Review: The Awakening and The Struggle

The Awakening and The Struggle
The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don’t generally mind fluffy bunny-style vampire stories, after all I like Twilight, but this book was a bit too fluffy for my taste. As with other young adult vampire stories, the two books were filled more with purple prose than anything that might be even slightly meaningful to anyone over the age of 10 or 11. I probably shouldn’t have said that, since that might be an insult to ten or eleven year olds out there.

The characters lacked any significant development and it seemed like the author was afraid of exploring anything other than cliches and stereotypical teen behavior. By the time this volume started getting anywhere interesting, I was almost done reading the second story. The supposed arcs that were taking place were not defined well enough and made the stories seem more amateurish than some fanfiction that I have read over the years.

This book does make me thankful that the television show, which I love, is not anything like these books. If it were, I have a feeling that it wouldn’t have lasted more than 3 or 4 episodes. Since I love the show, I really wanted to love these books but unless there is some dramatic increase in writing skill (and talent) I don’t know how that could ever happen. It does make me appreciate other books in this genre, and makes me wonder why everyone villifies the “bad writing” of Stephenie Meyer while ignoring the fact that she’s so much better in her stories of broody vampire romances than Smith . Clearly some folks don’t realize that sparkly vampires might not be as gag-worthy as 500-year old vampire brothers who are still acting like toddlers fighting over a toy or, in their case, a pretty blonde. It also makes me thankful that I didn’t read these when they were new. If I had, then it probably would have soured vampires, fantasy/supernatural themes, and even the English language for me forever.



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Review: Demi Lovato: Unbroken

Before the release of her song “Skyscraper”, I was not a Demi Lovato fan. I thought she was just some cheesy Disney singer, but after the release of that song, I began to look at her differently. She is maturing as a person and as an artist, despite what some of her old fans have said.

Her new album is filled with music that shows how wise her real life problems have made her while it also is allowing people to see that she is still young and full of fun and vibrance. Being able to show two completely different styles off with such grace, energy, and raw talent is admirable for any artist, but for one so young it is just amazing. This album is definitely one of the best albums that I have listened to this year.

About the only issue that I had with the album is that it seemed like most of the fast, dance-oriented songs and compilations were on one end of the album. That decision by the producers or record company made it a little hard to tell the difference between some of the songs. I guess I could have knocked a star off for that, but I didn’t because I just truly enjoyed the album.

Review: Born This Way (Special Edition)

I was looking forward to this album for months, and with it being billed (by her) as her best album yet, I was expecting something amazing. I was a bit disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong, the album is good, but it is lacking in so many ways. First of all, it felt like it was either extremely rushed or just not well written and produced. Many of the songs sounded not only similar to past songs by other artists, but similar to one another. There were few songs that stood out on their own, which was really disappointing. After her debut of The Fame and its extended play edition of The Fame Monster, I was expecting something really amazing. Both of those albums had something special in them, but Born This Way didn’t.

Aside from the already released singles, the quality of the songs on the album was really and truly lacking. Sure, there were some that were enjoyable, i.e. Fashion of His Love, but there weren’t enough to help this album live up to its hype. Part of what made this album miss the mark was the recycled sounds of ’80s songs. Another failing of this album was the continued use of religious imagery. It’s okay to use such imagery in one song, maybe two, but it seemed like every other song on the album was about something religious. Honestly, it got tiring.

I know that the album is a success, and that isn’t surprising. Gaga fans are extremely loyal, but I think that if Gaga really wants to stick around as a major artist, she is going to have to up her game. If she keeps putting out albums that are (in essence) flops artistically, I don’t see how she’ll be taken seriously in years to come.

Review: Obsidian Butterfly

Obsidian Butterfly (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #9)Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh, I thought for a little while that this book would rate five stars. Even though it had way too many editing blunders, I thought it was a really strong story.

My love for it waned, though, when I began to realize that once again the series was going to have a book with too much action. This time seemed it seemed like there were at least 3 distinct plots, not sub-plots because of their extensive nature. A lot of new characters were introduced, possibly too many since this story is taking place outside of St. Louis. Many of the characters seemed like they would be unimportant to the future of the series, so it didn’t make sense why so much attention was given to them. Another issue I had was that this book featured yet another round of “will she or won’t she” be raped. I think there were 2 times when it seemed like it was going to happen, but it didn’t. Instead, the book featured something even more disturbing–a vivid description of a child being molested and a description of another child being tortured. These two acts would have been enough to make me drop from 5 stars to 2. I also was not a big fan of the ongoing tension of Anita being around a serial rapist/murderer who enjoyed torturing people who happened to fit Anita’s physical characteristics.

At this point in the series, I have noticed that these books are extremely formulaic. There is the repeated information from previous books (including parts lifted verbatim from past novels), Anita thinking that she’s being underestimated because she’s different (a woman, a freak, a zombie queen, a civilian, a supposed witch, a short person, etc.), a scene involving some sort of mental or physical torture by someone, Anita’s repeated statements of being a Christian or having some moral high ground compared to others around the time that she commits or describes some horrifying act of violence, a bigot (usually from the police force) chastising Anita with Anita being immature in response, the rape of a minor character or several threats of rape to Anita, and then the revelation of the villain of the piece, who is usually a character that has been introduced fairly early and seems to be (at first) a benign character. This repeated template for the books reminds me a lot of the old episodes of Matlock, where 52 minutes into the episode, the murderer would be on the stand. It also reminds me of how on Law & Order, you meet the perpetrator at around the 15 minute mark, but the detectives don’t get a clue that that’s the person until 28-30 minutes in. This nature makes the books more boring than they should be.

There was a true excess of violence in these books. As violent as the novels typically are, there was an extremely grotesque nature that encompassed this book. Many descriptions were so disturbing that they made me cringe or even get nauseous. I’m not opposed to gory details when it is necessary, but the constant use of them in this book was just too much.

The major strength that the book carried was the exploration of Edward’s real life, though some of the humanization that took place dampens his great mystique. It also makes Anita look like more of a monster than he is, as he seems to have a thread in him that allows him to love and care for people. I worry a little bit that Anita finding out about Edward’s life might eventually ruin their odd friendship.

I am glad that it appears that Anita is realizing that she is truly bound to Richard and Jean-Claude. She seemed to want it to just be there in case of emergencies instead of coming to terms with the fact that is now a part of who she is and who they are.

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Review: Blue Moon

Blue Moon (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #8)Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was certainly not the best in the series nor was it the worst. The series itself has a lot of strengths, but even as far into as Blue Moon falls, there are too many flaws to fully enjoy these books.

Blue Moon lacked any sort of fluidity. It seemed like too much was packed into the book, which seems to be a recurring theme in these books. The tedious nature of the books are one major issue that it seems could’ve been detrimental to the series. (Obviously, it isn’t since Hamilton continues to churn out the books regularly.)

Anita was a bit more sympathetic in some chapters than she was in others. Of course, there were points when she seemed to be too monstrous to be the heroine of the stories. Her willingness to torture definitely took some of the shine off of her claims of being a good person and of doing things in the name of God. She seemed to be justifying the behaviors in a way that made her more annoying than was necessary.

Richard was not as holier than thou as he had been in the past. He was still an ass in a lot of the chapters. I almost feel like Hamilton wants the reader to hate him. Instead of portraying him as a bitter saint, he was portrayed as a selfish womanizer.

The more impressive and sympathetic characters were the minor characters in the story–Asher, Damian, Nathaniel and Jason. Each had a little more insight given into their character and their history. The near loss of Nathaniel, who really seems like he is going to be repeatedly treated as cannon fodder, was almost too much and was definitely a tear-inducing part of the story.

I hate that there are points in this story, as with several of the other books in the series, where I feel like I should just put the book down and walk away from the series. It is one thing to gradually change characters around, but the constant shift that some of the main characters go through makes the series a frustrating read.

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Review: Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, #11)Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In last year’s Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris took her once quirky characters on a journey to a place much darker than they’d been before. She managed to court some controversy with the “younger sibling” of Eric Northman, since that character was based on the real-life Alexei Romanov, who died during the Russian Revolution. Many fans hoped for redemption for the series and the author when Dead Reckoning was released, but I am unsure whether either was redeemed.

The book starts with the normal dramatic intro that has become the norm for the first chapter in every book in the series. This time, the intro was in the form of a firebomb at Merlotte’s while Sookie was working. Of course, Sookie, being the unlucky girl that she is, happened to manage to catch her apron on fire and singe her hair some. Unfortunately, this incident transformed Sookie into a more vain version of herself. While she’s commented on her looks in the past, she was actually mourning and whining about the loss of a little bit of her hair. I adore Sookie normally, but this Sookie just seemed to be different from the character that I’ve loved throughout the other 10 books.

The book took a disturbing turn when it began to hint at a possible sexual or romantic relationship between Sookie and her fae relatives. It bugged me as a person who doesn’t enjoy pro-incest plotlines or “‘shipping”, but more importantly, it bugged me as a southerner reading about a southern character. Playing into a stereotype that people have about this region seemed to go beyond Harris’s normal light-hearted attitude towards the South.

Sam’s attitude towards the fae was also a bit discouraging. He’s been more sympathetic towards people who have been more blatantly hostile. It seemed like he wanted to keep Sookie from developing more fae-like qualities. His ability to make the situation more hostile and upsetting towards Sookie and then go off to his date, without even trying to help make things better, made me wonder if he’s really the good guy that I’ve always thought he was.

I was also caught off-guard by Sookie describing Jason as being happy. I know that his marriage to Crystal was unhappy, but it hasn’t been that long (in the book’s universe) since Crystal and his unborn child died. It seemed like maybe he should still have some level of grief over that. It seems like he moved on too quickly, even for someone as flighty and self-absorbed as Jason can sometimes be.

I don’t remember Amelia being so anti-vampire in previous books, especially anti-Eric. I know that she had previously mentioned that she would help Sookie resolve the blood-bond, but she’d never seemed to look at vampires as being as scummy as she seemed to this time around. Her character changed from being one of my favorite more minor characters to being one of my least favorite.

Oddly, the character I came to like most from the book was Bill. He seemed to be more friendly and more caring than any of the other characters, with the exception of the newly-emotional Pam. It was weird to see the blood thirsty and pun-filled Pam turn into a more depressed character. I liked both shifts, though, since they seemed to fit with the story that was being told.

I am worried about what Ms. Harris plans to do with the Sookie and Eric relationship. It seemed, in some parts, like she was trying to prepare the reader for the unraveling of the relationship. Honestly, I hope that that doesn’t happen. There is one possible (pro-Eric/Sookie) outcome that I think could happen, but I doubt that the author will go that route.

Style-wise, the book seemed to lack clear enough cuts within its chapters to distinguish a change of time. In one line it will be afternoon and the very next line will be describing something hours later, in a different location, and that has very little to do with the previous line. It made the continuity of the story a little been choppy.

It seemed like the book was written to tie up unresolved issues and sub-plots that had been lingering for a few books. Unfortunately, they were being tied up too quickly and lack a level of quality that readers may have come to expect from the older books in the series. The choppy dialogue and narrative seems to be more of an outline of the book or an unfinished draft than a full-fledged book. Too many of the kinks are still present throughout the whole story.

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Review: Burnt Offerings

Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #7)Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was really hoping not to be disappointed by this book, especially after I really enjoyed The Killing Dance. It was quite good, but not as good as that particular book. Burnt Offerings was great, though.

The Council coming to town added a little flair that the series hadn’t really had before, though the added violence, especially the increase in the number of rapes and rape attempts, was a bit disconcerting. Other than the issue of the number of rapes, the biggest problem that I could find with the book was the overwhelming amount of subplots. I understand that there is a need for some subplot action, but this book was almost too tedious to keep up with because you had to remember so many different twists. It seemed way too busy, like there was something that was missing and Laurell K. Hamilton was trying to make up for it.

I know that Richard was hurt in the last book, but his character wasn’t very sympathetic, even when you take into account what he’d been through. (I don’t really get how he thought that Anita was cheating on him, even though he knew that there was always a possibility of her having sex with Jean-Claude because of their dating arrangement.) He seemed to be a bit too angry and too edgy and lost even more of the potential good guy vibe that he’d originally started out with.

Learning more about Jean-Claude and his past with Asher and Julianna was really a great aspect of the book. I like that the author has taken the time to explore his past and give more explanations for what has gone on throughout his history.

Anita was a lot more of a sympathetic character than she has in books past. She was a lot more human, even with her escalating powers. The fact that it seems that so many of her friends are pulling away from her made her even more of a likable and admirable character. She’s gone from being practically a sociopath and/or bully to having a more vulnerable underdog stance.

Even though it wasn’t as great as the previous one, I felt like it was definitely a worthwhile read and like I will definitely be continuing with the series.

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Review: The Killing Dance

The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #6)The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, especially after the disappointment that was Bloody Bones. Laurell K. Hamilton pretty much redeemed herself in this book. The writing was much better, though there were some proof-reading issues.

The characters definitely became more defined than they had been in the past. Unfortunately, I still think that Anita Blake is too dependent on violence, but she the fear from the threat to her life did allow her to be a bit more human and quite a bit more likable. I definitely feel that Richard is excessive in his childish behavior, and I don’t know that he could be the alpha that he wants to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if (at some point) Richard ended up being as much of a monster as Marcus and Raina had been. His “inner darkness” seems to be more like an almost unrestrained abusive nature. Jean-Claude once again became the most likable member of the main character brigade, proving himself to be the better man.

I am happy that there was some resolution to some story-lines that had continued for too long. Even with the heightened level of violence and sexuality, this book actually seemed the least soap opera like book in the series. It seemed to have a rawer edge that gave it more power than any of the previous books in the series. Hopefully, the edge will remain in the future books, but I have been disappointed in the past with this series, so I can’t help but be worried that the future will hold some level of disappointment.

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Review: Bloody Bones

Bloody Bones (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter)Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oy. I’ve tried to be positive about the Anita Blake books, but this book has been the worst in the series, by far. I almost gave up on it a few times, but I stuck with it.

There weren’t as many issues with this one & the blatant copy-paste issue that existed in The Lunatic Cafe or other books from the series, but I would’ve almost traded anything to have those instead of the awkward prose that did exist. I wondered at times if maybe I got a version of the book that just had a choppy writing technique, but I have a feeling that there was no difference in the edition I had as compared to the original hardback version.

The plot was not as easy to follow, and the bad guys were all way too transparent. The only character that really had any decent development was Jean-Claude. (His past was nice to learn about.) Anita’s past, though, became almost too annoying to constantly go over. I understand why her past had to be covered, but I almost felt like reading about her “pain” was some kind of cruel chore that an abusive parent might force a child to do.

I don’t understand why Anita, as the narrator, cannot be more of sympathetic character. Sometimes, it seems like reading her thoughts is like having insight to the school bully. She’s such a jaded and rude character that her snide remarks don’t come off as some kind of snarky wit, but instead come off as the ideas of a character that thinks that she is truly better than anyone else in existence. That arrogance is extremely off-putting. She’s also extremely fragmented in her personality when it comes to monsters. Anything or anyone who has any sort of superhuman ability seems to be labeled as a monster & all monsters must be killed, but if she has any kind of warm fuzzy feelings for you, then you’re safe. This seems to be a major conflict in her mind, and (since she’s the narrator) it gets brought up over and over. It makes me, and probably others, just wish that some big bad monster would off her already.

And why must we keep being reminded that she hold such a moral standard with regards to sex? It’s disgusting to read about her saint-like prudence, and then turn a page and see that she will kill anyone and not have the slightest bit of grief over their death. She’s practically a sociopath when it comes to violence, so it makes the quasi-virginal attitude all the more intolerable to read about.

I will continue to read the novels, but I hope the rest get better.

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Review: The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #4)

The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #4) The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #4) by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with Circus of the Damned, I enjoyed the book. Also, as with the 3rd Anita Blake novel, I felt that it was not as well written as it could be.

The stories are very intriguing and, despite their flaws, help keep the reader interested in reading. They have a very intense nature that keeps you entertained and wanting more. Reading them almost becomes an addiction.

That being said, I really disliked in some places where entire lines (even paragraphs) were lifted from previous novels and placed in The Lunatic Cafe. I understand that this story is supposed to be narrated by the same character as the other books, but it seems like other phrasing could have been used. The repetition was a bit unnerving. The over-describing that was done in previous books seemed to be kept in a minimum in this book, but there were some parts where it seemed that too many lines were being used to describe meaningless aspects of the book.

Despite the description issue and the repetition, I still plan on continuing on with the series. Hopefully, it will either get better or I will grow accustomed to the writing style.

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