Review: The Mayfair Moon by J.A. Redmerski

The Mayfair Moon by J.A. Redmerski
Series: The Darkwoods Trilogy #1
Publisher: Self-Published
First published: February 6th, 2012
Source: Received from author
Format: .mobi (Kindle)
Pages: 352

Goodreads Summary:
After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family.

Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.

This is more suitable for older teens (16+).

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

First thoughts:

I'm currently developing a slight werewolf-addiction and The Mayfair Moon did not help me change that. On the contrary, it managed to make my addiction worse and made me fall in love with its paranormal aspects, its characters and their stories. It was impossible to put down and the ending makes me hope that the sequel will be out as soon as possible - I need to know more!

More detailed:

It took about one and a half chapters to get used to The Mayfair Moon's main character's narration and then I only put it down when it was absolutely necessary. It starts off right before danger and confusion come into Adria's life and gives us a glimpse into her world before being dragged into a paranormal adventure.

Adria is a very interesting character. She makes some decisions she regrets later, but she's still quite relatable despite the unusal situation she's in. Her crush on Isaac develops very fast, but she's still trying to be rational and doesn't forget herself in the process. She has also found great friends and especially Harry and Zia will make you want to be a part of this world.

It's difficult to say whether The Mayfair Moon is fast- or slow-paced. While it never gets boring and weird things, which will keep you interested, happen constantly, some questions take a long while to be answered. But that's exactly the reason why this novel is so hard to put down - you want answers and while waiting for them, new things will happen that will make you want to know even more.

All in all, I absolutely loved The Mayfair Moon and can recommend this to everyone who loves werewolves and suspenseful stories. There cannot be found a love triangle so far, but that doesn't make me stop wanting one. This and The Mayfair Moon's ending will make the wait for the second book in the Darkwoods trilogy almost unbearable for me.

This review is part of The Mayfair Moon's blog tour, 

hosted by AToMR Book Blog Tours.

Have you read The Mayfair Moon? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Carina

Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Speak (Penguin Group)
Date of Publication: October 19th, 2010
Source: Bought
Pages: 454 (Paperback)

Goodreads Summary:

Calla is the alpha female of a shape-shifting wolf pack. She is destined to marry Ren Laroche, the pack's alpha male. Together, they would rule their pack together, guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But then, Calla saves a beautiful human boy, who captures her heart. Calla begins to question everything - her fate, her existence, and her world and the orders the Keepers have asked her to follow. She will have to make a choice. But will she follow her heart if it means losing everything, including her own life? 

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

First thoughts:

Why did I wait so long to start this series? To be honest, I didn't expect it to be this good and I was positively surprised by the detail and uniqueness of the werewolf aspects of this story. Sadly this book ended with a mean cliffhanger, which means that I'll need to get the second book as soon as possible!

More detailed:

Nightshade is one of those books that I always saw on other blogs but never remembered to order. But once I started reading this book, I regretted taking so much time to start this series. It was a very surprising story that captivated me and made me remember it even long after I finished it. 

Even though I read many incredibly positive reviews about this, I've always expected this to be a regular werewolf story. But soon I realized that this is a lot more complex than any other werewolf novel I have read before. It is filled with mysterious and surprising elements that make me want to get to know this world even more.

I loved being told the story from Calla's point of view. She's a very likeable character and I could easily identify with her problems. The way she struggles for freedom and independece in a world dominated by men was incredibly well written and with every new chapter I read, I hoped that she would finally get what she wants.

Of course I'm also a little bit jealous of Calla, since - like most YA heroines of course - she has two guys vying for her attention. Ren and Shay are both very interesting characters and I really enjoyed seeing them develop during the story. But I have to admit that I picked a favorite quite soon and that I'm definitely a part of Team Ren.

All in all, Nightshade is a fantastic and very refreshing story that you should definitely read if you haven't already. But I'm warning you: This ends with a huge cliffhanger, therefore you shouldn't make the same mistake as I did and not have the sequel nearby. I definitely need to get the next book of this series soon.

The second novel of this series

Wolfsbane

was released on July 26th, 2011 by Penguin.

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The third novel of the series

Bloodrose

will be released on January 24th, 2012 by Philomel.

Have you read Nightshade? What did you think about it?
Carina

Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic

Published: July 12th, 2011

Pages: 489

Previous book in the series: 
Shiver - my review | Linger - my review

Goodreads Summary:

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in. 

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My Rating: 5.0 / 5

What I thought about it:

I rarely cry when I'm reading a book, but Forever put tears in my eyes and made me feel every single emotion it wanted to convey. It was tragic and then it was beautiful and I'm so sad to see this series come to an end. Maggie Stiefvater's writing was simply amazing and I wish there were a 1000 pages more for me to read. It's one of those books that stays with you and doesn't want you to pick up another one immediately afterwards.

What I loved most about Forever was to watch those lovely characters develop while they also stayed true to themselves. Often characters change completely with nothing of their old selves left behind, but it's different here. They face their problems and their fears, learn new things and become grown-up versions of themselves. The same goes for all the unresolved issues with their parents that are somehow resolved.

Again, this story is told from four different points of view: Sam and Grace, Cole and Isabel. And while all of these characters are so completely different, it's still great to see how they feel, what they think and it's easy to follow the story. I don't want to leave them behind.

I have heard of people who didn't like the ending, because it was too open for them. And to be honest, I usually despise open endings, but with Forever it somehow worked for me. Don't ask me why, because I normally I need closure, something definite that doesn't leave me hanging, but I don't think that there could be a better ending for Forever. It leaves a certain aspect to the reader's imagination although it's not hard to guess what almost everyone will be imagining.

And maybe, just maybe, it might give Maggie Stiefvater an excuse to return to this world one day. But that could be only my hopeful imagination, because I'm really sad to watch this series come to an end.

All in all, Forever was a wonderful conclusion to an incredible series. If you liked the first two books, don't hesitate and pick this up. And if you haven't even started this series yet, please do so. It's fantastic and I'm happy I read it. I can't wait to read more novels by Maggie Stiefvater like The Scorpio Races, which will be released on October 18th.

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Have you read Forever? What did you think about it?
Carina