Spotlight: Just For Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

WARNING: Mild spoilers for the first and second books in this series are in the plot description for this third installment in the Fins series. Proceed with caution if you haven't read the second book.





The Fins series is the Princess Diaries of the mermaid world. Very fluffy and girly, but there is also a lot of heart and some depth to the stories. Lily and Quinn are adorable and I personally was giggling every other page. It's just a really cute series.

I myself have not finished the second book in the series yet, but this third one looks to be pretty darn interesting if I do say so myself!

The book will be published on July 3, 2012. Here is the Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13019704-just-for-fins?a=5&origin=related_works


Are you guys excited?

-Randi

Wrecked by Anna Davies (Review)

Tomorrow is the release of Anna Davie's debut novel, Wrecked. I, however, have read the book, and am here to dish the dirt.

By the way, thanks to the Bailey Cove Library for lending me an ARC copy of the book they received!

                                                       
Here is the book's Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12022733-wrecked

I definitely did not intend on reading this book, and honestly, I don't feel like I would've missed much.


First off, that cover would never pass any parent inspection. Bad move on the marketing. I know this book is for fourteen and up, but still.


Second, right down to character names and themes, this book mirrors Aimee Friedman's Sea Change in so many ways. Even the main character's first names are the same. I prefer Sea Change for sure.


The plot holes are gaping. For example, Miranda has a car and is allowed to go anywhere any time she wants. Why doesn't she just leave if she's so desperate? Or the fact the Christian is a stalker with good intentions, but still, Miranda doesn't know these intentions. Bella Swann type behavior.


Also, I got really tired of all the boring school type things. I don't understand why an author who could have such paranormal and exciting material on their hands would choose to focus on school or hospital visits to cardboard boyfriends.


Miranda is a truly annoying character, even though she does have some cause to be that way.


The writing reads like an outline to a book that could be potentially alright, but then you realize that this is probably the final version. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, and for once I feel like the book would've benefited from first person narrative instead of the third person it uses.


There is another annoying case of instalove here. I think it takes five days for Miranda and Christian to fall in love. It didn't even try to suspend my disbelief.


The incredible amount of bullying in this book makes no sense. So Miranda wrecks the boat that kills and injures some friends, but everybody knows it was an accident. Yet favorite teachers and former friends give her the cold shoulder at every instant. It doesn't makes sense, especially not in the Southern community the book is supposedly portraying. Believe me, I live in the south, and we employ the casserole dishes and the butter excessively when stuff like this happens.


Also, there's a lot of partying-is-normal attitude here. Sorry, it's not. I don't know any high schoolers who actually act like Miranda and her friends are depicted as in the beginning chapters.


Miranda's grandma is incredibly absent, and when she's not, she's incredibly annoying and inconsistent.


And I can safely say I don't know anything cool, quirky, or unique about any of these characters. The only thing we know about Miranda is that she was good at soccor. The only thing we know about Christian is that he loved Miranda. The only thing we know about Miranda's very absent little brother is nothing. It goes on and on.


The only thing I thought was unique was the idea of betwixtmen, and how for once we got the paranormal guy's narration, which added a half inch of depth to the story. That was the only part of this book that wasn't from Sea Change.


Altogether very skippable. If you want to proceed, do so with caution.




Thoughts? I'd love to hear them.




-Randi

SPOTLIGHT: The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova

Hey readers! More material for posts are starting to crop up, as well as books release dates, so the blog will start getting updated more often now.

Today, we're talking about the Vicious Deep, which is being released this Tuesday, May 1st!

Here's the link to the Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12246929-the-vicious-deep

One thing that really sticks out to me about this book is that it has a male narrator, an un-usual situation in the mer-world. The only other mer-book I can think of where the main character narration is male has to be Anne Greenwood Brown's Lies Beneath, which is also slated for release this year, and has some good reviews.
I'm also looking forward to the Coney Island setting. I've never been anywhere near New York but every photo, movie scene, or book description of it is vivid and exciting.
The cover is also in the theme with the new Monstrous Beauty one, surprisingly gender neutral. Like Monstrous Beauty, it also had a more girly cover before making the switch. I do like this one however.


Are you guys looking forward to this one? I know I am!

-Randi

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama Gets A New Cover!

Hey guys!
This week, Elizabeth Fama's upcoming mer-novel Monstrous Beauty  was revamped with a new cover!
Here it is!



(source: http://acrowesnest.blogspot.com/2012/04/cover-reveal-for-monstrous-beauty.html?showComment=1335476686534#c1944834503196460780)
Thanks to Zoraida for the tip!

While we were discussing the new cover on Goodreads, Garrett pointed out that this cover worked better than it's predecessor because it is a lot more gender neutral. The other cover was very feminine. This one would encourage more male readers possibly.
I also think that this one would pass a lot more parent inspection. While I'm not particularly sure if Monstrous Beauty is YA,  the last cover was definitely much sexier. This one is still sensual, but a little less in your face about it.
Which brings me to today's topic: Should mermaid covers be kept more gender neutral. Let's face it, most of the mermaid demographic is girls. But there are a few men out there who enjoy the same literature. Not all of the books are as girly as their covers let on for sure. For example, Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs featured a very pink/purple mermaid and tattoo, whereas the content contained a lot of action, and a lot of romance admittedly. Lost Voices' cover was very girly as well, and the content was very dark and not nearly as feminine as the cover let on.
What do you guys think?

-Randi

Spotlight: Breathless by Cole Gibson

                                                


Sorry for the lack of content lately guys! School has really been getting to both Garrett and me and we've been at a loss for posts. Luckily, school is almost out for the summer and I'm starting to get some new stuff together.







Anyway, onto our subject today: Cole Gibson's upcoming book, Breathless. Here's the Goodreads description.




Obituary-reading emo girl Edith Small is broken - the end result of forcing herself inside a mold that doesn't fit. All she wants is to conform to her strict sergeant stepfather's rules long enough to make it to graduation day.


But a boat accident threatens to unravel the life Edith has worked so hard to keep. After waking up in a hospital with a lacerated shoulder, Edith fakes amnesia. Because admitting she received her injuries from a blue-haired girl who breathes underwater is all the reason Sir needs to send Edith on the first bus to military school.
Safe at home, Edith struggles to put the nightmare behind her. But the mysterious creatures that live in the ocean aren't about to let her forget.
After meeting Bastin - a strange boy with silver hair and black eyes - on a secluded dock, Edith learns about the war raging undersea to end human existence. A war that Edith, unwittingly, has become the key to winning.




In a world where death is an ever-present shadow and motives are as dark as the bottom of the ocean, Edith must decide if her life is worth risking for a love that can't survive past the shore.








Sounds pretty interesting, right? Cole's other book, Katana, caught my eye a while back on Goodreads, and thought it looked really interesting, so I was really thrilled when I found out about Breathless. The cover is a little predictable, but pretty (there have been so many drowning girls on covers lately, for instance, the non-merbook The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer).










The book has actually already been released (where did the time go?) on March 21, 2012. If anyone of you have read it, tell me what you think in the comments!

SPOTLIGHT: Waking Storms by Sarah Porter

Lost Voices was one of my favorite merbooks to recently come out, so naturally, Waking Storms, it's sequel, was high on my to-read list. However, I managed to score an ARC of the book from my local library. I can now assure you guys, it was a-ma-zing.
I'll write a fuller review closer to the date, but I'll do the spotlighting business right now.



Do you need to read Lost Voices before Waking Storms are can you skip book 1? No. I actually had to read Lost Voices before I could fully understand what was going on in WS. It's almost mandatory to go back  on this one.
Are there any new characters? Yes, and they're pretty darn interesting.
Does it hold up to Lost Voices?  Yes. This is a bit slower admittedly, but it has so much payoff and excitement when that action does get going.


The ending will hit you out of nowhere, and there were literally moments where I was leaping up and down in my room in excitement and joy. Bookmark this series guys, it's amazing.

-Randi

REVIEW! Lucy by Kathryn Lasky (Daughters of the Sea #3)

(If you want to read a shorter review of the book by me, I'll link my Goodreads review at the end).


Kathryn Lasky's Daughters of the Sea series is consistently the best mermaid series for young adults. It has a certain feel to it that hasn't been mirrored anywhere else.
The best aspect of this installment in particular is the close attention to detail and research that Lasky has put into all three of the books. Book 1 focused on the servants, two on the a lighthouse keeper's daughter, and three on a preacher's daughter entering high society. All three settings were written so well, showing a lot of diversity on the author's part.
As far as characters, tons of new people are introduced in Lucy, and to be honest it gets quite confusing sometimes. But we also get to go back and visit the previous characters like Hannah and May, as well as the mysterious Aunt who may or may not be the focus of the next book.
If there is one thing to complain about, it's the pacing. I had a hard time initially getting through Hannah because the middle, while enjoyable, stretches out longer than it should. May didn't have that problem, but Lucy does however. It's literally the only think I can think of complaining about for this series.
Unlike a lot of sequels that have been released in young adult this year, stuff actually happens in Lucy. Whereas such promising series have fallen flat in the plot area recently (I'm looking at you Chemical Garden and Matched) Daughters of the Sea keeps going even if the plot points aren't incredibly action filled. Lots of the important bits in this particular book are woven with the complex high class setting.
This series is aimed more towards middle grade than young adult, but it's a sweet reprieve from all the over-the-top romance and faux complicated stories of the older young adult genre books. Definitely recommended.
(Here's my shortened and slightly less in depth review of the book on Goodreads)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12246388-lucy

Thoughts?
-Randi