In My Mailbox (11)

IMM is hosted by Kristy at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme to share titles borrowed, bought, scavenged, traded and won.  I participate every other week.

Borrowed:

 

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Book on CD)

Bought:

Strings Attached by Nick Nolan

How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson

Suckerpunch by David Hernandez

Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbon by Ann Rinaldi

Something About America by Maria Testa

The Trap by John Smelcer

XVI by Julia Karr

Somebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne Suplee

Mooched:

 

The Case of Jennie Brice by Mary Roberts Rinehart

In My Mailbox (10)

IMM is hosted by Kristy at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme to share titles borrowed, bought, scavenged, traded and won.  I participate every other week.


Borrowed:

Matched by Ally Condie
The Dark Game: True Spy Stories compiled by Paul B. Janeczko
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

Bought:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
The Rendering by Joel Naftali

You Killed Wesley Payne

You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin 

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011

368 pages

4 out of 5

He's come to do a job.

A job that involves a body.  

A body wrapped in duct tape hanging from the goal posts at the end of the football field.

You Killed Wesley Payne is a truly original and darkly hilarious update of classic pulp-noir, in which hard-boiled seventeen year-old Dalton Rev transfers to the mean hallways of Salt River High to take on the toughest case of his life.  The question isn't whether Dalton's going to get paid.  He always gets paid.  Or whether he's gonna get the girl.  He always sometimes gets the girl.  The real question is whether Dalton Rev can outwit crooked cops and killer cliques to solve the mystery of "The Body" before it solves him.

Wesley Payne does what a good book should--it sneaks up on you.  From the outset I loved the idea of a teenage private detective with some noir thrown in.  It's an idea I haven't seen before, which makes it incredibly intriguing.

For more than half of this book, I just wasn't sure what to make of it.  There are moments where it's trying so hard to be something, but I'm not completely sure what that something is.  World building is usually limited to science fiction or fantasy titles, but it is definitely a different world in this book.  It's an interesting world, but heavy.

Then all of a sudden it becomes a really good book.  I'm not sure where it took this turn exactly.  I just know I went from the depressive to the manic.  I did not want to put this book down until I knew how it ended.

The extras are excellent.  There's a glossary (which is funny by itself) to help with the jargon, copies of Dalton's writings, and the opening of a Lexington Cole novel (Dalton's PI guru).

This title was difficult at first but I'm glad I stuck with it.  It has some really good moments that are funny, beautiful, sweet and surprising.

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This title was sent to me by the publisher following a work-related webinar.

Hexbound

Hexbound (Dark Elite Book 2) by Chloe Neill 

Signet, 2011

256 pages

4 out of 5

Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia's School for Girls, but she's already learned that magic can be your best friend-or your worst enemy.  That's why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities while fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago's nastiest nightlife-including the tainted magic users known as Reapers... (description from Amazon)

Hexbound is the second book in the Dark Elite series and, hopefully, not the last.  It picks up basically right where Firespell left off.  It threw me off a bit because the span of time in these two books is relatively short, which I'm not used to.

The tone of the series remains fun and conversational. Even so, there were times when it felt like it was trying to sound like a teen novel. This doesn't hinder the novel or make it less interesting.  It just made me pause a few times.  The pop culture references were an instance of this.  Would Scout really listen to Lady Gaga?  Also, as fads and the popularity of stars fades, a book becomes outdated much more quickly.  But that could just be a pet peeve of mine.

Overall, it's completely enjoyable and I'm happily looking forward to another installment.  I recommend this series frequently and will continue to do so.

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I purchased this title for review and my own personal enjoyment.

Forgive the Silence...

I'm sorry for not posting any new content recently.  I've been attacked by a mean little stomach bug and haven't had the energy for much of anything this week.  Hopefully with some rest and reading this weekend, all will be back to normal soon.  Thanks.