12:23

12:23 by Patrick F. Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I were to rate 12:23 on the first half alone, my cursor would be hovering somewhere between four and five stars. In the beginning I was totally immersed in this novella. I've never seen this concept done before; it's exciting and unique, with two very likable protagonists.

Unfortunately the story loses momentum for me once the main players enter the gun store. While I love the book-within-a-book concept, the fact that Kim, Dylan, and Denny all know the immediate future makes the unfolding events feel underwhelming. Johnson tries to resolve this by withholding outcomes from the reader, but it doesn't really help. As a reader you want to see the main characters struggle through decisions in live-time, not have everything already decided for them--going through the motions simply because they're following a script in their head. (view spoiler)[The alien invasion was also too rushed. I do see what Johnson was going for, but it was a lot of last-minute exposition to absorb within very few pages. (hide spoiler)] I wish Johnson had fleshed this out into a full-fledged novel, because he hedges on some good, thoughtful ideas, but chooses to skim over major events like a news report instead of taking the time to truly let the reader experience everything firsthand.

The story would be more interesting, too, if it was simply Kim and Dylan with no spouses. Kim/Peggy often felt like the same person, along with Dylan/Darius (all Mary Sues, as noted by the author), so it seemed redundant and unnecessary to feature all of them as characters and made me less invested in any of them. Once the couples joined forces in the gun shop, I could feel Johnson's strain as he tried to give everyone a voice in a situation where there is too many people and not enough distinct personalities.

Despite these shortcomings, 12:23 really is a fun and thought-provoking read with a great premise and some fun, unexpected SciFi sequences. If you're ready for a totally original concept, I say give it a go.

When the Power is Gone

When the Power Is Gone by P.A. Glaspy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The writing is mediocre, but the story is intriguing and the survival tips are interesting.

I had two major issues with the book that would have been dealbreakers if this were any lesser of a story:

1. The characters lack unique voices. All of the men sound like the same person. I really can't tell the difference between Bob, Bryan, Bill (is there a Bill?), Ryan, and so on. One might say this is simply because there's a huge cast of characters, but this was a problem for me even in the beginning of the novel, when there was only five. The only male characters who stand out as individuals are Russ (due to him being the group's leader) and Mike, due to the author giving him more 'screen time'.
2. The lack of water in the town is never addressed. This is a huge problem. The water turns off fairly early in the novel, and while the human body can survive weeks without food, it's only got about 3 days without water. Glaspy portrays scavengers and marauders who are ransacking homes looking for food and weapons, even attacking others on the street to steal their wagons of supplies; why aren't they searching for water? Or those bad guys who were blocking the interstate and were willing to accept women as a toll payment. Um, no. There's no way they'd be stationed on the interstate or even thinking about sex. They'd be desperately hiking to a stream, river, or lake. The whole town would be dehydrated by this point of the novel. It's like the author totally forgot that running water no longer exists, an unfortunate oversight that almost ruins the experience of the novel for me.

Smaller Issues: The narration was all over the place. One second it's first-person narration and we're in Anne's head, the next second we jump into third-person omniscient narration where we're in "anyone's" head. It's disjointed and scattered. Glaspy would have been better off to choose third person omniscient narration for the entire book. Furthermore, I found the dialogue amongst the men frequently corny and forced. I also thought it was a little unrealistic to demand that the family brush their teeth three times a day in a survival situation. When water is scarce, once a day (tops) is more realistic, especially considering sugary foods are no longer on the menu. Also, in these kinds of stories, I find it a little too convenient when the main characters have access to an amazing farm that happens to have everything they need to not only make life livable again, but to also make you forget there even was an EMP in the first place. This is not very relatable to all of us average Joes out there who (even if we're small scale preppers) will never have such a fabulous advantage. This is why I enjoy books such as One Second After, in which readers get to see what survival looks like from the perspective of characters like you and me who don't have back-up farms up their sleeves with unlimited water, solar panels, etc.

Despite the novel's shortcomings, I found this to be an enjoyable novel and an easy read. I enjoyed Anne's tough-ass character, and overall appreciate the author's no nonsense attitude about people who leech from the system. And added bonus: Glaspy officially convinced me to up my disaster preparations a notch. (Though I'm still crying because I don't have a farm). I've already started the next book in the series and look forward to see what's in store for all of the survivors. 

The Last Librarian

 

The Last Librarian by Brandt Legg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DNF. Though I have to say, this is the best book I've ever abandoned. Brandt Legg is a writer of beautiful words. I don't think I've ever highlighted so many quotes in one novel.

He expected tears, cornered in that dark part of the cold building which held centuries of lessons and emotion, but all that came was a silent chant from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” He repeated it several times until he stumbled away, bleeding a bloodless pain that he wished would kill him.

This is one of many excerpts that captures raw, unadulterated emotion. The Last Librarian isn't simply a novel. It's poetry that happens to have a storyline.

Why the DNF? Well, at the 89% mark, Legg kills off a character I care deeply about. Maybe when I'm done getting through the five stages of grief I'll go back and finish the novel.

Until then I'm slicing one of your stars, Brandt Legg, for breaking my heart.

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The Royal Companion

The Royal Companion by Tanya Bird

(Book abandoned at 70%)

Ohhhhh no. I should have read the trigger warning. I'm so ticked off.

The Royal Companion started off really well. Smart writing, a lovable heroine...what else can a reader ask for? But at nearly 70% the book becomes unredeemable for me. There are certain unspoken rules in literature you simply don't violate, such as never killing off a beloved animal or including graphic scenes of a child being hurt. Well I think it's time to add a third rule: (view spoiler)[Never have your sixteen year-old virgin protagonist raped and beaten in a gang-bang situation. (hide spoiler)]

Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE. If this was an adult novel, or even a YA novel based on a true story, then...well...maybe. But for a YA/teen romance? NO.

After reading this scene, I now hate Prince Tyron. His wishy-washiness and cowardice led to him abandoning Aldara and leaving her to the devices of his sadistic brother, and frankly, he should have known better. I have no desire to see him and Aldara end up together. That's a huge problem for a romance novel...if the reader doesn't wants the heroine and hero to find their happy endings together, then the book loses all purpose.

Another thing. Tyron's little brother Prince Stamitos chooses a companion for himself, Sapphira. Not only is his companion smart and witty like Aldara, but she and Stamitos are both quite progressive when compared to others in their kingdom, and neither one has a problem openly showing their love and affection with each other despite the whole Prince/Companion dichotomy. So this begs the question: If Sapphira and Stamitos can have a relationship like this, WHY CAN'T ALDARA AND TYRON? It states in the book's synopsis that "there is no place for love between a prince and his Companion," yet no one seems overly concerned about Stamitos' and Sapphira's relationship. Those two make it look easy. I'm not sure why the author chooses to add these two little lovebirds into her story because they undermine her entire conflict. Stamitos and Sapphira show the reader that the wedge between Tyron and Aldara isn't an external conflict after all; but an internal, perceived conflict created by Tyron. In short, society isn't the problem. Tyron is. Like, dude, your little brother managed to figure this out and rise above it all...why can't you?

Bird did include a trigger warning in her synopsis and that's my bad for not noticing it. Plus the writing, other than a few minor editing misses, is elegantly executed. Bird is a talented writer, her subject matter is simply not my taste.

Dragon Rose

Dragon Rose by Christine Pope
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed Dragon Rose, but I did come out of it feeling like I was a little led-on by a synopsis that sounded darker and more exciting than the story actually turned out to be. The blurb on the back isn't misleading at all, it's just that the meat of the story doesn't really start happening until the last 15-20% of the novel. The first 80% features an optimistic Rhyanne adjusting to her new life at Black's Keep.

Between Pope's beautiful world building and an irresistibly compelling storyline, I struggled to put down the novel in the beginning. But after awhile, the story started to get a little tedious and repetitive. Every day seemed to feature the same events for Rhyanne: Wake up, choose in detail what dress to wear, eat breakfast, paint, eat lunch, paint some more, eat dinner with Theron, experience disturbing dreams at night, rinse and repeat. If there was some progression between her and Theron, either emotionally or physically, that would have lent itself to a more engrossing story. But she and her cursed husband never move forward in their relationship until the very end. I'm a huge fan of slow-burning romances, but when it's this agonizingly slow it's not much more exciting than watching grass grow.

I was really craving more from Theron. In some ways I liked his gentleness, but he was almost too mild-mannered and passive. I felt like Pope was playing it too safe with his character. Sometimes Theron's politeness bordered on dull indifference. (view spoiler)[Like when Rhyanne slips into a two-week fugue, he doesn't visit her bedside. Rhyanne gives him mental kudos for coming to her bedroom door, but I'm sorry--that's not much of a gesture when, as far as he's concerned, she's probably dying. (hide spoiler)] Plus his lack of involvement in Rhyanne's daily activities made for a lot of missed opportunities from the reader's point of view. It would have been awesome to have Theron find Rhyanne at the graveyard and witness that whole volatile exchange. Or for Theron to follow Rhyanne to the previous bride's chamber and flounder to explain why that bride wrote down such chilling words. Shoot, it would have been awesome to have Theron burst into Rhyanne's chamber even once in the story just because he couldn't stop thinking about her. By the end of the novel it's clear why Theron kept Rhyanne at bay, but it's still frustrating, and in my opinion, unnecessary. The tension in the novel would have been much more heightened if Rhyanne had brought out the selfish parts of Theron. He was already "nice" with his other brides, Rhyanne should have been the one to drive him to madness and make him forego his altruistic motives. He should have demanded to spend more time with her and constantly tried to be closer to her, and then, knowing the costs, been tormented by his obsession. Ultimately, Theron does such a good job pretending not to care about Rhyanne that even now, having finished the book, I'm still convinced that he isn't overly interested in her.

Pope does a wonderful (though rushed) job of tying all loose ends by the end of the novel, which is something I greatly appreciate. And I really love Rhyanne's character, and Theron's, when you take out the mild-manneredness aspect. Overall I enjoyed the book a lot, hence the four stars and way-too-long-review (I only ramble like this when a book has left an impression on me). I just feel like the author missed some great opportunities to turn this novel from a good little read to an unforgettable one.

Stars Across Time

Stars Across Time by Ruby Lionsdrake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

About 3.5 stars.

This was a cute book, though I found the first half more exciting than the second half. I appreciated the strength and general kick-ass know-how of the protagonist, Andie. Her confidence and determination constantly kept me from feeling depressed or sorry for her, even when she was in predicaments that were truly bleak (such as being stripped down naked in a cave with a bunch of horny scumbags). Sometimes Andie struck me as a little too strong (unrealistically so), but overall she was likable, so no real complaints there.

The love interest, Theron, was adorable. I appreciated how the author chose to give him some sweet boy-like charm, instead of pigeoning him into the larger than life "bad boy" category the whole novel. Moments where Theron was nervous and wanting to impress Andie rang with a lot of sincerity.

One problem I had deals with the technicalities of time travel and a big contradiction that is present in this story. Near the beginning of the book, it is mentioned (I believe through Theron's narration) that kidnapping women from the past is illegal, because it can jack with the future's timeline. That is, a man might kidnap a woman from the past and return to his own timeline to discover that his best friend no longer exists...that whole conundrum. I agree with this premise 100%. This is one of time travel's more universal laws. Yet later in the book, one of Theron's lieutenants discovers that Andie, in her own timeline, (view spoiler)[has a son--one who invents something very important. For that reason Theron can not have Andie remain with him in the future. The mark she leaves in the past is far too important. (hide spoiler)] But how on earth could the lieutenant find this information about Andie's yet-to-occur past when she is STILL in the FUTURE with them? This was such a huge time travel violation that it was hard for me to overcome it enough to enjoy the rest of the story. Andie was stolen from her own time period. She disappeared from a campground at the age of thirty-something and was never found. Until she returns to her own timeline, any records concerning her should reflect that fact.

I did enjoy the dystopian world Lionsdrake created. It was an interesting mix of old and new, swaying from never before seen technology to horse drawn carriages. If a sequel to STARS ACROSS TIME were to come out, I'd give it a chance.

Fifteen Minutes to Live

 

Fifteen Minutes to Live by Phoef Sutton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I downloaded this book for free from Bookbub and it turned out to be one of the best (if not the best) freebies I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. The plot is downright fascinating...it's like a darker, more intense version of "50 First Dates."

The story begins when the protagonist, 36 year old Carl, is visited one fateful night by his high school sweetheart, Jesse, who is acting like no time has elapsed since high school and is behaving like she's seventeen years old (though her face and body reveal her true age). Carl, believing she is perhaps going through a midlife crisis and playing some kind of game with him, allows himself a night of frenzied passion with her. But when Carl discovers that Jesse supposedly died three months earlier in a boating accident, and realizes she is losing her memories of recent events every 15 minutes, Carl is forced to weed through a web of secrets to figure out the truth about Jesse.

I can't say anything beyond this without giving away juicy spoilers, so I'll just state that the novel continues to navigate the reader through all sorts of twists and turns, and every time you have that "a-ha" moment where you think you've learned the truth, another layer is peeled away.

I love the characters. Carl, the MC, isn't perfect, which I find refreshing. He's self-deprecating with amusing quirks like trying to befriend a raccoon...he just comes across as very human. And his love for Jesse, though not always noble or logical, is fierce and moving. And then you have Jesse, who manages to shine with strength and determination, despite the fact that her memory resets ever 15 minutes. Not to mention all of the supposed antagonists--whether it's Martin, Ryan, or even Frank, aren't your cookie cutter "bad guys." They're complex, with redeemable qualities that make it difficult to hate them outright. Frank's character is hands-down the most beautifully conceived/written.

The only reason I would even knick half a star from 15 Minutes to Live is because of a few spelling errors (i.e. spelling the word "hand" as "band," etc.), and because of dropping Kit. I realize Kit is a secondary character who didn't have a huge role to play in moving the plot forward, but I feel that Sutton spent a lot of time developing Kit's character into one that the reader falls in love with, and I wish there had been at least a short scene near the end reconciling him with Carl.

Otherwise, 4.5 stars to an intriguing and gripping read, and I look forward to seeing what else Sutton has out there.

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Entanglement

Entanglement by Dan Rix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the second book I've read by Dan Rix. Last week I finished reading Broken Symmetry, and I enjoyed that novel so much that I immediately dove into Entanglement. I'll admit, I'm a little underwhelmed. The things that impressed me the most about Broken Symmetry simply weren't there for Entanglement. While Broken Symmetry follows a set of rules which lends authenticity to the story, Entanglement's governing rules are inconsistent, which gives the story less credibility and makes it more difficult to follow.

One of my biggest problems was the lack of adult presence in this book. It sounds like a small thing, but it was just...odd. Where were Aaron's parents throughout the story? The fact that Clive and his sidekick were able to burst into Aaron's house, breaking windows and creating a ruckus, yet neither one of Aaron's parents wake up...it's a pretty big suspension of belief. And wouldn't his parents confront their son the following day about the broken window? Wouldn't they also want to know why Aaron's car was trashed earlier in the novel? Or why Aaron is beat to hell? Aaron's parents didn't even make an appearance at his Ceremony of Halves--something that's supposed to be the biggest moment of their son's life.

It's downright bizarre. We have 17 and 18 year olds bullying each other, fighting, even killing, and yet the adults (other than a couple from the Brotherhood) are completely absent from this story with no explanation offered as to why.

There were other holes too, little areas where details were skipped. For example, in one scene Clive and Amber are on their way to their honeymoon, and in the next scene, she's paying an unsolicited visit to Aaron. How did she get from point A to point B without Clive interfering? I actually thought I had skipped a page or two, because there was simply NO WAY the insanely controlling Clive would allow his Half to drive off without him to meet his nemesis. But evidently, Clive did.

The ending was also a little bit of a let down. I'm a total fan of happy endings, and I'm glad Rix opts for them as well, but I really wanted to see Aaron and Amber pave a new path in their dystopian world by making the decision to love each other despite their obstructed clairvoyant channels. In the beginning of the novel, both characters seemed to despise the idea of halves and mourned for the days when people had the freedom to choose whom to love. This seemed to be setting up for an awesome ending of Aaron and Amber breaking the mold by loving someone who isn't their half. The epilogue hints at this possibility; it's a shame that it's not fleshed out.

Still, I have to give Entanglement three stars for a great plot concept and beautiful writing (seriously, Rix is a master of the written word. His descriptions are gorgeous). I look forward to reading more of his work. 

Into the Dark (formerly Going Gray)

Into the Dark by Brian Spangler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What I loved: Going Gray (original title at time of review) gripped me from the very first sentence. This novel doesn't mess around--it dives into the story right away. The concept is exciting and intriguing--a fog that poisons/burns upon contact. The author does a great job of building intensity and fear. Truly, one wouldn't think that acid-fog would make for a scary book, but there were scenes so terrifying that I had to put the book down for a few minutes and figure out how to breathe properly again. In some ways I would classify this book as YA horror.

What I struggled with: There is very little character development, which made it difficult for me to care about the characters. The protagonist, Emily, has almost no personality. She's not brave, she's not cowardly, she's not smart, she's not shallow, she's just...there. And Peter, the love interest, feels like he was thrown in as an afterthought. He, too, has almost no personality, and the romance that develops between him and Emily is bland. Also, the characters in the mall--I understand that they're minor characters, but there was nothing to distinguish one from the other. Really, I couldn't even tell the difference between Mr. Holcomb and Ms. Parks, which is saying a lot considering they're two different genders. It was disappointing, because trapping a band of survivors in a mall presents such an awesome opportunity for interesting interactions and sub plots, but the characters were so flat that by the end of the book I honestly didn't care what happened to any of them.

Another huge minus is nothing is ever explained. The giant fog machine can't be turned off--why? Why was the machine built in the first place? (We know it was to save humanity, but from what?) The machine is very localized--why can't some military from the opposite side of the country, or the globe, nuke the thing once they realized it had backfired? How does slow-moving fog incapacitate the entire world at once? Why aren't the survivors in the mall able to get ahold of other survivors via radio and such? (Surely there are people in China or Australia who have yet to be overtaken by the fog, given that the machine is local to Emily's town). How was Emily able to walk through the fog toward the machine in the epilogue?

I think Spangler has such a cool concept for this novel, and I don't agree with reviewers who felt it was too reminiscent of Stephen King's "The Mist'--Spangler's novel is definitely its own creature. I only wish he would have given reasons to justify his premise so I didn't have to spend the whole book scratching my head, thinking "Did I miss something?" He includes a lengthy epilogue, but instead of answering questions, it brings up more.

In short: 3 stars for a fabulous concept, awesome intensity, and clever writing; minus 2 for poor character development/exposition. Maybe Book 2 will fill in the gaps? Here's hoping.

Never Never

Never Never by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OH MY GOD, what a thrill ride. I started reading this book four hours ago and couldn't put it down--I seriously had to shove peanuts down my gullet when my stomach started growling because I couldn't be bothered to stop and eat a decent meal.

Never Never begins with the main characters, Charlie and Silas, both losing their memories at exactly the same time in the middle of their history class. Though they have been dating for four years, Charlie and Silas remember nothing about each other, or their own lives. Friends and family members are now complete strangers. Frightened and confused, they begin working together to unravel the mystery of who they were before their memories vanished, and why this atrocious fate has befallen them. Yet the more they learn about their former lives, the more the mystery deepens.

This novel is intense and fast-paced, full of mystery and intrigue that pulls you through the story so quickly that you don't realize you've hit the end until you're practically gasping for air. It ends with a gripping cliffhanger and a jaw dropping revelation that will make you squeal in delight and growl in outrage that you have to wait until May for the sequel.

The only thing that bothered me were the references to teenagers having sex, especially the scene where Charlie and Silas found their own "sex tape" (to be clear, there was nothing explicit. It was portrayed as a sweet moment via sound only--no visual). Sex might be an everyday part of the teenage world, but as a middle school teacher and mom to a teenaged daughter, it's always going to mess with my moral compass to see it so casually referenced. One comment made by a minor character in the book made it sound like Charlie and Silas had been having sex since the age of 13. I don't think this was the authors' intentions, but it niggled at me.

Also, Charlie's purposely off-putting personality toward Silas occasionally got on my nerves, but overall I thought the two balanced each other well (and Silas is so lovable that you can overlook Charlie's occasional less than personable attitude toward him). I found that I did immensely enjoy both characters, especially Silas's humor and Charlie's acknowledgement of her shortcomings. Charlie has the most room for growth, and I look forward to seeing more of that in the next book.

I rarely find a novel worthy of five stars--much less a novella--but based on sheer enjoyment-factor, Never Never is five stars hands-down for me. But BE FOREWARNED: No questions are answered. This whole book is tension-building only (with a hell of a cliffhanger). I've already pre-ordered the sequel and now have to figure out a way to go to sleep without being able to scratch my itch for the next installment of Charlie's and Silas's story.

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True Colors

True Colors by Melissa Pearl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, let's see.

The premise of this novel is completely unique: Caitlyn is given the gift (or the curse) of seeing what lies beneath people's "masks"--that is, she can see what emotions hide beneath the surface of each person (which also speaks volumes to her about who that person really is--good, evil, happy, insecure, etc.). SO COOL. Seriously, I wish I had thought of this.

And I read this book in one sitting. So there was definitely enough to keep me intrigued.

That being said, there were a few things that left me feeling disappointed.

First, why-oh-why did Eric, the love interest, have to be so hot? (I know--strange complaint, but hear me out). From the very first chapter, Caity is swooning (literally, she swoons) over her hot, model-looking neighbor. Later she receives her unmasking gift, and she discovers that not only is Eric gorgeous, but unlike so many of the other people in her life, he is actually sincere. So basically the beautiful boy next door turns out to be beautiful on the inside too. Considering the title of the book is "True Colors," I didn't understand this decision. Why not make Eric sort of strange...an outcast that no one quite understands? Then later, as Caitlyn's friendships begin to dissolve around her due to her new 'gift,' she could slowly discover that her odd duck of a neighbor is one of the rare few "genuine" people in her world. Eric could slowly become more beautiful in the eyes of Caitlyn as his true colors are unveiled. That would have lent itself so much more with the underlying theme (and title) of this book than Caitlyn going through some shallow insta-love thing with Eric simply because he's hot. And it would have offered some much-needed tension to an otherwise way-too-easy romance.

On that note, even once Caitlyn has spent nearly an entire novel removing people's masks, she still keeps commenting on Eric's abs and such. I was really hoping for more depth from her character by the end...that she'd understand that beauty is so much more than that which can be seen on the surface. To her credit, she does end up befriending an overweight girl named Libby. But when it comes to Eric, she never seems to get it.

Other issues. Nothing in this book takes the reader by surprise. The characters presented to the reader before Caity gets her gift turn out to be exactly who you think they are once Caitlyn tears off their masks. Caity's best friend Stella, who was bossy and self-centered before, ends up being the insecure and mean girl you expect. The people-pleasing and overweight Libby ends up being nice, and desperate for approval. There were simply no surprises. I was waiting for Caity to rip off the mask of the school's most admired teacher to see lust in his eyes--something shocking. But it never came.

Another problem was (*spoiler *) a cheating business at school hardly seems heavy/serious enough to kill over. That was a bit of a stretch. I really thought Caitlyn was going to uncover something much more sinister than kids bullying other kids to do their homework. And it was downright odd that given the criminal lengths Liam was taking to cover up this operation, no one was taking this issue to school authorities, or the police. The author tries to rationalize this by mentioning that Liam was putting incriminating pictures/videos of forced BJs and such in the smart kids' lockers as a scare tactic to keep them from "telling", but see the problem with this? Essentially Liam was offering up damning evidence of his own crimes on a silver platter, and yet not one single kid at this school thought to turn the bastard in. And these are supposed to be the "smart" kids?

Finally, it was a little convenient that the homeless man died before he could give Caity more information about her gift. But okay. I can make my peace with that. The author might be trying to leave some mysteries for future books.

Still, I loved the premise of the story, and it was a pleasant little read. I'm looking forward to seeing what book 2 has to offer, and at the minimum, Melissa Pearl is a talented story teller who knows how to keep her readers from getting anything done on a Sunday afternoon. 

Nobody's Goddess

Nobody's Goddess by Amy McNulty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If I were to rate Nobody's Goddess on the storyline alone, I would give it five stars. The concept is intriguing as all get-out, with the complexity of the story deepening with every turn of the page. McNulty creates so many wild threads that I was sure the whole thing would unravel by the end...such as: Why did the first goddess put this horrible curse on the village in the first place? Who is the lord and where did he come from? What/who are the "specters" that shadow the lord everywhere he goes? Why does the ground shake every time a woman looks up at the castle? Well, get this: ALL of these questions are answered. That is such a rare phenomenon in YA novels nowadays that this fact alone had me feeling nearly euphoric by the time I reached the end of the book.

The reason I feel compelled to downgrade my rating by a star is because the main character, Noll, is so unlikable. I'm all for anti-hero types, but there needs to be something redeemable about them to latch onto...some kind of adorable nuance or charm. Noll has none. She is selfish and miserable pretty much 100% of the time. I did understand her frustrations with her village, and I appreciated her rants about the mindless hollow men obsessed with their goddesses. In these instances, her sarcasm and resentment were warranted. But her constant cold treatment of her sister (who was simply trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation) and her downright cruel treatment of the lord were often too much to swallow. The final blow occurs when (view spoiler)[...Noll commands the lord to lift his veil. This was devastating for me, because up to this point, I still believed in Noll. I still had faith that she would change--that she'd have this big a-ha moment that would make her a better person. But when she performed this act, there was simply no redeeming her. Yes, using Noll's love for her mother as collateral was questionable on the lord's part, but his actions were to protect himself from Noll's abusive power. He was in a very desperate position, but Noll refused to recognize that someone else might be suffering a torment even greater than her own because that would require her to think outside of her self. For her to condemn the lord to death was so low and unforgivable. (hide spoiler)] I understand that McNulty was trying to create a believable character in Noll, one complete with flaws, but it's never a good sign when your readers would rather see the protagonist fling herself off a cliff than keep hurting people. Thankfully, by the end, Noll does finally open herself up to change, but it's almost too little too late.

Also, I didn't understand Noll's obsession with Jurij. Why would such a strong-willed female be in love with this weak, passive male who's about as interesting as a limp noodle? Furthermore, why wasn't there more chemistry between Noll and the lord? Noll absolutely hates all of the empty, hollowed men in her village who do nothing but swoon over their goddesses, yet when she is finally confronted with a man who can think for himself, who is clever and stubborn like her, and who fights AGAINST being her slave, she hates him for it. There was simply no pleasing her.

Still you guys, I really, really loved this book. I know this seems hard to believe given my criticism, but even despite Noll's unlikability, I couldn't put it down. I love unique premises, and this one scratched just about every itch I've had for a truly original concept since The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Nobody's Goddess has a satisfying ending, with almost all questions answered and the sweet suggestion of Noll's future relationship lingering in the air. There's enough intrigue to warrant reading the second installment, but no big cliffhangers to drive you crazy waiting for it. I will definitely be on the lookout for book 2 of the Never Veil Series.