Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Since I've always been intrigued by the 20th century (I've always wanted to experience Woodstock, the Beatles, the 80s, the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and all the other awesome things that (sadly) occurred way before I was born), I liked that the book was set into the 1950s and I could just smell that there were fascinating things waiting for me among the pages of Out Of The Easy! So I was more than eager to devour it. 

Josie, the main character, is a daughter of a whore, and everyone knows that. What they don't know, is that Jo wants to climb out of the gutter her mother dragged her in, and she is doing quite well for herself - she is an intelligent young woman who loves to read and who wants nothing else than to leave her old miserable life behind her and go to college. In the first quarter of the book we get to know Josie, her background, the people in her life and their life in New Orleans. Then, suddenly, the plot thickens as Josie finds something under her mom's bed that wasn't supposed to be there. 

As I dived into the book, I was impressed by the vivid descriptions and colourful characters, and the heroine was just what I liked. Josie was strong and intelligent, witty and sharp-tongued. But there were times when all of that didn't come through - at crucial times - when it was more "tell" rather than "show". "Josie is smart. Josie is cunning. Josie is this and also that." Yes, Josie was intelligent, yet at the same time she was so darn clueless I wanted to shake some sense into her! It was as if she was standing still in the street and the world was rushing past her, eventually running her over. Some of her actions were so unbelievably stupid! Josie made silly choices she clearly didn't think about properly beforehand. For example, she knew Mr. L obviously liked the girls young (looking), yet she still complied with his "wishes" when he suggested she visit him wearing high freakin' heels. What did she think he meant by that? Well, he certainly didn't want to play golf with her. Doh! She was too naive and I expected her to be more tough because of what she experienced living with her mother (who was a total b*tch, by the way. I wanted to drag her by her hair all the way to Hollywood - or better yet, have horses drag her there. They say it's a painful way to travel. She would more than deserve it.) 

Her mother really was the worst kind of a mother. There were times she got me so furious I swear the steam was coming out of my ears! The author did a great job of writing a character I loved to hate. And I adored all of the characters, I loved how the plot was build around them, thus emphasising their colourfulness and their interesting features.

The one thing that did bother me and (for all I'm concerned) could've been left out - is the romance element. There was a love triangle that wasn't really a love triangle, and Josie was so dispassionate she almost didn't seem capable of love (at least to me - and it would come as no surprise; she had a terrible relationship with her only parent who couldn't care less about her. Literally couldn't.) Josie was friends with both of the boys and once again, she appeared totally clueless about them liking her. Even I didn't get the impression that there could be something cooking between Josie and what's-his-name, the guy she worked with/for (I'm awfully terrible with names). And poor Jessie - we got to know so little about him! I just wish there was more told about both of the boys. Although, funnily enough - I liked them both and if I had to choose between them, I'd save myself the trouble and keep them both. 

To sum it up, Out Of The Easy was almost what I hoped it would be. It had that flair I was looking for, but there were still some things I would change, and people whom I would like to know more about. I liked what I read, but I wanted more. Just a little bit more. I'm curious about her other books, I hear Between Shades Of Gray is quite good.

3.5 quills

Bloodlines, The Golden Lily and The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1)

The first thing I noticed was that Sydney's world is very very very different from the world Rose lived (and fought) in, which was actually a nice surprise at first. No one wants to read a spin off that's exactly like the original series. However, I still thought there would be a little more action - and there was only snoozefest for the first two thirds of the book. I kept expecting for something to happen because there were so many different things happening at St. Vladimir's Academy, but since Sydney is ice to Rose's fire, prudence to her impulsiveness and brain to Rose's brawn, we got little of that. The only bright star was Adrian (who I'm sure we are all madly in love with...). I'm so glad he got his own story, and I liked how Adrian and Sydney's relationship is progressing. That was written very nicely. However, the secondary characters (especially Jill) were mostly annoying and uninteresting. Jill is a little whiny bi...birdie whose neck I'd like to wring.
P.S.: The professor Sydney is helping is awesome. And brilliant and cunning and awesome! 

2,5 quills

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2)

The first instalment left me quite cold and we did not part on a good note, that is why my expectations for the sequel were not high. And this is where the surprise punch came in! The character development is something Richelle Mead is quite good at and I think Sydney grew on many of us more in this instalment (if not in the first book). She is more relaxed and open-minded, and it was nice to see how her walls separating her from others are beginning to shatter and her beliefs about vampires weakening. The main culprit for her turn to the better is af kors Adrian Ivashkov *girls all around the world sigh and swoon in unison*. One cannot not love Adrian, it is humanly impossible (as Sydney witnessed herself, haha). Moreover, one might have expected that Sydney would make Adrian a better person, but Adrian also made Sydney better.

3 quills

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3)

Definitely the best book so far. I really hope it goes on like this, only getting better and more intriguing, because it's usually the other way around - the first book is awesome, the second one is okay, and from then on it just fizzles out and leaves you deeply disappointed. Ah expectations expectations. So, Sydney has finally grew some balls and is finally acting like a real ass-kicking, magic-yielding heroine. The character development is much to my liking, but I still have reservations toward Jill and Angeline. A couple of scenes got my pulse racing (I'm not spoiling anything, let's just say there's more action in this instalment. Action and action, yes!), I can't wait to see what happens next in Palm Springs, especially since the ending was so surprising and unexpecting. Sydney does not have a pleasant journey ahead of her, that's for sure! But no worries Sydney, I'll be there by your side every step (book) you take (Richelle Mead writes).

4 quills

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

In the past I had always had expectations about books. Expectations that were based on the blurb, the cover and the reviews I previously read about the said book. However, the majority of the time I was left disappointed after reading the story. However, I stopped getting my hopes up and with The Shadow Society I didn't even know what the plot was about (I had the book on my Kindle for quite some time and due to my Swiss cheese memory I forgot about it). I dived into The Shadow Society without prejudices and perhaps this is what made the book fresh and interesting to read.

We get to meet the heroine, Darcy Jones, which is not even her real name because she was abandoned as a child by a Chicago fire house and cannot remember anything before she was 5 years old. She lives with her foster parent, goes to school, hangs out with her friends, but there is this always present feeling that she does not belong in this world. One day she locks eyes with a new guy in school, and we get swooped into a world of mystery, suspense, betrayal and excitement! Because, drum roll please, Darcy is not even human, Conn is not your ordinary guy, and there is a parallel world where the Chicago fire never happened! And that is Darcy-pardon me-Skylark's real home. I shall say no more, because that would be spoiling and I don't want to be a person who spoils. People who shout book and film spoilers should be put to jail because they're committing a crime!

I don't really have much to say about the book other than I loved it. The plot was fresh and not something you encounter in every other YA paranormal book you pick up, you know what I mean? This is an original recipe and the final product was delicious! Well, it could have used a pinch of this and a dash of that, but the writing! Oh my Colin Farrell, the writing was something I wanted to lick all my ten fingers (and the bowl) after I was finished with the book! It had this light sense to it, this flowy feeling that made you soft inside and didn't let you stop until you had the last bite of that decadent cake, even though there was deeper meaning under the surface and between the lines. Marie Rutkoski is great with words.

Darcy was an interesting character and there was never a dull moment with her. What I liked best about her was her rationality - she knew what was right and wrong and didn't act like those whiny self-absorbed, insecure, too-stupid-to-live teenage girls that we usually encounter in YA and would like nothing better than to throttle them and throw them under the bus. 

The relationship between Darcy and Conn developed slowly but deliciously. And let's forget that he betrayed her and handcuffed her (not in a kinky way) and had her transported to another world, where she was imprisoned and tortured with fire. They were cute together. And speaking of cute - I wouldn't mind sinking my teeth into Cass. He was portrayed beautifully - his deceit, struggle to remain true to himself and loyal to his organization and beliefs while falling madly in love with someone he considered his worst enemy. He's the kind of a literary guy I crush on!

And now for the cherry on the top - Darcy's friends were funny, loyal, ass-kicking sons of... mothers whom I would steal for myself in a second! Cass describes them the best:

"There are different ways of hurting people. Raphael would go the most obvious route, of course. He would fight with fists. James-no, you call him Jims, don't you?-has a gift for psychological warfare. As for Lily, she is perhaps the most dangerous of the three, because she's decision maker, and the others will follow her lead. You couldn't have chosen a better army."

There were only a couple of tiny little minuscule things that bothered me; like the fact that it wasn't explained why the two universes exist and how they came into existence, and the part about Shadows and who they were, why they were the way they were. Marie, you've got some more 'splainin' to do! I think this is supposed to be a stand-alone book, but at times it seems like it's the first instalment of the series.

I don't know how in the world I managed to turn this book review into a dessert review, but it was a real treat to read, plus it was calories free! And the cover, do I even need to mention how gorgeous it is? I guess it goes without saying.

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

Synopsys: Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. 

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life (Goodreads).

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When a friend recommended this book to me, I was on the fence. The blurb promised an exciting journey to the world of tortured ghosts and fearless ghost killers, but on the other hand I rarely wander off into the world of horror, since I have quite a vivid imagination and the trips to the toilet at night after reading such book would involve me being all wild-eyed and terrified, mistaking my brother for a gruesome creature and stabbing him to death with my tweezers. But I am glad I gave this book a shot.

I must say Kendare Blake has has some seriously dazzling story telling skills. I like the way the reality and supernatural in the book are entangled, it's almost as it is completely normal in our world that some people kill ghosts and others are telepaths or witches. The story has a Supernatural vibe to it, as if Cas is Sam and Dean's long lost younger brother. I kept expecting for Sam and Dean to show up.

The characters in this book are very well developed and engaging. Cas is a very solid protagonist, kickass, down to earth, focused, tough, and so lonely. Even though I usually prefer my narrators to be female I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the story from Cas's point of view. His connection with Anna, the ghost, and the bond they developed felt very spooky and gross at first. Then as I got to know Anna I understood her better. Why she is the way she is - a troubled ghost with powers beyond her control. The darkness that surrounds her, and the circumstances of her death. 

The mystery around Anna’s death to me wasn’t difficult to crack. I figured out who killed her the moment the gang cast the spell and Anna's memories came spilling in. Although it was committed for different reasons as I initially thought. It made me quite sad and I felt her pain. The author made a wonderful job of presenting the character of Anna, so the reader can easily relate to Anna and her story. You feel sorry for her and you better understand her actions, she kind of grows on you. 

One question does always appear in my head while reading about people discovering (and coming to terms with) the fact that there are ghosts and/or vampires, werewolves and other unearthly creatures roaming the world. Why does nobody freak out? I mean, really freak out. They all seem to just accept the fact that (in this case) Anna is a ghost and that she really is killing people. They say "If she's real, then we should probably do something. We can't just let her keep on killing people." instead of, I dunno... "Holly cow!! Are you kidding me? This can't be real! There are no ghosts! I know there has to be some reasonable explanation for the things that are happening! Ghosts aren't real!!! Come one, this is just some twisted prank someone is playing on us!" I expected a more tempestuous reaction from them. Hello you guys, you’ve just found out that ghosts are real. And everybody is so calm and composed and planning to stop the ghost from killing more people. This part of the book really bothered me. Am I really the only one that would react to such news with a certain amount of emotions?

Overall, this certainly was an intense read. I loved the concept and the exciting and suspense filled plot, its dark and shocking twists. The characters were intriguing and I'd certainly like to read more about them. What a great premise, and such a brilliant execution! I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel, Girl of Nightmares.