The Commodore's Daughter by Jamie Brazil

Title: The Commodore's Daughter
Author: Jamie Brazil
Pages: 171 pages {guesstimate}
Publisher:Windtree Press
My rating: 3.5 stars
Goodreads rating: 3.29 stars
Published: June 23, 2013
Source: eBook/NetGalley

Description:

Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Perry dreams of traveling the world, a dream that will never happen now that she's promised to a man twice her age. But what can she do? Run away. To Japan, where her survival is uncertain. Learning the ways of her new world, and the code of the Samurai, she uncovers a plot to ambush the American sailors. Now she must risk her own life in order to save her Commodore father.


This was an interesting read, and not quite what I was expecting.  It was very well written, and I absolutely love historical fiction, so when I saw this on NetGalley I knew I needed to see if I could read a copy.  The description doesn't really go into it a lot, and I feel like it might sell the story short a bit.  That being said, here's what I thought of it.

Jennifer {Jen-ni, as her Japanese friends end up calling her} is raised in a well-to-do family in the eastern Americas and is friends with a somewhat younger {but as well-known as ever} Susan B Anthony.  The book starts out with Jenny at home with her family, but the adventure begins when she flees a farewell ball and the man her father has promised her to.  Her friend Susan helps her escape, and Jenny stows away on her father's ship for the night, planning on meeting one of Susan's friends to help her escape north and start on her own.  She sleeps through a lot, and ends up already out to see by the time she wakes up in a highly unused closet in her father's cabins on his ship.

A decent portion of the book describes life for Jenny in the ship's closet, which was hard and nearly had her starving to death.  She survived and made it to Japan only to have to jump ship and swim to shore in a place where foreigners are executed on sight.  A well-to-do Japanese family finds her and captures her, only to have something happen {I won't say what... because that's a spoiler}, and both Jenny and the daughter of said Japanese family {Keiko} on the run from ninja.

Jenny and Keiko, along with a sensei, end up disguising Jenny enough that she blends in {using things to die her skin and hair}, and they all travel to a mountain village, where Jenny and Keiko end up assimilating.  From there, they must find a way to reunite Jenny with her father and save all of Japan.


I did enjoy this book, although, honestly, it took me quite a while to read for a book that has only about 170 pages.  It felt somewhat juvenile, and I was getting a little frustrated with the author not interpreting the things Keiko was saying in Japanese {although, it did help me get into Jenny's character a bit, because I was frustrated right alongside her}.  *side note: when Jenny did end up learning some Japanese, the author either just had it written in English in the book or would have a translation right after the statement.*  The book was very well written and would probably be more enjoyable for someone younger {13 or 14 year old me would have loved this}.


*I was given a copy of this from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not paid or compensated for said review.*

The Mephisto Mark by Trinity Faegen

Title: The Mephisto Mark
Author: Trinity Faegen
Pages: 200
Publisher: Pink Publishing LLC
My rating: 5 stars {would be 6 if I could give it that!}
Goodreads rating: 4.75 stars
Published: September 24, 2013


Description:


Orphaned at six and sent to live with abusive relatives in Bucharest, Mariah learned early in life to box up violent, agonizing memories and put them in permanent mental storage. Now almost nineteen, she has a paying job, a tiny apartment, and a plan to attend university. She loves her independence and is steadily overcoming her past, but when an enigmatic stranger walks into the pub where she works and the trajectory of her life changes yet again, she begins to wonder if she’ll run out of mental shelf space.

The only females unafraid of the Mephisto brothers are the extremely rare Anabo, born without Original Sin. Over one hundred years ago, Phoenix was first to find one, but he made a fatal mistake and she was murdered by his oldest brother and enemy, Eryx. Phoenix soldiered through the next century wrapped up in grief and guilt, his only outlet planning takedowns of those who pledged their souls to Eryx. When one of his brothers brings Mariah to Mephisto Mountain, he’s torn between his instinctive, powerful need to pursue her, and his certainty that he can never have her.

Drawn into the world of the Mephisto, Mariah sees the pain and misery Eryx unleashes on humanity, and the boxes in her mind begin to fly open, one by one. All that keeps her from slipping off the edge is her unlikely, sexually charged friendship with Phoenix. He’s incredibly screwed up; she’s completely broken. It would take a miracle for them to find happiness. Then Eryx brings the war for Hell to a whole new level, forcing Mariah and Phoenix to make a choice that will bind them together for all eternity, or rip them apart forever.


You guys, The Mephisto Mark was beyond amazing.  I've thoroughly enjoyed each one of the Mephisto books so far, and they seriously just keep getting better.  I've loved Trinity Faegen's writing style and the whole Mephisto world she's created.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't freak out and fangirl a little when I was approved for the eBook on NetGalley.  Guys, if you haven't read the first two, you totally should!  But you don't have to read the other books to enjoy this one {they're just really that good and you're going to want more after reading one}.

If you haven't read any of the Mephisto Covenant series, let me fill you in a bit: its about seven brothers who are the sons of Mephistopheles {Lucifer's right hand man, "in charge of taking souls of the damned to Hell" [description from Trinity's website]} and Elektra {an Anabo, descendent of Eve's daughter Aurora, born without Original Sin}.  Out of the seven brothers, one no longer has any of his mother's light, and that's the oldest, Eryx, who is trying to take over Hell from Lucifer by having people pledge themselves to him and sell him their souls.  The other six brothers are fighting Eryx, taking those who have pledged their souls to him to a place called Hell on Earth so Eryx can't absorb their souls when they die {each soul he absorbs makes him stronger}.  A great place for you, my dear reader friends, to catch up on all of the background of the Mephisto, you should check out Mephisto - In The Beginning on Trinity/Stephanie's website.  Much better descriptions, and I won't spend this whole review recapping the brothers' past.  Or you could take a little more time and read the books *winks*.

On to the actual book review, shall we?

I loved the idea of Mariah and Phoenix and what they would have to break through just to be friends when I read her introduction in The Mephisto Kiss.  Mariah is, as Kyros tried to describe her to Phoenix, "broken" - she's a survivor of multiple kinds of abuse received at the hands of her mother's sister and that sister's husband, since her parents died when she was six years old and until her uncle dies when she's fourteen years old.  But she is exactly that, a survivor and not a victim.  She is pretty jaded by what happened to her when she was younger, but she is also very determined to make the best of what she's been given, until Kyros takes her back to Mephisto mountain in hopes of her becoming one of the Lumina*.  Despite what she went through as a child and young person, Kyros senses and incredible good in her.  But because of what she went through, the light that Mephisto and other Anabo can see and identify her as Anabo is all but gone.  *Side note: the author did a great job with her research on physical and sexual abuse survivors, and, while it was heartbreaking to read about, it was also awesome to see how much Mariah has done to overcome it.*

Mariah is strong, but at the same time delicate because of what she went through.  Phoenix is broken because of what happened in his past, losing his last Anabo, watching his older, soulless brother Eryx kill her.  And because of that {and so, so much more}, he is the last of the brothers who should be given another Anabo {and most of them remind him}.  The first time he is in the same room with Mariah, he smells heather and hates her for it.  And all Mariah knows it there is another man, walking in her life, and hating her for apparently no reason.  There is so much tension between the two, you could cut it with a knife.

Guys, there are so many twists in this book, and so many things that completely BLEW MY MIND {yes, that totally deserves to be in caps}.  I thought I knew what to expect of this story because of reading the first two, but I had no idea what was coming.  Some were good, some were bad, some were heartbreaking, and some made me want to have a joyous talk with anyone and everyone who has read this book.  Its amazing, hands down.  I've actually read through it twice now {which is an amazing feat with an almost mobile baby and working}, and enjoyed it even more the second time around.  Each chapter goes back and for between Mariah's POV and Phoenix's POV, which I'm usually not a huge fan of.  But it worked with The Mephisto Mark so incredibly well.  So much of the mind blowing facts and revelations happen inside one of their heads, if it were only from one point of view all of us readers wouldn't get the whole story.  And what a story...

Also, we find out what brother's story is next... can I say that I'm really looking forward to reading his?  Trinity, can I be pre-approved for an early read on that one too?  Please?



*terms slightly confusing?  Check out the Mephisto Lexicon. 

One Moment by Kristina McBride

Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Pages: 272
Publisher: EgmontUSA
My rating: 3.5 stars
Goodreads rating: 3.85 stars
Published: June 26, 2012
{Received an eGalley from NetGalley for review}

Description:

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

I wanted to love this book so much.  Sometime I feel like I need to because its something the publisher/author/whomever has given me, and I should like it.  Not saying I didn't like this book.  I did.  But, after sitting here and mulling it over, letting it sit in my mind for a bit {I haven't been able to even be on a computer that much in the last week, much less write a review}, and figure out what kind of aftertaste it left in my mouth, I'm still torn.  Kristina McBride is a wonderful author, and this book is no exception.  I think I would have given it 4.5 stars if it weren't for 1) predictability and 2) excessive teenage drinking.  Even with the predictability, it would have been a good 4 stars, because the book itself was really good.

One Moment was so interesting, and it really hooked me in.  I'm glad I got it for review, because I think I might not have read it otherwise {especially getting halfway into it and seeing so much teenage drinking that's being depicted as fun and safe}.  I'll get into my huge mammoth of a dislike later, because I first want to tell you why I like this book.  McBride did not make her characters have an adult-like attitude that you see in a lot of books written for the YA crowd from that of an adult author.  Maggie was very much a young junior in high school, struggling with something that I don't think any kid should have to go through: the loss of a friend.  {Heck, if I had my way, they wouldn't have to go through the loss of anyone, much less a close friend.}  Maggie and Joey were friends for years before they started dating, so she didn't just loose a romantic boyfriend, she lost one of her best friends.

This book takes some obvious twists and turns {they might not be too obvious right off the bat, but within 30 pages, you'll be going "oh, right"}, and while I was expecting some of them, it did take a little bit to get to them being obvious to Maggie.  That might sound bad, but that was actually really good in the case of this book.  There was enough drama {the good, bookish kind, not the OMG teenage kind} without having all these different things being thrown in on top of that at the beginning.  She's spaced out the various reveals really well, keeping me wondering almost until the very end.  And, despite the fact that the book starts out and revolves around something as sad and tragic as sudden teenage death, it isn't too depressing {trust me, I can get really depressed if I'm reading a book that is}.  I would suggest picking it up when it comes out, but I would also suggest waiting to get your hands on a copy from your local library.  And here's why...


There was a lot of teenage drinking in this.  I am not an advocate of that, especially here, in a country where it is illegal.  If the author would have written about them being high all the time, there would be a giant mess of controversy because of that.  But since its drinking, something the character would legally be able to do in a few short years, its not that big of a deal.  And since no one got "hurt" during the partying, what's the big deal, right?  A lot.  This is a YA book, which means its targeted audience are the kids who are roughly the same age as those in the story.  And every time drinking is mentioned, our main character Maggie is having a lot of fun.  She might regret something about it, but its not something that happened due to excessive drinking.  Teenage drinking is a huge problem in the United States {just check out the stats from the CDC}, and I feel like this was underplayed and slightly glamorized, which makes me sad.  And the adults didn't seem to care about the fact that their kids were drinking.  This is an incredibly touchy subject, and I just feel like it wasn't written about in a very good manner.  I don't want to sound like I'm really judging the book on this and this alone, because I'm not.  I really did enjoy the book, minus this one problem.  But enough of my tirade on this...


Overall, the book was good.  Again, I have a huge problem with how the underage drinking was written into this and how little consequences {if any} there were in the book because of it.  If it doesn't bother you to read about teenage drinking, then you would probably have no problems with this book.  And I wouldn't judge you for it.

In My Mailbox {6} + news!!

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  Its a great way to show what you won/bought/borrowed each week {or so}.  I might write one each week, but most likely every couple/few weeks... you'll just have to come and check it out!

This week my physical mailbox was sad and lonely {on the upside: no bills!}, although I did have at least one awesome surprise: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis finally came from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for review.  Guys, this is the first physical book I've received from a publisher to review!  Yes, it was solicited {via Twitter, in an "I really want to read that!" tweet, which was responded by a direct message saying "we'll send you one!"  I think I almost died of excitement!}.

I also received One Moment by Kristina McBride from NetGalley.  I saw this on a few people's WoW posts this week, then found it on NetGalley, requested, and was approved!

I  picked up Insatiable by Meg Cabot from my local B&N from their bargain section.  Now, in all honesty, I thought I was grabbing Abandon, which has great reviews/rating on Goodreads.  I obviously don't know my Meg Cabot books seeing as I got those two confused.  But I actually picked up two copies of this because I want to add one to my blogiversary giveaway pile...

Wait... what?

Yep.  I've had this blog for almost three years now!  While I haven't been blogging on here consistently for those three years, I did want to celebrate it.  Plus, my birthday is a little over a month after that.  So, what I've decided to do is *deep breath* host a giveaway!  Now, there are some stipulations.  Like, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to host a giveaway for 15 people.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the fact that you all are subscribing to my blog, reading and commenting, but I want it to be a little more fun.  When you have a one in 15 chance of winning {which is more like maybe one in 13 at most, since some of those who subscribed did it years ago and won't enter}, its not that thrilling.  So, the stipulation is this: I will put the giveaway up on my blog between June 2nd and July 13th {my blogiversary and my birthday} if my blog reaches 50 followers.  Yep. 50.  And I'm thinking probably 4 book and some nice swag.  Or possibly even a book of your choice.  Let me know what kind of giveaway you would prefer. {Remember - I don't really get ARCs yet, so I don't have any books that have yet to be released.  It would have to be something that is out now.}

Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

Title: Tomorrow Land
Author: Mari Mancusi
Pages: 281
Publisher: NLA Digital
My rating: 3.2 stars
Goodreads rating: 3.69 stars
Published: March 8, 2012

I requested this title on NetGalley and was approved.  The author and publisher are not getting any favoritism from giving me the eBook to read.  My review is honest.

Description:

Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he's the only thing on her mind.

All Chris "Chase" Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed--breaking his heart without ever telling him why.

Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones to a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk...and feed. As they begin their pilgramage to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost--all while attempting to save what's left of the human race?

I think I might have a love-hate relationship with this book. I picked it up almost as soon as I was done with Dearly, Departed, and it was so much different... 

Peyton is a kick-butt part cyborg 19-year-old girl after her four years in the fallout shelter/time capsule her father put her in when the apocalypse came.  It wasn't too sudden - there were signs all around them, and it had basically already come in the form of "zombies" somewhere around a few weeks.  {Disclosure - the reason why I use the quotation marks with the word zombies is, well... read it and you'll find out.}  Peyton is a bit of a wallflower, only rising in popularity at school because she's dating one of the jocks.  With each chapter going back and forth between the years 2030 and 2034, you get to see more of what she's really like in the future chapters, and what she would like to be in the past chapters.  Plus, its nice to see how the person she was shapes the person she is.  You find out what happens in the past to make her part cyborg, which is kind of cool. 

Chris is a typical nerd.  Chase seems to be a typical "non-leader leader" in the apocalypse.  Yes, they are the same person.  But they seem SO different in the past chapters v. the future chapters.  Chris is just this sweet little stalker boy with a major crush on Peyton, who really doesn't like him.  At all.  Chase is the second-in-command of the rag-tag group of survivors, and apparently gets gorgeous.  An apocalypse can do that to a guy *winks*. 

The book was pretty entertaining, but there were a few things that kind of drove me nuts.  I don't want to give anything away, so I'm not going to say what it was.  But lets just say I don't think something like that would cause someone to almost bleed to death.  I honestly think that one incident's impossibility factor was one thing that made me rate it lower.  That, and I feel like I needed to read Neuromancer by William Gibson.  But the twists and turns the author puts out there are pretty good, and, for the most part, realistic.  It was worth the time reading it.