Review: Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Random House of Canada
Series: Welcome to Cainsville #3
Pages: 458
Received: Received a copy from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: August 18, 2015
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Olivia’s life has exploded. She’s discovered she’s not only adopted, but her real parents are convicted serial killers. Fleeing the media frenzy, she took refuge in the oddly secluded town of Cainsville. She has since solved the town’s mysteries and finds herself not only the target of its secretive elders, but also her stalker ex-fiancé.

Visions continue to haunt her: particularly a little blond girl in a
green sundress who insists she has an important message for Olivia, one that may help her balance the light and darkness within herself. Death stalks Olivia and the two men most important to her, as she desperately searches to understand whether ancient scripts are dictating their triangle. Will darkness prevail or does Olivia have the power to prevent a tragic fate?

My Review:

Oh how happy I am to be back in the town of Cainsville, no matte how creepy things are, I cannot help loving this town. As the story continues, readers slowly learn more about Olivia's past life and why she is so important to the town of Cainsville. Not only does Olivia have the problem of two different groups of fae are fighting for her but her ex-fiance is still stalking her.

I absolutely love what Kelley Armstrong brings to her stories as they continue along, there is always trouble waiting around a corner for Olivia and she realizes that she needs to learn a lot more about the past to understand what is exactly happening to her. These books are the hardest stories to put down because so much continually happens you don't want to lose Olivia's story. Readers have learned more about Olivia's past as she learns about her birth parents, but the town of Cainsville has a history that affects Olivia as well, and this book focuses more on that.

The only thing that was kind of weird is how Kelley Armstrong mixes different historical aspects into this series. It starts out with the history of the fae, but added in is some Greek mythology as well, I'm wondering if there is going to be more supernatural entities added in along the way...

The romance of this book truly keeps readers rapt, yes there is a bit of a love triangle but in a way there is a history behind this triangle that it actually makes sense in this story. Olivia has two people that are the most important people to her and are the ones that will do anything to save her. It's amazing to see how quickly Olivia makes friends and I can truly say Kelley Armstrong does an amazing job writing these relationships and I am interested to see how things will grow between all the characters as the story continues.

Armstrong also brings back more of Olivia's birth parents and we get to learn more about the past and is giving a little more information on what happened, but there is still more investigation into the past murders that still may save her parents. Honestly, this series has kept me in anticipation for the last few years, and I don't want it to stop anytime soon. I have come to love these characters and I really want to see them grow and learn more about themselves, as well as see what will happen in the future now that we know more about the past!

Review: Things I Can't Explain by Mitchell Kriegman

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Pages: 288
Received: Received an ecopy from Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: November 10, 2015
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Goodreads Synopsis:

A complete re-imagining of Clarissa Explains it All as 20-something Clarissa tries to navigate the unemployment line, mompreneurs and the collision of two people in love. 

She was a smart, snappy, light-hearted girl who knew it all at fourteen. Now a woman in her late twenties, her searching blue eyes are more serious, but mostly amused by the people around her. The gap-toothed smile that made her seem younger than she really was is gone, but she still lightens up the room. Her unpredictable wardrobe rocks just like when she was a kid, but her fashion sense has evolved and it makes men and women turn their heads.

After leaving high school early, Clarissa interned at the Daily Post while attending night school. At the ripe old age of twenty- two she had it made – her own journalism beat (fashion, gender politics and crime), an affordable apartment in FiDi and a livable wage. She was so totally ahead of the game. Ah, those were the days! All three of them. Remember the Stock Market Crash of 08? Remember when people actually bought newspapers?

All of Clarissa’s charming obsessions, charts, graphs, and superstitions have survived into adulthood, but they’ve evolved into an ever-greater need to claw the world back under control. Her mid-twenties crisis has left her with a whole set of things she can’t explain: an ex-boyfriend turned stalker, her parents’ divorce, a micro relationship with the cute coffee guy, java addiction, “To-Flue Glue,” and then there’s Sam. Where’s Sam anyway?

Things I Can't Explain is about knowing it all in your teens and then feeling like you know nothing in your twenties.

My Review:

Oh a book that is a sequel to such a loved children's show, I definitely jumped at the chance for this. Though I may be a bit young, I know of Clarissa Explains It All from watching what my sister did. I have a few memories about this show, but I can definitely say that a lot of things came back as I was reading this book. Now don't get me wrong, you really don't need to know the show to enjoy this book, Mitchell Kriegman brings in a lot of Clarissa's back story to explain how she has gotten where she is now.

It's great to see the story of Clarissa grown up and is dealing with a new life away from where she grew up. Kriegman does an amazing job bringing Clarissa back to life but is now at an age where those who grew up with her can relate to some of the issues she is going through. I love how Kriegman shows the difficulties of going out on your own and starting life, nothing can be perfect, there are always problems that need to be solved before things begin to fall into place. I love the writing style, Clarissa is definitely back and she is still a force to be reckoned with, readers still get this sassy girl who is obsessed with charts and graphs and it helps her control her world around her.

We get a glimpse of Clarissa's parents who definitely bring some great humour to the story and throw a huge wrench in some of her plans. It's great to see how Clarissa's past really shapes her future self and the people that she has befriended over the years, including old friends. You can't have a book like this without bringing back so many old characters, and it truly adds to the story to see these people come back and still have an effect on Clarissa.

Honestly this was such a cute book, though I am disappointed that there are certain people who seem to be missing. Maybe it has more to do with Clarissa moving on with her life and getting away from her past but it would have been nice to have a little more of a certain someone... This is definitely a great sequel to an awesome show from years ago (and I can definitely picture Melissa Joan Hart flawlessly pulling off the roll of Clarissa in her twenties). Doesn't matter if you were a fan of the show when you were a kid or you're just looking for a cute read that will leave you laughing as well, this is for sure a book to pick up!

Review: Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith

Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Pages: 400
Received: Received an ecopy from Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: October 6, 2015
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Goodreads Synopsis:

A high-concept, fantastical espionage novel set in a world where dreams are the ultimate form of political intelligence.

Livia is a dreamstrider. She can inhabit a subject's body while they are sleeping and, for a short time, move around in their skin. She uses her talent to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. But her partner, Brandt, has lately become distant, and when Marez comes to join their team from a neighborhing kingdom, he offers Livia the option of a life she had never dared to imagine. Livia knows of no other dreamstriders who have survived the pull of Nightmare. So only she understands the stakes when a plot against the Empire emerges that threatens to consume both the dreaming world and the waking one with misery and rage.

A richly conceived world full of political intrigue and fantastical dream sequences, at its heart Dreamstrider is about a girl who is struggling to live up to the potential before her.

My Review:

Well this book definitely had an interesting concept, I'm not too sure on all my feelings about the story, while I was truly taken with everything that was happening, I think I felt lost a couple of times too. But this story intrigued me a lot, the idea that there is a team trying to get political information through people's dreams... Lindsay Smith had a unique idea and truly brought a story that is full of intrigue, drama and even some romance.

Livia has worked hard to become a great dreamstrider, though there have been difficulties in her past she has worked through them and is one of the best talents so that she is able to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. There is a lot of tension throughout the story, Livia and her partner are having some issues and when a new opportunity arises for Livia with a neighbouring kingdom that has come to help them with their assignment, she begins to debate starting anew. Livia has a huge crossroad, one that could be very dangerous, and she is already playing a dangerous game in her job. She is very dedicated though and you can see that she truly regrets her past mistakes and she works hard to make up for them. The other problem for Livia is that she is trying to live up to what people say about her being the best, she doesn't want to look bad to those she looks up to the most in her life and it makes her that much more dedicated to what she does.

I really enjoyed the dream sequences, it was very high fantasy and yet so adventurous as well. The dream world added in some extra danger to the world, at times I kind of felt like there were two different storylines happening in the book, and that confused me sometimes, but by the end I was able to put everything together. I actually enjoyed the dangerous dream story a bit more, Livia is still growing and learning a lot throughout the novel and I always love a book where the main character still has things to understand, there is this rising arc to the story.

There is a lot of world building that and it Lindsay Smith takes her time bringing the reader into the Dreamstrider world, but if you stick through it the story is very well done and I can say it is always interesting. The story has a little bit of everything that will bring in readers from all genres, it's a fun story with a great fantasy world and also mixed into a realistic world with political drama. Definitely give this book a go.