Review: Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: Fiendish
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Series: (Stand-alone)
Genre: Young-Adult Paranormal/Horror
Release Date: 14 August 2014

Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten.

Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.

When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged.

I'm not a huge fan of creepy, but I was in the mood for it. I wanted something that was going to give me that scared feeling, make me feel a tickle on the back of my neck in the dark, maybe make me wonder about the what ifs. Fiendish started off with such great promise, a girl locked in a cellar for ten years, tangled in roots, eyes sewed shut, and no one seems to remember her when she emerges into the light. I was so sure I'd made a good choice.

And that feeling stuck with me for quite a while. Brenna Yovanoff's prose is gorgeous, just so utterly beautiful to read and experience the story through. I highlighted so many examples of this while I was reading, and was greatly enjoying myself. But then, something happened. I can't even point to what. But I got so bored. The book was taking this meandering pace to get to anything, and nothing much was really happening. Scenes were occurring, but I couldn't figure out why I needed to see them.

There were even times when creepy things were happening, but because they didn't seem to serve a purpose, or were just thrown in for the characters to have something to do, I was bored during them as well.

Which is all incredibly unfortunate, because I was invested in the characters - four primary characters for the majority of the book - and I wanted to know more about their 'craft', more about their magic. Clementine is our main character, we experience the story through her eyes, and despite the fact of her being locked up in the cellar with no human contact for the last ten years, she's incredibly well-rounded and settled into herself, into her own personality. Then there's Fisher - the love interest - it's almost obligatory in a young-adult novel to have a love interest, and Fisher didn't bother me nearly as much as others have. Sure, he's an asshole occasionally, but Clementine calls him on it. And, usually, when it counts he stands up and does the right thing. Shiny, Clementine's cousin, was awesome. Her and Clementine's relationship and friendship was great. She's a bit of a cynic and balances out Clementine's optimism nicely. Then there's Rae, who I'd have loved to gotten to know better, but who fascinated all the same.

So, there you have four characters with so much potential that I could barely stand to pause in reading. About halfway through, though, it started to become clear that Fiendish was going to take me up to the edge of what I was hoping to see and never quite deliver.

The characters, and their gifts, never really got the time they needed; the story seemed better suited to a novella than a full-length novel; and the world seemed like it had a lot of thought put into it, but didn't seem to have a lot of time on the page.

All in all, though I enjoyed it while I was reading I can't help but feeling like Fiendish is just lacking.

Grade: C

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Review: Red Fox by Karina Halle

Title: Red Fox
Author: Red Fox
Series: Experiment in Terror, Book 2
Genre: Horror Paranormal
Release Date: 24 March 2012

Perry Palomino and Dex Foray trade in the stormy Oregon coast for the unforgiving deserts of New Mexico.

In the for­got­ten town of Red Fox, New Mex­ico, a Navajo cou­ple is tor­tured by things unseen and by motives unknown. Wild ani­mals slink through their house in the dark, a bar­rage of stones pound their roof nightly, and muti­lated sheep car­casses are turn­ing up on their prop­erty. Armed with a cam­era and just enough to go on, Perry and Dex travel to the des­o­late locale, hop­ing to film the super­nat­ural occur­rences and add cred­i­bil­ity to their flail­ing web­cast. Only their show has a lot more work­ing against them than just grow­ing pains. Tested by dubi­ous ranch hands, a ghost from Dex’s past, and shapeshift­ing decep­tion, the ama­teur ghost hunters must learn to trust each other in order to fight the most ancient of myths…or die trying.

I'm incredibly conflicted about this book, and this series as a whole so far. I liked Perry in the first book. I understood her. She's insecure and unsure of herself, but at the same time she's not going to let anything - including herself - hold her back. I could relate. In Darkhouse Perry was straight-forward, honest, no-nonsense, and pretty sarcastic. What she wasn't, overly, was too-stupid-to-live.

I can't say the same for Red Fox. Perry made one stupid decision after another in this book to the point where I was beginning to wonder how she survived to her current age, much less how she was going to survive to the end of the book. From taking a drink from a shady, suspected-of-nefarious-deeds stranger, to wandering in the deserted hills alone when you know there's freaking animals (and possibly people) out there with the intent to harm...and that's not even the worst of it.

I went from respecting Perry to wanting to smack the hell out of her. What the hell right does she have to judge people and assume they're all women beaters? She makes these snap decisions about people she knows nothing about, all because of chance encounters. She, and Dex, apparently have a serious aversion to calling the cops. Broken down car, empty, in the middle of the road? Eh. Just drive on by. People disappear, get attacked and nearly killed? Meh. No big. We'll just get out of dodge. Seriously get attacked, bleeding and drugged? Oh, it's okay. Epic trigger rant coming up:

I mean, it's not like you were almost fucking RAPED or anything? Nah, two guys have roofied you, or something, drug you outside, have your pants pulled down - you can't even fight back. Does anyone call the fucking cops? Hell no. Why do that? AND THEN, Dex takes her to the house they're staying at, UNDRESSES HER WHEN SHE'S STILL OUT OF IT, CLEANS HER UP IN THE BATH (I think), and puts her to bed. You know what her thought is about this when she can form a coherent thought? Maybe something along the lines of freaking out about being so vulnerable after nearly being raped? Nope. Wrong. That would make too much sense. She's fucking EMBARRASSED because Dex saw her naked. Embarrassed. Give me a fucking break. Not to mention, she's drugged and almost raped and it never even bothers her or is brought up again. Fuck me, I give up.

On top of all of that bullshit from Perry, there's a ton of inconsistent crap going on in this book. I, obviously, wasn't enjoying myself enough because my brain kept nit-picking at the little things. Pupils don't retract, for example. They constrict. If you're in and out of consciousness, it's unlikely you're going to remember a bit of nearly every step back to the house. Likely you wouldn't be able to piece them together in the right order or even understand what's really going on - I know, I've been there. Especially after a traumatic event. Then there's Perry, who is drugged, unable to stand on her own two feet or talk without slurring her words and suddenly, five minutes later, she can flat out run. Give me a fucking break.

My disbelief could not be suspended.

Dex is still Dex. I'm not sure what to make of him, or if I want to like him or hate him. I waffle back and forth between both. But I kind of like that about his character. What I don't like? Cheating. If you're interested in Perry, and it's more than obvious you are, fucking break up with your girlfriend. I swear to whatever gods there are that if you haven't broken up with her by the next book and this shit carries on, I'm going to flip the hell out. What I also don't like? Perry thinking Dex is the love of her life. Give me an effing break. Seriously? You've spent a grand total of maybe a week with him. And he's the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE? You have no credibility with me anymore.

I've ranted so much I'm not even sure I can talk about what's good in this book - and the mystery/horror/paranormal part (if I forgive the great big authorial hand I see pushing the characters into certain situations) is interesting and fun and I wanted more of the creep factor. But there wasn't enough.

And yet, I don't want to stop reading the series yet. I'll continue on to book 3. See where it leads. One of my friends said that Dead Sky Morning was the book that hooked her, another said ended up rage-quitting it. I wonder where I fall.

Grade: D

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Review: Darkhouse by Karina Halle

Title: Darkhouse
Author: Karina Halle
Series: Experiment in Terror, Book 1
Genre: Paranormal Horror
Release Date: 12 May 2011

There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty-something, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts.

Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems.

So many of my friends love this series. I finally got around to trying it, and while I'm not immediately enamoured of it I am intrigued enough to want to continue. Perry is a fantastic main character, and I can see the potential for the ghost story-lines. Plus I'm told that it gets better and better. Considering this is something I say about one of my favorite series...well, I'll definitely be continuing.

I think your enjoyment of this book is going to ride or die on whether you like Perry. Personally I loved her. From nearly the beginning I could relate to her, understand her, and empathize with her. Perry's always been a bit different. Her childhood held some aspects that I think her family would like her to never revisit; and her teen years were filled with self-hatred, drugs, and depression. Now she's stuck in a job she doesn't like, in an industry she's not sure she's even interested in. I really liked how no-nonsense Perry is. She's straight-forward, honest with herself, and somewhat sarcastic in her thoughts. Plus she can take care of herself; Perry doesn't need anyone else to save or protect her. Which is a good thing when she gets in deeper with a ghost story than she ever imagined.

And here's where Dex comes in. I'm, honestly, not sure what to make of him. There are moments when I glimpse someone that I want to know more, someone that I almost think I could like. Then he goes and does something that irritates me. When I wasn't fluctuating between liking and being irritated by him, I spent most of the book just feeling 'meh' about him. Regardless how I feel about him though, I do have to admit that he and Perry are a good team. I like how they work together, except for a few things that Dex does while they're ghost-hunting that really irked me.

Speaking of the ghost-hunting, I was a little disappointed in this aspect of the story-line. Yes, it was creepy as heck during most of Perry's encounters. There were things that happened to Perry that would have freaked me out had they happened to me. The resolution of it just felt so abrupt, and ... not really resolved. Yes, I know this is a 9-part series so it's probably supposed to feel that way, but I guess I was hoping for more. This entire book felt like the 'meet-cute' of Dex and Perry, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like this was a teaser. Something like 'Here's what you're going to get...what you might see more of...who these people might be.' Darkhouse has its creepy moments - some seriously freaky - and with one character I love and another I'm more than a bit curious about, I'll definitely be continuing on in the series.

Can I just say, also, how much I love that the cover fits the book so beautifully?

Grade: B-

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Review: Dead Man's Eye by Shaun Jeffrey

Title: Dead Man’s Eye
Author: Shaun Jeffrey
Series: Stand Alone Novella
Genre: Horror
Release Date: December 30, 2010

Joanna Raines has just undergone a corneal transplant in one eye to stop her from going blind. It’s a complete success, but as it begins to heal she starts seeing shadowy coronas surrounding certain people.

Terrified that something is going wrong and she’s never going to be able to see again, or worse – that she’s going crazy, Joanna searches for answers.

What she finds out is much more difficult to believe than a simple operating complication. The shadows surrounding people are proof that demons are amassing to take over the human population!

Now, she is the only one that stands in their way. A young woman with the ability to see what they really are. She just has to convince everyone else.

I was pulled along with Joanna, anxious to see her come to the understanding that there were demons walking among us and to see what she was going to do about it. Twists and turns are seamlessly spun throughout the tale and, while not entirely unexpected, offered another level of suspense.

But the thing that stood out for me most in this novella was the quality of the prose. It fully immersed me in the tale. Fast-paced, with a lot of action, it doesn’t let you go for the entire length of the book.

Dead Man’s Eye is a lively-paced, well-crafted, eminently enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing more from Mr. Jeffrey.



Grade: B-

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