Review: Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell

Read (August 28 - September 2, 2014)

Book: Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell
Publication Date: October 8, 2014
Publisher: Flux
Pages: 336
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal
Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Lucy Aimes has always been practical. But try as she might, she can’t come up with a logical explanation for the recurring dreams that have always haunted her. Dark dreams. Dreams of a long-ago place filled with people she shouldn’t know…but does.

When her family moves to a New Orleans plantation, Lucy’s dreams become more intense, and her search for answers draws her reluctantly into the old city’s world of Voodoo and mysticism. There, Lucy finds Alex, a mysterious boy who behaves as if they’ve known each other forever. Lucy knows Alex is hiding something, and her rational side doesn’t want to be drawn to him. But she is.

As she tries to uncover Alex’s secrets, a killer strikes close to home, and Lucy finds herself ensnared in a century-old vendetta. With the lives of everyone she loves in danger, Lucy will have to unravel the mystery of her dreams before it all comes to a deadly finish. — (source)

I feel like I have so many words but not enough steam to heave them out for this review. Sweet Unrest drained me. My patience is nearly running out and I have just enough to write this review without sounding like a cranky person you're forced to sit with in a public vehicle.

Sweet Unrest is banking on its quiet atmosphere and mystique. Qualities that should inspire readers to turn pages after pages, delving deeper into the mysteries of New Orleans' history and voodooing in search of answers. But instead of it being a relishing experience, it felt like wading through a senseless pile of sludge. I have nothing against sludge-wading if it's worth the effort but it fueled nothing but boredom and apathy. Voodoo shenanigans are tricky enough as it is, but to keep piling frustrating aspects like instalove, lifeless characters, unexciting plot on top of everything? It's like this book is asking what's coming for it.

Lucy, our protagonist, was uprooted from her Chicago life when her parents decided to take a job in New Orleans. She was not happy at all but she's a nice kid and while I applaud her for not being whiny about this sudden change in her life, that's about where her personality started and ended for me. You could argue that she's brave and passionate especially when things started to take a turn for the worst but most of the time she would just spend her days mooning about her past life and a certain Alex Reade Jourdain.

“..When I finally met his eyes again, there was an intensity and fierceness there that gave me hope and that maybe there was an answer to our shared pain. That maybe our love could be more someday than a deep well of regret. That at the very least having him—even like this—could be enough for both of us.”

Now if any of you were following my reading progress for this one, you'd know that I couldn't stop myself from seeing similarities between this and Ghost House. While Sweet Unrest is infinitely better than Ghost House in almost every respect, it didn't dodge the most horrible trope of all: instalove. In fact, it embraced it wholeheartedly. For a while, I was able to stop grinding my teeth in frustration and to reserve judgment because I haven't yet unravel the past and the book kept shoving cookies at me to pacify me. It went like this (intentionally vague to avoid spoilers):

ME: WTF. You just met him Luce-girl. How come you lurve him already? -___-

BOOK: NO. You see, she had met him before so that should count for something and I'm pretty sure that would dispel any anti-instalove campaign.

ME: Bu-bu-but..

BOOK: Just you wait. I will blow your mind with my revelashun.

~After 10 boring years~

BOOK: Shazam. See?! THAT WAS A BRILLIANT REVELASHUN, WASN'T IT?

ME: *punches book in the crotch*

It's actually cute how this book tried so hard to justify the instalove, really. Or maybe, I'm the one who tried so hard to justify it because I see no other reason why I endeavored to finish this in the first place. But even when we take into consideration the circumstances from the past, it's still didn't make any sense. Also, this didn't change the fact that Lucy is her own self now, no matter what happened in the past. If I have to suspend disbelief every time Lucy and Alex interact, it won't do anything but alienate me more from the story and its characters.

The plot is so dull and while it's not exactly uninspired, it wouldn't win any award in the riveting section either. I couldn't, for the life of me, make myself care for what's happening. I tried so hard, I swear. It didn't help that the secondary characters were dragged out in the open to serve the plot and they're forgotten immediately afterwards. The villain reveal was so groundbreaking I felt so stupid for not finding out who it was sooner! Spoiler alert: I encountered this "evil" person for like 2x tops before the reveal. The ending tried but inevitably failed to take hold of any emotions except bliss because all I could think about was I'm so close to turning the last page and then freedom!

Sweet Unrest tested how far I would go to finish a book I'm not enjoying. Still, I have to tip my hats off to Lisa Maxwell because without her writing, I would have not finished this book. I would undoubtedly read Lisa Maxwell's future books because I really believe she has potential. If reading about voodoo and ghost boyfriends are something you can see yourself enjoying, then you are welcome to read this one.

Cupid's Verdict:  

2.5 Cupids

 A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Quote taken from an uncorrected ARC and may change in the final copy.

Review: Words and their Meanings by Kate Bassett

Read (August 20-21, 2014)

Book: Words and their Meanings by Kate Bassett
Publication Date: September 8, 2014
Publisher: Flux
Number of Pages: 360
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Source: Publisher

Anna O’Mally doesn’t believe in the five stages of grief. Her way of dealing with death equates to daily bouts of coffin yoga and fake-tattooing Patti Smith quotes onto her arms. Once a talented writer, Anna no longer believes words matter, until shocking discoveries–in the form of origami cranes–force her to redefine family and love.

As Anna goes in search of the truth, she discovers that while every story, every human being, has a last line, it might still be possible to find the words for a new beginning. - (source)

“It's only been a year and some change since Joe. And now, here I am again, waiting, trying to stop hoping. And drowning in what I could have done to save someone I love. ”

Words and their Meanings is a tough book to read. It's a kind of story that pleads silently for any comforting gesture but lashes out at the slightest of touch. It has sucker punched me in all my vulnerable places and I have no idea how I've survived it. Reading this book trapped me in an awful, depressing bubble that I don't know how to shake away, even now. I feel like doing my own coffin yoga, practice my own blank stare, and will away my existence, even just for a short while, because feeling all these feels is hurting me.

“You can't let emotions consume you. ”

— Ha, book! Are you referring to me?

Grief is the weirdest thing. I've seen it time and again. From people I don't know, from acquaintances, and from people who are close to me. Everyone reacts differently. Coping varies from one person to the next. One thing is a constant though, it never fails to make itself known. It might hit you the way a raindrop casually falls from an oncoming downpour or it might felt like being ran over by a bulldozer. In Words and their Meanings, I've suffered both and I am still not sure how and why.

“What I feel is not in the human vocabulary.”

Its intensity and rawness is unflinching in its pain. Its words carried a weight that begs to be endured and understood and absorbed. I cried—no, I leaked. My unrelenting tears was a direct result of the emotional gutting I've received from this sad, sob-fest of a story. But the most surprising thing was underneath the crushing waves of agony and sorrow, it was punctuated by tiny nuggets of hope and healing for these characters, which comes unexpectedly in hilarious moments. A minor respite but enough to fill me with optimism that they could come back from all these, stronger as a person and tighter as a family than ever.

“How do I say Mateo reminds me of the poem that cut deepest? The one so full of fear that one break in stillness is enough to bring joy and hope and life?

I don't.”

I feel obligated to talk about the characters' humanness, fragility and realness. I feel like I need to discuss the genuineness of the friendship, the family dynamics, and the wonderful portrayal of love and its complexity. I feel like I need a separate section for Mateo alone, or for Joe, or for Anna, or for Anna's parents or her Gramps, or her sister or her bestfriend. But I won't try. I don't have enough in me to try. But I was there for them and I hope that's enough.

“Think about how weird it is to feel broken and mended all at once. Sad and happy. Sappy.”

— Tell me about it, book. *sniffs*

I felt so drained. So emotionally exhausted. So wrung out. This book scared me with its darkness and pain. My head hurt, as what happens, when I cry too much and I don't think I could ever go through this again. But I might, I might just have to, because if every reread is equivalent to a pat on the shoulder, or an embrace, or even a simple nod of understanding, I'd do it all again for these characters and their story.

“Everyone gets one last line. But first lines, stories of love and loss and hope floating on backs of paper cranes? We choose how many of those we get to tell.

All we have to do is breathe deep. Breathe life in.

My eyes slip closed, and I do. I breathe. I breathe. I breathe.”

Cupid's Verdict:

5 Cupids

A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Quotes are taken from an uncorrected ARC and may change in the final copy.