Review: Hearts at Stake

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey
Publisher: Walker
Pub. Date: December 22nd, 2009
Pages: 248
Series: The Drake Chronicles #1
Age Level: 14+

Synopsis via GoodReads
On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.
Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.

Review
Hearts at Stake is an action-packed, sharp-witted, suspenseful, and romantic page-turner of a story; a truly delightful and captivating read.

I really enjoyed both Lucy and Solange's characters but I have to say that Lucy was definitely my favorite. Despite her sometimes impulsive and reckless nature, she was a very fiery, loyal, and kick-ass kinda gal. Sure she had her faults but she also recognized and owned up to them; I really appreciated that quality about her. Solange was just a bit more of a subtle and level-headed character compared to Lucy but that still didn't stop her from expressing her opinion on what everyone was expecting of her. Both characters had very distinct personalities and they complimented each other well. Now when it comes to Nicholas and Kieran, the two romantic interests, I'm not really sure who I prefer. Nicholas was more of a protective, sweet, and sometimes snarky good guy while Kieran was the surprising, dangerous, bad guy gone good. I really liked them both but I'm not sure who I'd pick. The actual romance had it's great moments but it had it's awkward ones as well. In a way I guess this made it a bit more authentic but I also feel it could have been much better developed, especially had the book been longer.

Hearts at Stake had this enticing, darkly gothic, and royal ambiance about it from the secret underground tunnels, to the interior architecture, to even some of the clothing; not to mention the ancient vampire prophecy and family dynasties. The political intrigue of the vampire world was well crafted though I thought some of the fight scenes were somewhat lacking; things always seemed to be a bit to quick and easy for the Drakes when they fought other vampires. I thought the technique of ending most all the chapters with cliffhangers was both clever and unwise. On the one hand, it kept me turning the pages, excited to find out what would happen next. On the other hand, it occasionally left things feeling a bit disjointed. However, I think in the end I saw it as more of a benefit than disadvantage. The writing was over all well done though and I enjoyed it.

The ending was satisfying and tied most everything up well but I admit I wanted more, especially from Kieran and Solange. Of course, the ending also left me very excited for Blood Fued and I can't wait to see how everything with the Drake family continues.

All in all, Hearts at Stake was a fun, fast-paced read that was well worthwhile, and though it had a few slight flaws, I felt that they somehow did not take away from how much I truly enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the paranormal genre. Part of me is already aching to re-read it and that is always a very good sign. Can't wait to get my hands on Blood Feud.

Grade
Characters: B+
Writing: B-
Plot: B
Ending: B-
#1 in Series: B
Enjoyment/Likability: A-
Recommendable: B+

Overall: B

Cover: B-

Noteworthy Passages: The Magnificent Twelve: The Call

The Magnificent Twelve: The Call (ARC) by Michael Grant
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: August 24th, 2010
Pages: 256
Age Level: 10+

Disclaimer: Please note that this is an ARC and passages and quotes below are subject to change in the final copy.

Synopsis from GoodReads
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.

And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys' bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it's up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen's dangerous daughter, Ereskigal—also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn't want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?

A laugh-out-loud story filled with excitement and magic, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is the first book in bestselling author Michael Grant's hilarious new fantasy adventure series.

Noteworthy Passages

Narrator; pg. 10-11
This was the point where Mack should have started begging, pleading, whining, and bribing. But the weird thing about Mack was that even though he was afraid of puppets, sharks, the ocean, shots, spiders, dentists, fire, Shetland ponies, hair dryers, asteroids, hot air balloons, blue cheese, tornadoes, mosquitos, electrical outlets, bats (the kind that fly and suck your blood), beards, babies, fear itself, and especially being buried alive, he was not afraid of real, actual trouble.

Rose & Stefan; pg. 94
"Don't lose this," she said. "Or this." She handed each of them an iPhone.
"Is your number on here?" Stefan asked with a leer.
"I'm a little old for you," Rose said witheringly.
Stefan grinned. "I don't mind."

~~~~~~~~~

Well that's it everyone. I hope these passages along with my review will make you want to pick this book up. You can read my review HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a feature hosted here at my blog in which I present you with selected passages or quotes that I deem Noteworthy from a book I've just reviewed. My hopes are of course, that these passages will make you want to pick the book up and read it. This feature was started and created by me in January in hopes of making my blog more unique. That being said, I would like to kindly request that you do not use this feature as it was intended to be for my blog only and is not a meme. If you see some one else using it, please know it is without my permission. Thank you.

Review & Happy Release Day: The Magnificent Twelve

The Magnificent Twelve: The Call (ARC) by Michael Grant
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: August 24th, 2010
Pages: 256
Series: The Magnificent Twelve #1
Age Level: 10+

Synopsis from GoodReads
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.

And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys' bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it's up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen's dangerous daughter, Ereskigal—also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn't want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?

A laugh-out-loud story filled with excitement and magic, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is the first book in bestselling author Michael Grant's hilarious new fantasy adventure series.

Review
In a time where originality is almost a lost art, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call really managed to hold it's own. It was a unique and humorous story in every aspect; a truly refreshing read unlike anything I've ever read before.

Mack was a very witty and lovable character in all his dorky glory. I found his various phobias to be very interesting, and even ironic, considering his crazy willingness to take on bullies. This was just one of the things that made Mack a complex character. Throughout the book, Mack is constantly forced to face some of his fears and I feel he came out on the other side a stronger character because of it and with humor still intact. Stefan never really said much and turned out to be a surprising character that I also liked. Then there was Jarrah whom I didn't get to know quite as well but from what I can tell, she's pretty sassy and potentially kick-ass. Oh, and how could I forget the Golem; he is absolutely hilarious.

I think The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is possibly the first book I've read where the bad guys were actual monsters, or at least since I was kid. The monsters were really part of what made this book so original; they were at once both comical and frightening, a great accomplishment by Grant. Nothing about this book gave me that frequent feeling of, 'Been there, done that.' like a lot of books seem to do these days. The story and characters had me laughing frequently, almost constantly, plus it was fast-paced, magical, and slammed full of action!

I really enjoyed the simple, light-hearted writing style. Even though it's told in third-person, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call turned out to be one of the few books where I really didn't mind. This book alternates between present and past perspectives. I definitely preferred the present chapters since the ones set during, 'A really, really long time ago...' could sometimes stray from funny to absurd and I often found myself wanting to speed through those but they are very necessary to the story.

The ending was just as it should be. It left everything set up perfectly and has me looking forward to the next installment in this exciting series.

The Magnificent Twelve: The Call was a quick, adventurous, and fun breath of fresh air. I can easily see myself recommending this book to kids, teens, and even adults. Plus I love that it appeals to both genders. I will definitely be re-reading this book in the future and I'm looking forward to the second book.

Grade
Characters: B
Writing: B-
Plot: B
Ending: B
#1 in Series: B
Enjoyment/Likability: B-
Recommendable: B

Overall: B

Cover: B+

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO 'THE MAGNIFICENT TWELVE: THE CALL' BY MICHAEL GRANT!!!!

Guest Post: Jacquelyn Wheeler

Hello everyone and welcome! I was recently able to talk the lovely author, Jacquelyn Wheeler, into doing a guest post here at my blog. She is the author of the YA book series The Soterians; the first two books, Rising Shadow and Merger, are already out and available. Now if you will, give a warm round of applause for Jacquelyn as I have found it very hard to find authors who will do a guest post and cause she rocks. :P


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The Changing Face of Publishing
by Jacquelyn Wheeler

There’s a revolution going on.

You might have noticed it when you walk into your local mega bookstore and wonder why it’s half empty. Or you might have gotten a hint of it when you read a really good book and realized it wasn’t from one of the major publishing houses. And you can definitely see signs of it with the proliferation of book bloggers who are gaining hundreds of followers and shaping the direction of the books we buy and read.

The revolution is in publishing, and it’s a fascinating time. On the one hand, you have the slow demise of many bookstores, both independent and chain, which truly breaks my heart. But on the other hand, the old gatekeepers—agents and publishers—are slowly being replaced by bloggers and self-publishing services, which means that it’s now easier than ever to write a novel and actually get it into the hands of people who want to read it. True, you’re much less likely to strike it rich as an author when you go with a smaller press or self-publish, but most authors with the huge traditional publishers don’t make enough money to call it a living, either.

What this means is that more people can publish books, so we’ll have a much greater variety of authors to choose from. Even better, we’ll have a wider variety of books to choose from, because gone are the days when we only see what an agent and publisher thought was marketable. Yes, we’re still going to see a lot of copycats (another vampire book, anyone?), but we’re also going to see some really fresh ideas that maybe felt too fringe-y to an agent but is just what we’re dying to read.

Of course, some people are concerned that without gatekeepers, there will be an endless sea of garbage out there. How will we ever find good books to read amidst all the crap? You, savvy blog follower, already know the answer to that: book bloggers are the new gatekeepers. Bloggers love reading so much that they consume tons of books a year—some great, some garbage—to find the gems. Instead of complaining about how many awful manuscripts they have to review every day and endless slush piles, bloggers joyfully read everything they can get their hands on and write up their reviews—all in their spare time, and for free. We simply follow the blogs of people whose taste matches ours, and bingo! We have a steady stream of recommended books to add to our TBR piles.

So although there’s a lot of change happening in the publishing industry, I think it’s a wonderful time for authors and readers alike. After all, in my humble opinion, the main point of writing a book is to share a good story with readers, regardless of whether it’s got potential to be a best seller or just have a small following.

What a revolutionary idea.

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Well I don't know about ya'll but I just loved that guest post; Jacquelyn really made some good points and put things in perspective. I personally think that this is probably the best guest post I've had on my blog.

Well, what'd you think? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section. Jacquelyn and I would love to hear...er...read what you have to say. :D

The Soterians Series