriguing enough that teenagers won’t just blow him off.

The first sentence drops you straight into the action with an intriguing hook: “The eerie shadows cast by the trees frightened Calloway the most.” I immediately wanted to know more. The next scene is a huge change of pace as the hero is joining his family for dinner – no hint of the paranormal and the dangers that might be following him home. This introduces other supporting characters who are along for the ride.

It’s a good plot with lots of action, the characters are interesting although you occasionally want to smack some of them, and the ‘messages’ – that what you are is more important than what you have, that all people have some good in them and that even good people make mistakes – are subtle enough that the target audience won’t just roll their eyes.

Probably the weakest part of this book for me is the ending. It’s not exactly a cliffhanger but there isn’t a strong sense of conclusion either. And if you’re looking for a happily ever after, there isn’t one. I think I would prefer reading it after book 2 is out and I can move right on. I’ll drop this into my ‘re-read’ file and bring it out when book 2 comes around. I’m looking forward to it.

On a purely personal level, I did have trouble with name of the bad guys. Every time I saw ‘Hara-Kir’ I wanted to read it as hari kari… which made it a little harder to take them seriously as demonic villains.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

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Amazon US - all formats

Synopsis

"You're Ellie Spencer."

I opened my mouth, just as he added, "And your eyes are opening." Seventeen-year-old Ellie Spencer is just like any other teenager at her boarding school. She hangs out with her best friend Kevin, she obsesses over Mark, a cute and mysterious bad boy, and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. But then everything changes. The news headlines are all abuzz about a local string of serial killings that all share the same morbid trademark: the victims were discovered with their eyes missing. Then a beautiful yet eerie woman enters Ellie's circle of friends and develops an unhealthy fascination with Kevin, and a crazed old man grabs Ellie in a public square and shoves a tattered Bible into her hands, exclaiming, "You need it. It will save your soul." Soon, Ellie finds herself plunged into a haunting world of vengeful fairies, Maori mythology, romance, betrayal, and an epic battle for immortality. 

As I weed through some of the older books I've read so I can begin to clear the decks for the new ones coming in, it occurred to me that I should really start a "Books You Probably Haven't Read, But Should" section.  Yes, there are a ton of new books out there, and, yes, some are very good, but there are some gems out there that most people have never heard about and I'd really like to call attention to them.  So, the first book I've chosen to feature in this section is this one right here.  A gem.  A lovely, sometimes frustrating, but superbly fantastic read by a very, very talented author.  So, here we go...


Review 
To be perfectly frank, I had a difficult time deciding on a rating for this novel. Contrary to a few of the editorial reviews, I didn't think this novel hit the ground running, though it did pick-up momentum as the story progressed. It dragged in the beginning, seeming to take its time finding the right pace and, at times, seemed a bit disjointed. I think that's in part due to the disparities between cultures (New Zealand, the setting for this book, versus America). There are innumerable differences between the language and educational systems that take some getting used to and can pull the reader from the story. But once you've acclimated to these differences the story moves more smoothly. In order to be perfectly fair in my review, I felt it necessary to point this out. The Maori cultural references are also a little distracting, requiring the reader to reference a glossary at the back, which pulls one out of the story and, at times, makes it difficult to reengage. It's a necessary element to the plot, and certainly warranted, but I wish it were more seamless, though I'm not certain how the author could have accomplished that without losing authenticity. But once the story took shape and you've had a chance to acclimate, it's a wonderful story and once the action starts, it doesn't slow until the epilogue.

The book ramps up about one quarter of the way in, slowly building into a compelling, interesting tale; blending local New Zealand folklore, mythology and supernatural creatures and deviating from the now, all-too-pat, Y/A paranormal crap. Again, once the action begins to take shape, it never ceases and the first portion of the book is designed to set-up the balance of the story. It's nice to see an author strike out in a new direction and use authentic, yet obscure, folklore to drive the action and mystery, it's sorely lacking these days and I applaud the author for taking the risk. That being said, there was a lot of information to digest and components which needed to be parsed out by the reader and stored away for reference. It's not to say these weren't interesting, refreshing, unique and story-enhancing, because they were, it's simply a point to keep in mind as this isn't the type of book for someone with a short attention span. There's a lot going on and younger, more inexperienced readers might balk at the level of complexity in some of the storytelling.

Ms. Healey does know how to create a vibrant world. Her prose and descriptions are beautifully crafted and immersing. You can actually feel yourself slipping into Ellie's shoes as she struggles through the mud or gazes at the heavens or stumbles through the mist on her journey through the underworld. One reviewer noted that Ellie seemed a bit whiney but I have to disagree. I thought she was perfectly constructed and I enjoyed watching her find her inner strength. What some might find whiney I found an accurate portrayal of someone who recognizes that they're not quite like everyone else and feels a lot of self-doubt and anxiety. But it's never overdone, like characters from other novels who seem to be fixated on their differences. Ellie knows what she's good at and focuses the necessary attention on those aspects of her life which bring her comfort. I think teens can easily relate to that. I appreciated her equally for her flaws and talents, her triumphs and shortcomings, and find that she's relateable in a good way. Ellie is not the quintessential pretty girl or the ugly girl who suddenly figures out she's really gorgeous. She's a plain looking girl whose a little lumpy in the middle, someone who the rest of us would consider "normal".

I had some issues with Kevin, Ellie's best friend, who was kind of an enigma to me. Other than being this really hunky, sexy guy with a strange distaste for anything romantic or sexual (with anyone), I wasn't really certain who he was. I get that there was this sort of co-dependent thing happening between Kevin and Ellie, both needing something the other could provide, but beyond that I never really understood the supposed depth of their relationship. He was kind of "blah" as far as characters go and this surprised me as he was integral to the plot for the first half of the book.

Mark and Iris were two characters who surprised me as I didn't particularly care for either of them at the start. Perhaps that was by design, but irrespective, by the end of the book I was cheering for both of them. Mark, Ellie's crush/love interest is a bit of a jerk at times, lying when confronted with uncomfortable questions, using his powers of manipulation to ease his burdens, but eventually he's afforded the opportunity to explain himself and his dodgy behavior only makes him more endearing. He's also not the typical Y/A hero/bad boy/love interest, though he is mysterious, he's not quite the cold and distant loner I'm used to reading. I also loved that he was a red-head, there aren't too many of those lurking about these days. Sure, he's gorgeous, but he's also smart and vulnerable and at the very core of his nature, he's just a guy who's looking to have a slice of the normalcy afford most teens. These desires, more than any other, drives and compels him to make the choices he does and I appreciated that his life wasn't all about Ellie, but that she was one component of the life he was trying to achieve. He was a real character, conflicted and flawed, emotional and uncertain, just as anyone in his position would be. He didn't claim to know all the answers but struggled to find balance in his life, making mistakes along the way and taking ownership of them. All very real and refreshing qualities if you ask me.

Iris was adorable, under her veneer of perky, smiling, effervescence was a tough girl who valued the importance of friendship and honor and loyalty, traits I hadn't expected to see in her. She boldly stepped into messy and dangerous situations, unflinching in her resolve to protect the people she loved. It's another quality we don't see very often and I enjoyed watching her take charge during situations it would have been easier to walk away from. Iris is inexplicably in love with Kevin who, as I noted, was not interested in any romantic entanglements. This added some possible conflict in the beginning of the book but, when the truth was revealed, Iris took the high road and opted to stand beside Kevin, regardless of his feelings for her, and stepped in to help him when he needed her. She slowly became one of my favorite characters, demonstrating the true importance of loyalty and the lengths to which people will go to protect the ones they love.

I think, to sum up this whole experience, I would have to say that in the beginning of this journey, I was nearly compelled to walk away. But I pressed on and stuck with it through the hard part and am happy that I made that choice. Once you get past the first few chapters the story's a breeze to read and becomes a wonderful and vibrant journey. The ending is a little ambiguous, though not a total upset or unsatisfying in any way, and it certainly leaves the door wide open for a sequel. Once you finish the story it leaves you begging for more and desperate to know what happens to these characters. Out of curiosity I popped over the the author's website and it appears as though, at the moment, she has no plans for a sequel. Ms. Healey does note that it is a world she would eagerly revisit but is not contracted by Little, Brown Books to continue the story so, for now at least, Guardian of the Dead is a stand-alone. But don't let that stop you from reading it, it's well worth the investment.

The Witching Pen series by Dianna Hardy

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Amazon US          Amazon UK          Amazon AU

Wilted

(This story takes place ten years before the events of The Witching Pen.)

Fifteen-year-old Elena hides her magical abilities from everyone, except her best friend, Karl. Inseparable since they were very young, they've always shared everything together, including the darkest parts of their lives.

Elena's beginning to realise that her feelings for Karl are growing into something more. But her mother's about to drop a bombshell on her – one that will change the course of her life, and heart, forever.


PUBLISHERS NOTES:

This UK-based story is suitable for YA readers, but it should be noted that The Witching Pen series series is aimed at adult readers.

For fans of the series, this story includes two parts of Elena's past that were made reference to in The Witching Pen: 1) The moment that Karl turns up on Elena's doorstep having been beaten and 'jumped on' by his father and 2) "The Sex Talk" between Elena and her mother.

The Witching Pen

It's hard being the most powerful witch on the planet. It's even harder when you're a twenty-five year old virgin who'll lose all of that power the moment you sleep with someone ... that's why Elena's never slept with her best friend and flatmate, Karl, despite the true feelings they harbour for each other.

Elena's about to discover that there are even more difficult things in life to deal with. One of them comes in the form of a pen she discovers one day, a pen that allows anything she writes to come to pass...

Suddenly, it's not just her powers or her heart that's at stake, but her very soul, as a dream demon with a seductive pull uses the pen to try and turn her away from her reality, and from Karl.

But the pen is just the beginning. Everything Elena has believed in is a lie, and her world is about to fall apart...

The Sands of Time

Seven days ago, Elizabeth May tried to commit suicide. She was found by Paul, her husband, who took her under his wing and back to their home. But the attempted suicide is not Elizabeth's main problem - Elizabeth can't remember who she is, or a single thing about her life beyond the past week.

Plagued by nightmares about a familiar black panther, and a terrifying snow leopard, she is convinced that the dreams are trying to show her something important, and is determined to regain her memories, one way or another.

Meanwhile, Pueblo - the demon blood-bonded to the witch, Amy - is going insane trying to find her. Amy disappeared one week ago, and it seems not even their bond is strong enough to penetrate whatever magic hides her.

As Pueblo enlists the help of angels and demons alike, Elizabeth begins to piece together parts of her forgotten life. But what she uncovers may just have her wanting to turn away from who she really is ... for good.

The Demon Bride

Two thousand and eleven years after the birth of the Failed One, the Witching Pen will be made manifest on Earth by the Great Shanka Witch of the Old Scrolls. By her hand, the Earth will rumble and shatter, and all dimensions will bleed into one.

The true purpose of the Witching Pen has been revealed, and it must be destroyed before an apocalyptic prophecy comes true. There's just one problem -- the Pen is indestructible.

As everyone searches for much needed answers, Elena lays down plans for a radical mission to save her mother from the Shanka's shadow world.

Meanwhile, Mary has finally discovered who she really is, and what that means for the human race.

What Mary doesn't know, is that Gwain has been searching for her for over ten thousand years, and had lost all hope of finding her. Now that he has her, he's faced with an impossible choice: does he save the woman who altered his very existence, or does he sacrifice her to save mankind?

The Last Dragon

The Earth is in a state of shock after the apocalypse. The veil between dimensions is no more. Demons and fallen angels walk among humans, and everyone is trying to find their place in the new world - Morgan le Fey's world.

But the fairy queen finds herself cemented within humanity and struggling with human emotions, and her right-hand-man, Lucifer, has secrets which are causing fissions among every race.

Meanwhile, Karl and Elena struggle with their powers, Katarra delivers an important message, and two men will stop at nothing to protect their unborn child - the Messiah of the New Age - and the woman they love.

Far to the east, the fallen Archangel Michael is fighting for the one he holds above all others.

The Last Dragon is about to rise and seal everyone's future, which depends solely on its survival ... or its extinction.

Review

OMG! This is a fantastic series! So great in fact, I bought it twice. 

I have the set individually on my Kobo app and when Dianna changed the covers (to the above - aren't they just great?!) and bundled it for .99c/77p/$1.13, I couldn't help myself, I bought it again for my Kindle app. 

As the synopses above tell you, Wilted was written for YA while the rest isn't - it's very much adult and rather steamy. The Last Dragon isn't classified the same (it's fantasy - there's not really any steam unless you count the apocalypse) and in some places it won't be classed as book 4. 

But it is. Most definitely Book 4. The series needs this fourth book, no matter the fantasy tag, to wrap the series up and tell you what the hell is going on. You may also need a box of tissues by your side for books 3 & 4 - I certainly did. 

I'd be thrilled if any of the secondary characters had their stories told at any stage. It'd be nice to get inside the heads of the fallen angels. 

A must-add to your TBR. 

Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend: Got Fangs & Circus of the Darned (Ben and Fran, #1-2) by Katie MacAlister/Katie Maxwell

But it here!

Fun read!

‘Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend’ is an omnibus edition of two very funny young adult novels published under MacAlister's pen name of Katie Maxwell: Got Fangs? and Circus of the Darned.

Got Fangs?

Our heroine is Fran, a 16-year-old girl who thinks she's a freak. Yes, I know most 16-year-olds think they're freaks but Fran is definitely not your average girl. She's 6 feet tall and, in her words, built like a linebacker, her parents are divorced, her mother is a witch (for real, not the kind most teenagers think of), and then there's the fact that she has to wear gloves all the time since if she touches you with her bare hand she gets a quick visit to your head.

Since her father has just picked himself up a trophy wife he has sent Fran to stay with her mother. So Fran is now stuck in a trailer with her mother traveling around Europe as part of a ‘GothFaire’. Some very odd people are part of the fair – including magicians who can do real magic, a psychic with a dead boyfriend (really dead, like a couple of hundred years dead), and a demonologist who dresses, talks, and behaves like Elvis. Her best friend at the fair is Imogen, a 400-year-old Moravian woman who reads palms and rune stones.

Our hero is Benedikt, Imogen's younger brother. (Younger, but not that much younger.) Benedict is a ‘Dark One’, a soulless vampire. Unlike many of the other vampire stories, ‘Dark Ones’ are truly cursed. Not their fault, in most cases, as their curse is the result of something an ancestor did. But there is a cure, if a Dark One finds his Beloved and bonds with her he gets his soul back.

Benedict has been searching for his Beloved for almost 300 years. He plans to love her and protect her and decide what's best for her. Then he meets Fran, and she is his Beloved, but she's not too sure about the love thing, is not impressed with the protect part and he better get over the idea of making her decisions.

So here's never-been-kissed Fran, with an instantaneous, super hot boyfriend she's not sure she's ready for, with baggage she's really doesn't want to cope with, and a white witch mother who is really unhappy with the thought of her 16-year-old daughter dating the soulless undead and the power to do something about it.

The plot is pretty light involving Fran solving the thefts at the fair, acquiring a very old horse, and being forced to read palms at the fair to earn the horse's upkeep. Of course there is the part about Ben dying, or the part where she and Imogen beat up a demon, and the part where Fran learns that a Mississippi kiss is better than an Iowa one... (Read the book for an explanation of that one. Oh, and don't worry about Ben, he's sort of immortal.)

Circus of the Darned

Fran is still at the GothFaire which has now moved to Sweden and joined with a group known as the Circus of the Darned. These folks are not average either, since they are part of a religion that still worships the Norse gods.

During this story, Fran acquires a necklace imbued with the power of Loki, raises a group of thousand-year-old Vikings who think she is a goddess and want her to get them to Valhalla. Along the way she has to take the Vikings shopping, meets the goddess Freya, who is annoyed at being called from a party in Venice, motorcycle riding Valkyries who have been staying at a resort in the Mediterranean, and Loki who wants her horse (don't ask why) and his necklace back. In the process she gets herself cursed by Loki (but she keeps her horse and the necklace), her Vikings get sent on to Valhalla, and her romance with Ben advances a little.

The sequel to these two books is called ‘In the Company of Vampires'. It is NOT a young adult story, though it is certainly Ben and Fran's story. It is also #8 in the Dark One series published under her Katie MacAlister name.

Ben and Fran

#1&2 Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend (omnibus edition)

#1 Got Fangs? (as Katie Maxwell)

#2 Circus of the Darned (as Katie Maxwell)

#3 In the Company of Vampires (as Katie Maxwell, part of both series)

Dark Ones

#1 A Girl's Guide to Vampires ... 

#2 Sex and the Single Vampire ... 

#3 Sex, Lies and Vampires 

#4 Even Vampires Get the Blues... 

#4.5 Bring Out Your Dead (from Just One Sip or My Zombie Valentine)

#5 The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

#5.5 Cat Got Your Tongue? (from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon)

#6 Zen and the Art of Vampires 

#7 Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang

#7.5 Unleashed from Cupid Cats

#8 In the Company of Vampires 

#9 Much Ado About Vampires

#10 A Tale of Two Vampires

#10.4 Lifestyles of the Rich and Undead

#10.5 Shades of Gray (from The Undead in My Bed)

Broken and Screwed (BS #1) by Tijan

Buy it here!

Synopsis
Alexandra's older brother died the night he graduated. That day changed everything for her. No longer was she the party girl. No longer did she care about being popular and no longer was her family the happy unit she always thought existed. The only person who could help her heal is the same person who loved her brother as much as she did, his best friend. She only hopes to keep her entire heart from breaking when Jesse will move on, and she knows he will.
After Ethan died, Jesse excelled at basketball, partying, and girls. He used it all to turn his emotions off, but the irony was that Alex was the only person who could do that for him. She helped him forget, but she was the one person he shouldn't be with because the secrets he knows could shatter everything. They could shatter her.

Review
I needed a stiff drink after reading this one. It seriously took me two days to figure out how to review this book.  Why?  Oh boy, well, because there were some elements that were really good.  I found the scenes between Alex and Jesse pretty compelling, I wanted to know more of their story, but the author had other plans and that's where things took a nosedive.

Instead of focusing on what made this couple so tragically perfect, or wrong for each other, depending on how you see things, we're treated to a smorgasbord of trivialities, most of which are rather irrelevant.  I found myself skimming through scene after scene, pausing only to read if something looked noteworthy.  There was no real depth to these elements, instead we're bombarded with morose whimpering from Alex who needs Jesse for some vague reason pertaining to her dead brother.  Jesse's not particularly nice to her, though there's clearly something going on in his cerebral cortex that we're not made privy to, EVER.  Honestly, the book's a bit bi-polar.  In one moment, I was like "YES, we're finally getting somewhere!" and in the next I'm skimming through seemingly endless drivel.  I guess these drawn out scenes were supposed to make me feel something for Alex and her friends.  They didn't.  Sure, Angie (her bff) seemed okay enough, though she was very vanilla.  Marissa was a straight up slutbag man-stealer.  Aside from that, I got nothing from them, hence the skimming.  Peripheral characters should either add to the plot or the character development.  These characters did neither.  In fact, they detracted from the story altogether.  Every time Angie, Marissa or Eric stepped onto the page I sighed, read a few paragraphs and started the skim.  Ironically, they made Alex less interesting and made what could have been a fascinating story meh-worthy.

Jesse at least seemed interesting, though his scenes were few and far between.  And then he up and leaves for college, ostensibly leaving the story for long periods of time.  But clearly there's a mystery there and, yes, I actually do want to know what it is, which I guess says something.  But here's what it says: Clearly this entire book is a setup for book two.  Sadly, now that I got suckered in, I may in fact read the next book just to find out, but am wary that it will be more of the same.  But seriously, this entire book is Alex silently professing her love for Jesse.  She drops her panties at the mere hint of him and immediately mopes that he's being an asshat again.  So she's depressed, yes, I get it.  But an entire novel's worth of moping?  Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Clearly I'm in the minority when it comes to this book.  Going back and reading some of the five star reviews on Goodreads made me question if I'd read the same thing.  But what would have made it more impactful to me is if the author spent a fraction of her time getting me acquainted with the peripheral characters, most of whom are gone by the end of the novel, and more time on peeling back the layers of grief and exploring how Jesse fits into the mosaic of that grief.  That seemed to be the crux of the novel when I went in, only we never got even close to touching on it.  Again, it's clear that was done as a setup for the next story, but, honestly, that means I wasted a whole night reading a bunch of crap that has no bearing on the next installment.  Not to beat a dead horse here, but by the end of the novel, Alex's parents are gone, Angie has moved on to college, Alex and Marissa are no longer friends and Eric has left the building.  What the eff?  Why did I spend seventy percent of this novel with a bunch of characters you planned to throw away?  They didn't add anything, they're not coming back in book two, so what the hell dude?

When I was done, I felt like: What the hell did I spend my night reading? If you were never planning to answer a single question or delve into these character's lives why bother dragging it out?  Seriously, you could have cut half the crap in this novel, added it to the next and simply been done with the whole thing.  I bet it would have made for a much better read.  I don't have time to waste, I have stuff on my DVR I need to watch.  Oh, yeah, and by the way, there's a cliffhanger ending.  And to be perfectly frank, it made little sense to me.  Um, so what, now she's crazy?  For reals?  That's what you're going with?

Reason to Breathe (Breathing #1) by Rebecca Donovan

Buy it here!

Synopsis:
"No one tried to get involved with me, and I kept to myself. This was the place where everything was supposed to be safe and easy. How could Evan Mathews unravel my constant universe in just one day?"
 
In the affluent town of Weslyn, Connecticut, where most people worry about what to be seen in and who to be seen with, Emma Thomas would rather not be seen at all. She’s more concerned with feigning perfection while pulling down her sleeves to conceal the bruises - not wanting anyone to know how far from perfect her life truly is. Without expecting it, she finds love. It challenges her to recognize her own worth - but at the risk of revealing the terrible secret she’s desperate to hide.

Review:
I need to say this because it's far too important not to.  I loathe writing negative reviews.  And I'm not referring to the nitpicking reviews for books I ultimately enjoyed and, in an effort to be fair, am merely pointing out their few flaws (or even a major one).  I'm referring to the others.  The reviews that require me to blaze a wide swath through the novel, eviscerating it, spilling its guts, before giving it a good kick to the head.  Again, I hate these reviews.  Because novels are the brainchild of an author.  It's almost like having a real baby.  You love it, nurture it, yell at it when it's bad, cry over it when it hurts your feelings and hug it when it's all grown up and walking bravely into the world.  I get it.  Trust me, I do.  That's why published authors are out there sharing their stuff with the world and mine will sit on my laptop for eternity... maybe.

Admittedly, I am a bit harder on those novels/novelists represented by a Big Ten because, well, someone should have called bullshit.  The indies are more difficult to be critical of because I know the wealth of knowledge and guidance a great editor can bring.  And most indie authors don't have that luxury.  That being said, there are some rules which all writers, Big Ten or Indie must abide by and this particular book broke quite a few.

Margaret Atwood once wrote that writers need to have a grip on reality.  I agree Margaret, I totally agree.  Creating implausibility in a novel pulls the reader from the story and dumps them back into their own world.  Not good.  Where Reason to Breathe is concerned, it happened so frequently my head was spinning.  The level and intensity of abuse depicted was astonishing and realistic but the reactions of those suspecting it were outrageously out of sync.  Perhaps at age ten we're not equipped with the tools to identify and make known these types of situations, but at sixteen and seventeen we most certainly are.  The concept that close "friends" could and/or would stand by and watch is unlikely at best.  Even in today's world.  And, even if those friends are conflicted, it is even more unlikely they would not seek counsel somewhere.  Furthermore, to perpetuate the "secret" by keeping silent is an act as bad, if not worse, than the offense itself.  Which, one would think, would call into question whether or not they were true friends, a fact the author would have us believe, and even reinforces, ad infinitum.

Show, don't tell.  It's one of my favorites.  When done right, it allows the reader to become the character(s).  There are so many examples my mind wobbles, but one of my favorites is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.  When I read this book I find myself in the depths of the deepest ocean, spying fantastic creatures through a porthole, reverently yet dolefully eyeing that cocksure Captain Nemo and wondering what made him so broken and so captivating.  That's how you get the damn thing done.  You transport your audience.  This novel was a fail when it came to that rule.  Show me the pain, immerse me in longing, slather me in ache, whomp me with tragedy, that's right, I want to feel it... all of it.  Don't tell me about it, it's not a Psych 101 class, SHOW ME DAMN IT!  Every scene involving any kind of introspection or emotion was like reading a text book.  Never once did I feel the budding love, not so much as a smidge of true fear, what I felt was - nothing.  I was reading a chronology of events, like an article in The New York Times, never once slipping into the shoes of the protag.  Nuance was left by the roadside to die after being hit by the car which is Reason to Breathe.

Too much, is simply that - too much.  Oftentimes we let the characters in our minds dictate where the story should go.  They are the voices in our heads, prodding us to "GO RIGHT NOW, WRITE IT DOWN" and most times they win.  I can't tell you how many times I have excused myself from dinner, or a movie, or family gathering to go write something down.  But just because your character(s) tells you to do something, doesn't always make it right.  More often than not, that little scene you loved so much, simply doesn't work out.  There were so many instances of that in this book, so many pieces that should have been edited out.  The entirety of the novel could have and should have been truncated.  There was so much extraneous data, I found myself skimming through it.  Please, allow me to infer, don't info-dump.  I'm smart, I can figure it out.  I don't need to know how everyone gets from point A to point B all the time, get me there and let me stew on it.  Sometimes, putting the puzzle together is more important than discovering the picture.

Here are some key points to remember when crafting a story, none of which this author adhered to, in my opinion:
* You should create engaging characters that the reader can connect with, they may not always be likable, a good villain is as important as a good hero, but the reader must find some impetus to relate to them.
* Your words should propel the story forward.  Useless information bogs down the flow, it stalls the momentum, creating opportunity to lose your reader.
* Create plausible aspects that your reader can relate to.  Even in Fantasy there are elements of truth.  Know what you're writing.  Know the facts.  Support and back it up.
* Understand how to build and connect story arcs.  No, you don't need to be perfect at it, but readers need to see and understand how pieces connect.  If not, you create holes in the storytelling.
* Please, please, please know your character(s).  This is paramount.  If you don't know who they are inside and out, how the hell is your reader supposed to figure them out?  Having them contradict themselves or display inconsistent behavior is a huge NO.

There are those of you who will read this review and hate me.  That's okay, I don't mind.  There are those who will think me a moron for not feeling the love.  That's okay, too.  I didn't feel the love.  As a matter of fact, I can't even tell you the characters names because I have brain dumped this novel from my memory.  But I am entitled to my opinion, nonetheless.  And my opinion is this: there are so many wonderful stories out there, so many fantastic characters to know... so go, go now and find them, but you won't find them here.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Synopsis

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Review

There are books which become an experience, that are more like a journey than a story, and this is one of those precious few.  Its premise is simple enough: Laurel, a high school freshman who’s lost her sister, May, in a tragic accident, is assigned an English project to write a letter to someone who’s passed.  What happens from there is an inadvertent journey of self-discovery, as Laurel chooses former celebrities like Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, E.E. Cummings, Amelia Earhart and Jim Morrison, to name a few.  Touching on their own tragedies, Laurel weaves together her own story with those of each deceased person she reaches out to, questioning their choices and their histories as she divulges the truths of her own.  There is no damnation, simply a pure and honesty curiosity to discover the secrets behind each life and how they factored in to the untimely deaths of each person.  In each one, there is a lovely and poignant connection, though sometimes it takes several letters to uncover.

The storytelling is so unique, yet so unassuming and gentle, that you hardly notice that there’s very little dialogue, as everything is being recounted in letter format.  It makes those moments so special and so perfect, that they practically sing.  Each word is carefully selected, there is no excess in this novel, not a single moment that felt out of place or contrived, and the voice is so very authentic it felt every bit a fifteen year old girl coming of age.

As Laurel struggles to come to terms with her older sister’s imperfections, someone she thought to be untouchable and unblemished, she begins to discover herself on her own very self-destructive path.  Every letter, each story, provides a glimmer of hope and a gut-wrenching reality.  At times it was difficult to get through, the brutal honesty of Laurel’s secrets and the way she clung so desperately to this idealized version of her sister, that I had to walk away.  But Laurel’s story was so intriguing that I always returned.

Initially I thought it would be impossible for the author to make me care about secondary characters, being that the letter writing format seemed rather limiting, but I found myself deeply entrenched in those stories as well.  Characters like Hannah and Natalie, who at first I thought of as enablers, turned out to be suffering through issues of abuse, sexual preferences and the loss of a parent.  As these friendships flourished, these situations come to light, exposing the depth and difficulty of each.  Other characters, like Tristan and Kristen, demonstrate true friendship and what a healthy, loving relationship looks like and provide support and guidance.  And Sky, Laurel’s love interest, battles his own demons throughout the book as he tries to love Laurel during her self-destructive period while also struggling to cope with his mother’s mental illness and abandonment by his father.

What I appreciate about this book is that the parental-types are not forgotten or brushed aside.  Laurel spends half her time with her Aunt Amy, her mother’s sister, allowing her to go to a school outside of her old district and away from May’s legacy, and the other half with her father.  Her mother, who struggles with May’s death, has packed up and moved to California, leaving Laurel to question her role and responsibility in May’s accident and causes her to feel abandoned and unloved, and further exacerbating her need to numb herself.  Yet, she too is included in the story as Laurel fights to claim her identity and come to terms with the concept of letting go.  These very different relationships evolve with Laurel over the course of the novel.  At first she has no idea how to connect with her father, the loss of his wife and child seeming to overwhelm and detach him from life, but as Laurel finds her voice, there is a lovely, very organic, coming together of these characters which allows each to begin the process of healing.  Amy, so terrified of her own empty life, at first clings hard to Laurel and really any idea of love, to the point of obsession.  But Laurel’s revelations and moments of truth, offer Amy opportunities to grow and what at first seems a very disjointed and uncomfortable relationship, grows in to one of mutual understanding.

The true beauty of this novel is its voice.  Ava Dellaira adopts a very adolescent, conversational tone and is able to easily convey the childhood wonder and bravado teens experience as they find their voice.  Laurel makes observations which are very unique to that period of development and I applaud the author for being able to tap into that without it sounding disingenuous.  The simplicity of the words chosen shows a true understanding of that age group.  Often I find myself pulled out of novels by the descriptions or language I know to be uniquely adult.  Not so with this book.  Each sentence, every page, felt authentic to me, as if written by a young girl.  And the letters themselves were honest in a way only children know to be.

This is the rare book that I would recommend to anyone.  There is no need or want to limit this to the Young Adult fan.  The material is accessible to younger readers but is a stunning and captivating read for those older readers as well.  A definite must read for 2014.