Review: The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 370

Received: Given to by Nicole @Nicole About Town

Release Date: March 14, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

The author of the New York Times bestselling The Little Giant of Aberdeen County returns with a magic-tinged tale of dreams, family secrets, and betrayals on a New England salt farm.

In the isolated Cape Cod village of Prospect, the Gilly sisters are as different as can be. Jo, a fierce and quiet loner, is devoted to the mysteries of her family's salt farm, while Claire is popular, pretty, and yearns to flee the salt at any cost. But the Gilly land hides a dark legacy that proves impossible to escape. Although the community half-suspects the Gilly sisters might be witches, it doesn't stop Whit Turner, the town's wealthiest bachelor, from forcing his way into their lives. It's Jo who first steals Whit's heart, but it is Claire--heartbroken over her high school sweetheart--who marries him.

Years later, estranged from her family, Claire finds herself thrust back onto the farm with the last person she would have chosen: her husband's pregnant mistress. Suddenly, alliances change, old loves return, and new battle lines are drawn. What the Gilly sisters learn about each other, the land around them, and the power of the salt, will not only change each of their lives forever, it will also alter Gilly history for good.

My Review:

This book has been on my TBR list for awhile, so I'm glad that I finally found some down time to pick it up. I can gladly say that all my anticipation made this book worth the read, Baker did such a beautiful job with this story. I always love a family story with a great mystery behind it.

The town of Prospect is a small town where everybody knows you and it is hard to keep a secret (kind or reminds me of the town of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls). Little towns like that have always been my dream place of living, I want to be somewhere where everyone knows everyone else and you always run into someone you know wherever you go.

Early on in the book you learn there is a mystery behind the salt, it seems to harbour some sort of magic and no one knows how or why (there is a rumour that the Gilly women are witches). I felt like the salt was the main part of the story for some time, it affected everyone around, the townspeople even had a bonfire every year where salt is thrown into the fire to determine what will come in the future (good, bad, love?). But there is also this huge family mystery, I was thinking this story was going to take a different turn than it actually did.

I really wanted to know what this big thing between the Turner family and Gilly family was, why do the two most important families in town hate each other. This is the big mystery of the story, there are secrets that are not known in the town. As the story continued on I really wanted to know more about the Turners and Gillys history and I had a bit of a guess of what some of it was but at the same time I was still pleasantly surprised by the reveal.

Baker's writing is amazing and she really draws you into the story of the Gilly women. I enjoyed how the story is told from the perspectives of these three different women all with a heart for Whit. Everything changes with the arrival of Dee and her father and this is how we learn a lot about the past of Prospect.

This is an emotional read at times as we watch the characters grow and learn that life is not always perfect. This book is on my list of recommended reads for those who enjoy a little mystery with their family drama.

Review: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Publisher: G. P. Putnam
Series: Black City #1

Pages: 384

Received: Extra copy from Sara @Geek Girl's Book Blog

Release Date: November 13, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

My Review:

The whole vampire idea seems to have been overdone lately, so though I was excited about Black City I was also hesitant. Richards takes an old idea and makes it new again in this book. These are not regular vampires we are dealing with, they are called "Darklings" and each of them are unique in various ways (it was actually interesting reading about the different species of Darklings).

I really loved most of the characters right from the beginning, but my favourite by far was Day, she becomes Natalie's friend at school and she is just so sweet and adorable, and I could totally relate to her. I also don't think I would have liked Natalie as much as I did when she was around Day, she seemed a lot less selfish and stuck up (which was my first impression of Natalie). I actually found myself more interested in the secondary characters, the friendships between Natalie and Day and Beetle and Ash were fun and I wanted more of them together. Natalie also has a sister who I really hope there is more of, she has a tragic story and she is the one that is Natalie's anchor, I loved their scenes together.

I did enjoy how the romance between Ash and Natalie came about, it takes a bit of time to actually get to it, they really begin as this can't stand the idea of the other because they come from different worlds. Reading the scenes between these two in the beginning was fun because there was an edge to it and I always love when characters start out arguing. Though there is a bit of a love triangle in this book, I found it interesting how Richards brings out this idea of romance.

There is a big mystery behind Natalie's family, something happened to her father and it's continually mentioned but it's not until closer to the end that we find out the real details, and they are actually horrifying. There were quite a few scenes in this book that disturbed me, the ways a lot of the punishments were doled out, I just couldn't handle (but that didn't take away from the story in my opinion).

I've seen a few mixed reviews on this one, but I definitely enjoyed it, there were some interesting ideas thrown into the story and some twists that actually surprised me.

Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Publisher: Balzer and Bray
Series: Unraveling #1

Pages: 445

Received: Borrowed from library

Release Date: April 24, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed--as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows--with every fiber of her being--that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something--but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened--the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life--points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets--and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.

My Review:

I had been hearing a lot about this book this year but never got around to it, so when I saw it at the library I jumped at it just to see what all the hype was about.I was pleasantly surprised with this book, it was quite a long book (and I did feel it at times) but it was so much fun to read!

The first thing that really jumped out at me when reading this book was the chapter headings, they were the countdown, so readers are continually reminded that something big is going to happen at the end of this book. There is always this mention of the countdown to something big and obviously not good, but when I found out what everything was counting down to my mind was blown! I really couldn't believe what this story was really about in the end, it just didn't cross my mind.

I really enjoyed Janelle's character, she grew up as more of a parent in her family making her strong and able to deal with what comes at her easier. I was impressed with how Janelle holds up, a big part of this story is loss. Janelle loses a lot of things and people and there were so many scenes that were heartbreaking and yet Janelle is still standing. It's also nice to see that family is a big part to this story. Janelle has a little brother that she would do anything for, and her and her dad are very close (which I always love to see).

The ending of this book was done well in my opinion. This book could be a standalone if you really wanted which is what I really like. Though you are left with questions it is not imperative to read the next book if you aren't into it. I love that it doesn't end in a huge cliffhanger, though it does end leaving you want more Ben and Janelle (which I'm excited for!)

As a side note I had to give this book extra points for bringing in Jack Bauer from 24 as a mention, definitely one of my favourite shows when it was on!