February Book Haul (Or is it March Wrap-Up?)

So, I got a lot of books this February. Like, a lot. As in 17 books. And while it is technically March, I decided that I would show off the shinies. I don't know if you would call this a haul, or a wrap-up for the month (I have not read all of these, so I guess not). Anyway, let's get cracking!

(I apologize for the quality, it was taken with my iPhone.)

So, from left to right, I bought over the month:

-Shades of Earth by Beth Revis (signed)
-Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
-The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
-Arcadia Falls by Kai Meyer
-Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi (signed)
-Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi (signed)
-Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi (signed)
-Cress by Marissa Meyer
-Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (signed)
-Supernaturally by Kiersten White
-Endlessly by Kiersten White (signed)
-Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
-Vampire Academy 1-5 by Richelle Mead
      -Vampire Academy
      -Frostbite
      -Shadow Kiss
      -Blood Promise
      -Spirit Bound

Out of all of those, so far I've read Ignite Me, Unite Me (sort of) and the first three Vampire Academy books. Spring Break is coming up, so hopefully I'll be able to make some sort of dent in this massive list; seriously, even for me this is a ridiculous amount of books bought in one month! Not that I'm complaining, of course :)

Book Review: Shadow Kiss

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shadow Kiss is the third installment in the Vampire Academy series. At the risk of spoiling the first two, this story picks up a few weeks after the events of Frostbite, which Rose is still recovering from. Meanwhile, she's having to adjust to a new sort of life: Adrian Ivashkov is on campus and causing trouble, Rose and the other Guardian novices are in the midst of their field training, and Rose's relationship with Dimitri is becoming even more complicated. Little does she know that something is coming, something that will put the ones she loves most--and herself--at risk.


So, Shadow Kiss happened.

This book hit you with the plot twists and turns with the force of a freight train. Everything happened, though most of it happened in the last third, per Richelle Mead standard. So let's talk about it.

Now, if I had read this three years ago, I wouldn't have had any sort of problems with it. Rose is witty and wild, and I feel the same emotions as I read them. Dimitri is sensitive, yet a physical force of nature in all the right ways. I thoroughly enjoy Christian's snark, Adrian's an arrogant-yet-tortured delight, etc.

However, I (at the risk of sounding like an ass) have now taken a bunch of college classes on reading stories critically. And I do have a few issues, specifically with certain technical aspects of the writing.

SPOILERS AHEAD SPOILERS AHEAD.

SERIOUSLY STOP SPOILERS AHEAD.

I felt that Rose & Dimitri's sex scene was eased into a bit too subtly, in that it sort of read "we kissed, and then it deepened, and then we'd had sex." Also, being a sex scene where actual sex isn't described, it's not as bad as some. You know, the ones that say stuff like "and then we became one" or something similar. However, Richelle Mead does this thing where she works hard to explain people's (Rose's) emotions in a way that you would express them to another person in a conversation. But, since this is a direct narrative, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like she was telling, not showing (which is a phrase I am shamelessly ripping off from my Fiction Writing classes. Once they told me about it, I can never unsee it in a story).

I also felt like the pacing was a little bit off, at least in the climax. I say it was off, in that I initially didn't think I was reading the climax when it was happening. The scene itself felt like it had been eased into too quickly to be as important as it ended up being, and until a certain twist developed, the big scene before had felt more important and climactic, in that it felt like there was more on the line than with the actual climax.

Sidebar: ALSO SPOILERS MORE SPOILERS LOOK AWAY. I really didn't enjoy how Lissa was at the end. I understand that not everything had been known to her, but seriously? Not agreeing to help out in a serious situation because it would slightly negate what you said earlier to the Queen? And more "seriously?" still, that whole "you love him more than me" line made me clench my jaw. If this bond is so intense and strong, and if Lissa knows Rose so well, she ought to be able to see what's going on, as well as be able to see that Rose is serious on this one, and that it's more than just grief. I get that you're best friends, but you ought to realize that this relationship is definitely far from balanced, and that not everything goes both ways. Okay okay, rant over. It's partially that I naturally feel less strongly about the more passive characters in stories, and also because I'm coming from Rose's POV directly. Continue.

THAT BEING SAID, I did thoroughly enjoy the big twist. I came THIS CLOSE to being spoiled mere hours before I read it, and while I wasn't completely surprised, it still came as a shock. I'm also glad that the plot is progressing in the way I hoped it would, in that the high school element of the stories seems to be fading out and giving way to the big plot that Richelle has obviously been gunning for this whole time. I'm curious to see what new characters we have, and how Rose is going to deal with what's next.

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Frostbite

Frostbite by Richelle Mead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Frostbite is the second installment in the Vampire Academy series. The story picks up a little while after the events of the first book. All seems well, or as well as can be, until a particularly brutal Strigoi attack on a royal Moroi family leaves the whole vampiric world stunned and very much afraid. As a precaution, the Academy's winter break is arranged at a posh Moroi ski resort, where Rose has to deal with her many personal issues, including her evolving relationship with Lissa, her complicated relationship with Dimitri, and even the relationship with her mother, renowned Guardian Janine Hathaway.

I thought that this book focused more on Rose's character development than the ongoing plot. The focus of the whole story is on Rose, and we get a glimpse of just how truly heavy her life is. At times, I was irritated with her for making stupid decisions, but I could see that it was the result of her being a teenager, but also having the massive responsibilities that were both imposed upon her and that she took on willingly. And that wasn't just with her Guardian duties; we see that with her love life and its crazy complexities.

Like the first book, the last fifty pages was where all the action was. The story itself, like I said, didn't focus very much on the plot, mostly the beginning and the ending, but I can tell that this is Richelle setting everything into place. I've heard before that everything really kicks off in Shadow Kiss, and I'm very excited to see what happens. These books are startlingly addictive, so prepare to be sucked in.

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Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'll be honest, I started this book only because my friend (a fan) wanted to see the movie and wanted me to read it before. I didn't finish the book in time, though I did see the film (and was pleasantly surprised by it). But that's beside the point, being that I've read this book, and this is my opinion on it.

I felt that there was a lot of set up in this book. We have to orient ourselves to a whole other world of varying races of vampires, social hierarchy and government, the dynamics of the magical element, all while keeping up with the fact that there's something going on that the characters themselves aren't fully aware of.

I had a few issues with the book, but I recognized that some of the issues had to do with when the book itself came out. This first released in 2007, when both vampire stories and high school/boarding school dramas were in very high demand. At times, Rose or Lissa or whomever would act extremely catty and mean, resorting to tactics with their rivals/enemies in ways that could now be easily identified as bullying. There was also a lot of using words like slut/bitch/fuck/etc. really casually that, as a whole, felt really unnecessary. I wasn't overly offended, it just felt like the text would have gotten its point across without it just as easily. However, I was able to compartmentalize that part of the story and still absorb the plots and conflicts easily.

And once you get down to it, you realize that this story is very compelling. The worldbuilding is strong and fleshed out; nothing feels flimsy or there only in terms of words on a page, instead of feeling like an inherent part of the place I was immersing myself in. Rose is snarky and fun, but she also has a love for her best friend that grounds her and allows her to see past her seventeen years and react accordingly to the bigger picture. Lissa was gentle and kind without coming across as weak or annoying, which I often find characters like her to be. I also loved Dimitri, and not just because I watched him portrayed by "Russia's sexiest actor." All in all, once the main plot got going and not as much focus was put on the "high school" element, it made for an addictive story that is sure to lead to equally as addictive sequels. Now if I can just get my hands on a copy of Frostbite!

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