Inspiring Insomnia

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

Let me get one thing straight. In the dystopian world of Pawn, society is advanced enough that humans can be physically altered so successfully that they can actually take the place of someone else. And not just some Joe Schmoe on the street, but a member of the society’s ruling family. There’s just one little thing that these clever folks seem to have forgotten. Everyone in Pawn is ranked on a scale from I to VI, based on intelligence. These Roman numerals are marked on the back of one’s neck in a ridged tattoo, and that number determines each person’s lot in life. The highest ranking of VII is reserved for the ruling Hart family. Kitty (ugh, I just can’t with that name) is ranked as a III as a result of her dyslexia, and she’s destined for a life of misery. Instead, the Harts sweeps her up and blackmail her into undergoing surgery to impersonate one of their family members, Lila. The surgery is perfect; Kitty resembles Lila to a tee. But the one thing the doctors neglected to do was to fully alter her tattoo. They changed her III to a VII visually, but they left the original ridges of the III intact. Anyone who touched (or even got a close look at) Kitty’s neck would know she was a fraud, and the whole nutty scheme would come crashing down. This bugged the hell out of me for the entire length of the story. The excuse given was that this was done as “an insurance policy” to control Kitty; if she gets out of line, they would use the ridges to prove her a fraud. Are you telling me that this scientifically-advanced society has suddenly forgotten about DNA? Or fingerprints? Or teeth? These are just three ways to positively identify someone, without the enormous risks that her visible tattoo ridges pose.

I had other problems with this story beyond the silly tattoo. I didn’t buy Kitty’s immediate transformation (which was not only physical, but involved a change in accent and mannerisms and the ability to speak like she’s the second coming of MLK Jr., too) for a second. It’s also never explained how America could so quickly turn into a dictatorial society. Even if I was willing to overlook these issues, I don’t think I could get past the latter part of the book, which is filled with one implausible twist after another.

And now I leave you with another addition of Limerickin’ Lit. (Note: the last line of my limerick contains a semi-revealing spoiler.)

It’s amazing what plastic surgery can do
It pushes the dumb and the slow up a rung or two
Be an obedient Hart
And keep playing your part
But watch out for that dude, cuz he’s a fake, too

Review to come.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

No Angel does not take itself very seriously, and as a result, neither did I. But that does not mean that I didn’t enjoy it, and I found myself succumbing to the silly humor, even as the non-stop twists continued to pile up. Rafael Angelos is a simple guy in a unique position – he’s the only male student in a boarding school for girls. As soon as he sets foot on campus, the girls are pounding down his door (literally) to get his attention. But Rafael wants the beautiful, angelic Faith, one of the few girls not throwing herself at him. Faith also happens to be the daughter of the stern headmistress, and she makes it clear she wants Rafael to stay away from Faith.

Rafael soon learns that his new school is filled with more than just pretty, pampered girls; evil demons are afoot here, and Rafael, who quickly learns that he’s an angel, is meant to stop them. He’s alternately aided and hindered in his mission by the three main female characters in the story: Faith, Krystal, and Michaela. Despite the initial spark between Rafael and Krystal, that relationship was the most confusing, as well as the least interesting. His interactions with the somewhat geeky Krystal and the bad girl, Michaela, were much more enjoyable.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, is who they seem. You can take just about every character, flip their perceived personality around 180 degrees, and there you have that character’s actual identity. I’ll admit that the twists did keep me surprised, but the constant use of red herrings became somewhat tiresome. But still, the humor and the relatively light-hearted take on good versus evil, and angels versus demons kept this story enjoyable throughout.

Note: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

4.5 stars

I have to start this review by discussing the last few pages of this incredible trilogy. Champion has such a beautiful, perfect ending, and it felt like Marie Lu wrote it as a love letter to her fans. No doubt she loves June and Day even more than we do, but when she signed off on this series with such compassion and respect, I couldn’t help but feel appreciated as a reader and a fan. I read Champion right after Allegiant, and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the ending of Allegiant enraged some readers. For the record, I liked it, but I was nowhere near as invested in that series as I am with Legend. I can’t say I would have been thrilled if Lu had chosen to end Legend in a similar fashion, although I’m pretty sure my reaction would have stopped well short of death threats.

Throughout this series, the love between June and Day has always been genuine and never forced. They complement each other perfectly, and they need each other more than ever now. The Republic is under attack from both within and without: a deadly plague and a seemingly inevitable war with the Colonies. The Republic attempts to enlist the assistance of Antarctica for its military might, and this gives us a chance to see the similarities and the differences in how the three societies operate. It’s interesting, because all are flawed in one way or another, and we really only root for one side as “the best” because we happen to care its inhabitants.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the Colonies gets his evil clutches on Day, and this was the one part of the story that seemed false. He blackmails Day with sleazy threats to get Day to work for him, but of course, Day is not the type to cave. Where the Chancellor could have approached Day in a non-threatening way by explaining how they could have a mutually beneficial (albeit distasteful) relationship, he instead ensured that Day would do everything possible to thwart him. The Chancellor also knew enough about Day and his background to know that Day would not respond well to threats, and Day’s reaction should have been predictable.

Aside from this minor complaint, there was so much to love in Champion, highlighted, of course, by the deep and complicated relationship between June and Day. And if there was a touch of cliche in the ending, who cares? It was so powerfully and beautifully moving. Just read it, and tell me you didn’t get choked up, too. My thanks to Marie Lu for sharing this beautiful story with us.

OK, now I understand what all the fuss over the ending was about. I actually liked it; it was the rest of the book that I somewhat struggled to get through.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

I wouldn’t normally read the sequel to a book I disliked, as was the case with The Testing. But I was excited to read that book, and some weird fluke made both The Testing and Independent Study available at BEA last May, so I eagerly snapped up both ARCs. The Testing was a big disappointment, but since I already had the sequel in my hands, I decided to give it a read. Some of the problems with the first book (such as the endless descriptions of written examinations) were less of a factor here, but the sequel presented its own new issues.

I was feeling optimistic near the beginning of the book, as it is packed with action. Cia and the other students in the Testing program are split up into teams in a Survivor-style test of mental and physical challenges, but these have the added element of being potentially fatal. The competitions were quite clever and fun to read, although I still can’t figure out why the administrators go to such length to pick out potential leaders from among the best and the brightest, only to risk killing many of them. Nevertheless, the story’s flaws soon became apparent, beginning with Cia. This girl is infallible. She’s smarter than everyone else. She sees what no else can see. She deduces what no one else can deduce. She succeeds where everyone else fails miserably. I have no idea why the author decided to portray her like this, because when we know ishe is always going to come out on top, no matter what obstacles are in her way, why should we care about her? And despite her ability to win at everything in life, Cia still manages to be horribly dull and uninteresting.

If Cia’s superhuman intelligence wasn’t enough, she’s got a large group of supporting characters to help her out. She’s always in the right place at the right time to witness or overhear critical events and conversations. When that’s not possible, a character steps out and delivers a ten minute monologue to catch Cia up to speed. Potential allies seek her out even before she can identify them. The bad guys make their evil intentions known early and loudly.

But if Cia is so smart, why does she make dumb decisions when it comes to defending her life? She does everything possible to avoid engaging in violence, even when someone is trying to kill her. Only when she is actually moments from death will she finally make the most meager of attempts to defend herself. But this is presented as a symbol of Cia’s goodness, rather than as an example of nearly fatal stupidity. Even then, she can’t quite finish the job, and someone else must step in to finish the attacker while Cia is consumed with guilt and regret.

I probably could have saved myself some trouble and skipped ahead to the ending of the book, because an event in the last couple of pages negates much of the plot, forcing a reset for the third book. It also gives off VERY heavy whiffs of the ending of Catching Fire, and when I read the Goodreads synopsis for Graduation Day, it seems clear that it’s positioned to be a sorry retread of Mockingjay.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

2.5 stars

Fault Line is a little book (240 pages) about a big, awful subject: rape. It unflinchingly shows the devastating effects of rape, both on the victim and the victim’s loved ones. In this case, the story is complicated by the fact that Ani, the victim, was intoxicated at a party and loudly announced that she was going to have sex with several guys. After heading upstairs with them, Ani wakes up the next morning with no memory of what happened. It is clear that some sort of sexual activity occurred, but of course, the guys involved claim it was consensual.

We’re left even more in the dark because the story is narrated not by Ani, but by her boyfriend, Ben. Ben is a pretty typical guy when he first gets involved with Ani, and his primary interest seems to be getting into Ani’s pants. Ani is his fantasy girl: gorgeous, playful, and raunchy in her speech. She almost seemed unreal, to be honest. I could have believed that Ani was merely a fantasy Ben had created.

Both Ben’s and Ani’s worlds were shattered by the events at the party. Ani retreats into a shell and lashes out at Ben. Ben is superhuman-ly supportive, and his actions become increasingly hard to believe. He initially responds in a way that seemed realistic and true to his character. He has an attitude that is a bit, “This is my woman. No one but I may touch her vagina.” Ben is enraged and out for blood. He also feels guilty that he wasn’t at the party to prevent it from happening. He is actually relieved when he learned that she might have been roofied, which is a disgusting response, but again, it was believable for his character. But as the story progressed, and as Ani continues to spiral downwards, Ben becomes some kind of rape trauma crusader. I just didn’t buy it. Would a guy who feels a sense of relief over his girlfriend’s possible poisoning (which is what “roofie-ing” is) really devote his life to supporting Ani, even when she treats Ben cruelly and as her actions become more and more unhinged? He has a seemingly infinite well of tolerance for Ani’s destructive behavior.

According to the back cover flap, the author is a rape counselor, and I have enormous respect for that work. It’s clear that she’s knowledgeable and compassionate. But at times, it felt like I was being walked through all of the potential emotional and psychological effects of rape of ANYONE, not necessarily Ani. Ben, at one point, even voiced my own frustrations while speaking to a rape counselor about Ani. He was asking for advice regarding Ani’s behavior, and no matter what Ben said, the counselor replied, “That could be one side effect of rape.”

I felt almost brutalized by the ending. Just when you think things can’t get any worse for Ani and Ben, the last couple of pages smack you in the face, throw you to the ground, and stomp all over you. I felt like I needed a shower after the last scene. So, does that mean that the author was effective? I’m leaning towards no for that. The story was already starting to get away from me before those last, horrific pages. I don’t think it was necessary; it was already abundantly clear how these events destroyed Ani.

If you’re wondering about the cover and whether it has some symbolic significance to rape, it doesn’t. Instead, it’s very much related to Ani’s particular story of being raped, and my first instinct was to call this choice of cover tasteless. But then again, the whole act of rape is tasteless and disgusting and awful, so perhaps the cover is fitting. I’ll settle for just calling it an odd creative choice.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

Note: This review will contain spoilers from Poison Princess, the first book in the series.

The Arcana Chronicles series reads like a mystical version of The Hunger Games. That’s not a bad thing here. Usually when I compare a book to The Hunger Games, it doesn’t fare well in comparison. But Kresley Cole manages to keep the whole teenagers-out-to-slaughter-each-other thing fresh by having them embody the characters on Tarot cards.

Evie is the Empress, and she is completely transformed from the girl she was in Poison Princess. She is now in full control of her powers, and she’s not afraid to use them, whether it’s injecting foes with poison from her claws or strangling them with deadly vines. The foes continue to come at Evie from all sides as we are introduced to more of the Arcana.

Evie doesn’t only have the Arcana, people with powers to rival her own, to worry about. There are the zombie-ish “bagmen,” and a scene which exposes their peculiar eating habits is thrillingly grotesque. I think a lot of readers will be completely disgusted, as well as shocked at the level of gore in this YA book, but it all worked for me.

I haven’t even mentioned poor Jack yet. He was so charismatic in Poison Princess, but he is no match for Death, once Death gets his clutches on Evie. If you loved him in Poison Princess, you can expect to feel his absence here. Jack now knows that Evie is not quite human, and he’s more than a bit conflicted about it. Even though I liked Jack in the last book, I became bored with him rather quickly here. So I was happy to see mopey Jack get shoved to the background when Death showed up with his special blend of spice and excitement. And yes, this does mean that we’ve got a love triangle. I was OK with it here, mostly because Jack’s presence was felt mostly in Evie’s mind, and Death was intriguing enough for me to want to forget that Jack exists at time.

The cliffhanger here was somewhat…ick. The revelations and the events leading up to it were a wonderful surprise, but it was just that last scene that bothered me. Don’t worry – I won’t spoil it, but I think Cole is accustomed to writing for adults, and she should try not to forget that Evie is 16. Because, like I said, ick.

As a word of caution: there are a couple of sex scenes that are quite explicit for a book that’s considered Young Adult. They pale in comparison to Cole’s adult books, but this may not be appropriate for readers who fall more towards the Young end of the Young Adult spectrum.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

I enjoy stories about time travel, but one of my big challenges can be trying to wrap my mind around the science. Often, an author's explanation can be so complex that I eventually give up trying to figure out whether the author has covered all the bases involving the paradoxes of time travel. In After Eden, Helen Douglas keeps the science simple and accessible, but there were some plot points that didn't make sense. For just one example that happened to be mentioned in the synopsis, would someone a mere 100 years in the future not know who Hitler is? Think about what we know today about rulers who existed thousands of years in the past. This might seem like a small point to nitpick, but Ryan is the time traveler whose ignorance of Hitler is referenced numerous times throughout the book, and it's one of the things that makes Eden question the veracity of his background. I'm puzzled by the author's decision to include this in the story; it seems sloppy, and the plot could have easily moved forward without it.

OK, now that I got that off my chest, I did enjoy After Eden. Ryan has traveled back in time to prevent a catastrophe. He must pose as a high school student while disguising his true purpose. Eden and Ryan are both nice, polite, and completely unexceptional. (Well, excluding Ryan's whole time travel thing.) It's no surprise that they quickly become attracted to each other, and their relationship is sweet, if not a tad boring. Eden must also handle her relationship with her best friend, Connor, who seems to want to transition their relationship beyond friendship. Connor is one of the big missteps in this story. I'm not sure what Eden finds appealing enough in him to label him as a best friend. His main characteristic is his jealousy of Ryan, and Eden must continually swat him away like a pesky fly. Maybe he's a great guy, and he had a personality transplant the moment Ryan hit the scene, but this is not made clear. As with the Hitler reference, I'm puzzled why the author portrayed him in this manner.

Problems aside, this is an easy, light read with pleasant characters, except for the Big Bad who every reader will identify long before Eden and Ryan do. The ending was a bit sappy and highly predictable, but still sweet and satisfying.

Note - I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

Reality TV makes a business out of exploiting people. Sometimes, the people on these shows seem perfectly fine with it. They'll happily reveal their messed-up lives for the world to see in their desperate bid for fame. For the most part, I feel no sympathy for these people. I have very different feelings, however, for the children on these shows. They can't consent to the exploitation, but there are unfortunately parents out there who can and will. The late Anna Nicole Smith, those horrible Gosselin people, the Kardashians, the Honey Boo-Boo clan, etc. Other than the money made off the backs of these children, what possible good comes from this? Why are parents allowed to force their children to perform like circus animals to make a few bucks and/or to get fame for Mom and Dad?

In Reality Boy, Gerald's family was already fractured before the cameras came into the house when he was five. But his parents wanted a new kitchen, and Gerald and his brother and sister must fall in line. As with most of these reality shows, not much is real. The producers give the family the basic premise: "The kids misbehave and don't listen. The on-site Nanny (who's actually an actress) will help to fix everything." Then the whole family played their parts; there were conflicts and resolutions that needed to run through their full cycles before the cameras stopped filming. Little Gerald's response was to express his displeasure by defecating on top of tables, in his mother's shoes, and on his sister's toys. By the time the producers left, Gerald's family was even more messed up than they were to begin with.

As a seventeen-year-old, Gerald still feels the effects of the experience. He's full of rage, he's commonly known as Crapper, and he's friendless as a result. His older sister, Tasha, is a sociopath or a psychopath. His parents, and in particular his mother, have always turned a blind eye to the sadistic abuse Tasha inflicted upon Gerald. His other sister, the only person in the family who seems to care about Gerald, fled the country to go to college the first moment she could.

Although there are people in the world who suffer far worse than Gerald, aka Crapper, but A.S. King makes us feel every bit of his suffering. And we root for him, because it's clear he desperately wants to escape his Reality Boy past. When he meets "Register # 1 Girl" (Hannah) while they are both working at a concessions stand, Gerald initially sees a pretty girl. But as they get to know each other, Gerald learns Hannah also feels trapped by her life, and she wants to escape just as much as he does.

The scenes of abuse committed by Tasha are very hard to read. But most of my anger was directed at their mother who knew it was happening and didn't stop it. I hope that doesn't dissuade anyone from reading, because the real highlight is Gerald's desire to overcome his past and find happiness outside of his screwed-up family. The loveliest scene is when a stranger approached the concession stand and informs Gerald that she recognizes him. I won't say anymore than that, because it's so moving, and you should experience it first-hand.

I was on a video chat with A.S. King this week, and she speaks in the same no bullshit way in which she writes. And it was very evident how much she cares for her characters. I was impressed enough with her writing in this book that I purchased four of her earlier books.

Note - I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

Way back when, River Phoenix was the object of my massive, teenage crush. Depending on your age, you might be nodding your head in agreement, or you might be asking yourself: “Who in the hell is that?” For those of you in the latter group, you might be more familiar with his younger brother, Joaquin Phoenix. River Phoenix was a child star who grew into a successful, Oscar-nominated actor until he overdosed outside of a Hollywood nightclub in 1993, at the age of twenty-three. My crush was over by that point, but I remember being so surprised, because the story line about Phoenix was that he was a clean-living vegan, and the idea that he died of a drug overdose was unthinkable.

Last Night at the Viper Room examines Phoenix’s brief life, beginning with his upbringing in what could politely be called a commune, but would more accurately be described as a cult. Sexual abuse of children was common and even encouraged, and Phoenix was a victim. In an all-too-familiar theme, Phoenix’s family tried to turn all their children into starts, beginning by forcing them to conduct musical performances on the streets for money. River soon became the family breadwinner when he began to land legitimate acting jobs. Today, we could create an endless list of fallen former child stars, but in the early nineties, before websites like TMZ exposed bad behavior for all to see, Phoenix was able to keep his drug addiction a secret from the public. Even while he wasted away and became more of a liability on film sets, he promoted his supposedly healthy lifestyle in interviews. All around him were the enablers who ignored the problem, because they were dependent on him for income: his family, his manager, his various directors. His death could not have come as a surprise to any of them.

Because Phoenix’s life was so short, Last Night at the Viper Room is equal parts biography and a look at the society in the early nineties among Phoenix and his acting peers, including Johnny Depp, who owned the nightclub where Phoenix overdosed. The book charts the early careers of other young actors at the time, including Depp, Brad Pitt, and Keanu Reeves, and the less successful/more depressing cases like Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. There’s not a a great deal of new information here, although it’s clearly well-researched and well-sourced. Missing are interviews with any of Phonenix’s family members, but that is not terribly surprising. I don’t think this book would be very interesting to people who aren’t already aware of Phoenix, unless they have a particular interest in the young celebrity culture of the early nineties. But for me, it was both an interesting and depressing path down memory lane.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

Well, well, look who's back. It's Meghan Chase's little brother, Ethan, and as you can see from the cover, he's all grown up now. This book is the first in a spin-off from The Iron Fey series. Meghan is the Iron Queen, married to Ash, and her formerly sweet baby brother is now an angsty teen. His angst is not without cause. Ethan hasn't seen Meghan in years, and he feels abandoned by his sister. But she's busy ruling her kingdom in the Nevernever, and every journey she takes to the mortal world puts Ethan at risk of attack by evil faeries. So Meghan stays away, and Ethan stews and develops a bit of a bad-boy reputation. He tries to stay invisible at school, but a plucky Lois Lane-type, Kenzie, won't leave him alone. Ethan learned a terrible lesson about what can happen when he tries to get close to someone, so he pushes Kenzie away. But the more he pushes, the more determined she becomes to crack his protective shell.

Ethan has bigger problems than Meghan or Kenzie, though. As one of the few humans who can see the Fae, Ethan learns that half-fae and exiled fae have been disappearing, and evil fae seem to be swirling around in greater numbers, threatening him. Ethan is instructed to visit the Nevernever to warn his sister. Against Ethan's wishes, Kenzie comes with him.

I loved seeing some of my favorite characters from the Iron Fey books pop here - Grim is his usual cheerful self. (We even get an "I am a cat.") Of course, Ash and Puck are here, and Leanansidhe gets her share of fun, slightly sinister lines. There are some new characters who will clearly play a big role in future books, including one who will be as much of a surprise to readers as he was to Ethan.

Ethan and Kenzie started out a bit like stock characters, but as the story progressed, they each brought out new facets in the others. Kenzie manages to chip away at Ethan's walls, and Ethan eventually learns what drives Kenzie's seeming recklessness.

This series can be read even if you haven't read The Iron Fey series. But if you haven't, you're missing out on pieces of Julie Kagawa's beautiful fantasy world. This spin-off is a great start to an new series, and I'm looking forward to more of Ethan's and Kenzie's exploits, and I hope to see a lot more of the mystery character I mentioned above.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

Note – This review will contain spoilers of Falling Kingdoms, the first book in the series.

I did not realize until after I’d read Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring that Morgan Rhodes is the pen name of Michelle Rowen. Rowen wrote Coutdown, a book I read a few months ago and really disliked. (You can see my review of Countdown here.) I’m glad I didn’t know this until after reading the books, because I would likely have approached this series with a much more critical eye and lowered expectations. Instead, I went into the story with the open mind one has when reading a “new to you” author.

At the end of Falling Kingdoms, the first book in this series, King Gaius increased the span of his empire, and Cleo, with her family dead, is sort of politely imprisoned by Gaius. She keeps her princess title as Gaius attempts to make the conquered people of Auranos believe that he is a good and just ruler. For reasons only Gaius would understand, he appoints the detestable Aron as kingsliege. He has one more plan for Cleo, and once that is accomplished, he believes his rule will be secured.

But a faction of rebels, led by Jonas who’s still seeking to avenge his brother’s murder, isn’t buying what Gaius is selling. Their odds of dethroning the king with a small band of rebels are low, but Jonas sees an opportunity to strike when the royals will be distracted by a most merry event.

The interesting thing about Rebel Spring (and Falling Kingdoms, too), is that the plot is very well-done: good pacing, exciting, and some surprising twists. World-building is also done well, and we get a good sense of the lives of the people in their former factions, and what this unity under Gaius means to them. But while so much of this story works well, the characters are extremely weak, in comparison. Most of the males are unappealing, ranging from idiotic, surly, sullen, enraged, drunk, or flat-out evil. The couple of them that we’re supposed to like have personality flaws that are hard to ignore and make them pretty unlikable.

Prince Magnus, the heir to King Gaius, is still in love with his sister, Lucia. (“She was adopted!” we’re reminded. ”It’s still disgusting!” I reply), but it’s mercifully toned down a bit. Magnus seems to finally get the hint that his sister doesn’t love him like THAT, but he still bitches and moans and swings his sword around like an angry toddler.

Aron and Gaius are so terrible, we know it can only be a matter of time until they get their just deserts. In the meantime, Aron enjoys being drunk and obnoxious and even commits an attempted rape. (Incidentally, another rape between two main characters is strongly alluded to earlier in the story, but we later learn the male didn’t go through with it.) Gaius gets his fun by keeping his subjects terrified and doling out executions on a whim for the slightest offense.

The possible saving grace for the men is the visiting Prince Ashur, who has the potential to be very, very interesting, especially if he eventually gets entangled with a certain character. I’m hoping he has a more significant part in the next book.

The female characters fare better, but the personalities of Cleo and Lucia could be interchangeable. Both are very serious, strong-willed, and brave, yet occasionally naive. There is not a lot to tell them apart aside from Lucia’s wicked magic skills. In their first meeting, the two behaved like petty, catty, spoiled brats, but later on, we’re given reason to believe that they may be able to set their differences aside.

Because the characters are not well-developed, it’s not a surprise that the romances that spring up seem to come with very little build-up and even with some declarations of mutual hatred immediately beforehand. They also are not always as smart as they could be. One character had a very specific and critical task to accomplish, but senselessly decided to deliver a speech rather than merely take action. Unsurprisingly, the results were disastrous.

I think the best way to approach this series is the way you would with a film like Troy (Brad Pitt): Enjoy the action and the story, and overlook the bad acting.

Note – I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Dollhouse Asylum features one of the worst love triangles imaginable: a girl who is spineless, insipid, and subservient; a guy who is a murderous, raving lunatic; and another guy who is only notable because he is the lunatic's brother. If those were my only choices, I might hope for the disease called the Living Rot, to take me instead.

The events of The Dollhouse Asylum are so out there that I kept waiting for Cheyenne, the protagonist, to wake up and declare it all a mere nightmare. Instead, Cheyenne mostly sits back and waits for kisses from her absolutely insane and absolutely abominable boyfriend, Teo, while madness swirls around her.

The Living Rot is a (fantastically-named) disease that had supposedly been eradicated. When it returns, Teo brings Cheyenne and fourteen other people to a disease-free community called Elysian Fields. He tells them that he has a vaccine, but to obtain it, the residents must impersonate famous couples - some fictional, some real. If they portray these couple accurately, they will be rewarded with the vaccine. If not, they will be killed. I'll pause here while you try to absorb this, because I'm still not sure I understand...
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OK, I'm back. Of course, the first question is, why did these people tolerate Teo's madness? Even after he murdered several of them, the survivors still obeyed his orders. This wasn't a situation where they were born into a cult and indoctrinated into its bizarre ways. Instead, they were plucked out of their normal lives and told, "Make me believe you're Romeo and Juliet, or you die." It was never adequately explained how Teo was able to wield such power over them, and that was one of the biggest failings of the book.

The other major failing was the love triangle between Cheyenne, Teo, and Marcus, Teo's brother. I think Teo was supposed to be a sexy, dangerous type, a la The Darkling, but he was simply abhorrent. He reveals his madness very early on, but Cheyenne continues to swoon over him. She's convinced he's merely misguided, even after he murders several people and threatens her own life. Her stupidity made it impossible for me to have an ounce of sympathy for her. As for Teo, what exactly was it that drew him to Cheyenne? Perhaps he was attracted to her gullibility, but this is another aspect of the story that didn't make any sense. The third side of this twisted love triangle is Teo's brother, Marcus. He's as dim-witted as Cheyenne, but at least he wasn't trying to murder her; I suppose that's a point in his favor.

I'll leave you with this quote from Cheyenne: "Am I really one of those girls who needs to have a boy?" If you have to ask yourself that as you continue to happily make out with a guy after watching him murder people, the answer might be, "YES."

Note - I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

#readathon Once I got past the almost-incest stuff, I could enjoy this story. Review to come.

This review and others are posted at Inspiring Insomnia.

3.5 stars

I have been dying to read Just One Year ever since I read the last word of Just One Day. (You can see my review of that book here.) Just One Day gave such a realistic portrayal of love and heartbreak, and it took us through Allyson's (Lulu's) journey as she struggled to get over Willem. And then that last moment of Just One Day when he opened up the door... What an amazing cliffhanger! It left me so eager to know more - specifically, to know what was going through Willem's head.

Just One Year picks up with Willem in the hospital in Paris, disoriented from the attack he suffered in Just One Day. This was the event that separated him from Lulu and caused her to flee, believing he'd abandoned her. The timeline then follows Willem's story over the next (yes, indeed) year.

Forman did a lot of online chats leading up to the publication of Just One Year, and I participated in several. In one, she thanked early reviewers for not spoiling the book. This, of course, had me very intrigued. There must be something incredibly surprising, right? I didn't think it could be about the events that occurred after Willem left Lulu in Paris, since we already had some of those answers in Just One Day. After reading Just One Year, I can tell you that Willem's story over that year was...not very interesting. Certainly, it pales in comparison to Lulu's. The only big question mark seemed to be: What happened after Willem opened his door? Would we get answers to that, or would Just One Year end at that same moment? Even though I assume this is the spoiler Forman alluded to, I'm going to answer that question, because I assume for some readers, this could be a deal-breaker. So, if you DON'T want to know if we find out what happens after Willem opens the door, then skip down to the next paragraph NOW. (Don't worry - I won't tell you what, if anything, happens after that moment.) OK, here we go - we get nothing after that door opening. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised. We already know how Lulu feels about Willem, and JOY allows us to get inside Willem's head. But still, I couldn't help feeling some disappointment. Maybe it's because Lulu's feelings were so raw and real, and Willem seemed somewhat detached from everything. I felt that I needed to see just how he would react to Lulu in the flesh; I have no questions at all, however, about how Lulu must have felt.

Willem was so lively and flirtatious in JOD, but here, he was somber and morose. He almost seemed like a different character, and I just didn't buy that the personality changes were a result of Lulu. Back to JOD again: I completely bought that Lulu's depression was a direct result of Willem.

Despite my problems with this story, I still recommend it. But consider adjusting your expectations. Besides, if you loved JOD as much as I did, there is nothing I or anyone could say that could (or should) discourage you from wanting to know more about Willem.

Final note: If you have not seen the films Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004) starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, I highly encourage you to rent or buy them. They are absolutely magical. Here is the synopsis from Before Sunrise:

"A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one romantic evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together."

Sound familiar? There is a third film that came out this year called Before Midnight, catching up with the couple 20 years after that train ride that is supposed to be just as wonderful.