Review: The Accident Season (Moira Fowley-Doyle)

Title: The Accident Season
Series: standalone
Author: Moira Fowley-Doyle (site)
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Contemporary Mystery
Told: First Person (Cara), Present Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (heavy teen drinking & smoking & partying, minor drugs, hinted & flashback child abuse (probably sexual) and cutting and attempted suicide, adult abuse, sensuality, some language, violence)
Format Read: ARC (publisher)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Every October Cara and her family become inexplicably and unavoidably accident-prone. Some years it's bad, like the season when her father died, and some years it's just a lot of cuts and scrapes. This accident season—when Cara, her ex-stepbrother, Sam, and her best friend, Bea, are 17—is going to be a bad one. But not for the reasons they think.

Cara is about to learn that not all the scars left by the accident season are physical: There's a long-hidden family secret underneath the bumps and bruises. This is the year Cara will finally fall desperately in love, when she'll start discovering the painful truth about the adults in her life, and when she'll uncover the dark origins of the accident season—whether she's ready or not.

AUTHOR VIDEO  |  READ AN EXCERPT

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Review copy provided by publisher for an honest review. Thank you, Penguin!

Three Words: Spooky. Lyrical. Heavy.

I must start off by saying this was not my kind of read. I like my stories on the lighter side and shy away from heavy, depressing content, and this was most definitely a heavy and depressing story. However, it was also highly imaginative and somewhat beautiful, and I think it might prove a rather breathtaking read for those who enjoy darker contemporary stories with paranormal elements.

The Story

This book was essentially three stories in one: a mystery, a ghost story, and a romance that wove together seamlessly even as they flowed separately.

The mystery was one of accidents and tragedies, secrets and highly troubled emotions. It was a crumbling house of abuse and trauma and loss and neglect, and explored how people cope differently with things they can't handle or accept with love, obsession, dismissal, sometimes even more of the same. Thankfully most of the abuse was compressed into half-remembered memories and vague accounts or embellished with wild imaginings, but the raw emotions still punched through. It was rather depressing and a bit disturbing, but the revelations saw the onset of healing.

The ghost story was strange but unique with a confusing beginning, surreal end, and spooky and magical journey between. While its logic made little sense overall, it was haunting and bewitching and the best part of the book for me.

The romance focused not on one relationship but several that were diverse and passionate and poignant and complicated. They were struggles of the heart and the soul and the mind and transcended family and gender and convention. All the love proved rather messy and painful, but blessedly a little peace was found in the end.

The Characters

Thanks to their secret traumas and passions, all the characters in this book (but especially the teens) were seriously messed up. To cope, the teens smoked, drank, partied, took crazy risks and did crazy things. Once the secrets began unfolding though it was harder to fault their behavior, and once it was over I really couldn't blame them for continuing well past the final page. Cara was an imaginative but disorienting narrator due to her otherworldly visions and fondness for liquor, but as the most innocent of mind and soul she was the best point of view character for the tale and her fanciful imaginings added a dark and heady magic to the story.

The Writing

The writing was vivid and disorienting, lyrical and disjointed. Sometimes it was a little too much, but it flickered whimsical and creepy images through my mind. Time was sometimes a slippery thing, and with it movement - a moment could drag on for pages, only to jump from one place or time to another without warning in just a few words. It left me confused on several occasions as I found myself unsure where we were or what we were doing, but the disconcerting atmosphere also added to the mystery and magic when things seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Overall I was able to follow the story well enough, and rather enjoyed the shift and blend of reality and whimsy.

Conclusion: I picked up this book for the magic and got even more than I'd hoped for, but the heavy contemporary content weighed me down much more than I prefer. If it hadn't been for review I wouldn't have finished it, but now that it's over I guess I'm glad I saw it through, if only to answer the mystery of the accident season. Recommend for paranormal contemporary lovers who enjoy unusual, imaginative reads with heavier content.

Diverse Elements: Irish setting and characters; bisexual characters and romances

For Fans Of: heavy contemporaries with paranormal elements

Scribble Rating: 

3 of 5 Scribbles

Review: Split Second (Kasie West)

Title: Split Second
Series: Pivot Point, Book 2
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Contemporary
Told: First Person (Addie & Laila), Past Tense
Content Rating: Teen (sensuality, some violence, minor language)
Format Read: ARC (friend)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.

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Writing: Easy to follow and so much fun to read. Kasie is one of my favorite authors first and foremost for her writing style - anything she writes, I will devour.

Setting: There are two "worlds" - the Compound, where those with powers (Paras) live in secret, and the "Normal" rest of the world (for this book, mainly Texas). We spend pretty equal amounts of time in both areas. The Compound is supposed to have much more advanced technology than the Norm world, and while quite a few "advanced" things are hinted at and used, it otherwise felt just like the Norm world.

Story: The beginning of the story leaned heavily on the previous book, Pivot Point, which made it a bit of a confusing start for me. I'm a love'm and forget'm kind of reader (not by choice, mind you), and since I read the first book a year ago I could barely remember the characters' names, let alone all the details of the two plot lines Pivot Point followed. So while I felt that many things in the beginning of Split Second connected back to Pivot Point, I couldn't recall how. As Split Second progressed, though, the story diverted from past hints into a whole new plot, and I was able to follow along - and get sucked into - the exciting (and romantic) happenings. By the last third I literally couldn't put the book down, and I did not see that twist at the end! So while it began a little confusing, it was overall an amazing and tense story that wrapped up beautifully.

Characters: Sweet and sure Addie is back - and not so sure of anything anymore. She doesn't know who to trust as it seems that everyone around her is lying or keeping secrets. But she perseveres to find the answers of what's happening to her, and where (and with whom) she belongs. Trevor is the sweet and highly intuitive romantic interest that I came to know and love in Pivot Point. He doesn't remember anything from the previous book (since it only happened in Addie's mind), but this only made him even better and more swoon-worthy. I didn't think much of Laila in Pivot Point, but I absolutely adored her here! She was spunky and snarky and put up a strong front to hide the vulnerable mess that she was. And she was so good with Connor - although I never quite wrapped my head around Connor by himself. I loved what he was supposed to be, though, so it all worked out.

Romantic Relationships: The best part of the story. They were both just so sweet and adorable and perfect.

Series: This is Book 2 in the Pivot Point duology. Pivot Point (Book 1) was originally meant to be a standalone. Split Second picks up shortly after Pivot Point ends, and you definitely need to have read PP to understand a lot of what happens in SS. You can find my review of Pivot Point here.

Conclusion: Wasn't the utter perfection of Pivot Point, but pretty darn close. Both relationships were just perfect and fraught with many aww moments - Top 3 favorite bookish relationships, no contest. And that ending! I did not see it coming. I look forward to revisiting the pair together very soon, and definitely recommend reading the duology together.

Rating: 

4.5 of 5 Scribbles

2013 Debut Authors Bash: Kasie West

Welcome to my stop on the 2013 Debut Authors Bash, hosted by Y.A. Reads! Here you will find my interview of the amazing author, Kasie West (which includes her Pivot Point Love List), three things we can look forward to in its sequel, Split Second, and the answer to question we've all been wondering about the author herself! 

THE AUTHOR

KASIE WEST is a young adult author published with HarperTeen. Her debut, PIVOT POINT, released in February 2013, and its sequel, SPLIT SECOND, releases in February 2014. She also has a YA contemporary which released this summer, entitled THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US. She graduated from Fresno State University with a BA degree that has nothing to do with writing, and earned her masters in Junior Mint eating (which is awarded after eating your millionth King Size box - she's now working on her PhD). She loves sappy alternative rock ballads and reading way past her bedtime.

Site / Blog      Twitter      Goodreads

THE BOOK

Title: Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1)

Release Date: February 12, 2013

Summary: 

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Goodreads      The Book Depository      Amazon      Barnes & Noble

(You can read my review of Pivot Point here.)

THE INTERVIEW

Pivot Point in one sentence:

Pivot Point is about a girl who has the power, when faced with a choice, to see two futures.

  

What was the initial spark that created Pivot Point? 

This book was inspired by the movie Sliding Doors. I love that movie. It’s so intriguing to me to think that one little missed train or simple choice can change the path of our lives. I thought it would be fun to explore the possibilities of a girl who could actually control seeing her alternate realities.

Who was your favorite character to write in Pivot Point, and why? Who was your least favorite?

My favorite character to write was Duke. He is such a ham. He was so easy to write. Every time he was on the page, words just flowed. Trevor on the other hand was a big butt to write. It was harder to get inside his head and understand how he would react to or view things. But you know how they say that you appreciate the things you worked the hardest for?….yeah, I love Trevor.

What were some of the subjects you researched for Pivot Point? 

I researched Texas. I even visited Texas. What an awesome place. I also researched some of the advances in technology to try to figure out what a world of advanced minds might look like. Some of the things I researched but didn’t necessarily use were real life people claiming to have superhero-like abilities. Have you ever seen that show? I can’t even remember what it’s called now. It should just be called “Awesome” because it’s so crazy/cool to see what people can do that seems to be almost an advancement in genetics. I like thinking about what the next step in an advanced brain might equate to as far as abilities. 

Kasie West's Pivot Point Love List - Top 5 

• I love the friendship between Laila and Addie in Pivot Point. Best friends are super important.
• My favorite scene: (I’ll try to keep it spoiler-free) When a certain boy tells Addie that there’s no way she would pick a certain path. That everything is going to be okay. Love him for that.
• A movie-watching scene with the other boy.     
• Addie’s love of books and relating them to her life.
• Getting to use the words ‘hairless cat’ in a book. Ha.

You announced earlier this year that Pivot Point is to have a sequel: Split Second! What are three things we can look forward to in its pages?

I’m so excited about Split Second! I love this book. 3 things I hope you love about it as much as I do: 

1. A hot new boy.
2. Falling in love all over again.
3. Secrets revealed.

You released another book this year: The Distance Between Us. Tells us about it!

The Distance Between Us is a contemporary romantic comedy. I always cringe using the word “comedy” because I feel like I’m saying, “I’m so funny. Now laugh, people.” So maybe what I should say is that I hope it makes you laugh and smile and feel giddy. It’s about a girl who works in a porcelain doll store and meets a rich boy. She has no patience for the rich based on a lifetime of experience. So of course we all know that this rich boy has to change her mind.   

Final (and most important) question: You openly admit to having a Junior Mint addiction. When and how did it start?

Ha. This is the most important question. Yes, I’m an addict. I have loved them for as long as I can remember. I mean, who does not love the perfect combination of mint and chocolate? (If you don’t, just don’t tell me.) When I was little I was the mint chocolate chip ice cream lover. When I discovered Junior Mints though, there was no turning back. A friend texted me the other day and said, “Kasie, have you tried freezing Jr. Mints?” I laughed long and loud then told her I might as well have invented that. It’s like she thought I was a Jr. Mints amateur or something (love you, Jenny). If I could use Jr. Mints as a topping on any and all things, I would. Unfortunately, it doesn’t necessarily enhance all food.

Congratulations on your debut, and thank you for being on my blog! I hope you had fun! :)

Thank you for having me! Great questions! They were fun to answer. :)

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The 2013 Debut Authors Bash blog tour continues all this month - be sure to check out all the stops to find out more about this year's debut authors!

September 1st

YaReads - Geoffrey Girard

Swoony Boys Podcast - Jane Nickerson

Kristi's Book Readery - Page Morgan

September 2nd

Book Bandit - Laura Lam

The Word Mineur - Mindee Arnett

My Friends Are Fiction - Samantha Shannon

September 3rd

Nose Graze - Jessica Verdi

Between Printed Pages - L. M. Augustine

You've Been Blogged! - Jody Casella

September 4th

Skye's Scribblings - Kasie West

Lose Time Reading - Emily Murdoch

The Eater of Books - Kelsey Sutton

September 5th

Book. Blog. Bake - Lauren Miller

Bookend 2 Bookend - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Musings of a Blogder - Heather Reid

Allodoxophobia: The Fear of Opinions - Lindsey Scheibe

September 6th

Magical Manuscripts - Shaunta Grimes

The Reading Vixens - Sarah Ashley Jones

September 7th

Books for Birds - April Genevieve Tucholke

Book Blather - Romily Bernard

September 8th

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club - Kara Taylor

Inspiring Insomnia - Stephanie Kuehn

September 9th

Kissed by Ink - Ellen Oh

Sleeps on Tables - J.R. Johansson

Always YA at Heart - Amanda Sun

September 10th

Lisa Loves Lit - A.G. Howard

whYAnot Reviews - Liz Fichera

Samantha Clark - Claire M. Caterer

September 11th

Rampant Readers - Leah Miller

Emily's Crammed Bookshelf - T. Michael Martin

September 12th

The Uninterrupted Reader - Cat Winters

The Book Beacon - Christina Mercer

September 13th

Read & Reviewed - Lindsay Ribar

Paranormal Book Club - Kit Grindstaff

September 14th

Books as You Know it - Mary Gray

Paranormal Reads - Elsie Chapman

Bibliophilia, Please - Helen Douglas

September 15th

The Book Cellar - Erin Bowman

Fantasy Book Addict - Miriam Forster

September 16th

Pond Across the Pond - Laurie Crompton

YaReads - Debra Driza

September 17th

Teen Librarian Toolbox - Mindy McGinnis

Le'Book Squirrel - Kimberly Ann Miller

Finding Bliss in Books - Lydia Kang

September 18th

Rachel Reads - Errica Lorraine Scheidt

Kentucky Geek Girl - Holly Smale

September 19th

Turning Pages - Amy Butler Greenfield

Beauty and the Bookshelf - Alison Cherry

September 20th

Synchronized Reading - J.L Spelbring

Reading is My Treasure - Kristin Halbrook

A&C Book Junkies - Carey Corp

September 21st

Playing Jokers - Lenore Appelhans

Lizzie's Dark Fiction - Elizabeth May

September 22nd

Sandwich Making Book Bitches - Anne Applegate

Little Bookwork Reviews - Jennifer Iacopelli

September 23rd

Moosubi Reviews - Megan Shepherd

Little Miss Trainwreck - Julianna Scott

September 24th

Fictionators - Emma Trevayne

Pimples, Popularity, and Protagonists - Corey Ann Haydu

September 25th

Breath of Books - Steven dos Santos

Jennzah - Chelsea Pitcher

September 26th

Nightly Reading - Liz Coley

Pandora's Books - Kelly A. Barson

September 27th

Forever 17 Books - Amie Kaufman

My Bookopolis - Jamie Blair

September 28th

Nick's Book Blog - Jennifer McGowan

Curling Up with a Good Book - Leila Howland

September 29th

Ex Libris - Mindy Raf

Adventures in YA Publishing - Carly Ann West

September 30th

YaReads - J.J. Howard

Fiction Freak - Kate Karyus Quinn

Review: The Shambling Guide to NYC (Mur Lafferty)

Title: The Shambling Guide to New York City
Series: The Shambling Guides, Book 1
Author: Mur Lafferty
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: May 23, 2013
Genre: Adult Paranormal Contemporary
Told: 3rd Person Singular (Zoe), Past Tense
Content Rating: Adult (strong continuous language, graphic sexual situations and innuendo, violence, zombie attacks, monsters feeding)
Movie Rating Comparison: R for strong language, sex, and violence
Format Read: Paperback (Library)
Find It On: Goodreads
Summary:

A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city - for the undead!

Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume --- human.

Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.

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Three Words: Monsters. Playful. Explicit.

Writing: Laid back and engaging. The Shambling Guide excerpts were fun and informative.

Setting: Normal New York City, but with a coterie minority living among us - vampires, fae, zombies, demons, gods, zoëists, sprites, etc. It was nicely interwoven, and the alternate explanations for landmarks were a lot of fun.

Story: Easy and interesting, but had its problems. It seemed longer than it needed to be - short scenes of everyday goings-on cluttered the beginning, and the end battle scenes were drawn out as every step was thoroughly described. The book had a lighter feel with a narrator like Zoe, but her nonchalance about the whole situation held back the tense bits of the story. The buildup to the climax and the climax itself just weren't very intense - it was actually very anticlimactic, really.

The concept of a travel guide for monsters (excuse me, coterie) was definitely interesting, but there was very little of it in the book, so I was rather disappointed. If I'd wanted a story about a girl who fights monsters and saves the world, I could've easily looked elsewhere (and found many with less language and sex). I wanted some originality with this one, and I really didn't find enough.

Characters: I typically love Zoe's type of character - shocked and unbelieving at first about monsters among us, then learns to accept it quickly and moves on. But instead of rendering the story unto satire like the semi-comedy that it was (i.e. "Dude with a tail and horns? You mean that dude with a tail and horns, in the plaid suit? Nope, don't see him."), it became simple indifference ("Dude with a tail and horns? Whatever.") And indifference can be boring. I would've liked to see her fight against her situation a little, to add some much-needed tension. All that aside, Zoe was an interesting-enough character to follow, I guess, but I wasn't particularly impressed with her.

The employees of Underground Publishing were intriguing and diverse, but their names were so simple that I constantly got them mixed up - even the important ones (John, Morgen, Gwen, Phil - they're monsters, for heaven's sake, unique names would be okay!). As individuals, though (the important ones, anyway), they were interesting and different - Morgen the water sprite was probably my favorite, and Gwen, death goddess heralded by sparrows, was definitely cool. John the incubus gave me the creeps, as he should've, and Phil the vampire boss was good at what he did.

Romantic Relationships: As with a series of this type, there were several possible people for Zoe to sleep with (not fall in love with, but sleep with - which is, unfortunately, the creed of most modern adult novels). These included an incubus, a coterie hunter, and, in my opinion, her vampire boss. She sort of ends up with one of them at the end, but there is no doubt in my mind there's still a possibility for the other two in later books.

Content/Personal Note: I have a weak stomach for graphic sex and a lot of language - this is one of the reasons I stick mainly to Young Adult (and cleaner YA at that). But I was doing all right with this book...until Chapter 14. They go to a 'bus bondage club, graphic sex ensues (which I tried to skip over without much success), and my excitement for the book turned queasy. This tainted my opinion of the book from then on, but overall I tried to be very objective with this review.

Conclusion: I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Although I am interested to see where the series goes, I doubt I will continue it for fear of the sex and language to come.

Scribble Rating: 

3 of 5 Scribbles