Review: Red Rain

Title: Red Rain
Author: R.L. Stine
Publisher: Touchstone
Find it here: B&N, Goodreads, Mysterious Galaxy
Source: ARC from ALA

Travel writer Lea Sutter finds herself on a small island off the coast of South Carolina, the wrong place at the wrong time. A merciless, unanticipated hurricane cuts a path of destruction and Lea barely escapes with her life. In the storm’s aftermath, she discovers orphaned twin boys and impulsively decides to adopt them. The boys, Samuel and Daniel, seem amiable and immensely grateful; Lea’s family back on Long Island—husband Mark and their two children, Ira and Elena— aren't quite so pleased. But even they can’t anticipate the twins’ true nature—or predict that, within a few weeks’ time, Mark will wind up implicated in two brutal murders, with the police narrowing in.

My thoughts: 

I grew up reading R.L. Stine. He writes such great horror that I couldn't get enough of him when I was in elementary school and junior high.  I read as many Goosebumps as I could and then moved on to the Fear Street novels! Looking back now they're probably pretty cheesy but R.L. Stine definitely installed himself as one of the great middle grade horror writers! So when I heard that he was writing a horror for adults, I knew that I absolutely had to read it!

The basic plot of Red Rain is that Lea is a travel blog writer and she goes to a little island off the coast of South Carolina. While she's there, a hurricane hits and she ends up taking home twin boys whose parents died in the storm.  When they get to Long Island, horrible things start happening and the whole town goes a little crazy. Even though I really enjoyed the story, it's not a mystery to try and figure out what's happening or who is killing people.  It's revealed right in the beginning who the twins really are and what their intent is. I enjoy a good horror novel when I have no idea who is behind the murderous and anyone who jumps out could be the killer! But there is still a twist in the end that's revealed which I didn't realize until I was almost finished with the book.

Even though I really liked the book I didn't like that the murderers were these twelve year old twins.  I understand that they're pretty unsuspecting and that the adults in the novel would never have guessed that these innocent looking boys are killing people but I thought it was just kind of weird.  And I didn't like their accents.  They were supposed to be these white boys with blonde hair and blue eyes but they sounded Jamaican! So that kind of threw me off! I also didn't like that the story changed from so many perspectives. That's just a personal preference though.

Red Rain is a great horror novel to read around Halloween time! I give Red Rain 4 hearts because even though the story was a little weird, it still has all the blood, guts and gore that I'm looking for in my horror novels!  

Audio Book Review: Outpost

Title: Outpost
Author: Ann Aguirre
Series: Razorland #2
Publisher: MacMillian
Find it here: B&N, Goodreads, Mysterious Galaxy
Source: Audio Book provided by MacMillian Young Listners

Deuce’s whole world has changed. Down below, she was considered an adult. Now, topside in a town called Salvation, she’s a brat in need of training in the eyes of the townsfolk. She doesn't fit in with the other girls: Deuce only knows how to fight.

To make matters worse, her Hunter partner, Fade, keeps Deuce at a distance. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Deuce signs up to serve in the summer patrols—those who make sure the planters can work the fields without danger. It should be routine, but things have been changing on the surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks have grown smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide.

My thoughts: 

I was so excited to get started on this audio book right after I finished Enclave because of that ending! I'm going to try to write this review as spoiler free as I can and I hope that I succeed! If you haven't started reading this series yet then you need to! Absolutely!!

Now that Duce and Fade have been brought to the outpost and have found a safe place to live, Duce is struggling to fit in. The people of Salvation expect her to act like a woman in the traditional sense meaning that men only to the hunting and the fighting and the women wear dresses and do all the cooking and house cleaning. Since all Duce ever wanted to be was a huntress, this is really hard for her to except.  Meanwhile, Fade and Duce are somewhat on the outs making Duce feel even more alone and isolated.

Duce is such a strong female character and she never truly conforms into what these people expect her to be. She holds on to huntress nature and has to prove herself worthy of being able to protect the town.  Event though I really like Fade, he is really sensitive sometimes! As soon as he feels a little bit hurt or rejected, he runs off, hides away and doesn't talk to anyone.  He kind of reminds me of a girl! I also think it's funny that they have to keep reassuring each other that they really do like each other.  It's obvious that they trust each other with their lives, but they're unsure of the part of their relationship that involves feelings.  And the zombie-like creatures are getting even crazier! I hope in the third book we really get to know what's going on with then and really learn more about their origins!

The Razorland series is such a great apocalypse series and one of my favorite dystopians right now! It's full of adventure, romance, people fighting to survive and blood and guts! And the reader of this series is great! Her voice has the perfect amount of toughness for Duce while still being a girl! I give the Outpost audio book 5 hearts for literally having me on the edge of my seat while I was driving my car!

Waiting on Wednesday (80)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: Starcursed
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #2
Hitting the Shelves: June 18, 2013

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

Why I want this: Now I'm not a big fan of this cover but I LOVED Born Wicked! I can't wait to get my hands on the next installment in the Cahill Witch Chronicles! 

What are you waiting for?

Review: The Turning

Title: The Turning
Author: Francine Prose
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it Here: B&N, Goodreads, Mysterious Galaxy
Source: ARC from HarperTeen

Jack is babysitting for the summer on an isolated island with no Wi-Fi, no cell service, and no one else around but a housekeeper and two very peculiar children. He immediately senses something sinister-and it's not just the creepy black house he's living in. Soon he is feeling terribly isolated and alone, but then he discovers there are others. The problem is, he's the only who can see them. As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn't crazy…Or is he?

Where does reality end and insanity begin? The Turn of the Screw reinvented for modern-day teens, by National Book Award finalist Francine Prose.

My thoughts:

When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought to myself, “I must know what that book is about because it looks so creepy!” And then that synopsis sounded even creepier! So I went through the proper channels and practically begged for this ARC. I absolutely had to have it!

It was a really quick read which is something I am always grateful for. What kind of threw me off about it is the fact that it is written in letter form instead of chapters and I had a really hard time believing that a high school, teenage boy would write such lengthy letters as these. Some parts of the story were really creepy and other parts were really just weird. And even after it’s all said and done, the whole reason why the children were so weird was never really resolved. Maybe it was and I just don’t remember. It’s not really a book that stuck with me.

When I first started reading The Turning I had no idea that it was a modern retelling of an old classic The Turning of the Screw. I've never read it so I don’t have anything to compare it to but I enjoyed this really odd book. I like how he thought that he was seeing people who he thought were dead but then towards the end it got really weird because he was convinced he was falling in love with one of the ghosts. But overall, I give The Turning a solid 3 hearts for definitely being a different kind of book!

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Reads of 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a meme of lists.

1. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
2. Arclight by McQuein, Josin L.
3. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
4. Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting
5. Boundless by Cynthia Hand
6. Unremembered by Jessica Brody
7. Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
8. The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray
9. Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington
10. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson (sadly, no cover yet)

Middle Grade Monday: The Time-Traveling Fashionista

Hey! Welcome to Middle Grade Monday, a weekly feature I started to talk about anything middle grade bookish related! I never thought I would really enjoy middle grade novels but after reading my first one this year, I was hooked! Since I review mainly YA on this blog, I didn't want the middle grade reviews to get shuffled in with the YA books so I decided to create this feature!

Title: The Time-Traveling Fashionista
Author: Bianca Turetsky
Publisher: Poppy
Find it here: B&N, Goodreads, Mysterious Galaxy
Source: Library

What if a beautiful vintage dress could take you back in time?

Louise Lambert has always dreamed of movie starlets and exquisite gowns and longs for the day when she can fill the closet of her normal suburban home with stylish treasures. But when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure.

Suddenly onboard a luxurious cruise ship a hundred years ago, Louise relishes the glamorous life of this opulent era and slips into a life of secrets, drama, and decadence. . . .

Dreamy and imaginative, The Time-Traveling Fashionista features thirty full-color fashion illustrations to show gorgeous dresses and styles throughout history.

My thoughts:

I've been hearing about The Time-Traveling Fashionista since it first came out and literally been wanting to read it since then as well! But I had no idea it was a middle grade book! A few months ago I spotted a copy of it at the bookstore and when I flipped through it I was shocked to find such beautiful illustrations and I knew that I had to read it! 

I loved the characterization of Louise! She's this girl who is born into a wealthy family whose mom would buy her whatever clothing she wanted but she always chooses to search endlessly though thrift stores and vintage shop because she is obsessed with fashion.  She's a somewhat geeky seventh grader who hasn't grown into her body yet.  Even though she enjoys her life she wishes that there was a little more adventure. She gets invited to a traveling vintage sale her whole world changes! 

I loved the part when she was on the Titanic! I loved the mix of historical fiction and modern touches throughout the story.  I love everything about the Titanic so this book was especially fun for me! The famous, glamorous people, beautiful, old fashioned dressed and not enough life boats for everyone. As much as Louise was trying to be the famous actress that everyone thought she was she was also very much herself.  She formed a friendship with her maid and possibly saved her life in the end.  It was a very fun story and I'm so glad that the series is going to continue! I give The Time-Traveling Fashionista 4 hearts because who doesn't want to read about a teenager who time travels just by putting on a vintage dress! 

Stacking the Shelves (22)

Hey there! Welcome to this week's Stacking the Shelves! This awesome meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and we get to show each other the books we acquired this week whether bought, from the library or for review!

Now I'm not a crazy black Friday shopper but I did go out yesterday to Barnes & Noble because they're sale is going through the weekend. And I needed to use the awesome coupon that they sent me!

Bought:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

For Review:

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher (author interview)