Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill

Goodreads Blurb

An all-consuming love affair.
A family torn apart by scandal.
A young author on the brink of greatness.
Hideous Love is the fascinating story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home only to find herself in the shadow of a brilliant but moody boyfriend, famed poet Percy Shelley. It is the story of the mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of literature: a monster constructed out of dead bodies and brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.
Mary wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen, but inspiration for the monster came from her life-the atmospheric European settings she visited, the dramas swirling around her, and the stimulating philosophical discussions with the greatest minds of the period, like her close friend, Lord Byron.
This luminous verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.

There were a lot of things about Hideous Love I didn't quite expect, and I can't quite say that's a good thing.

Hideous Love was written in verse, something that surprised me, but pleased me. At first. But as I read on, it wasn't as well written as I'd hoped. Verse isn't something you can pull off easily, and I'm afraid Hemphill didn't manage to reach that level yet. While the writing was quite gorgeous and poetic (as it should be. Since--Mary Shelley!) and amazing, the characters came off as flat and it was a tad confusing. And, no matter how beautiful the writing, it couldn't really make the rest of the book interesting.

I really admire how Hemphill tried to make her life seem fascinating and interesting, but it just didn't really stand out to me. It was, essentially, an autobiography written in verse--and I'm not generally a fan of biographies. There wasn't enough to really keep me enthralled. She had a love affair, she had kids, she had money problems, family problems. But they were all just glossed over, the book written like it was. It may have been more interesting written in prose, maybe, but instead it came out as dull and boring.

And then the characters. That's another thing about writing in verse--it's hard to get a feel for the characters, and that's exactly what happened here. While Mary Shelley wasn't exactly a flat character, she was hypocritical, catty, and possessive, making her a distinctly unlikable character. While I did empathize with her at times, it still irritated me and I couldn't really get over that feeling.

But the main reason I disliked her, really was the romance. Twenty five pages in, the words "I love you" are pretty much spoken, and that's fast--even for insta-love. We didn't get to see the progression as they fell in love. It took maybe two poems for them to fall in love. Add to that the fact that he happens to married at the time...and, well, we get a jumble of hot mess.

It's an outstanding premise, really, but the book just doesn't have the same allure after a few chapters. It wore me down until I honestly didn't want to open the book. Something that really disappoints me, since I was so excited to start!

So while it does sound amazing, I wouldn't recommend this, though I will admit--it'd be a lot cooler to read as "research" since it does stick to the facts and is written in quite beautiful verse!

Pages: 320

Genre: Retelling/Historical

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013

Rating: 1.5 stars

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Goodreads Blurb

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

OKAY, so even if this is a YA (once in a while NA) review blog, how could I pass up Richelle Mead? So I decided to finally start my first adult read. And it was...a bit disappointing. I guess I finally realized jsut how big the difference between YA and Adult is!

Gameboard of the Gods was so slow for me. I was bored so many times and the twists were completely predictable. While there were plenty of developments and action scenes, my attention slowly withered away and, I admit, I may have started skimming a bit without realizing. (NO I DID NOT SKIM THE WHOLE BOOK. Maybe 25 pages.). From the first mention of ravens, I already guessed the big "surprise" at the end and that was sort of ridiculous, considering it was so obvious. Same goes for the mystery goddess too. They were (SEMI SPOILER) pretty much the most written about gods, excluding Greek. (SPOILER END)

Richelle Mead is always great with characterization and this time was no exception. They were all flawed characters who were still likeable, to a point, though it did take some time to get to know them. Though I do have to admit, Mae is a lot better than Justin  in my eyes. I think that's mainly since she was so kickbutt!

I liked the dystopian world in this story and it was captivating from the first description. Everything fit together and every question I had about the world was eventually explained. It was a creative concept that I enjoyed reading about and one that's definitely pure Richelle. It was such a complex world!

I didn't really enjoy the alternating POVs, though. It was random and often confused me. and I mean often. I'm not really a fan of alternate POVs, though, so that may make me a bit biased! Each section did advance the plot though and I did enjoy, at times, seeing the story from a different character's view.

Fans of Richelle Mead's work are sure to like this one (if they generally read adult, that is!). It brings a new idea to the table and a story that's pure genius. People who usually avoid dystopian should definitely try this one since I'm pretty sure it'll coax a great reaction out of readers! 

Pages: 464

Genre: Dystopian/Mythology

Series: Age of X #1

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Rating: 3.5--->3 stars