Review - Shimmerspell by Kimberly Spencer (8)

Shimmerspell by Kimberly Spencer
Series: Faerie Tale Girl #1
Publisher: self-published (can find on Amazon and Smashwords)
Publication Date: 8 April 2011
Genre: YA fantasy/paranormal
My Copy: received from author for review - ebook

Sixteen-year-old Jensen Meadows has never been one to choke on a tall tale. With a con-artist for a big sister, she knows the value of a well executed lie. But when she overhears a murder confession at school and is abandoned by her sister, Jensen learns a few new things: Drinking Red Bull isn't the only way to get wings. The Seelie Court still hasn't gotten over King Arthur's death. Shimmerspell, the power to move between the mortal and faerie realms, is missing. And somehow, her beloved sister is tied to it all. With the help of a few teenage light-elves, Jensen wades through a sea of lies and begins to suspect that her whole life has been the tallest tale of them all.


Review:
Shimmerspell is a short story about faeries loosely based upon the Arthurian Legends. The plot line is very interesting. I found myself easily brought into the story. Kimberly has an amazing talent for imagery. The scenes came to life with her artful descriptions. The story has a wealth of great lines. Jensen is a pretty kick-ass girl and a remarkably believable character. I think the story could definitely be expanded upon for a great full length novel (I would absolutely read it). The very speedy pace to get everything in made it a little confusing at times, and at the end I had a ton of questions. Overall, it's a very fun, short read with moments of suspense and a good dose of mystery. I will definitely be looking for the second book in this series.

Kimberly has great potential as an author. I would read another story written by her in a heartbeat.

Other thoughts:
I really like the cover. The colors are beautiful. The girl's face has a mixture of fear and curiosity which I think fits well with the story. I believe the pink and orange thing on the right is a will o'wisp from the story. Very cool.


Rating breakdown:
Plot: 5 stars
Pacing: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Character relationships: 5 stars
Recommend: Yes

Top Ten/Teaser Tuesday (3)

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's theme is Top Ten Books That Came Recommended.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa - I had only read one book based around faeries before this and wasn't particularly thrilled by it. I never picked up any books with faeries as the main character after that until this one was raved about so strongly in the blogosphere. It is truly one of my favorite series now, so THANK YOU blogosphere!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Yes, I actually love the series. I even like Breaking Dawn. My mom recommended it to me. I know, shocking! She read it first, then told me she thought I would love it. I was hesitant to read it because this was just before the first movie was going to be released on DVD. All I knew was that gaggles of teenaged girls screamed over it. Let's face it, I did not really want to be associated with that. However, I trusted my mom's opinion, and I'm thankful I did (even if I do get strange looks for admitting that I like it).

Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon - Never heard of this one? I'm not surprised. I've never talked to anyone who knew anything about this book. It's a cute chick lit novel told partly through emails. It was one of those novels that was randomly recommended to me by a woman at a bookstore. This was my first chick lit novel, and it encouraged me to spread my reading interests out more.

More Than You Can Chew by Marnelle Tokio - This is a semi-autobiographical novel about a teenage girl with an eating disorder. It was my first real-life, in-your-face YA novel. It was a book club read when I was in high school. I can't really explain why this book was and is so important to me. I've never had an eating disorder, but I'd be lying if I said I had never thought of it before reading this. It's very thought provoking and great for discussion, so I have to thank my high school librarian profusely for bringing this book to my attention.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - This was another high school book club read. I absolutely love this series and the author, so again, thank you high school librarian!

The Giver by Lois Lowry - This wasn't so much recommended as it was required, but I'm still very thankful for it. It was the first dystopian novel I ever read, and I've loved those ever since. I've read it twice since that class and love it every time.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - I cannot remember who specifically recommended this book to me, but I love it. I read it during my freshman year at college. It was also my first vampire novel. My copy is now rather beat up from the times I've read it. It was so fascinating, and it's always colored my opinions of vampire novels. I've read several books by her since, including Rose Daughter which is another favorite of mine.

Goldengrove by Francine Prose - I'm not sure this is technically a recommendation, but I found it on the front table when you first come in the door of Borders (New Releases or something similar). It is such a poignant, coming-of-age novel. I never would have picked it up though if I had not seen it sitting there on the table because it's in literary fiction. While I pick up books from there that I'm specifically looking for, I don't usually just browse through it for titles.

In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke - This was recommended to me by a coworker. It was definitely outside my comfort area, but I found myself fascinated by the story anyway.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - This was a novel required for class when I was in sixth grade. It started my obsession with World War II, specifically the Holocaust. It is part of why I became a history major. It is why I've taken three separate classes based in this time period (Nazi Germany, Senior Seminar over the Holocaust, European History from 1918 to the Present). It was the first book that made me really understand the value of life.




This is a weekly meme hosted by Liz @ Should Be Reading.

"The one on the left is serious red. Looks like someone opened a vein and bottled it. Dracula'd go ape shit for that red." - pg 44

She was almost certain that something had been watching them from across the street. The crawling sensation in her stomach stayed with her all the way home. -pg 31

But even with the dim light and Tammy partially blocking her view, Lisa saw the horse. It stood there in the garden, black as burned toast and tall as anything. It looked directly at her, its white eyes glowing, steam blowing from its nostrils. -pg 15

Month in Review - April 2011

This is where I post a wrap-up of books read and reviews posted each month. I also include a few goals for the coming month.

All things considered, it was a pretty good month for me. I hoped to read more than 10 books this month, but I am happy with them. I'd say I'm hoping for 20 books next month; however, I already know that is not going to be possible with finals and an intersession course. If I get another 10 read in May, then I will be a happy reader.

Books read:
*Links go to Goodreads*

1. My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
2. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
3. The Haunted by Jessica Verday
4. Dead Is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez
5. The Classic Slum by Robert Roberts (read for class)
6. The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
7. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
8. Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby
9. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
10. Midnight's Wild Passion by Anna Campbell
11. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson (read for class)
    

Reviews posted:
*Links go to my review*

1. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
2. Dead Is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez
3. The Haunted by Jessica Verday
4. My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
5. Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby
6. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
7. Midnight's Wild Passion by Anna Campbell

Reviews to write/post:

1. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
2. The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot

Reviews by rating:

• 2 - 5 stars
• 2 - 4 stars
• 2 - 3 stars
• 1 - 2 stars

Books on my reading list for May:
*Links go to Goodreads*
These are not necessarily to be read in this order.

1. Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton (for review)
   
2. The Guardian by Margaret Mallory (for review)
   
3. Ripe for Pleasure by Isobel Carr (for review)
   
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (own)
   
5. What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes (own)
   
6. Mercy by Rebecca Lim (for review)
   
7. One Night in Scotland by Karen Hawkins (own)
   
8. Scandal in Scotland by Karen Hawkins (for review)
9. The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin (for review)
10. Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury (for review)
11. The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney (library)
12. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler (library)
13. Epitaph Road by David Patneaude (library)
14. Nomansland by Lesley Hauge (library)
15. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (library)
16. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (library)

Other goals:
I want to leave comments on at least 5 book blogger's sites a day.

I want to redo my layout as well this month. I like this one, but now that I've had it for a month, I'm not sure it's really the right fit. It seems more YA than I would like considering I also review romance and mysteries. So, expect to see a different layout by the end of the month.