Book Review: My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

Title: My Soul to Keep (SoulScreamers #3)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 06/01/2010
ISBN: 0373210051









If you haven't read any of Rachel Vincent's SoulScreamers series, then you are seriously missing out. Young & old alike can find a lot to enjoy in this series. For the adults, there's well written plot lines, great characters & for the younger readers there's just as much to love. They get to enjoy all of the stuff that the adults would like but they also have the joy of knowing that at no point does this book "write down" to them. As a teen I'd often get irritated at the overly perfect characters & the preachy morals that many authors tried to insert into their work. (The good girls never drank or stayed out late, always studied...) Vincent tries hard to avoid those cliches & worn out ideas in her series- and succeeds.

Kaylee's had it rough. Not only has she spent most of her life assuming that there's something wrong with her, but even after she discovered her bean sidhe heritage it hasn't been easy. She's had to fight demons, save people from death- or worse, & put up with her bratty cousin. Kaylee's just hoping that she'll finally get some time to relax with her hunky boyfriend & be as normal as she possibly can be. Unfortunately for her, someone's smuggling Demon's Breath into the mortal world- a substance so incredibly addicting that coming down from it can kill you. It's up to her to find out a way to stop the distribution of it before her entire school becomes addicted.

Once again Vincent manages to write a fantastic & fast paced read. Kaylee manages to remain an intriguing & sympathetic character that many teens will find themselves relating to. Also interesting is the character of Nash, Kaylee's boyfriend who may or may not be more in love with the fact she's a bean sidhe than with Kaylee herself. He goes through a lot of character development in this book, which is a good thing- he needs to prove himself to the audience & to Kaylee.

There's also new characters introduced in this book, one of which will hopefully turn into a new suitor for Kaylee. (Hey, Nash needs competition.) Teens will love the pacing of the book & parents will love that the book deals with sensitive subjects like drug addiction & sex (Nash wants it now, Kaylee wants to wait) in a way that won't alienate anyone or go over the top.

This is a great entry into a series that has been strong from the start & looks like it will be going strong for quite some time. If you haven't been reading the series, I highly suggest that you start from the first book in the series as well as reading the free "chapter zero" available on Vincent's site.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham

Title: Ghost Shadow
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 06/29/2010
ISBN: 0778327914







If you've taken a vacation away from Heather Graham, now is the perfect time to dive back into one of her books! I'll admit that while some of her recent books haven't been up to her usual standards, this one is firmly in the "good" category.

Key West is full of ghost & murder stories. David Beckett's ex-fiancee became one of them the moment her body was discovered in one of the exhibits at his father's wax museum. Ten years later wax museum has been closed for a while & the enticing Katie O'Hara wants to purchase it & return it to it's former glory. Her plans are stalled when David returns back home. Despite their rocky start, Katie finds herself falling for him- despite him possibly being the one behind the murder! But Katie has an edge. She can see & talk to ghosts & she's determined to use that talent to discover who the murderer is. Too bad the murderer has other plans in mind...

Intriguing characters & a twisted murder mystery spark off Graham's newest trilogy. While Katie & David might not have the flash-bang chemistry of some of Graham's other character matchups, the pair does have a sweet sense of familiarity to them. They take to each other as if they've been together all along. Also fun is the character of Bartholomew, a deceased privateer (he takes issue if you call him a pirate). The scenes with him in it are some of the best of the book.

Graham does a good job of utilizing the mysteries of Florida- having Robert the Doll & the ultra-morbid story of Carl Tanzler really does help to enhance the creepiness of her book. (And if you haven't heard of either of them before- no worries. Graham gives a bit of back story to each of them.)

The only things some readers might take issue with is the lack of said flash-bang chemistry between the two leads as well as how underused Katie's talent is in this book. Hopefully we'll get to see more of both things in the next two books in the series.

In the end, this is classic Graham. It might not be my absolute favorite book she's written, but it is still very much worth reading. With the final book in the series coming out in just a few weeks, this is the perfect time to start reading so you can be ready when the last book releases!

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Why Jesus? by William H. Willimon

Title: Why Jesus
Author: William H. Willimon
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Release Date: 10/01/2010
ISBN: 9781426700286





"Be warned: In reading this book you are taking a risk of getting discombobulated, commandeered, and befriended by the most interesting person in the world."

Often highly informative & occasionally humorous, Willimon's Why Jesus? manages to not only hook in the readers but to also entertain as well. In this book Willimon dares to ask why exactly so many people have been entranced & lead by the Bible's most well known character (well, aside from God, but that's a given).

Willimon focuses on several key aspects of Jesus's character, such as Jesus as vagabond, savior, & ultimate party dude. (I kid you not- there's a section entitled "Party Person".) Through focusing on these certain aspects Willimon manages to create an entirely readable book about someone that many will admit that they probably don't know as much about as they'd like to think they do.

It isn't all fun & games though- through this book the reader is also challenged with the notion that we should constantly be on the move to do good by ourselves & by others. Willimon also manages to challenge himself, often humbling himself & his writing during the course of the book.

Just as the warning above states, many readers will find themselves challenged by Willimon's viewpoints. I myself wasn't expecting to see "Jesus as a party guy" in this book & I wasn't expecting to be as entertained as I was. People will read this once to absorb all of the information about Jesus, but they'll return because the book manages to be one of those that keeps them thinking & entertained long after they've turned the final page.

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Brian Lee O'Malley

Title: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
Author: Brian Lee O'Malley
Publisher: Oni Press
Release Date: 07/20/2010
ISBN: 1934964387








While I greatly enjoyed the final volume of SP, I'll admit that I was slightly disappointed by it. I was rooting for a specific pairing to occur by the end of the book & it didn't happen. I do like how the book resolved, though.

Without Ramona in his life, Scott Pilgrim has spent most of his time on his sofa playing video games. His friends attempt to get him to take action but to no avail- he is completely unwilling to move. When he finally does decide to take action, it is so he can spend his time chasing after other girls in an attempt to forget Ramona. Inevitably Scott is drawn to Ramona's final & worst ex, despite Scott no longer dating Ramona. In the end, only one person will be standing at the end of this fight.

This volume contains lots of reminders as to why the series has been so popular. With tons of references to old video games & lots of closure to previous plot elements, many readers will find tons of joy in this volume. Of course the artwork is O'Malley at his best & you'll find yourself flipping through the volume to take another look at your favorite panels or scenes. (I love any & all of the artwork concerning Envy Adams. She's gone from being one of my least favorite characters to one of my favs.)

The one thing readers will be torn on is the resolution of the book. I'll warn you- it's a little open ended & many are left to decide for themselves what will ultimately happen afterwards. Some readers will like how it ends, some (like me) will be disappointed, & others just won't like it.

One thing is for certain- this is quite possibly O'Malley's best work so far. I can't help but hope that he follows up on this series in the future & follows along with some of the secondary characters. I'd love to see a series based around Knives, the wonderfully psycho teen.

Book Review: Afterlife by Naomi Clark

Title: Afterlife
Author: Naomi Clark
Publisher: Damnation Books
Release Date: 12/01/2009
ISBN: 1615720529







I was a little nervous about reviewing this at first. After all, I know the author & I was worried: what if I didn't like it? What type of review would I write then? Luckily for me, this is a solidly awesome read.

Yasmin isn't your average girl. She might look like one, but in reality she's a wraith. That means that in order to survive, she has to eat souls. Yasmin is a wraith with a concience, so she tries to stick to revenants- dark souls that have returned from the afterlife, causing them to become bloodsucking fiends. During one of her hunts Yasmin sees a man get dragged into the Netherworld by a shining ghost. Unable to forget the sight, Yasmin involves herself in the investigation & unknowingly involves herself in something even more dangerous than she'd ever expected.

Taking a page from such UF (urban fantasy) favorites as Kim Harrison & Kelley Armstrong, Clark manages to take a plot that's been done before & not only make it her own, but bring a creative new twist to it. Wraiths aren't your usual UF fodder & Clark does a fine job of bringing in several as of yet non-mainstream spookies or giving already known spookies (vampires, necromancers) a makeover.

There's a lot to like in this book & fans who are jonesing for their next UF fix will find a solidly written tale here with a likable & sympathetic heroine. Readers should be warned- this book has been left open-ended & Clark's site says that there's going to be a follow up novel that will focus on one of the secondary (but still important) characters in the book.

The bottom line is that Clark did an incredibly good job with this book & I'm honestly puzzled as to why she's not on the bookshelves of some of the major chains out here. She's better than some of the others out there & this is just with the first book.

(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Review: Chicagoland: The Drained Brains Caper by Trina Robbins

Title: Chicagoland #1: The Drained Brains Caper
Author: Trina Robbins
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Release Date: 09/01/2010
ISBN: 9780761346012





With eco-friendly lifestyles becoming increasingly more visible & popular, it makes good sense for someone to put out a book filled with those themes & similar ones. After all, kids can be into cruelty-free pet shops, animal rescue, & anti-establishment issues too, you know.

Chicagoland #1 follows the adventures of Trina (a free spirited young vegetarian who isn't afraid to speak her mind) & Raf (a computer savvy son of a pet-free supply store) as they attempt to figure out exactly what is wrong with Trina's summer school. Initially Raf is slow to warm up to our haiku creating heroine but he slowly begins to come around as Trina opens up to him about her disastrous school past as well as her creepy new school environment. Little do they know that there's a heinous plot behind the sloppy joe wielding staff members & Stepford Child-esque school children...

Robbins set out to create a comic filled with issues near & dear to her heart. For the most part she succeeds with creating a story that will not only strike a chord in many children's hearts (who hasn't had a teacher who tried to make us conform?) but also show them several issues that need to be addressed. (It'd be fantastic if there were more pet-free stores out there!) The artwork is wonderfully playful & characters such as the adorable Bradley stand out as the highlights of the book.

It's not all fun & games in the book though. While I agree whole-heartedly with many of Robbin's viewpoints, at times those themes seemed to be a little awkwardly placed. There were also points in the book where the character speak seemed to be a little off for kids who are supposed to be in their early teens. I also wish that there were a few links to some kid-friendly sites where kids can learn about some of the issues discussed in the book. But those were somewhat minor complaints & overall this was a decently solid book that should appeal to a wide age group of kids. (I could see my 6 year old nephew totally digging Bradly.) While the book is full of various themes (too many to list here), Robbins manages to make the child aware of them without making them overly horrifying. (This is aimed towards a younger audience, after all.)

In the end, parents can relax in peace, knowing that their kids are not only learning valuable lessons but also reading a book that has no real violence to speak of or objectionable language. Very kid safe, which is becoming a rarity with some of the books out there today.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Graphic Women by Hillary L Chute

Title: Graphic Women
Author: Hillary L. Chute
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Release Date: 11/05/2010
ISBN: 9780231150637



If you ask the average person about women in comics or graphic novels, most will probably respond with a comment about their favorite Marvel or DC female superhero or the girlfriend of one. If you ask about women CREATING comics or graphic novels, some might be able to point out their favorite artists but sadly most might draw a blank at naming even the author of one of the local weekly comic strips in their local paper.

Luckily with female created comics such as Persepolis & others becoming more prevalent, hopefully more readers will start to take notice of women as both serious & talented artists. Chute attempts (and succeeds) to draw attention to not only this, but to also showcase several extremely talented women in the field.

Chute's words are interspersed with pictures from various comics that help illustrate her points. The end result is a more powerful reading experience for anyone who is looking to broaden their reading horizons. This book would make for an excellent add on book for any art class, especially now that more colleges are offering classes based around comics as an art & history form. (I dare someone to say that you can't see history in the comics!)

There will still be some readers who might be a little disappointed that this book takes more of an informative & educational standpoint, but they should stick with it- maybe it would help them develop a deeper appreciation for what they read!

(ARC provided by NetGalley)