Book Break-Ups: Unleashed by Nancy Holder

Title: Unleashed
Series: Wolf Spring Chronicles
Author: Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie
Publisher: Doubleday Children's
Publication Date: 8 Dec 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads

Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.

Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs.

REVIEW

I am having such a hard time writing this review because I really had issues with it. The premise sounded brilliant but for me it didn't translate within the narrative.

Although I felt sympathy for the main character, Katelyn, for the loss of her mother I felt that there was more of a background story surrounding her death than was stated but this was never developed. Katelyn morphs into Kat when she moves in with her Grandfather, trying to build a new life to accompany the new town. I found her emotions/reactions and character in general to be inconsistent. Thinking about it now it was the inconsistencies with the characters that frustrated me the most about this book not only with Kat but with ALL the characters. I found myself wondering about their change in actions/attitude as it didn't seem to fit in with how they were portrayed earlier within the story.

There are a number of plot threads hinted at within the narrative, only one was really pursued while the others were like constant static noise in the background. It made me feel as if there was no true direction and that the plot had been left wide open to go off at any angle it chooses to in the future. I am all for plot twists but did feel that this story needed less possibilities or more answers.

On a positive note the writing is beautifully descriptive, the tension and atmosphere are well portrayed. However, it do not think it will be enough for me to continue with this particular series.

Thanks to Carla of The Crooked Shelf for the use of Book Break-Ups

Tantalising Trailers: Unleashed by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

This trailer was originally scheduled for last month but blogger mysteriously ate it [ : ( ] 

So in honour of tonight's full moon - ENJOY

Title: Unleashed

Series: Wolf Springs Chronicles

Author: Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

Publisher: Doubleday Children's 

Publication Date: 8 Dec 2011

Synopsis from Amazon

When Katelyn starts at her new school. the only person she knows is the handsome and intriguing Trick Sokolov, an acquaintance of her grandfather. She's surprised when the popular Cordelia Fenner invites her home and when she meets Cordelia's hot brother, she begins to think her new life might be OK after all.

But as she spends time with the family, she realises that the Fenners are harbouring a deep dark secret. Every bone in Katelyn's body tells her that the Fenners are mad, bad and dangerous to know - but how can she give up her only friend, and how can she ignore the way Justin sets her blood on fire with a single look?

Katelyn finds herself caught between three major werewolf clans who have been at war with each other for centuries - a war, it seems, that Katelyn is destined to end.

Mini Review: Possessions by Nancy Holder

Title: Possessions
Series: Possessions/Evil Girls
Author: Nancy Holder
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: 8 Oct 2009

Source: UK Book Tours



Synopsis: From GoodReads
New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn't help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago.

What Lindsay doesn't yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead...
And that someone is Lindsay.

Review:
This is another book I wasn't overly animated about. I wish I had read the synopsis on GoodReads before signing up for the tour as the synopsis literally tells you the entire story in a few sentences what the book takes the whole story to convey. Actually I probably would have still wanted to read it, being completely honest, but not expecting the book to be an extended version of the synopsis.

The Gothic imagery and descriptions were richly woven, intertwining the sumptuous with the scary seamlessly. Although the pacing of the plot felt drawn out. Little pieces of background details are revealed but not enough for my taste; I was left feeling frustrated. The mood building was intense and often chilling. All the characters were flawed and unlikeable, I need some nice characters. The ending was very open as no real answers were given. This is one of those books that I feel as if I must read the sequel in order to gain closure (or throw it against the wall).

To combat the negativity of my review (I really do not like writing negative reviews but want to keep a reading record) please take a look at these reviews:

The Slowest Bookworm