Reviews written by Renae M

I’ve never been a big reader of horror, simply because I don’t get scared very easily. Almost every horror novel I’ve ever read has been a huge yawn. White Crow is probably the first “scary book” I’ve read that actually scared me. Real, oh-my-god-help scared. That was a first, definitely....

Before I started The Archived, I had fairly massive expectations. This is probably the most unique dystopian novel I’ve seen pitched in a while (in my opinion this book isn’t dystopian at all, though). Shelving the ghosts of the dead so their lives can be recorded and remembered is crazy,...

This book does not sugarcoat its messages, nor does Erin Saldin attempt to make the reader feel good about herself. This isn’t a happy book; you don’t want to cuddle it and if you do end up liking the characters, you probably don’t want to hug them. The Girls of...

Literary fiction for the young adult audience is something of a rare beast. It can be found, as evidenced in the work of authors like Markus Zusak and Melina Marchetta, but I feel like a lot of YA novels fall either in the middle ground or fall firmly under the...

A friend of mine read this for a project in school, then I watched the Lifetime film when it came out and decided to read the book. What I Liked: Rodriguez’s writing was simple and to the point, and I liked how it seemed as if she...

When a book—any book, no matter how justified—is labeled as being similar to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it comes with many, many expectations attached. Even if the reader is one of the few who hasn’t read anything by Stieg Larrsson, they will be expecting good things just based...

A Million Suns doesn’t open with the attention-grabbing bang that Across the Universe did, so for the first few chapters I was somewhat nervous about this book. I’d heard that it was better than the first, so I was wondering how Revis was going to turn things on. ...

Across the Universe opens with a very detailed and vivid scene where one of the book’s two point-of-view characters, Amy, watches her parents go into cryo-sleep and then undergoes the painful procedure herself. I’ve always been equally disgusted and fascinated by medical stuff, so I don’t think there could have...

I love Amy Reed. She has the unique and beautiful ability to create likable characters and put them in emotional, heartbreaking situations. This is an author that deals with raw emotion and stark realism, and the end result is something worthwhile. It took me a little while...

I stumbled across this book on B&N while I was spending my Christmas cash. After reading the little excpert they had up, I knew right away that I had to read this book. So worth my money. Initially what drew me into this was the writing. Reed’s...

What I Liked: This is one of those super emotional books that has you jumping up and pacing because you’re too mad/anxious to continue. For the first half of the novel, I was pretty much gnawing my fingers, hoping things would go the way I wanted them to. ...

Though it’s a very short novel, By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead packs a punch. This is an internally-powered novel, dealing mostly with Daelyn’s gradual development from suicidal to otherwise. Readers who like fast-paced, plot-intensive books probably won’t like this book quite as much, though I personally...

Important point: Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel, and it’s one of my favorite novels ever. Period, dot, end of story. Any attempt to “retell” that novel will rub me the wrong way, since it can only ever be a knock-off (read: desecration) of Persuasion. Now, just to be...

One of the few (in my estimation) downsides to a standalone novel is the way it limits the author as far as scope and subplots are concerned. Revived by Cat Patrick is a novel that, in spite of its promise, attempts too much in too little space. I wouldn’t say...

Hudson Avery is dealing with…things. Things like her parents’ divorce, the collapse of her skating career, the loss of her former best friend, and her now-single mother’s struggle to keep the power on at home. Things like wanting to stay loyal to her family and friends while at the same...