Saturday, June 8, 2013

Mini Reviews: Spellbinding & The Dead and Buried



Spellbinding
by Maya Gold

Release Date: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 272
Received: ARC from publisher
Stars: 3
Goodreads Page

I'm pretty neutral on this book. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. The main character didn't make much of an impression one way or the other and the romantic lead was inoffensively bland. The plot was fairly predictable and there wasn't a whole lot to it.

But, I liked it. I wanted to find time to read it and I ended up pushing aside other things in order to spend time reading. The main character didn't make much of an impression on me, but the writing style was languidly engaging and a lot more mature than I would have expected with that cover. I was expecting light and fluffy, which was pretty off base. 

The whole thing felt almost like an adult narrating. Not in the cringe-inducing adult-author-trying-and-failing-to-sound-hip way. But more like an adult looking back on her teenage years and telling her story. It had that vibe, and I tend to like that approach. Going along with that, the story focused more on Abby discovering what kind of person she wants to be than on the blurb's love spells and action.

Recommended if you're looking for a pleasant way to kill an afternoon or two.




The Dead and Buried
by Kim Harrington

Release Date: January 1, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Pages: 295
Received: ARC from publisher
Stars: 3.5
Goodreads Page

I'm always up for a good ghost story, and The Dead and Buried hit the mark of being sufficiently chilling without being *too* scary for a wimp like me.

It probably could have even been a little scarier. The scariness lost some steam as the book progressed. Actually, it lost a lot of steam overall.

Mostly that's because I figured out whodunnit way too early and then spent about half the book somewhat impatiently waiting for main character Jade to catch up. This is always a big let down.

That's ok though, because even though I figured out the big mystery, there was still a lot to like and hold my interest. Jade herself is just straight up likable. I enjoyed spending time with her. She's not a push over and she doesn't lose her perspective (or dignity) the second a cute guy shows interest. She pretty much made the book for me.

She also had her own hobbies and interests that she engaged in with little care to what other people thought about them (and what I thought about them was that they were super cool! I love gemstones).

All in all, a nice standalone mystery that I liked more than Kim Harrington's first book Clarity (mostly because I liked Jade a whole lot and I didn't like Clarity that much. The romance was better than Clarity's romance, too. The mystery was about the same though, which is a solid good for both books).


Looking for another book like this?
You might like:

 Click on the pictures to go to my reviews.

.

18 comments:

  1. Wow-you figured out The Dead and Buried? I thought it was the same person Jade thought it was until she realized it wasn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did it through process of elimination. The red herrings felt *too* red herringish that I figured they couldn't be the killer. Then the pieces starting coming together.

      Delete
  2. I wanted to read The Dead and the Buried for some reason I can't remember now. Sorry it wasn't as scary as it should have been.

    Spellbiding doesn't sound too bad either. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can see you enjoying both. They're both nice quick reads.

      Delete
  3. Seen both around and wondered, glad you got through the books and found some things in them enjoyable even though not a total win on either one sounds like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, neither was a total win, but I guess most books won't be. These were both solid GOOD books though.

      Delete
  4. I've also seen both of these around a bit and felt sort of "meh" about them...your reviews prove my instincts are pretty good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, spot on. "Meh" but in a leaning toward good way. Worth checking out though if the premise sounds up your alley.

      Delete
  5. I figured out the culprit in The Dead and Buried pretty early on too, but I still enjoyed that one overall. Clarity remains my favourite of Harrington's though. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, there was still enough to keep me engaged that even figuring out the killer didn't affect my enjoyment *too* much. I liked Jade a lot.

      Delete
  6. Cool, I like these mini reviews. Also the format is very nice. Too bad neither of the books really reached out and grabbed me, but it doesn't have anything to do with the way you reviewed them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the format feedback! I think I'll be writing more in this style just because I've been reading a lot of books where I don't have too much to say about them.

      Delete
  7. Figuring out the mystery before the protagonist does is a pet peeve of mine, unless there's other parts of the mystery I haven't uncovered. Still, Dead and Buried looks really interesting. I may pick it up if I want something spooky. Great reviews!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's disappointing for me when I figure out the mystery. Most times I spend the whole rest of the book thinking only "Just figure it out already!" but luckily I liked Jade enough that I didn't mind.

      Delete
  8. Ooh, now I want to read The Dead and the Buried! I really like teen mysteries, so even though I'm not a ghost story fan, I'd read this one. Plus, it's always nice to find an MC you really like. I'm not finding that, lately.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You DO like teen mysteries! I always think of regency romances first and forget you have a penchant for teen mysteries. I have a few on my radar I'm going to have to ask your opinion about... :)

      Delete
  9. I've kept The Dead and Buried for when I'm in a reviewing slump. I like Harrington's writing but I feel like once I'm done her stories, I tend to forget about them.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely blog. Please follow mine, it's new: readandlovebooks.blogspot.com
    Thanks♥

    ReplyDelete

It's all about friendly conversation here at Small Review :) I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Be sure to check back again because I do make every effort to reply to your comments here.

Because I am absolutely terrible about following through with blog awards, I can't in good conscience accept any more. Thank you very much for thinking of me though!

Spam WILL be deleted. Attacks on myself or other comments WILL be deleted.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...