Review for Everblue (Mer Tales #1) by Brenda Pandos

Everblue (Mer Tales #1)

By Brenda Pandos
Published March 22nd 2012 by Obsidian Mountain Publishing
Free Ebook
304 pages

"She wanted her life to change... he wanted his to stay the same.
Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them.
Ashlyn is about to discover what she'd thought to be true her whole life, wasn't, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever." ~ Goodreads

Review

Everblue had the potential  to be great with its own take on the mermaid world, but it fell short in quite a few ways.

Ashlyn, Ashlyn, Ashlyn. It was easy to relate with certain aspects of her personality, especially the timid side. However, as time went on I sadly came to a point where I didn't care what happened to her. (On a bit of a side note, I have no idea what the synopsis means by her "doing something drastic to find them", I don't remember her doing anything. She was a complete bystander.) Her initial crush on Fin was cute and her loyalty to Tatiana endearing. The biggest issue for me was the lack of relationship development . Not enough page time to get a deep connection or understanding of her friendships with these people. There is only one scene with Tatiana and Ash in the entire book. I couldn't get a feel for why they were friends - there wasn't even a childhood flashback. 

Same goes with the romantic relationship between Ash and Fin. In the first half they have one brief interaction. There were no real reasons given as to why Ash and Fin had a crush on each other other than the obvious physical attraction. Then, later on when things get a bit more interesting with their relationship it feels so forced. They may have known each other since childhood, but it totally felt like insta-love. On a positive note, it was refreshing to see two sets of parents in the picture! The character that I loved most was Ash's father because he was so understanding and caring. It was beautiful. 

The mer society was interesting and sufficiently developed. Aspects such as the "promising" were very loyal to mermaid lore and made Everblue stand out from the crowd. However, the first half of the book left me waiting for something - anything - to happen. Even after the pace picked up slightly and more substance was added to the plot, it became a chore to finish reading. That really saddens me to say. The dual POV's (Ash and Fin) were done well and it was great to see the difference between worlds.

I (don't know if I should) suggest Everblue to readers who like mermaid tales. It is important to mention that many, many people love it and I am in the minority. So, the choice lies with you. 

Excerpt

“Would I like this boy?"

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. "Yeah. I think so. He's nice."

"So I imagine you'll need a dress?"

"Yeah, probably."

"And I'll need a gun."

"Dad!”

Review for The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

The Water Wars
By Cameron Stracher
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Won from Brenna (Thanks!)
240 pages

"Welcome to a future where water is more precious than gold or oil-and worth killing forVera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations. Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that's impossible to forget."-Goodreads

The Water Wars is a compelling story that if it were to come true - be devastating to our planet! A very scary scenario to think about!

I would like to begin the review by saying that I hope to not offend anyone. I will aim to make this a helpful review - showing areas that I think people should know about.
Characters. I believe character building is fundamental to a story. Sadly, the characters were horrible. They had no personalities, no backgrounds, no realistic actions, and some were just comical. I can see some creativity with coming up with such characters but it was just lacking. I had no personal interest in them. The main character Vera, I have no idea who she is and I in no way at all connected with her. The only person that had an inclining of a personality was her brother Will - he was the most memorable character. The 'love interest' Kai, we don't even get to know anything about him! Nothing! Like zilch! Ugh, the romance was horrid - we have one encounter we read about and bang! they like each other. Overall, a very bland cast to play in this story.

The plot was packed. The MC's Vera and Will were jumping from action scene to action scene - the thing is, for me there was no action. My attention wasn't grabbed, I had to force myself to continue. The biggest thing for me was the contradicting - like to open a hatch they author says to turn clockwise and Will turns it to the left and it opens! It may be a small thing but it makes it very hard to visualize the world. The world building I have to commend the author for their planning out (on the governmental aspect) but again something was lacking.... I had no image of what this future world was like.

Here is how I would sum up the book (personally): it was like I was watching what was happening, but didn't experience it and frankly didn't care what happened - a deadly combo for a reader. I don't know if I would recommend it, but there were some who enjoyed it (a lot) more than I did. So, if you are interested in dystopian - give it a try. I don't want to be a total heartless reviewer - it wasn't that bad but it wasn't great either. It just was too boring for me.

Excerpt:

We lived then in a time of drought and war. The great empires had fallen and been divided. The land was parched and starved for moisture, and the men who lived on it fought for every drop. Outside, the wind howled like something wounded. Inside, our skin flaked, and our eyes stung and burned. Our tongues were like thick snakes asleep in dark graves.
That's why I'll never forget the first time I saw Kai.

Review for Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings

Ugly To Start With
By John Michael Cummings
Published by Vandalia Press
Review Copy from Author (Thanks!)
168 pages

"Jason Stevens is growing up in picturesque, historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s. Back when the roads are smaller, the cars slower, the people more colorful, and Washington, D.C. is way across the mountains—a winding sixty-five miles away.

Jason dreams of going to art school in the city, but he must first survive his teenage years. He witnesses a street artist from Italy charm his mother from the backseat of the family car. He stands up to an abusive husband—and then feels sorry for the jerk. He puts up with his father’s hard-skulled backwoods ways, his grandfather’s showy younger wife, and the fist-throwing schoolmates and eccentric mountain characters that make up Harpers Ferry—all topped off by a basement art project with a girl from the poor side of town."-Goodreads

A very raw, colorful, intense book. Definitely not my normal read and one that I wouldn't find myself quite ready to read again. I give props to the author for tackling some hard-core issues in this book!

Throughout this short set of 13 stories I just couldn't quite get a feeling of who Jason was - no doubt at the stage in life he's at he doesn't know but I just didn't get a feel of him, I was confused and disconnected. The only person I liked in this book was his mother. She was what a mother should be; protective and caring - the only ray of sunshine in this book. The variety of personalities in this 'story' is quite a range, I'm surprised at how each individual was composed of different qualities. The characters and plot were very layered and I think would create quite the discussion!

I was uncomfortable with some of the situations and subjects; in particular the chapter regarding Carter. Truthfully I had to skip it and I don't think I could have read that bit. It was just too ... mature, disturbing? There was an excessive use of cursing in here that made me squirm too, I mastered the ability to fly over the words I didn't want to process. The chapters, were like I said before, separate accounts in different points in Jason's life and I couldn't follow too well.

All that being said, I can see that the author has a deep understanding of events in the world. He has this insight and touches on many different subjects; abuse, prejudice, harassment, and others. It shows skill to tackle these. There were a couple accounts that interested me too.

Overall,  I just don't think this was the book for me - or my age group. I would say if you are thinking about this book, look into different reviews and then decide for yourself if you want to read it. Apparently most others (on Goodreads) think this was a great book but its definitely for older audiences. Mr. Cummings, great job - it just wasn't for me!

Excerpt:

On our way back from town, Mom and I spotted Ernesto, the new artist in Harpers Ferry, walking along the highway. We shot past, and I begged her to stop. She looked at me as if for the life of her she couldn't understand me. Then, she took her foot off the gas and began signaling over.
"I don't know about this, Jason," she said.
I stuck my head out the window and peered back down the highway. Ernesto was trying to catch up, but the large sheets of paper he was carrying in the grip of one hand bent in the wind whenever he hurried. I told Mom to back the car up, but she said that as too dangerous to do on the shoulder.
He reached us at last.