[Audiobook Review] The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney

The Brokenhearted
Amelia Kahaney

October 8, 2013

Harperteen


Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

Anthem Fleet, talented ballerina and heir to the Fleet fortune, is closely guarded by her parents in their penthouse apartment. But when she goes to a dangerous party in the wrong part of town, she meets the handsome Gavin and is immediately drawn into his forbidden world. Then, in a tragic accident, Anthem falls to her death. She awakes in an underground lab, with a bionic heart ticking in her chest. As she negotiates her dangerous new life, she uncovers the sinister truth behind those she trusted the most.

Set in the ruined fictional landscape of Bedlam, a Gotham-like city, this tale of heartbreak and revenge is both gripping and cinematic—and is sure to sweep readers away.

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When I finished reading The Brokenhearted my thoughts were meh and I thought this would be better.  Don’t get me wrong The Brokenhearted isn’t a bad book but I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be.  The book is about a girl named Anthem who is rich.  She lives on the North side of town.  In a town so corrupt and divided the rich rule and the poor live in fear.  Think New York City meets any comic book you have read.  One night her friend and her sneak out to a party of on the South side and she meets a boy named Gavin and they fall in love.  Then one day something horrible happens and Gavin is kidnapped and held for ransom.  As Anthem is running back to North across the bridge she thinks she being chased and slips and falls the bridge only to wake up in secret underground to discover her heart has been replaced by a chimera heart.  Anthem discovers that now she can run faster, jump higher and even fight faster.  Then she goes on mission to stop at nothing to save Gavin only to watch him die.  Then the rest book is about her training to take her revenge on those that killed the only boy she loved.

This book was like any other superhero story.  As I was reading I kept thinking it reminded of Arrow or Batman were the rich kid is done wrong. They angst for a while then decide to train to fight to take down those that wronged them.  I just hoped The Brokenhearted would be more about taking down bad guys and less about an agnsty girl with broken heart.  My favorite line in the book is “The world doesn’t need one more broken hearted girl.”  I did like how she was able to run so fast and move like humming bird that could she could dodge bullets because that part was cool.  As far as the major plot twist that came along and was supposed to be a major turning point for Anthem, I had it figured it from the beginning.  So when Anthem is calling herself stupid and naïve so was I.  It made it hard to connect with Anthem because I thought she was stupid.  

I listened to the audiobook version and there would be times I would have to shut it off or roll my eyes because I was like come on really.  Like I said this book wasn’t horrible but it is just like every other rich kid turned superhero story out there only Anthem has a super heart.  There is angst, she can’t trust no one and of course the training montage.  I thought the part where Anthem grieved was too long and there times I almost but didn’t finish it.  Not like I don’t get she is grieving but by this point I have figured out the plot twist and I am thinking she just needs to get over it already.  The only thing rounded this book up to three for me was that by the end Anthem was kicking butt and taking names.  I am intrigued because I hope the next book will be more a girl out to change the world instead of angsty broken hearted girl.  I like the narrator Rebecca Gibel I have listened to her in other books and she does a good as always.   I am kind of hoping this book is like a shaking first season in the second book it will find its footing so for that reason I give The Brokenhearted three laser pistols.

 

 

 

[Review] Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer
Katie Alender 

September 24, 2013

Point

Review copy provided by publisher
via Netgalley for honest review

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

Heads will roll!

Paris, France: a city of fashion, chocolate croissants, and cute boys. Colette Iselin is thrilled be there for the first time, on her spring break class trip.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place around the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours the sights, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her status-obsessed friends won't believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they discover that the murder victims are all descendants of people who ultimately brought about Marie Antoinette's beheading. The queen's ghost has been awakened, and now she's wreaking her bloodthirsty revenge.

And Colette may just be one of those descendants . . . which means she might not make it out of this trip alive.

So I think I had really high expectations when I read the synopsis for Marie Antoinette Serial Killer.  This book in the, for me, ended up as nothing special.  It was an ok read that in end all it left me with was a really strong desire to visit Paris.  I liked the beautiful descriptions of the city but the story was bit boring. It took too long to get to the climactic ending that it felt rushed in the end.

The story is about a ghost out for revenge and she is killing the decedents of the people who betrayed her.  Colette is excited about her trip to Paris and is very excited to be going to Paris for the first time.  In Paris she finds out that her ancestor is one the people who betrayed Marie Antoinette and that now she has to fight for her life and the life of her friends.  Meanwhile, she is investigating, getting involved with cute boys and finding herself in Paris.  I liked the concept of the story it was very interesting but I don’t know it just wasn’t very spooky.  I hate to say this but if I am being honest it felt like one of those Mary Kate and Ashley travel movies but add in ghosts to make it a Halloween special.  Teenagers in a foreign country sightseeing, kissing, and finding themselves for me it was nothing new and I expected that it.  It was the concept of Marie Antoinette as a vengeful serial killing ghost that was supposed to be intriguing but it fell flat me.    The story kind of dragged in parts for me.   It felt more like a travel guide to Paris and the life and times of the Paris elite than a bone chilling ghost story.   I felt like it was easy to skim read to get to the more exciting parts.  I kind of had the mystery of motive figured out way before Collette ever got there.

It was not all bad and I didn’t feel like I wasted my time because I liked that Colette was able to change in the end.  I liked that the lesson in the book is not listening others opinion and going with your heart.  I liked that the lessons Colette learns is able to help her build better friendships and repair the friendships with her family.  She does learn that in the end it is not about popularity or the quantity of friends but the quality of friends.  It is for this reason that I have rounded my review of two point five to three laser pistols.  Maybe one day I hope to find myself in Paris as well.

[Review] Red Hill by Jamie McGuire

Red Hill
Jamie McGuire
October 1, 2013
 Atria Books

Copy provided for review by publisher

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N



 
 
 

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

What does the end of world, cleaning up zombies, and emotional baggage have in common?   It is the basic premise of the latest book I read.  Red Hill by Jamie Maguire for me was a pretty good read and I liked it well enough.  This book like most zombie movies, comic books and novels is not really about zombies but people surviving and trying to make the most of a bad situation.

Red Hill is about three people caught up in the middle of a zombie outbreak and trying to find their way to a safe place to hide out.  This safe place just happens to be a ranch out in the middle of now where called Red Hill.  The book is told from three points of view: Scarlett a mother separated from her children, Nathan a father just trying to save his little girl, and Miranda a confused college girl.  What do all these people have in common?  They all find their way to Red Hill and all their stories of how they made it to Red Hill are interwoven and they find that the world is not such a big place after all.

I liked Red Hill well enough it had everything I expect in a zombie survival story.  There was heart break, terror, and there was also the silver lining that makes it all seem like it's not so bad.  My heart went out Scarlett as she waited day after day for her daughters.  I cheered when she was able to find some happiness with man she didn't even know she needed.  My heart broke for Miranda because how do you fall with in love with one boy when the one that has always been there for you is lying in the next room.  This book is littered with emotional baggage and people trying to let it go so they can survive not only zombies but day to day to living without all our modern conveniences and easy distractions. I did like the message I took from the story is that you have to let go and do something or it will eat you up until you are like a zombie just going through the motions.  That sometimes you have to learn to only survive but live again.  I liked a quote in the book when Nathan says "Who would have thought the end world would be the best thing to happen to me." 

In the end I enjoyed Red Hill it was an entertaining zombie survival story.  Did it add anything new to the genre?  No, but I still recommend it to readers looking for a good story.  The tales of love were heart breaking and full of courage.   I thought she did a good job of showing how relationships change and reform in a world with no rules.  I give Red Hill three point five laser pistols and round up to four laser pistols because in the end I like the layer hope that ran through the story.   

 

 

[Giveaway] Trick and Treats Prizepack Giveaway

It's the beginning of October. We at Romancing the Laser Pistol want to giveaway a prize pack full of treats. ONE lucky winner will win a prizepack full of bookish treats. The giveaway includes:

1. Paperback copy: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole (Book one of the Arcana Chronicles)

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3. Signed Paperback copy: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Ressi

4. $10 giftcard to Amazon

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