133. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

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Mead, Richelle. Shadow Kiss. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008. Print.

443 pages

Reviewed by Jessica Love

This is the third book in the Vampire Academy series. In this installment, Rose is dealing with an inner battle through most of the book. She is seeing ghosts and working through unexplained rage and blood lust. Without giving away spoilers, I can't say much more than that. 

In my review of the previous book, Frostbite, I mentioned that if there was anything int he series that would make me stop reading, it was Rose herself. I didn't like the way the protagonist was emotionally abusive and irrational. This book helped to further elucidate that issue. I like the way the majority of the book was Rose turning inward, trying to figure out why she behaved the way she did and resolve her inner conflicts. She frames mental health, personal growth, and psychotherapy in a positive and somewhat realistic way which I think is so good for teens to read! 

Mead wraps up the story with some actual physical battle which keeps the book exciting. If I had to pick out strengths and weaknesses of the series so far, I would say Mead's weakness is world building, and strength is character development. The world building is still pretty flimsy. I feel like there are so many blanks to be filled in before this will feel like a fully formed "world." The characters though, are excellent. She is skilled at giving each character a voice that is their own. 

My final verdict is that this book is (and series) is pure entertainment and was decent enough to send me on to the next in the series. 

Would I read it again? 
Maybe. 

Recommended for
Fans of the vampire genre.

Not Recommended for
Readers expecting complex, thorough world-building. Readers younger than 13. 

Word Bank

None

3 stars out of 5

Richelle Mead's website: http://richellemead.com/

Richelle Mead on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/137902.Richelle_Mead

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Twitter: @ladylovestead

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Read to Grow Book Club: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1058875-read-to-grow-lovestead-book-club

Other Vampire Academy Books Reviewed
Frostbite

132. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

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Gerritsen, Tess. The Surgeon. New York: NY: Ballentine Books, 2001. Print.

350 pages

Reviewed by Jessica d'Artagnan Love

This is the first installment of the Rizzoli and Isles series which later become a major network television series. In The Surgeon, a serial killer is murdering women in the city of Boston. Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli are on the case. I have read almost this entire series and this was a re-read of the first book. Having read the rest of the series, I have a hunch that Gerritsen did not intend this to be a series. I think she planned for The Surgeon to be a stand alone novel. One of the main reasons I think this is because Maura Isles is not in the first book and in the later books, Thomas Moore is absent. I bet, and I could be wrong, but I bet that her publisher urged her to start a series since they sell well, so she branched off from The Surgeon and I’m so glad she did! I love the Rizzoli and Isles series so much.

In an interview with Tess Gerritsen, she discussed how one of the concepts she tries to explore in her Rizzoli and Isles series is the origin and nature of evil. As I re-read these books, I’m working to track how she covers the topic. In The Surgeon, the theme of evil is being hidden in plain sight. The average person next door who seems entirely normal, may in fact have fantasies about torturing and murdering women. It points to the sinister, hidden forms of evil that are hard to identify and predict.

In a conversation between Thomas Moore and Catherine Cordell, Gerritsen writes,

“ ‘In Savannah, when those other women were murdered, I just assumed I didn’t know the killer. I assumed that if I ever did meet him, I’d know it. I’d feel it. Andrew Capra taught me how wrong I was.’

‘The banality of evil.’

‘That’s exactly what I learned. That evil can be so ordinary. That a man I see every day, say hello to every day, could smile right back at me. . . . And be thinking of all the different ways he’d like to kill me.’ “ (78).

This little excerpt sums up her exploration of evil in The Surgeon.

One other plot point I’m interested in following more closely in the next few installments in the series is what happened between Jane Rizzoli and Karl Pachecko. I feel like this incident is something that could (and should) haunt her future work and psychology as a law enforcement officer. I’m interested to review how Gerritsen handles this.

If you are just starting the Rizzoli and Isles series and start with The Surgeon, please keep this in mind: they get better. Keep reading at least through the first three books in the series before giving up on it. I think Gerritsen was working to establish her series in the first two books and doesn’t really get settled until the third book. So, hang in there.

Would I read it again? 

Yes

Recommended for

Adults who like thrillers and murder mysteries. People who like the Rizzoli and Isles TV show might also like this but keep in mind the books are darker than the show.

Not Recommended for

Those who have suffered trauma from sexual assault. DO NOT read if you fall into this category. Skip straight ahead to the third book in the series.

Word Bank

·         Picquerist (p. 54)

3 stars out of 5

Tess Gerritsen’s website: https://www.tessgerritsen.com/

Tess Gerritsen on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18149.Tess_Gerritsen

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131. Frostbite by Richelle Mead

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Mead, Richelle. Frostbite. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008. Print.

327 pages

Reviewed by Jessica d'Artagnan Love

I don't know what it is about Thanksgiving but it seems that I am always drawn to reading vampire lore around this time of year. It is actually Thanksgiving day as I sit and write this review. It seems every year there is a different series I read about vampires in late fall. 

Mysterious timing aside, Frostbite is the second book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series. The first chapter or so of the book was a recap of the first book, Vampire Academy, which I appreciated. It has been nearly a year since I read the first book and was a bit fuzzy on characters and story line. The quick recap easily jogged my memory and made it easy to dive back into the story.

In this installment, Rose is still battling feelings for her teacher, Dimitri, as she trains to be a guardian for royal vampires. There is a string of murders targeting royal vampires that shakes up her community and makes her training even more important. 

As far as vampire fiction goes, this isn't the best I've ever read, but it also isn't the worst. The world building is a bit flimsy, but there is at least enough structure that it wasn't distracting and the story could still be entertaining. The prose is pretty simplistic but Mead does do a nice job of painting a character. The first seen with Adrian Ivashkov was so vivid he felt like someone who could actually exist. Honestly, I've met my fair share of human men like him and she did a good job distilling the essence of this kind of guy.

If there is anything that would make me stop reading this series, it's the protagonist, Rose. Rose is immature and psychologically abusive of the people who care about her. This isn't someone I want to be represented as a heroine. Interestingly, by the end of the book, there was a hint of explanation as to why she behaves this way, so I will continue forth with the next book in the series.  

Would I read it again? 

I don't know. I think it will depend on how the rest of the series turns out. If future books suddenly turn amazing, then I probably would re-read the first two books again. If the rest of them are duds, then no, I wouldn't.

Recommended for

Vampire fiction fans who don't want to think too hard about what they're reading.

Not Recommended for

Vampire fiction fans who want complex world building. 

Word Bank

• None. The language is pretty simplistic.

3 stars out of 5

Richelle Mead's website: http://www.richellemead.com/

Richelle Mead on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/137902.Richelle_Mead

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130. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Word Bank

• natatorium 

3 stars out of 5

Sarah Shepard's website: http://www.saracshepard.com/

Sarah Shepard on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/93970.Sara_Shepard

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129. My Year of Big Books

This year, I'm attempting to read 10 big books. I defined "big books" as books of 500 pages or more.
I did some browsing and thinking about the big books I've wanted to read but not made time to.
Most of these are books that have been sitting on my bookshelf.

The books and schedule I determined for myself is below (keep in mind I'm not starting this until
three weeks into the year):

Weeks 3 - 8

The Count of Monte Cristo

Weeks 10 - 17

Les Miserables

Week 18 - 21

East of Eden

Weeks 23-24

Paradise Lost

Weeks 26-29

The Mists of Avalon

Weeks 31- 34

Anna Karenina

Weeks 36-37

The Canterbury Tales

Weeks 39-43

Don Quixote

Weeks 45-48

The Fountainhead

Weeks 50-52

Middlemarch

I haven't broken each of these schedules up by chapter just yet but I have scheduled out my first book.
If you want to read with me through my Big Book Challenge, here's my schedule for The Count of
Monte Cristo

January 14 - January 20: Chapters I - XXI

January  21 - January 27: Chapters XXII - XXXVII

January 28 - February 3: Chapters XXXVIII - LIV

February 4 - February 10: Chapters LV - LXXIV

February 11 - February 17: Chapters LXXV - XCII

February 18 - February 24: Chapters XCIII - End

For each of these books, I'll be doing blog check-ins at the beginning where I'll share some basic
information about the history, context, and author. I'll check in halfway through. Finally, I'll check in
at the end with my final thoughts.

I would LOVE it if you joined me! I'll be using #YearofBigBooks as the tag for this project. I'm also
not going to be super rigid about the timeline. If this list goes into 2020, so be it. Life happens and
there has to be wiggle room for the unexpected.

I'll pop in tomorrow with my first check in of The Count of Monte Cristo!

d'Artagnan

128. Paper Towns by John Green

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Green, John. Paper Towns. New York, NY: Penguin Random House, 2008. Print.

305 pages

Reviewed by Jess d'Artagnan Love

My YouTube Review

"Paper towns" are town names that map makers use to catch plagiarizing competing map makers. The towns don't actually exist in reality. This concept of perception versus reality is a theme of John Green's novel. The enigmatic Margo is missing and her childhood friend, Quentin, is searching for her. She's left a series of clues for him to follow and each clue leads Quentin to question how well he really knows Margo. 

A fan of one of Green's most famous works, The Fault in Our Stars, I read this with high expectations. By the end of the novel, I found myself disappointed. Paper Towns lacked the finesse and sophistication of his other work. Some of the dialogue felt forced. It was typical teenage dialogue with lots of "dudes," and "likes," scattered in for age appropriateness.

Ben and Radar, Quentin's two friends, could easily have been just one character. There weren't many differentiating qualities between the two and I found myself not able to keep track of who did what. In my head, they just became one merged character. The same happened with the two supporting female roles. They would have worked just as well being one character rather than two. 

I did like the discussion of perception both how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. This discussion is what got me through the end of the book. I wasn't attached to the characters or the plot, but I was curious about how perception was discussed. 

Overall, not a bad read, but not a great one either.

Would I read it again? 

No, but I will keep reading Green's other work. Other fans I've discussed this book with agree that Paper Towns isn't his strongest work..

Recommended for

John Green fans who already know he's a good writer.

Not Recommended for

Readers who haven't read Green yet. Start with The Fault in Our Stars.

Word Bank

• None

3 stars out of 5

John Green's website: http://www.johngreenbooks.com/

John Green on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1406384.John_Green 

John Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johngreen

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Coffee Break!

Hello LoveBirds!

I'm taking a social media coffee break for a bit. I'll be back in January 2019!