The Lost Saint
Bree Despain
ARC provided for review by publisher

The Superficial: Gorgeous. Love the pop of that electric blue on a back background. I also like how the tulle wraps around the spine and appears on the back cover. The title font is beautiful, yet still legible. The placement of the legs is very pretty as well.

I also want to point out that we don’t see the model’s toes head-on…which made me laugh. I remember several reviewers commenting on (what I assume is) the same model’s square-shaped toes on the Dark Divine cover. I wonder if the designers wanted to avoid that this time around. :)

The Short of It: Pretty good.

The Long of It:

Overall, I liked The Lost Saint and feel that it improves on its predecessor. The story picks up nicely and Despain doesn’t waste much time getting readers up-to-date on the past novel’s events. We are quickly introduced to the newly-wolfenized Grace, who is struggling to use her newfound powers; and this will be what the core of the novel revolves around. Grace is being torn in two different directions: boyfriend Daniel says not to use her powers, as use will only allow the beast within to take control; newcomer Talbot, on the other hand, encourages Grace to use her gift to become a real-life crime-busting heroine. While Saint does fall back on a pretty big second-book trope (now that the couple is together and happy, tension is created when infedelity is suspected and the girl must find solace in another), this core concept of what each party stands for takes the story a little deeper.

Another interesting aspect of the book is seeing the Divine family deal with their fall from grace (pardon the pun). The way the family transforms from “holy do-gooders” to “potentially crazy band of liars” in the eyes of the community rings true and adds and extra layer of strife to the story.

I also liked how Despain dealt with betrayal in the novel. It is a common scene in many stories: protagonist is deeply betrayed by a close friend/family member/significant other, but in the end, the betrayer has a change of heart and helps the protag in a time of need. [MINOR HINT TO A SPOILER] I give props to Despain for avoiding this cliché and having a bad character stay bad (…at least, with the most obvious of character).

Despite the positives, The Lost Saint did have a few down points. I mention tropes and clichés a few times in this post for a reason: some parts of Saint just feel a little too familiar.  Several times while reading I think “Oh, that’s a lot like ___.” I know nothing under the sun is new, but reading several familiar storylines in a row can take a reader out of a book (”Werewolves named Grace and Ulrich…why does that sound familiar?”). Relying less on tropes and usual YA plotlines would really improve the Dark Divine series as a whole, in my opinion.

Oh, and a note to future authors: the ironic “girl involved with/who is a werewolf going to a party as Little Red Riding Hood” scene is played out. I get why you use it–who doesn’t love some irony? But it’s been done a lot lately (the movie Trick ‘r Treat, Once in a Full Moon, The Lost Saint) and I think we need to move on for a few years. May I suggest an evil stepsister dressed as Cinderella? Or perhaps a werepea dressed as a princess?

No? Oh.

Score: 7/10. If you liked the first book, you should love this one.

So, want to read The Lost Saint for yourself? Love nail polish? Well then you, my friend, are in luck. Stay tuned for the GIVEAWAY!

Once in a Full Moon
Ellen Schreiber
eBook provided by publisher via NetGalley

The Superficial: The cover is your typical YA supernatural fare: attractive, long-haried, pouty-lipped, light-eyed girl on a dark background. The font looks good and I like the pop of hot pink on the black background. Also, you can never go wrong with a few shadowy, bare trees, in my opinion.

The Short of It:     No.  Just no.

The Long of It: I always try to showcase both the good and the bad of a novel when I’m reviewing. Unfortunately, when it comes to Once in a Full Moon, I can not think of anything genuinely good to comment on. The cover is decent? I did laugh often while reading the novel, but I wouldn’t call that a good thing.

At first I was willing to chalk up Schreiber’s writing style to targeting a younger genre; the short, plain sentences and unexplainable jumps in narrative reminded me of something aimed at younger children.  Perhaps, I thought, this is supposed to be more of a children’s/middle grade reading level.  However, the subject matter and storyline is obviously geared toward high-school aged young adults and up. So, unfortunately, it looks like this is just Schreiber’s normal writing style.

The story is lackluster as well. Celeste, the protagonist, hangs out with “the sixsome,” a group of three couples that, at best, can be described as “worthless” and, at worst, as “vile, cliché paper dolls.” Celeste’s boyfriend is a jerk who even she doesn’t  particularly like. She only stays with him to keep her harpy friends happy, and because he is “handsome and popular.” In fact, almost every character in this novel is described according to their popularity. Celeste rebels by secretly (as in, hiding-in-a-stairwell-just-to-talk secretly)  interacting with a tragically handsome boy who lives on the Bad Side of town and is mocked by her friends. Of course, Celeste is rewarded for this martyrdom halfway through the novel when Brandon, her super-hot-but-totally-not-popular crush, reveals that his family owns a large chunk of the city and that he was actually way popular at his old school. OF COURSE!

I believe the great thespian Christian Bale said it best.

In addition, nothing much happens in the story besides longing glances and fast growing hair. Did you know that werewolves are simply men with goatees and long hair?

Pictured: Werewolves.

I originally typed up a longer review listing a  few examples of things I found unfortunate about this book, but I ended up deleting it. Why? Because I felt like I was beating a poor, dying horse. I’ll just leave my review simple: No.

Opening Lines: It began underneath the haunting glow of a full moon. I was deep within the woods with my boyfriend, Nash, my best friends, Ivy and Abby, and their boyfriends, Jake and Dylan, all of us huddled around a campfire and telling ghost stories. It was unusual for us to venture off into nature, as we spent most of our time in the safety of suburbia.

Score: 2/10

Snowball just leads elves on, elves and Santas.

He is playing a dangerous game.

- Holidays on Ice (1997) by David Sedaris

_______

Book Trailer for The Lost Saint by Bree Despain.

Contains spoilers for The Dark Divine.

Since the holliday season is breathing down our necks, let us partake in a little consumer whorism, shall we?

I love Etsy. I’m all about supporting products that have a face behind them. I can order a piece of art directly from the artist and have a little convo on the side.

Most of all, I love the variety. Want a girlcrush zombie print? Get it. Craving childhood’s simple pleasures? Whip these out. Wishing you could take a magical tour through a volatile land of volcanoes and robotic dinosaurs whilst riding on the arching back of your centaur boyfriend?  I’m not here to judge; Rock on.

I have nothing but bombastic respect for a place that can bring me comfy gloves, personalized wall art, earrings made out of spoons, and straight up crazy shit all in the same place. So that’s why Etsy is my Favorite Thing this Friday. Now please excuse me while I blow my money on zombie prints.

*Note: I am in no way affiliated with Etsy or any of its sellers. I just like buying stuff, yo.

Hooray!

Just as a reminder, here are the daily themed posts:

Trailer Tuesdays [upcoming movie and book trailers that having me salivating]
Want It Wednesdays [books that I am eagerly anticipating]
Favorite Things Friday [random things that make me happy, along with a favorite book quote]
Soundtrack Saturday [music to listen to while reading, author playlists, and more]
Second-Chance Sunday [books that I have abandoned for one reason or another...should I give them another shot?]

plus the regular Reviews, RetroGrade (reviews of non-new releases), Lists, News, and more.

To check it out, just follow the jump!

(Warning: The opening chapter will be spoilerish for those who haven’t finished Shiver)

The Superficial: Gorgeous cover. The blue, bare trees set the mood of the novel while being eye catching. The simplicity of the monochrome scheme is refreshing and beautiful and really makes the blood droplet of the “i” pop. I also love how subtle the wolf in the trees is; I didn’t even notice it the first time I picked up the book.

The Short of It:     LOVE IT.

The Long of It: Normally, books focusing solely on romance don’t quite ring my bell. Romance as the icing on a zombie-hunting cake? Yes. Just babyIloveyou romance? Meh… Or so I thought. Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver transcends the teen-romance genre to become something more personal. The story revolves around Grace and her life-long fascination with the yellow-eyed wolf that roams the woods behind her house every winter. Her obsession gets a little creepier once she starts seeing a local boy with strikingly similar eyes to “her wolf.” The awkward comfort between Grace and Sam (her wolf-boy) set the tone of the novel, somehow making the impossible seem familiar. The real power of the novel, however, comes from Stiefvater’s amazing writing. The author makes you feel the chill of the woods and the tension in the air without resorting to purple prose or cliche page-fillers. She takes a old theme, werewolves, and adds new levels of meaning while still keeping the time-tested core of mythos. The result is a novel that creates a world that feels so familiar, yet exciting at the same time.  Stiefvater also excels at creating characters that seem levelheaded and realistic, not just creatures who fall in love and out of sanity; they instantly become entranced with one another, but the awkward tension of their strange situation is palpable. I am not calling Shiver a perfect novel, as Grace’s obsessive love over a wolf crosses the border of Cute into the land Creepy, but, while I was reading it, it was the perfect novel for me.

Opening Lines: I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves. The were licking me, biting me, worrying at my body, pressing in. Their huddled bodies blocked what little heat the sun offered. …I could have screamed, but I didn’t.

Score: 10/10. Buy it now.