Bitter End Review

TITLE Bitter End
AUTHOR Jennifer Brown
PUBLICATION May 10, 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
READ August 15, 2012

When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her -- she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate . . . someone who truly loves and understands her.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.

As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself.

After reading Brown's Hate List and seeing how she tackled tough issues in a very realistic, head on manner I was quick to pick up everything I could by her and knew that I had to read them all. I went into Bitter End with mixed emotions as I had high hopes due to the author's previous work but I often find myself struggling to connect to abused women in books. Yes, I am that girl, I read through the pages and roll my eyes at the characters inability to just walk away from the situation and come out having had a less than enjoyable experience. Bitter End changed that, I literally could not put this book down. I read it on a sunny afternoon and found myself unable to walk away from it. I went and made the kids breakfast and raced back outside to pick up where I left off in Alex's story.

What this novel did for me, I haven't come across before. I connected with Alex and I completely understood her reasoning for sticking around in a toxic situation. She had found love and was feeling it in a way that she had never felt before. Her inner dialogue takes the reader through the thought patterns of being abused so perfectly; pain, anger, betrayal, and ultimately regret. Bitter End is written so perfectly in every way I can think of that I connected to it having never been abused myself. The progressions were spot on, whether it was the abusive relationship, Alex's friendship with Zack and Bethany or her home life with her family.

Alex was a complex character, who even though she was an abused person staying in the relationship, she had her head on her shoulders. I have never been able to understand the mentality that would make someone stay in an abusive relationship, but I think Alex made me understand. She had a crappy home life, didn't get along with her sisters and her father has been absent since her mother's death but she had the kind of friendships anyone would hope for. The scenes with Alex, Bethany and Zack were hilarious and oftentimes I found myself laughing out loud at their jabs toward one another. Even though she had such strong friendships she longed for a love and understanding that you can't find in friends and when she found it in the, seemingly, perfect Cole she thought she had it all.

Cole was bang on your typical abuser. He was sweet as pie at first but as their relationship went on and he became jealous his dark side began to push through the surface. He would hurt Alex and then say all the right things to get her back into the relationship. I was heartbroken watching him play her emotions and make all the false promises he could. There is a scene with him that involves drunk driving that probably should have been at least addressed in the story and wasn't but with so much going on I can see why it would have been glossed over in the expanse of things.

This is by no means a happy story with a happily ever after. It is gritty and does not shy away from the issue at hand, but it is real and I think that is needed to make a good, memorable story. I'm not a believer in thinking the bad parts of our society should be avoided in novels, because it's out there and it's reality, and Jennifer Brown knows how to write about them in the most perfect way I can possibly imagine.

Read. This. Book. NOW.

Fairyland Review/Giveaway

TITLE Fairyland (Songs of Magic #4)
AUTHOR J.L. Bryan
PUBLICATION June 2012 by www.jlbryanbooks.com
READ June 7 - 9, 2012
BUY IT Amazon

Jason and Erin’s urgent mission takes them deep into the colorful and deadly wilds of Faerie, full of bizarre and rude creatures, and past the glittering volcanic islands of the Southward Sea.

In man-world, Mitch and Dred try to prepare for a live concert in front of millions of viewers while half their band is missing. The record company is furious with them, and so are a certain violet-haired fairy and her banshee wolf friend, who finally catch up with them in Los Angeles.

In Faerie, Queen Mab and the leprechaun Aonghus Mac Lobhar enter into a secret agreement over a new kind of magic that will change fairyland forever...

A copy was provided by J.L. Bryan in exchange for an honest review.

This series never ceases to amaze me!  I have tried a few other fairy books since reading this J.L. Bryan series and have been so not interested every time. But, when I read these I am completely lost in the fairy lore and the wonderful writing.  Fairyland is an epic adventure in just that, a Fairyland.  In this one we get to go with Jason and Erin as they fight their way through marshmallow swamps and the Southward sea (which is full of sharks with attitude and mermaid pirates!)

All of my favourite characters were back in full force. Grizzlemore was as grumpy and sarcastic as ever and is still reigning as my favourite.  We get to watch Erin and Jason's relationship grow as they venture through fairyland which was exactly what I was looking for in this fourth installment.  Some of the mystery surrounding Erin is revealed but just a touch. J.L must be longing to drive me insane with anticipation as he is constantly giving tid bits of information but always just shy of enough to fulfill me. We are also treated to more of Aiode and Liadan's adventure to retrieve the stolen instruments. Aiode still had me laughing in this one as she figured out the inner workings of the man world and was exposed to rock n' roll.

For the fourth book in this series I will admit that I had worried about it being carried on and how it could be kept fresh and exciting.  J.L. accomplished that, I've mentioned how fascinated I am with this authors imagination before and this one just pushed it even farther, there are so many new creations in Faerie; Sourgum & Sweetgum trees that spit gum as far as the eye can see, giant pork loving bog frogs and vicious swamp cobras made everything feel brand new.  There is also a little twist in this one that, once it hit me like a slap in the face, I was kicking myself for not suspecting it because it makes so much sense.

I can't say enough about this series, you have to read them for yourself. They are fantastical, hilarious and written so well. This is a great addition to a series that I love and I can't wait for more!

The epic J.L. Bryan is upping his number on the awesomesauce scale by offering up a paperback copy of Fairy Metal Thunder (book #1 in the Songs of Magic series) for giveaway! This is open to US residents only.  Get your entries in people this is an AWESOME book!



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