A Fond Farewell

Hello hello to those brave folk who still read us. We are so grateful to you guys for the links in your blog rolls, the comments, the page hits, and most of all... the fact that you are the brave folk who still read us. So it is now that I say with great sadness and hidden distress that we are departing from the Maelstrom. *collective gasp* And you will never ever see us again.

NOT.

Although we are departing from the Maelstrom, we certainly hope you will take the time to see us again. We have moved our ragged wind-blown selves to a mysterious location, which can only be reached by a mysterious link in this mysterious post. We have been planning this for quite some time due to icky legalities with our current name (which also happens to be the name of a minor publishing house that we didn't know existed). And while nothing of any consequence occurred, we wished to avoid conflict. So on this momentous occasion of 8-8-8, we hope that you will follow us and continue to consider us as reading material (haha...play on words...haha...nevermind.) in your precious time. Farewell blogger. Perhaps we shall meet again someday.

Violet in Private by Melissa Walker

If you haven't read the two books previous in the Violet on the Runway series, then I pity you greatly. They are marvelous. But to bring you up to speed: (SPOILERS! DON"T READ ON UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED FOR SPOILERS!!!!) Violet is your home-town girl with a home-town future before she is snapped up by Tryst models and thrown headfirst into the high fashion world of the backstabbing and beautiful. She has to keep her head above water without losing herself and her possible career. (Second book now) When Violet scores a huge Brazilian bathing suit campaign, she doesn't expect to be so attracted to the designer. Can she juggle a high profile relationship while resisting the eating disorder lifestyles of the couture models? And when did her friendships become so complicated?

Now we come upon Violet as the newest celebrity attendee of Vassar college. She's left modeling behind forever and is in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. But it seems like her glamorous past won't leave her alone. Angela is still calling and leaving persistent messages. A huge campaign (her last) has just been launched. And maybe Violet isn't ready to sink back into the background. But all of that seems unimportant next to her newfound feelings for you-know-who (HA! Spoiler hunters, you have been foiled again!). With a whole new cast of friends and some refreshing scenery, this was my favorite Violet yet. Not the most creative series on the market, but definitely and completely begging to be read.

I continue to loooove how the fabulous Melissa Walker presents her characters and their growth. I wouldn't think it would be able to relate to the beautiful faces that decorate tabloids and Cosmo, but this series has made it completely possible. Violet is likable and surprisingly vulnerable. There are sometimes when you just want to reach through the page and hug her. And as for background characters, they are all perfectly executed. I am especially fond of Kurt, a new addition to the awesome friends that make up Violet's most important fan base.

The new background really spiced up the series for me. This particular book was more introspective and gut-wrenching than the others. Which is definitely okay with me. There was no slam-bang model action, but plenty of intensity on the "home front".

My only complaint was with Violet's relationship with Oliver. I feel like she has been this place before. In book 1 and 2. Just change the name and the setting. Maybe I'm wrong, he just seems so...familiar? Anyway.

Violet in Private is ready and set for sale tomorrow, August 5th. The buzz is true! This is a great series that reaches beyond superficiality and celebrates the face of strong and independent girls everywhere. 5.5 out of 7 lightnings!

Dying for the Fourth Violet,
Aella

Blade of Fire by Stuart Hill

You might think that a book full of warring kingdoms, magic, fierce battle cries, and crippled children being sent away to foreign lands (and coming back at the head of massive armies, of course) would be made of awesome. Allow me to say that you'd be right.

Blade of Fire an impressive follow-up to The Cry of the Icemark. Who would've thought that it could get any better? Blade of Fire takes place 20 years after Thirrin (with a few of her trusty friends) fought off the continent-conquering Polypontian Empire. Needless to say, Scipio Bellorum didn't take that well. He's returned with his two sons (also brilliant generals) and a burning desire for revenge. Add to this, the fact that Bellorum now knows the Icemark's strengths and weaknesses and there are no more allies to be found without crossing the lands under Polypontian control.

Oh, what is a proud barbarian queen to do? Send her youngest child across the sea to make friends with the fearsome desert-dwellers, obviously. But Thirrin and Oskan didn't count on the interference of a mysteriously powerful witch. Would they ever suspect their darling daughter Medea (when I say darling, I mean reclusive, arrogant, and malicious)? Of course not! Hm, wait... Medea... can create raging storms... sounds vaguely familiar... Who, me? ha ha... how absurd *shifty eyes*.... aaanyways...

This newest adventure in the Icemark chronicles was absolutely fantastic. The battles just get more and more exciting as the story progresses and the characters don't disappoint. And did I mention the battle cries? They're really cool... almost makes you want to stand on a chair and yell them... not that I would do that....

Do I even need to say it?

7 out of 7... in case you couldn't figure that out on your own.

From the Shadows,

~Medeia Senka~

Airhead by Meg Cabot

I had no clue what was going on for the first 65% of this book. And then it all started coming together in a rush of "wow thisseemsreallyimpossiblebutisstilltotallyawesomeofanide." I was prepared for some pretty intense character development awesome that always comes from the marvelous Meg Cabot. And (surprisesurprise) it happened.

Emerson Watts is a girl with a boy's name who doesn't know what to do with herself. She can't (or won't) live up to her sister's shallow expectations. She has completely fallen for her best friend, Christopher, and doesn't have the confidence to tell him. And her opposition to big-name and big-business isn't supported by anyone close to her. So when her younger sister Frida wants to go the grand opening of the Stark Mega-Store in their SoHo neighborhood, their is no escape for a reluctant Emerson. And when Frida goes off in pursuit of the store's top model for an autograph, her sister is forced to pursue.

A plasma screen television detachs from the ceiling and begins to fall. Emerson lunges to save her sister, a solitary few feet from the shoes of Nikki Howard, the Stark model. Next thing she knows she is waking up in a hospital bed, being abducted by people who seem to have mistaken her for Nikki, and coming to the realization that maybe- just maybe- Emerson Watts is no more.

I was suitably confused for most of this, but was still pretty devoted to finding out what was going on. The mystery of the connection between Emerson and Nikki was completely engrossing. And through the constant discoveries you see more of Emerson coming through. She isn't just your average we-have-read-this-all-before, politically active, who-cares-what-they-think teen girl. She struggles with the things that most people do, which makes her much more easy to relate to. Plus, Meg Cabot has a very particular talent for writing emotions.

The main plot twist was very...err...twisty. At least, I didn't see it coming at all. People of greater intelligence and discernment probably will figure it out before I did, but its still a HA! moment. It also opens up space to a whole new level of character interaction that is really hard to find in "realistic-fiction", even though I'm not sure if this really qualifies for that particular genre title.

I am actually extremely eager for the second book (I won't reveal the name here because it practically tells all) and I can say with confidence that this is my favorite Meg Cabot book so far. Once again, she shows herself flexible and extremely capable of branching into the unexplored nooks and crannies of female-targeted realistic fiction (Has anyone read Jinx?).

I give Airhead 6 out of 7 lightnings. And am pleased that it has opened the door to reading science-fiction once again. Oops. Have I said too much?

Hoping that I Haven't,

Aella

Genesis Alpha by Rune Michaels

You know those books that you see all the time and think to yourself in a slightly distracted manner, "Oh, that looks interesting" and then *BAM* out of nowhere you see the shiny new cover of that book that you've been dying to read forever and it jumps off the nearest library shelf into your arms?... Well that might happen to me more often than most people seeing as I practically live at a library... anyways... Genesis Alpha is one of those books. No, not the jumping off shelves kind, but more of the sitting patiently for well deserved attention variety. I swear I've looked past this book at least fifty times before deciding to pick it up and actually... you know... read it. But I'm glad I did.

Jack adores his brother Max. Max is exactly the type of person Jack wants to be when he gets older. He's smart and cool and totally kicks ass at the popular (and addicting) online game called Genesis Alpha. They get together almost every day (Jack in his room afterschool and Max from a computer lab on his college campus) to quest across the land exterminating all kinds of foul beasts and evildoers and such. One day, during the game Max's character kind of freezes up and turns into a statue, something that happens when the person playing just shuts off the game without logging off. A while later, Jack finds out why. Max has been arrested, suspected of brutally murdering a young woman named Karen. Jack's first reaction is one that most of us would have, to assume that it's all been some awful mistake... but... when Jack meets Karen's little sister Rachel (when I say "meets" I mean, finds her in the cat shed hell bent on getting revenge) he starts to question his brother's innocence, and finds clues to what really happened in some...surprising places.

This book was quite short (less than 200 pages *gasp*) but it's brevity didn't seem lacking in any way. I found Genesis Alpha both twisted and gripping. It certainly left me with more questions than answers in a good way (food for thought, not nasty plot holes) and a bit of suspicion of those people who go to the library to use the internet instead of... you know... books. Seriously... some of those laptop users... sitting in their corners... hissing if I get too close (kidding, they haven't done that... yet). As I digest this leftover feeling of paranoia, I give Genesis Alpha a well earned 6 out of 7 lightnings.

From the Shadows,



P.S. I really want to call this book Dark Genesis. Honestly, I've had to backspace over that typo a ridiculous amount of times. And I have no idea why I keep calling it that.

How to Be Bad by E Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle

Now I know that if you are a blog-hopper like myself, you have probably seen about 976 reviews for this particular book (even one of them on this site, although that was written by a different set of bloggers-who just so happen to be amazzzzing). But let's make it 977 as I say that the reason you have seen so many reviews is because it is so totally awesome (or because the people who are handling the publicity are wizards). Could we expect any less from the likes of E Lockhart (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks makes me want to fan-girl scream), Lauren Myracle (Rhymes With Witches- creepy girl clique pwnage), Sarah Mlynowski (confession- I have no idea who this is- but I am determined to find out), and E Lockhart?

Jesse has just discovered an earth-shattering secret about her mother. And its changed her whole perspective. Suddenly, she's gone gung-ho for religion and is so obsessed with keeping the revelation silent that she is building walls between herself and her best friend, Vicks. But Vicks is having troubles of her own. Her boyfriend has moved on to college and left her loveless in no-where-ville, Florida. And then there is Melanie Fine. New to Florida and missing Canada, she can hardly stand living in her hyper-critical wealthy household. Solution for all of the above problems? To steal Jesse's mom's car and drive down to seek out Vick's boyfriend at college, of course. But our three heroines could never have predicted the adventures and (cough) experiences, that wait for them on the road.

I really loved this book. The characters were fabulous and all had their own unique voice through the combined creativity of writing styles in every chapter. I loved watching them grow, throw hissy fits, break into museums, overcome fears, and find/lose/find love. And it was all done with hilarity thrown throughout. There were many moments I found myself laughing, only to be stared at strangely by the people on my porch. But it wasn't all fun and games. The sad things were handled as well and excellently. Those times gave a lot more depth to the backstory and the unpredictable plot line.

I supremely hope that these three authors will write together again some time in the future. And I will miss the protagonists of How to Be Bad as well. And I think alot of the charm in their story was because they were written so well and felt just like your friends. That mixture you adore and would go on a road-trip with in an instant. It was really great how HTBB wrapped up the feeling in 321 pages.

7 out of 7 lightnings. woahwaitwhat? 7? yes. 7.

Finding Sarah Mlynowski Books,

Aella

Peeled by Joan Bauer

Aaaah. The country homesy feeling. The apple trees swaying in the wind. A town ghost. A small-time newspaper. For some reason, this entire novel felt like Little House on the Prairie goes upstate New York. And I couldn't shake the feeling.

Hildy Biddles father is dead. But she can remember him through the art of journalism that he loved so well in life. So when the town ghost starts acting up more than usual (knocking small people off of their bikes, appearing in windows, leaving sharpied signs on the front lawn, etc.), she knows she must report the truth for the good of the town. Unfortunately, she only has access to the school newspaper and who would ever take her word over that of the illustrious Pen Piedmont of the town newspaper, The Bee? Is there more to the town ghost than meets the eye? Or has it simply been blown out of proportion and propagandated to sell papers? It seems as if it is all up to Hildy to find out.

I read many positive reviews of this novel and was eager to get started reading it. And when I saw the cover, I was even more intrigued (yes yes. I am one of those people who has an initial reaction based on the cover of a book -sigh-). So I took it out and started. The beginning was alright and I read on. But that was it. It was just alright. I had trouble finding anything that really inspired me or interested me to a point beyond meer polite attention span until the last few chapters. And by that point it was already too late.

I found Hildy to be something of an unbelievable character. She seemed so perfect and obsessed with the legacy of her town. Think Trixie Belden or a younger Nancy Drew. No serious flaws, just some fluff to carry out a plotline. And the characters around her weren't much better. I felt they just weren't any deeper than the page they were on. And I have loved Joan Bauer's work in the past, which made this read all the more disappointing for me.

The plot seemed uncreative and overused. A discarded (or re-run) episode of the Waltons (which I happen to think is a great show). And I say with great sadness that I was wanting so much more overall.

Still, the way the town banded together against the evils of big-city ideals was classic and fun to read at times. It seems that tons of books these days are vampire-slayer-zombie-werewolf-evil faerie- slam bang- alchoholics- suspense- crazy romance fiction. Reading Peeled was almost refreshing in its aura of "sweetness". So I would save it for a rainy afternoon when it's just sitting on the shelf, not expecting (or desiring) more than the quaint, back-country tale it is.

I give this book a 3.5 out of 7 lightnings.

Ze end.

Aella Siofra