Review: The Haunted by Jessica Verday

After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with—the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead—Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her perfume making, and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be her ticket to getting over Caspian once and for all.
 
But Abbey can never get over Caspian, and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side, for Caspian is a Shade and Abbey is his destiny. They are tied not only to each other but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow and to the famous legend that binds their fates—a legend with dark truths that they are only beginning to guess.
 
MP3 Book
Published August 12th 2010 by Blackstone Audio, Inc.
ISBN: 1441759573 (ISBN13: 9781441759573)
series: The Hollow #2
(Goodreads)

 

Review:

I was hesitant to listen to The Haunted, mostly because I was less than thrilled with The Hollow, book 1 in the series.
 
There was more intrigue in The Haunted, still very vague, still very immature and unfocused.  The mystery behind why Abbey can see and speak to and hear Caspian is a mystery to them all…and the reader.
 
The relationship between Abbey and Caspian is creepy and disturbing.  He is obsessed with her, jealous if she spends time with anyone one other than him.  Sounds like the beginnings of an abusive relationship to me.  Aren’t girls warned to avoid guys that act that way? 
 
Anyway, the story was a continuation of the previous book, basically from where it left off.  A true series.  Which annoys me in a way that I can’t quite describe with words since I won’t be finishing the series out.
 
There’s too many questions, not enough answers, and it’s very, very disturbing!
 

1 Tree: Creepy and disturbing, and not in the good way

 

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Review: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead, and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and who keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again—but also special.
 
Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her, one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.
 
MP3 Book
Published August 12th 2010 by Blackstone Audio, Inc. (first published August 21st 2009)
ISBN: 441752013 (ISBN13: 9781441752017)
series The Hollow #1
(Goodreads)

Review

This sounded creepy, and interesting, and scary.  But all I felt after finishing The Hollow was how deeply disappointed I was that it was what it was.  I knew this was a series going in.  And I hope that Verday didn’t make the decision to write The Hollow as an introduction to the series, that her publishers made that decision, because it’s evil, very very evil of her to do that.  And on top of being evil, it’s just boring. 

There were so many opportunities for something to happen, and nothing ever did.  The most that happened was that Abby dealt with the death of her friend, sort of, fell in love with an impossibly mysterious guy, and met some creepy old people who took care of the cemetery. 

Abby, as the main character, was horrible.  She was so mean to her parents, rude to her classmates, and really, basically, a *insert technical term for female dog here.*  I honestly couldn’t stand her.  Her parents may not have been portrayed as ideal, but they didn’t deserve the attitude she gave them—all. The. Time.  The only time she wasn’t a complete jerk to them was when they went out of their way to do something nice for her.

There are so many questions left unanswered, and so many things left unresolved, that I have to read book two.  Not necessarily because it’s so good or anything, but because I need to find out what happens next.

1 Tree: Left me with a hollow feeling, numb from disappointment.

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About the author

Jessica Verday is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hollow Trilogy, published by Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. She wrote the first draft of THE HOLLOW by hand, using thirteen spiral-bound notebooks and fifteen black pens. The first draft of THE HAUNTED took fifteen spiral-bound notebooks and twenty black pens. THE HIDDEN took too many notebooks and too many pens to count. Find out more at jessicaverday.com.

Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Audio CD
Published January 1st 2006 (first published November 1st 2005)
ISBN: 1428111239 (ISBN13: 9781428111233)
series: Uglies #2
(Goodreads)

 
Review
Asheley at Into the Hall of Books, this review is for you.
 
I read Uglies and was a little underwhelmed by it.  However, I promised Asheley, that I would try the rest of the series.
 
I’m glad I did.  All the negative things I said about Uglies weren’t resolved, but as a whole, Pretties was a much better experience than Uglies.
 
The storyline felt much more developed and mature.  I liked the mystery and intrigue, but also there was a lot of action.  Even though you could kinda guess what was going to happen (it is the second book in a triology), there was enough unknowns to keep me guessing.
 
The characters were much more developed and even though they were pretty-minded, you could see the growth and changes in them.  It was really neat to see the growth in Tally over the course of the book.  I’m not saying that all teenagers should buck the system, but to see her pursue her cause of fighting back against the city, of giving people a choice of pretty or ugly.
 
Y’all, this might not be a great book in the big scheme of literature, but it is a really good story!  You need to check out the Uglies series!
 

3 Trees: Pretty intriguing and interesting

 

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Giveaway: Nickolas & Company Episode 1 by Kevin McGill

Kevin McGill, author of the Nikolas & Company series offered to giveaway a SIGNED COPY of Episode 1!  You can see my review HERE.

Kevin launched a copy of N&C into space!  Check out the video:

Want to win a signed copy of N&C Episode 1? Yes, of course you do!  Leave a comment about the video below to enter!

Giveaway Details:

Entries will be accepted through June 4, 2012.  Winner will be chosen using random.org.  Please leave your email address in the comment using any variation of the following example: email[at]email[dot]com.  Chosen winner will have 48hours to respond to notification email before new winner is chosen.

Good luck, y’all!

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