This is Falling ~ Ginger Scott

This is Falling by Ginger Scott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



2.5 Stars

Damn. This book had such potential. And, going by the other reviews I have read, I am definitely in the minority when it comes to this one, but...in many ways, while it had some good moments, this book ended up being too sappy for me.



Rowe has been homeschooled for the last 2 years due to a traumatic event involving the loss of her best friend and boyfriend. She decides to try and come out of her self imposed exile by moving away to go to college, where she meets Nate, a sweet, hopelessly romantic guy who falls for her pretty much instantly.

I have never been a huge fan of insta-love. I much prefer when two characters actually get to know each other before deciding that they are head over heels for the other person. I also don't like needless angst. Something that this book had in spades. While i could understand the heroine's reluctance to get close to Nate, I felt like that aspect of the storyline dragged and just inserted angst where it wasn't needed. For a while it seemed like there was just a constant stream of misunderstandings between the two leads....a plot device that has always seemed like filler to me.

The writing itself was good. And i really enjoyed the dynamic between Nate and his older brother Ty. Plus, there were several swoon-worthy moments involving Nate...a character that while at times came off as overly sappy, i truly did like. He knows instantaneously that he likes Rowe and wants to be with her, but is willing to give her time to deal with the issues she is obviously going through. He's a total sweetheart and I see why Rowe always ended up finding it hard to resist him. Rowe on the other hand was harder for me to warm up to. I understand some of her motivations for how she acted, but...and i know this is going to sound harsh....but sometimes she came off as whiny to me. This is i think where the book suffers the most. The way the author handles that tragedy. I know this wasn't supposed to be the story of Rowe and her high school life with her best friend and boyfriend. But, both Josh and Betsy were never fleshed out enough for me as a reader to care about them. And quite frankly, Rowe hardly mentions the girl who was supposed to be her best friend, and the clearest picture we get of her high school sweetheart, comes from a letter that NATE writes at the end of the book.  Which was a problem for me in being able to both care about, and relate to Rowe as a character.



Speaking of which, The letter that Nate wrote was beautiful, and it did make me get a wee bit teary eyed. It was probably my favorite part of the entire book. I also liked the over the top ending. It was sweet, romantic and felt like the HEA ending to a big budget Hollywood movie.



This book had it's ups and downs. But overall it was a sweet, if slightly bumpy ride for me.

City Of Fallen Angels ~ Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

*deeeeeep, cleansing breath*

Unpopular opinion:
I would have been happier if Cassandra Clare had left the Mortal Instruments series at a trilogy.

There. I said it.

In my opinion, City of Glass was a perfect ending to Jace and Clary's story. Yes, there were a few loose ends left dangling, but I found the ending to be a sweet glimpse of the HEA I envisioned for two of my all time favorite fictional characters.

And then I read COFA. And boy did my happy little bubble burst in spectacular fashion.

The characters from the first three books that I loved and rooted for, here became whiny, miserable brats. Chief among them being Jace. My beautiful, messed up, cranky-pants Jace. Yes, his character has never been a ray of sunshine in the series, but in COFA he turned positively bipolar.

Yes, I realize that Jace was dealing with a lot of issues in this book. But the constant flip-flopping with Clary was just annoying as hell. One minute he's saying all these sweet things and telling her how he's afraid of losing her, and the next he blurts out "I can't be with you. I can't even look at you." Say what?! There were several instances where Jace was sweet one minute and a d*ck the next. No wonder Clary was such an emotional basket case in this book.

But, it wasn't just Jace's mood swings that bothered me. Simon....smart-ass Simon who has seemed to annoy every other fan of the series apart from me up until this book...even he was a miserable shell of his former self. Again, yes I know he was also dealing with some major changes in his life, but the amount of whining done in this book by Simon (and Jace. And Clary.) was just overwhelming.

Gah. I hate having to say things like this about a Cassandra Clare book. But, this has been the only one out of the 6 books I have read by her that I truly wanted to rip to shreds upon finishing.

Hopefully things get back on track in City of Lost Souls.

Nevermore ~ Kelly Creagh

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't even have words right now to express all the emotions i have after finishing Nevermore.

It has been so long since I was this excited about a book. Since I was so caught up in a story that all I wanted to do was read. All I wanted to do was be in that world, as creepy and unsettling as it may have been. I wanted to be there....and Creagh totally made me feel like I was right in the middle of all the nightmarish beauty that was Nevermore.

There have been countless reviews detailing the plot (which is beyond brilliant and original, especially in the YA genre), so i will settle on just giving you a quick rundown of what I thought of the book as a whole.

The world building was perfectly done, and Creagh's gorgeous, almost lyrical writing style is perfectly suited to this gothicly nightmarish fairy tale.

As for the characters. Holy hell. Where do I even start? I went into this almost expecting Isobel to be this perfectly blonde Barbie doll, and was just hoping I would be able to read the book without her annoying me too much. Imagine my surprise when I realized within the first few pages, that Isobel was so much more than just a pretty face. She was a strong, kick ass character that I ended up loving deeply. And Varen...well, I am not exactly sure what it is about him that made me fall under his spell, but he also ended up capturing my heart.

One of the BEST aspects of Nevermore, were the shadowy Dreamworld characters. I will freely admit to my unexplanable love for Pinfeathers. He has to be one of the most memorable and strangely endearing (???!!!) villains I have ever come across. I don't understand why I ended up loving his creepy character so much...but there it is. Also, I will own up to a slight fangirly crush on Reynolds. He's a badass who has a lot to answer for...but a badass nonetheless.

Bottom line, this was one of the most incredibly imaginative, and obsessively readable books I have found in ages. Definitely one of the best books I have read all year, and in fact one of my all time favorites as well.

It is fitting that Nevermore, much like the characters of Isobel and Varen, ended up being so much more than I expected. I can't wait for the sequel!


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