Book Review: Nickel Plated by Aric Davis

Title: Nickel Plated
Author: Aric Davis
Publisher: AmazonEncore
Release Date: 03/22/2011
ISBN: 1935597329
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I have to admit that for reasons of my own, I’ve really been looking forward to reading this book. The premise was interesting & I have to admit that the excerpt was pretty enticing. Nickel is an Artemis Fowl type character as far as his intelligence & street savvy go. (Of course there are no supernatural creatures in this book & Nickel isn’t rich like Fowl is.)

Nickel might be a kid, but he isn’t innocent. That was taken away from him thanks to a set of horribly abusive foster parents that he only just managed to get away from. Ever since then he’s lived on his own, living by the lessons his dad taught him just before he was gone. Nickel makes his living selling weed, blackmailing perverts, & doing a little investigative work. He never charges the kids, especially when they’re someone like Arrow- a beautiful girl who is looking desperately for her missing little sister. She doesn’t know if he sister ran away or if she was abducted, all Arrow knows is that if she wants her sister found then Nickel is the best guy for the job. And Nickel is very, very good at what he does, which is a good thing because every minute that goes by makes it that much harder for a missing kid to be found.

I really enjoyed reading this. It might have had some pretty adult subject matter but it proved to be a nice easy read that I was able to finish after only a day. It was fun reading about Nickel’s abilities, although I will admit at times I kind of felt like he seemed to be just a little too good at these things for how young he was. Davis does explain Nickel’s prowess later on in the book but I just would have liked to see a little more description about his learning process when it came to his skills. This wasn’t enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book, however.

Overall this really was a fun read & this could easily turn into a series if the author really wanted to pursue that route. As far as objectionable material goes, the book is surprisingly clean. Yes there is mention of pedophilia but there are no actual acts or descriptions of it in the book (thank goodness). There are a few action scenes, but no actual unwarranted violence. I would suggest, however, that parents of especially young kids read this book before handing it off to their children.

(ARC provided by Amazon Vine)

Book Review: Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Title: Vesper (Vesper#1)
Author: Jeff Sampson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 01/25/2011
ISBN: 0061992763







Once in a while you'll come across a book that really keeps you reading. Not your average page turner, but something that really excites you & keeps you reading. This is one of those books.

Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?

As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

Where to start? First off, I love how realistic the characters are. Emily doesn't have some unrealistic quirk to her & while she's definitely not one of the "beautiful people" she's not the specific target of anyone's ridicule. (Her friend Megan did have that dubious honor at one point in her past, though.) She could literally be one of any thousands of average teenage girls out there. That's what makes her nocturnal changes into the wild child Emily all that more potent. Another thing worth crowing about is that there's no romance in this book. Sure, Emily has hormones but those take a back seat to her fright over how she's been acting & how it's been impacting her daytime life. Again, another touch of realism. (There will probably be romance in the next book, though.)

The only thing about it I could say kept me from enjoying it as much as I'd like is that when we DO discover what's going on with Emily, it kind of comes a little out of left field. Sampson does a good job of trying to blend it into the story but when the discovery is revealed it's kind of "huh... that's a surprise- doesn't entirely make sense, but I'll run with it". It's not anything that will ruin the book for you but it might make you step out of the story for a minute.

Overall this really was well worth reading & I can tell that this series is going to be pretty popular, up there with greats such as Soul Screamers & Wicked Lovely.

(ARC provided by Amazon Vine)