Quickie Review: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter 

(The Demon Trappers #1)
by Jana Oliver

Demon Trapper Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself—and that’s exactly what Lucifer is counting on…

It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: Feb 1st 2011

Publisher: St. Matin's Griffin

Format: paperback trade, 340 pages 

Series: yes

Source: my own copy

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My Review

Riley wants to become a Demon Trapper just like her dad. She lives in a sort of post-apocalyptic world partially destroyed by demonic forces. In this world there are not only demons, but also witches, demon buyers, and creepy necromancers who buy corpses and turn them into 'zombie-like' slaves for rich people.

Riley is the perfect example of the kind of heroine I LOVE reading about. She's strong, she doesn't give up when things start to turn to sh*t, she proves her worth, she doesn't WHINE (that is SO important) and she doesn't think boys are the most important thing ever. Oh, and, come on, guys. She hunts DEMONS!!! Come on, that is awesomeness personified. 

This book was such a trip! There was so much going on! So many rich characters and unbelievably interesting situations! Usually when so much happens in a book, it can get tiring or confusing, but not here! Jana Oliver was definitely on the right track. ;) Just so... incredibly talented. The writing was fantastic, super engaging, and the world-building was... out of this world. LOL. XD

Funny how I can never express myself very well when I'm writing about a book I really liked. But there you go: It's awesome, and worth your time and excitement. Now, excuse me as I have to go get my hands on the rest of the series.

Review: Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1) by Jackson Pearce

 

Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1)
by Jackson Pearce

Published April 5th 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: April 5th 2010

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Format: Paperback trade, 352 pages 

Series: sort of

Source: my own copy

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My Review

There are dozens of fairytale retellings out there. Maybe hundreds, I don't know, I'm too lazy to count. Anyway, what I mean is that after so many rewrittings/versions it can get kind of boring and even repetitive to read pretty much the same thing every time.

But Sisters Red is almost a whole new story. Sure, it's based on the Little Red Riding Hood tale, and it has a few things in common: the big, bad wolf, the dead grannie, the woodsmen, and even the walk in the forest with the food basket thingy... BUT in this version the Little Red Riding girls fight back. Yup, they kick some serious wolf ass. Heh.

This was my first Pearce book, and, boy, did she get it right! Her writing just flows, and when you least expect it, the book has ended! The characters are all very well-portrayed, very different from each other and from usual YA stereotypes. Even the younger sister, Rose, who had many weak and girly and romantic moments managed to suck it up and save herself, killing a handful of monsters while doing so. I really can't recall the last book I read in which a heroine saved herself by herself. O.o They usually have at least a little help or are next to completely helpless. Loved that! And, oh, boy, oh, boy, were those Fenris guys (wolves?) hot. It was no surprise those silly Dragonflies (as the main character called those clueless, pretty little girls who made themselves into perfect victims in the night) were drawn to them. I guess we all love to flirt with danger sometimes... even more when it's in the shape of attractive young men.

Oh, and one of our MCs, the older sister, Scarlett (love the name), was a tough cookie from the start. The girl killed her first wolf when she was just a child! For that she received many scars, on the inside and on the outside. The poor thing lost an eye and had half her face disfigured, along with her arms and most of her body. But that doesn't stop her from hunting. No, siree. Scarlett was the most adult and, well, simply the most different character I have found in YA until now. She doesn't care about love, friends, school or her appearance. All she cares about it hunting down and killing as many Fenris/wolves as she possibly can. That is her whole life, what drives her and completes her. That and her little sister, Rose. Oh, and her childhood friend, Silas.

But things get weird when Rose and Silas start to fall for each other... and start to want to hunt a little less and spend some more time alone, just doing... uh, nothing much. Scarlett cannot possibly understand that, especially when they have been so busy looking for the Potential to try and lure the Fenris close enough to kill them all. Oh, and talking about the Potential... that was the worst possible level of 'I've seen it coming from the start, how more obvious could it be', but even that didn't stop me from enjoying the book.

What ruined a lot of my glow was the ending. Keep reading if you don't mind a little bit of spoiler.

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How could the author send the pretty boy, who used to like the scarred girl for who she was and despite what she looked like ever since they were little kids, off to live happily ever after with the perfect sister and leave the scarred one all by her lonesome??? That was just... heartbreaking! Does she not deserve some love, too? Could she not learn to care for something more than just hunting? SHE NEEDED TO GROW IN THAT SENSE!!! She needed more in her life and you gave her no chance! :((

Well, drama and disappointments aside, this one is still a keeper. Why? Because the plot was very clever, the cover is beautiful and interesting all by itself and I can always change the ending in my head. LOL.

Early Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Velveteen (Velveteen #1)
by Daniel Marks

Expected publication: October 9th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: Oct 9th, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Format: eARC, 464 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

First line: When Velveteen Monrow pictured Bonesaw's house -and she did, more often than could be considered healthy- blood striped the paint a muddy reddish-brown, internal organs floated in jars of formaldehyde, and great big taxidermy crows leered from branches that twisted from the wall like palsied arms.

Last line: Again.

Favorite quote: Could he actually be a decent guy?
Hard to imagine.
He was pretty to look at, though, she thought. Boys weren't objectified nearly enough, and turnabout is always fair play.

Sixteen year-old Velveteen Monroe was murdered by the psychopath/looks-like-the-boy-next-door Bonesaw. Now she's stuck in purgatory for who knows how long. There she is the leader of the Salvage team, i.e., they 'salvage souls  that don't have any business in the daylight'. She works as a body thief, and really enjoys her job. But Velvet won't be able to really rest in purgatory until she can have her revenge on her killer. 

When she finds a hidden crack through the veil between the world of the living and the dead, she goes for it. She starts to haunt him. And that is the WORST thing she could ever do. Haunting is against the law. It's pretty much the only serious offense a soul can be charged with in purgatory... which is why she's keeping it a secret from everyone.

Every once in a while, something triggers small parts of her memory back. Memories from those days. Her days at the mercy of Bonesaw. Bloody, painful scenes that makes us hurt, too. And they just serve to reinforce her decision to make him suffer as much as possible. 

However, she starts to slightly waver in her decision when she rescues her fifty-seventh soul: a very handsome, very sweet young guy named Nick. Nick seems to quickly gain everybody's sympathy and friendship, especially from those that are part of her Salvage team, which he soon joins. Velvet is torn between feeling jealous about him becoming so close and dear to her best friends so quickly, and being happy that he is such a good influence to them. Oh, and she can't decide exactly how she feels about him. Annoyed? Absolutely. Attracted? Well... yes! Uncomfortable? That's for sure. Thankful? Sometimes. :P

As if trying not to fall for her newest rescued soul while doing her best to haunt and drive her killer to commit suicide wasn't hard enough, now there's a revolution starting underground, and every single one of Velvet's mentors are acting suspiciously... 

The first chapter of Velveteen really sucks you in. It's very abrupt, very raw, very shocking. It's awesome. But then things slow down. Excessively. There were moments I almost gave the book up, things were so dull... then we get to the middle of the book. And that's when things get interesting. From middle to end, I got totally caught up into it again. I have to say it was worth the waiting. ;)

This is a very different book from the usual YAs out there. It way, after all, written by a guy, even if the main character IS a girl. It somehow just made her more believable, in my opinion. The same goes for her relationship with Nick. Teenagers (and, let's face it, adults, too) aren't nice and cuddly, YA writers! They are mean, horny, and selfish. Even if they do have their good moments. And reality isn't all about cute romance, butterflies and happy endings. The world is NOT a nice place. And Daniel Marks was able to capture every single realistic aspect (while still making it very readable, if slightly gruesome) in this fantastical/paranormal tale. Velveteen rocked.

If you're looking for something different and refreshing, with an imperfect and bloodthirsty heroine (repeatedly called a super bitch) and a very cool, very crushable hero, then you'll go bananas over Velveteen, just like yours truly.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*