Review: Eternal Night by Carina Adly MacKenzie

Eternal Night

by Carina Adly MacKenzie

August 26, 2014

The Studion (Paper Lantern Lit)

There are gods among us...

Six young gods are hiding in plain sight among mortals, living secretly in cities across the world. From lavish penthouse soirees to pulsing underground clubs, for them, the party literally never ends. Until now.

On a hot June morning, the body of a beautiful girl is found floating in the rooftop pool of the Jefferson Hotel, her white-ink tattoos revealing the story of a life much longer than seems possible. Only the immortals know the truth: Nadia was the goddess of hope. Now she’s gone, and the world as they know it is ending. The Hudson River has turned blood red. Storms rage overhead. Mania is rapidly spreading across the globe.

It is up to the remaining gods—Lola, Dean, Weston, Mark, Nike and Peitha—to put aside centuries of betrayal and heartbreak, and stop the mysterious source of darkness that is taking over… before the sun sets forever.

Carina Adly MacKenzie, blogger and television critic, has penned a steamy, romantic, and ultimately redemptive story of forgotten gods, the persistence of hope, and the power of love to save us.

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I’m a huge mythology fan and love discovering books that spin and twist these stories and elements in new ways...so, I was really looking forward to reading Carina Adley MacKenzie’s Eternal Night. Unfortunately, I walked away from this YA book rather disappointed.

There are gods among us: they’re not very powerful anymore and hide in plain sight. When Nadia, the last goddess of hope, is found dead, her six godly friends (Lola, Dean, Nike, Mark, Weston, Peitha) must uncover the truth behind her death and stop the impending apocalypse it has brought on. These six gods, trapped forever in the bodies and minds of teenagers, must get past all their centuries old bullshit and work together to save the world.

Eternal Night starts off strong enough with a cool premise and some genuinely unique, captivating mythological elements. However, I found the overall execution, writing, and characterizations to be mediocre. While reading this book, I just kept thinking to myself This book could really use another round of editing. And in many ways, it seems like this book is trying way too hard to be something- hip, different, or edgy maybe- and just ends up feeling stiff.

The story definitely has its moments, whether they be funny; romantic; or thrilling, but I found myself mostly bored, and, at times, utterly frustrated with all the unnecessary descriptions. Seriously, I did not need to be told what each character was wearing, in full details, at every single moment or what each room/setting/new place looked like down to the tiniest detail. And the words “hipster” and “artfully” were used so much that I just started replacing them, in my head, with more fun to say words: His hair was whimsically/adroitly/wilily messy.

I think my biggest issue with Eternal Night, are its characters. I didn’t hate any of the characters, but, for a group of centuries old gods and goddesses, they’re all rather uninteresting. I did find myself amused by Dean and his humor though (and he totally reminded me of Dean Winchester from Supernatural, which I’m pretty sure was on purpose. So yay for that!). These six gods and goddesses are neither likable or unlikable, engaging or annoying, they’re all just easily forgettable.

There’s some neat twists and revelations thrown in toward the ending of Eternal Night, but the conclusion itself feels rushed and, like much of the book, feels disjointed.

My Final Thoughts: I was hoping Eternal Night would wow and entertain me, but, despite its good qualities, I found it disappointing and dull overall.

MY RATING

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Carina Adly MacKenzie grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she boldly defied the no-reading-at-the-dinner-table rule time and time again. After studying English at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Carina moved to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career. Carina was a television critic and entertainment reporter for Zap2it.com, the Los Angeles Times, and Teen Vogue, among other publications. Currently, she spends her days obsessing over vampire sibling rivalry as a writer for The CW’s new drama, “The Originals.” She loves coffee, Twitter, and her little dog Pacey. Eternal Night is her first novel. 

Review: That Time I Joined The Circus by J.J. Howard

That Time I Joined The Circus

by J.J. Howard

4/1/13

Point

Format: ARC

Source: pub

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

That cover! That beautiful circus-y cover! Y'all, I wanted to love this book for the awesome cover alone...but, I didn't. The prettiful cover couldn't distract or shield me from the disappointing story inside *strokes cover with sad face*

That Time I Joined The Circus follows music obsessed, NYC born and bred Lexi has she travels from her beloved city to Florida. After a tragedy and huge mistake on Lexi's part, she is forced to leave NYC in search of her long absent mom. Lexi is told her mom has joined a circus in Florida, but when Lexi arrives all she finds is the circus. Broke and with nowhere to go, Lexi stays, working several circus jobs, finally landing the part as a fortune teller. Lexi soon finds herself a part of a whole new family and entangled in several romantic relationships. But when a few faces from Lexi's past show up, she has to decide what she wants and where her future will take her.

Aside from the lovely cover, this book has a pretty cool title, right? I mean, who hasn't wanted to run away and join the circus? Unfortunately, little else about this book captured or excited me. What could have been a quirky, thoughtful contemporary, turned out to be a mess of a story with trite romantic aspects and an annoying main character. On page five the word “retarded” is used, not as a way to show how ugly that word is, but as a humorous insult on the MC's part, and I just knew that this was a sign of what was to come...

This is a quick read, that can easily be read in one sitting, but I found my attention wavering because of the overall predictability of the story. From Lexi's huge mistake, to the friendships and relationships she develops in the circus, to the faces that show back up again, to where Lexi ends up in the end, everything is easy to see coming. There's only one real surprise in the book and it ended up angering me. When I say the story is messy, I don't mean it's hard to follow, I just mean it isn't put together well enough or tight enough. One of my biggest issues with That Time I Joined The Circus is the fact that there's such a big and important emotional arc being built after Lexi loses her dad, and then all that emotional building is pretty much torn down with the big surprise revelation Lexi learns toward the end of the book. I felt like this revelation was put in merely for shock value and not as a genuinely thoughtful way to grow Lexi's character. And the impact this revelation has on Lexi is not explored in a full way.

All the romantic elements (and there's A LOT) simply left me exhausted! They're not really the swoon-worthy kind of romantic elements, nor are they particularly well-developed. And I really hate who Lexi actually ended up with in the end, even if I saw it coming from the beginning.

Now, let's talk about our main character Lexi *sigh*...honestly, I just didn't like her much at all. She has a very hipster-ish, so above it all, snarky for the sake of snarky vibe that just annoyed the heck out of me. She constantly points out how different she is from her rich, stuck up private school peers and even looks down on her BFF Bailey, even though Bailey didn't come across as mean or stuck up. Lexi makes excuses for her “huge mistake” and makes it seem like Bailey almost deserved Lexi's betrayal. There's no real character growth when it comes to Lexi and I don't think she really learned anything at all by the end of the book. Also, I can't stand music snobs and Lexi is a huge (self-proclaimed) music snob *snore*

I do wish the actual circus setting was explored and utilized more. I mean, it's the friggin circus! You can't get a cooler setting that could be used in SO many ways (but it isn't).

There ARE a few things I did like about this book (and why it gets two cupcakes and not one)...Lexi may be a music snob, but the lyrics added at the beginning of each chapter were cool and the chapter titles themselves were funny. And I didn't dislike all the characters. The people Lexi meets at the circus, and who become her new family, are interesting and likable enough.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I didn't hate That Time I Joined The Circus, but I have no real love (or even a strong likening) for it. The predictable plot, annoying main character, exhausting romantic elements, and lackluster world-building just disappointed me...but that cover is still gorgeous!

MY RATING

J.J. Howard

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J.J. Howard is wearing headphones right now, most likely. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania, obsessed with music, movies, television, and pop culture. You can call her if you ever need to phone a friend for trivia on any of the above topics, but don’t ask about sports, because she is hopeless at those (along with math). 
J.J. graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in English and Tiffin University with an MH in Humanities. She has been some of her students’ favorite English teacher for a quite a few years (she even has a mug somewhere to prove it). THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS is her first young adult novel. 
J.J. would love to hear from her readers and is always ready to trade playlists. Visit at jjhowardbooks.com.

ARC Review: Fall From Grace by Charles Benoit

TITLE: Fall From Grace             AUTHOR: Charles Benoit PUB: HarperTeen                        PUB DATE: 5/8/12 FORMAT: ARC, 293 pgs SOURCE: from pub for review

Grace always has a plan. There’s her plan to get famous, her plan to get rich, and—above all—her plan to have fun. Sawyer has plenty of plans too. Plans made for him by his mother, his father, his girlfriend. Maybe they aren’t his plans, but they are plans.When Sawyer meets Grace, he wonders if he should come up with a few plans himself. Plans about what he actually wants to be, plans to speak his own mind for a change, plans to maybe help Grace with a little art theft. Wait a minute—plans to what?

**While I've tried to remain as spoiler free as possible in this review, and I don't go into any specifics, I have very strong thoughts and opinions, that when expressed may allude to certain book details**

THREE WORDS: Flat. Unlikable Characters.

MY REVIEW: I love a good coming of age contemporary and based on the synopsis, Charles Benoit’s Fall From Grace seemed like my kind of story. It was, but it wasn’t. It has all the potential to be a great, witty and even provocative contemp., but unfortunately it failed to live up to my expectations.

Sawyer has plans. Well, at least his parents and girlfriend have plans for him, but they’re plans nonetheless. Even if they are boring plans that Sawyer isn’t sure of, he goes along with them. That is until he meets Grace. Unpredictable, mysterious Grace. Grace has her own plans. Plans to be rich and famous and to have fun. Especially to be famous. And when her plans- including art theft-involve Sawyer, he finds himself questioning everything and having real fun for the first time.

The plot sounds super exciting and fun, right? Too bad the execution fell flat. As I mentioned above, the idea has great potential but the story ended up disappointing me greatly.

Fall From Grace is a quick read, which may be a part of the problem. There just doesn’t seem to be enough development: story development, character development, relationship development. The story itself could have gone in a lot of different directions and I’m not a fan of the direction it takes. I love the concept of two teens stealing art from a museum and concocting a wild, elaborate plan to do so. I mean that concept has intrigue, mystery and thrills…but, the way this idea played out in this book lacked any real thrills, unpredictability or thoughtfulness. Where are the OMG moments, the fist in the air triumphant moments, the thought-provoking material? Not in this book apparently.

Then there are the more emotional stories- Sawyer and Grace’s stories (both individual stories and their intertwined story). When the book began I thought Sawyer would end up experiencing some powerful coming of age experience and come into his own as a wiser, more thoughtful individual. This never happened. Yeah, Sawyer experiences some interesting and out there things, but his character never grows or evolves. In the end, he’s really the exact same person he was at the beginning and pretty much in the exact same situation: a young man who lets his parents, girlfriend and friends run his life. And it’s this lack of character evolution, along with being quite boring and flat, that made Sawyer a hard main character to connect with or like.

Now, Grace I actually liked. In many ways, she’s an enigma, a mystery that we never quite figure out. I really liked her spontaneity, humor and cleverness. The few witty moments in this book come courtesy of Grace. Honestly, I think Grace is the only reason I kept reading this book until the end; I needed to understand why she did the things she did and where she ended up. But, sadly, even Grace’s character and all the things I really liked about her were kind of ruined in the end for me. *le sigh*

And Grace was the ONLY likable character in the whole book. NO LIE! Sawyer’s parents, his girlfriend Zoe and Zoe’s friends were awful. Boring. Annoying. Dull. Slappable. I would have felt sorry for Sawyer if he wasn’t such a cowardly pushover. I found myself just hoping Grace would appear as I turned every page and wanting desperately to just skip ahead to her dialogue.

The ending. I think readers are either going to love or hate the ending. I hate it. Oddly enough, I think the author has crafted a very realistic ending, and I’m usually a big fan of realistic endings, but in this case I wanted my happy ending. I wanted the profound, powerful life lesson or revelation. It never came. *le BIG sigh*

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Fall From Grace has a potentially awesome concept, but a disappointing execution. Even one likable character could not make this an enjoyable read for me.

MY RATING

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Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

When he's not traveling around the globe in the search of exotic, tax-deductible settings for his mysteries, Charles Benoit spends his days pumping out subliminal-laced advertising. Nominated for an Edgar and a Barry, Relative Danger won the Franklin award and was the darling of fans and critics alike. Out of Order (2006) is set in modern India while Noble Lies (September 2007) takes place in Thailand.

Photo credit: Kurk Brownell Photography