Cover:
Synopsis: When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.
Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.
Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Page Count: 318
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 3/5 stars
Review: This book was okay. It wasn't great, and it wasn't bad.
I'll start off with the things I liked in this book;
I really liked the unique plot. I haven't read a changeling book or a book about trolls before. Amanda Hocking did a great job building the world of the Trylle. I found myself understanding the world and the details really quickly. Mostly you don't get that in YA. In this book, it was really easy to understand. There was just enough back story and explaining in this book for me.
The writing in this book was really great. I loved the pacing and the way she described things. It wasn't heavily detailed. I really appreciated that because I do not like over detailing. It makes the story slow for me. But Amanda Hocking always gave just enough detail so you knew what it looked like. Sometimes I got a clear visual of what Hocking was describing.
Now to the things I didn't like;
The first half of this book was really good. Wendy was an okay character and seemed to be kind of strong. But the second half really bugged me.
The characters in this book really annoyed me. I hated Finn. He was such a jerk to Wendy. But of course she didn't mind because she "loves him and can't live without him." Just like all the other books in paranormal YA these days. Even though the plot was unique, I really thought the love was over-rated. I've seen it before and I hoped Amanda Hocking wouldn't take that route. I really hoped she would let the love build. But you could tell from the beginning when Wendy introduced Finn and immidiatly said he was attractive that it wouldn't. Oh well.
This book was easily forgettable. I put the book down and couldn't remember what happened. I could remember some things, and then I couldn't remember other things.
I also hated how Hocking made Wendy sleep every few pages just to pass time. I didn't think that was necessary. There are other ways for an author to pass time other than sleep. For some reason it just really annoyed me.
Cover:
Synopsis: Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.
But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.
In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.
Publisher: Del Ray
Page count: 470
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
Review: This book was good, but slow. I loved the plot. Seriously, dystopian world with Victorian zombies? Who wasn't drawn in by that? But the first 300 pages was just back story. There was little to no action at all. It was just the characters describing how the world got to where it was. It's not that I don't mind, I love seeing how a world can turn into one like in Dearly, Departed, but at times it was really slow. It took me a while to read it. It could be that the font was small and the book was huge. Dearly, Departed was slow in the beginning. But the last hundred some pages totally made up for the slowness in the beginning and middle. There was so much action. I was like, "Yes! Finally!".
Another thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the alternating perspectives. Some chapters were completely unnecessary. One chapter could end with someone asking a question and the next chapter starts with another character with a different story. Then the chapter after that the question gets answered. If it were just Bram and Nora I would understand.
Another thing I wasn't huge on was Nora's character. I understand that you are surrounded by zombies. I understand that ,basically, your whole life was a lie. But seriously, Nora threw a hissy fit whenever she didn't get her own way. She screamed and threw stuff every where. I did not agree with most of the things she did in this book. I liked her for the first one hundred pages then she kind of went downhill for me.
But, Bram and Nora's relationship was really sweet and awesome. I loved it. Bram was my favorite character. :)
