Review: Dorothy Must Die

Title: Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1)

Author: Danielle Paige

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: April 1, 2014

Source: Purchased from Amazon

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I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?
Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.
What happened? Dorothy.
They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.
My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission.

Book Review: Ashes to Ashes

Title: Ashes to Ashes

Series: Burn for Burn

Authors: Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: September 16, 2014

 

New Year's Eve ended with a bang and Mary, Kat and Lillia may not be prepared for what is to come.

After Rennie's death, Kat and Lillia try to put the pieces together of what happened to her. They both blame themselves. If Lillia hadn't left with Reeve... If Kat had only stayed with Rennie... Things could have been different. Now they will never be the same.

Only Mary knows the truth about that night. About what she is. She also knows the truth about Lillia and Reeve falling in love, about Reeve being happy when all he deserves is misery, just like the misery he caused her.

Now their childish attempts at revenge are a thing of the past and Mary is out for blood. Will she leave anything in her wake or will all that remain be ashes?

My Review

I wanted to like Ashes for Ashes just as much as I liked Burn for Burn and Fire with Fire, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one as much as the other books in the trilogy. It's a pretty solid book, but one thing - the epilogue - basically ruined a lot of the plot for me.

A lot of things in this book really work well. It starts off with a very somber feel, and rightfully so given what happened at the end of Fire with Fire. Even though it took me a little longer to get into it, I really enjoyed that part because it made that sad aspect of the plot so much more realistic. After that, things start to heat up quickly, and it keeps going until the end of the book. Most of the second half is pretty intense with wild things going on and the girls trying to finish up senior year. 

The paranormal aspect comes into play a lot more in this book with Mary, and you know what... I actually liked it! It might be a first for me to enjoy something like this, but I'm crediting it to the very contemporary feel of the books. I thought that it was unique as far as paranormal concepts go, and I had to stay up all night just to see how everything would eventually pan out. I was definitely very wrong with my thoughts on what the paranormal aspect would end up being.

There are also a few things that didn't work well in this book. All of a sudden, it seems like it's okay for Lillia and Kat to be seen in public together, like at the lunch table and in the hallways. I get that the whole school is mourning and people are trying to make ammends, but for them to all of a sudden seem so buddy-buddy in school is a bit strange. Don't get me wrong because I liked it, but they were too chummy in public too fast. 

Now... I stated that the epilogue pretty much ruined a lot of the book for me, and this is true. I only say this because I felt like it was so out of place. The epilogue is told from Lillia's perspective. I'm okay with this because I felt like much of the series was about telling and figuring out Lillia's story, but it flashes forward to the future and feels too rushed and incomplete. I didn't really like it, and not because of how things end. It brought the book to a strange halt that I didn't understand or like. 

Ashes to Ashes is an okay ending to the Burn for Burn trilogy. Unfortunately, I do think some things could have been thought out better to make it a more enjoyable read, but the suspense and crazy happenings in this book kept me interested enough to read up until that epilogue.

Book Review: Rebel Belle

Title: Rebel Belle

Series: Rebel Belle

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Publication Date: April 8, 2014

Source: Purchased from Half Price Books

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

My Review

When first reading the synopsis for this book, I thought that it would be an interesting  and unique book that I wouldn't want to put down. A debutant with bad ass superpowers? It seemed like a thrilling tale and the perfect combination of girly and fierceness for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was not impressed, and I found myself making excuses and doing other things just so I could get a break from reading this book.

I had a lot of questions while reading this book. If you haven't read it, look away from the next paragraph because there may be some spoilers. Sorry.

First of all, Harper finds herself trapped in the bathroom while a murder is going on. Seems legit, right? Then, she is forced to murder her teacher. Okay... we're getting a bit weirder. 

There are quite a few plot holes and inconsistencies in this book. After Harper kills Dr. Dupont, it is mentioned that there is a substitute teacher once. Wouldn't you think the school would address the disappearance/murders of one of their teachers? That kind of bothered me. It is an important hole in the plot that I think should have at least been mentioned again. Also, it is mentioned that Harper's sister is dead. Hawkins mentions it a lot, but never really explains her death or how it happened. I'm guessing that is supposed to be more important than lead on? I hope Hawkins addresses this in the next book because it is mentioned so many times.
 
Now for the characters of the book. Harper really, really annoyed me. I can't even begin to list the many things that bothered me about her. It would probably take all day, so let's just assume that I dislike pretty much everything about Harper Price after reading the book and getting to know her. Now for Harper's boyfriend, Ryan. He seems pretty cool. By the time I finished this book, I felt like I really didn't know anything about him. I guess we'll learn more about him in the next book. David is actually one of the only characters I liked in this book. There are so many levels to his character, and I'm sure he will be even more interesting in the next book. Harper's great aunts are interesting ladies. I enjoyed reading about them, and I think I would much rather have read an entire book about them, especially the twins.

I don't know how to take this book. I don't live in the South, but it seemed like there were a lot of stereotypes mentioned. I don't know how Southern ladies would feel about how Hawkins writes about them.

Honestly, I don't know if I want to continue with this series. I feel like I lost brain cells while reading this book. I should have known I wouldn't have liked it, especially because there was no advance praise anywhere on the book, but I wanted to give it a chance.

Reviewer's Note: The little ribbons on the first page of every chapter are adorable. But now I'm off to figure out what this hummingbird cake is...