YA Review: Tear You Apart (Beau Rivage) by Sarah Cross

Title: Tear You Apart
Author: Sarah Cross
Series: Beau Rivage
Book #: 2
Pages: 384
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 3.55
Published: Jan. 27th, 2015

An edgy fairy tale retelling of "Snow White" set in the world of Kill Me Softly for fans of Once Upon a Time and Grimm.

Faced with a possible loophole to her "Snow White" curse, Viv goes underground, literally, to find the prince who's fated to rescue her. But is life safe in the Underworld worth the price of sacrficing the love that might kill her?

Taschima's POV:

"Somewhere, someone's dream was coming true.
And someone's was ending..."

Tear You Apart was okay, but it was hard to get through, the main character is unlikable until the very end chapters, and it portrays a very unhealthy romantic relationship.

"That was Beau Rivage: grime and glitter, magic tucked into shadows and hidden in plain sight. Normal people went about their own dysfunctional lives while the Cursed ran the city, and the strangeness went largely unnoticed."

The premise for the whole world of Tear You Apart did not click for me. You have this town in which "normal" people are cursed with fairy tale curses, and everyone must play their part, right? Only, why should they? There are no repercussions to just saying "fuck it" and not going through with your curse. In fact, there are no repercussions to just getting the fuck out of dodge. Sayonara, see ya! But everybody just seems to be a glutton for punishment. Why would you stick around if you know you are going to be killed? Why stick around if you know that they cursed you to be the bad guy? I found it hard to believe that Regina would not use her intelligence and just leave her neglectful husband. I understand to a certain extent that the teens must stay because of their parents, but why would the parents (adults mind you, which we see very few of in here, and most of the ones we see are EVIL) WANT their kids to grow in this environment? Makes no sense to me, specially since this story is set in the modern world (the references to pop culture just pained me; it just didn't come natural). You have to apply your disbelief very thoroughly if you are to enjoy the setting.

"Divine... so innocent... gorgeous. more beautiful than she is."

Not only could I not submerge myself fully into this world, but the main character was one I could not support. At the beginning it seemed like the best idea ever, a jaded Snow White that has a bit of a back bone to her.

"Viv took the tiny, bitten-off flower in one hand and stroked the mouse's back with the other. "Thanks," she murmured. "Although if you really loved me, you would have given Regina a disease by now."

But jaded turned into extremely bitchy and entitled.

"Is there any way I can cut the line?""Normally we only give special treatment to princesses who have eleven sisters. But I guess I could make an exeption...since you remembered not to wear your pajamas.""Thanks," she said. "I'd hate to get you fired."

REALLY VIV? If before I thought you were a sad example of a heroine now you just made my shit list. She is not the cool Snow White that you would like to hang with, she is the whole entitled princess package. I could not support her in any way, not until the very last chapters. I understand the main character has to have ways in which to develop their character, but at the same time you have to like your main character to some degree if the novel is going to work and not just like them by the very end.

The icing on top of the wonderful cake that is Viv is her toxic relationship with Henley.

Viv goes out of her way to demean Henley and make him jealous...

"She was only half focused on what Danny was doing. She was thinking about Henley, how angry he would be--as angry as she'd been? Angrier? Her breath caught."

She holds on to their relationship, and to Henley, even though she knows it is bad for both of them. She keeps Henley on the hook, always thinking that her prince charming is jus down the road so why settle for this guy when another is destined to be with her? Though to be honest Viv thinks her prince is not going to be a prince charming, she thinks he is going to be a psycho who is turned on by dead ladies. She both wants to meet her prince and not, but just in case he turns out to be horrible wrong for her better keep Henley around.

"He couldn't promise he wouldn't kill her. She couldn't promise she would stay with him. They shouldn't be together; she knew that. But she didn't care. Tomorrow she would care, in an hour she might care. But not now.

"The sick feeling rose up in her again. Leaving Henley-- choosing someone else--meant losing him."Whatever you want," she said. "I don't own you.""Yes, you do, Viv. You know you do."

I just want to scream at Henley to grow some balls and leave the crazy girl behind.

"The day Henley turned sixteen, a fairy cursed him to be Snow White's Huntsman. And everything had changed."

Henley on the other hand you want to like. He got the bad end of the deal. He is on Viv's beck and call, stands her bitchyness and her mood swings, and plays her game of hot/cold. So yeah, you want to feel for Henley, and often times I do feel for the guy, but then he goes and does this...

"Viv followed the sound and her eyes found Henley, lit by the flashing headlights of an orange BMW until he smashes them with a shovel."

... he pummels the car of a guy that Viv was USING to make Henley jealous. This is the moment where I just wiped my hand off both characters and told them to kill each other. Mind you this is 10% into the story. Eeks.

So I had a problem with the characters, the world building (so much info dumping on the first few chapters it was ridiculous), and just the story in general. It felt weird and like the theme was hanging on by a thin thread. I am not even mentioning the "underworld" which is only comprised of an underground privileged club and a palace. Really, no world building.

Maybe I would have liked this one more if I had started with Kill me Softly (which everyone else seems to really enjoy so I might still give that one a shot). The cover is gorgeous, but it doesn't fix the problems with the story. It is readable, but not exactly Sarah Cross' best work.

Novella Review: This Night so Dark by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: This Night So Dark
Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound
Book #: 1.5
Pages: 109
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 3.92
Published: Oct. 7th 2014

Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued civilian researchers held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now he and Lilac reconcile his memories of that night with the truth uncovered after the crash.

Short connects first two novels. Includes preview chapter from This Shattered World.

Taschima's POV:

This novella was short and sweet, if by "sweet" I mean it was incredibly violent and it packed a punch. When I read These Broken Stars the only thing that nagged at me was Tarver's past. How did such a young man get decorated so much? What did he do to rise in the military ranks so quickly? Why did people admire him so? In These Broken Stars you got the sense Traver must have done something truly heroic to be so young and respected so much, but they never actually came right out and discussed why that was. Until now.

Traver is stationed in what seems to be a very peaceful planet, practically past it's rebellious phase. After being stationed in the planet Avon for long enough (too long and people start going crazy and killing each other) they re assign him to a more peaceful setting. One day while coming from a patrol with a fellow soldier Traver gets some report that one of their facilities isn't acting normal; the fellow soldier believes it is a glitch of the computer but Traver is more cautious.  What they come to find out is that the facility which they are supposed to be protecting has been infiltrated by contracted mercenaries. Who hired them? What are they after? How far will they go to get it? So it is up to Traver to save the remaining people inside the facility and find out the mercenaries purpose.

Traver is a bad ass, he has always been. This story didn't transform him from a weakling to a bad ass, it just shows us why he got the fame he has in These Broken Stars. I enjoyed the short story. It is similar to These Broken Stars in format. The chapters that are based in the past are separated with a conversation between Traver and Lilac happening in the present. Lilac listens to Traver as he tells her the story that still haunts him and wakes him up at night. While doing so Lilac and Traver manage to figure out some things that might be crucial for future books in the series, so I would definitely recommend this read if you want to be in the know. Not to mention it helps fill out some of the blanks These broken Stars might have left behind.

I really hope Lilac and Trevor get another story in the future, I love these two. Until then I shall read every other story written by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, starting with This Shattered World.

Mini-Review: Divergent Novella: Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story by Veronica Roth

Goodreads

Rating: 

I feel like short e-novellas should have their own rating system, because sure they aren't the complete story but they bring something to the table. This story for example brought a LOT to the table when it comes to hundreds of beating hearts who lovingly wait for any mention of Four in Divergent. Free Four is a short re telling of Divergent through Four's eyes, and not just on any part but the knife throwing scene!! Let's just say it's incredibly nice to be inside Four's head at a time when you didn't know what the hell was going on through those parts. The e-novella is less than 15 pages, sad to say, but it will be a nice fix for those who have just finished Insurgent, or even Divergent, and need a bit more.

I give this E-novella a 5/5! Getting to look at some things through Four's eyes is amazing, in fact the only thing I am disappointed about is that we don't get the whole NOVEL through Four's eyes. What do you say guys? Let Veronica Roth take a step into the unthinkable and write Divergent again through Four's eyes?! YES?! Oh please do so, I would so buy that book.