Rob Rufus: "The Vinyl Underground" (ARC Review)

Title: The Vinyl Underground [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Rob Rufus [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary, Historical
Year: 2020
Age: 14+
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Vivid portrait of an era. Teen protagonists who feel real. Focus on friendship and coming of age (though there's some romance involved). Music fuels the story.
Cons: Messy parent-child dynamics and conveniently clueless adults.  Some inconsiderate choices.
WARNING! Verbal and physical abuse (racially charged, for the most part). Unchallenged drug use. Underage drinking.
Will appeal to: Those who appreciate a story walking the line between teen adventure and social/historical commentary.

Blurb: During the tumultuous year of 1968, four teens are drawn together: Ronnie Bingham, who is grieving his brother's death in Vietnam; Milo, Ronnie's bookish best friend; Ramrod, a star athlete who is secretly avoiding the draft; and Hana, the new girl, a half-Japanese badass rock-n-roller whose presence doesn't sit well with their segregated high school. The four outcasts find sanctuary in The Vinyl Underground, a record club where they spin music, joke, debate, and escape the stifling norms of their small southern town. But Ronnie's 18th birthday is looming. Together, they hatch a plan to keep Ronnie from being drafted. But when a horrific act of racial-charged violence rocks the gang to their core, they decide its time for an epic act of rebellion. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to North Star Editions/Flux for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way. Also, please note that this is an uncorrected proof - I was able to spot some (genuine) typos that are most likely not to find their way into the final version 🙂.
Fun fact: to match the book, all the headers for this review are US song titles from the '60s.

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

1968 was a pivotal year in most of the Western countries, but there's no doubt that the US - with the Vietnam war draft, the still very much current segregation and Martin Luther King's assassination - were one of the hottest spots at the time. And probably more than anywhere else, music - rock music - embodied the spirit of protest of the young generation, or at least their restlessness. Now, I'm in no position to know firsthand, but it seems to me that TVU captures the feeling perfectly - that of a nation losing its (mostly fake, apparent at best) innocence, and being forced to come of age. Against the backdrop of the draft scare and of his uncertainty about the future, Ronnie - along with his friends - finally sees the bigger picture, and realises that not taking a stand against injustice is just as bad as being part of it. Music itself, for him and the whole Vinyl Underground, become less of a hiding place or a cure for heartbreak, and more of a rebellion flag and a way to make a statement. But it also plays a key role in the story...a role that, of course, I'm not going to spoil 😉. [...]

Natalie Standiford: "How to Say Goodbye in Robot"

Title: How to Say Goodbye in Robot [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Natalie Standiford [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary
Year: 2009
Age: 12+ (though Amazon says 8+, but I personally can't see this one appealing to very young readers)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Honest, heartfelt, quirky story. Quirky characters too.
Cons: Friendship borders on unhealthy. Jonah's family issue is a bit too extreme to ring true.
Will appeal to: Those who can relate to outsiders, or sympathize with them. Those who are more drawn to M\F friendship stories than to classic boy-meets-girl stories. Those who don't mind open and/or bittersweet endings.

Blurb: New to town, Beatrice is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? (Amazon excerpt)

Note: since I only received the PDF review copy I was talking about in my latest post yesterday, I decided to revert to my original plan, and review this book first. My Screen Time feature will be up on Sun. 20. The new book I received is called Fighting Kudzu, and I hope to have my review posted in a few days.

Review: The aggressively pink cover has to go. Coupled with the title, it will manage to convince you that this book is about two teens who were madly in love once, but ultimately broke up because one of them got cold feet...or worse, a cold heart. Just as, by its appearance and title, Sweethearts by Sara Zarr - a book that has a lot in common with this one - will manage to convince you that you're about to read a fluffy romance novel that, nonetheless, will end in heartbreak. Well, in a word, no.
Mind you, I love aggressive pink. It just doesn't fit this book. And yes, both novels do feature heartbreaks...of different kinds...but not of the romance variety.
Bea is new to town. Her father's job forces the family to relocate often, which has seemingly put a strain both on Bea (who copes by becoming increasingly unattached and coldish, at least on the surface) and her mother (who takes refuge in weird or childish behaviours, not to mention in cheating on her husband). In Baltimore for her senior year, Bea finds herself drawn to Jonah, the school loner, and bonds with him over their shared love for late-night talk-radio. If Bea's home environment is not the standard of perfection to say the least, Jonah's situation is tough to start with, and it gets worse through the novel. Estranged from his father since his retarded twin brother Matthew died (along with their mother), Jonah will uncover a painful truth about his family, and in his despair, he will start a moody cycle of clinging to Bea and cutting her off. Of course, the title gives away most of the ending...but (like it often happens with works of arts) it's not about the destination - it's about the trip...
I did like the concept of this book. While I usually cringe at the mention of the new-girl-or-new-boy-in-town (such a cliché...which usually cues dating-and-saving-the-world-together, or more often, she-is-suddenly-experiencing-weird-stuff-only-he-can-explain), the relationship here is offbeat, and not of the romance kind. Bea's family is not conveniently absent, though I can't say they're aware of what goes on with her. The school clique is average, but not stereotyped like in most books - you know, the classic Mean Girls Club or something along those lines. Someone for Bea's class will even manage to surprise her...The radio callers are a nice touch, though not all of their personalities sound very believable to me. Bea's voice is fresh, original and genuine. The coming-of-age aspect is nicely done. Now you get to know what prevented me to give this book 5 stars... [...]

Jeri Smith-Ready: "Lust for Life"

Title: Lust for Life [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: WVMP Radio (4th of 4 books, but there's also a free-download novella that is book 3.5 in the series. See Jeri Smith-Ready's site)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Year: 2012
Age: 18+ (though Jeri's site actually says 16+, but I think the whole series would be better handled by more mature readers.).
Stars: 2.5/5
Pros: Original take on the overused vampire theme. Right amount of action and drama.
Cons: The final resolution is a bit too convenient and over the top for my tastes...though there were hints in the book (that I apparently decided not to take. All my fault, I suppose). There's an unlikely love story - which, on top of that, lacks real closure - and some of our old vamp friends get too little screen time.
Will appeal to: Those who crave for a happy ending more than yours truly does...

Blurb: Ciara’s con-artist parents taught her three keys to survival: keep low, keep quiet, and most of all, keep moving. But managing WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll - not to mention becoming a vampire herself - has kept her in one place long enough to fall madly in love, adopt an undead dog ...and make more enemies than she can shake a stake at. To protect Ciara, her fiancé, Shane, has traded his flannel shirt and guitar for a flak jacket and crossbow. If she survives to walk down the aisle, will she recognize the man waiting at the altar?  (Amazon excerpt)

Review: I'm perfectly aware that I tend to have very high standards when it comes to...well, pretty much everything LOL. Don't get me wrong, I can stomach cheesy stuff, and even like it more than "sensible" one. [That's why I'd choose Haven over Under the Dome anytime. Also, Duke is fun ;) - which is a bonus]. But there are two things that irritate me to no end: 1) sappy romances; 2) contrived happy endings. I wouldn't go as far as saying that Smith-Ready incurred in both these (for me) unforgivable sins while writing Lust for Life, because she's too intelligent for that. Nevertheless, she came fairly close.
Not that there weren't clues about said ending, so I suppose it shouldn't have sounded as outrageous as it did to me. Heck, the first clue is even incorporated into the introductory playlist... 

The Police: "Rehumanize Yourself"

...Not to mention a few hints here and there in the dialogues (though they are apparently supposed to work in reverse, planting the opposite suggestion in our minds). And not to mention that Smith-Ready has been slowly driving Ciara into a corner, first with the vampire thing, then with a peculiar effect that such vampiric condition has on her. So, it's not like there are tons of ways out of all that. Upon closing the book, and especially after rereading it, I could see a clear, deliberate pattern, spun since the very first installment of the series. But this didn't prevent me to feel partly cheated. To me, it's like Smith-Ready played with a huge card slipped into her original deck when we weren't looking. Magic I can deal with - but what happens with Ciara and Shane is like a whole new rule has been added to their game just in order to let them win. Because even with their respective powers woven together, what happens is too much for me to swallow - it sounds like they have to get a happy ending at all costs. Also, said ending has a sappy flavour I've never tasted all the series through. On the other hand, I don't know how else the saga could have ended - but again, I'm not the author, so it's not like I should have an alternate finale myself. (Though the thing-that-shall-go-unnamed crossed my mind of course, only I thought it could happen in a more...plausible? way). What I know is, I feel cheated.
Also, with the grand dénouement, most of the characters sort of freeze and hardly get screen time anymore. It feels rushed, though it probably isn't, given the time and dedication Smith-Ready gave to this novel. But it's like they aren't important anymore, after Ciara and Shane get their happy ending.
So yes. I feel cheated. [...]

Jeri Smith-Ready: "Let It Bleed"

Title: Let It Bleed [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: WVMP Radio (free-download novella - book 3.5 of 4. See Jeri Smith-Ready's site)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Year: 2012
Age: 18+ (though Jeri's site actually says 16+, but I think the whole series would be better handled by more mature readers. All the more so because of what stated in the Cons below).
Stars: 3/5
Pros: Original take on the overused vampire theme. Interesting, mostly tridimensional characters.
Cons: Abundance of gore. A graphic sex scene. Nonetheless...slightly boring.
Will appeal to: Those who like this series...duh.

Blurb: Con artist-turned-radio-station-manager Ciara Griffin hopes to settle into a normal un-life as a fledgling vampire. But Ciara’s best friend mourns her like she’s dead instead of undead, and her own maker clearly wishes she’d never been born (again). Worst of all, hippie vampire DJ Jim has murdered a pair of humans - humans who share Ciara’s true last name. Ciara finds herself face to face with her Irish Traveller cousins, a not-so-welcome family reunion that might hold the key to Ciara’s anti-holy blood. Jim’s spiral into madness makes Ciara an unwilling prize in his deadly feud with Shane. As Ciara clings to what’s left of her humanity, she’ll need her new vampire strength - and old con artist cunning - now more than ever. (Jeri Smith-Ready site excerpt)

Review: So, well - the cat is out of the box. I was extremely careful not to spoil anything in my review of Bring on the Night (the previous chapter of this series), but since the very blurb for this one is a tattle-tale, there's no point in being cryptic anymore. So Ciara got vamped in the end. And as those who read BOTN will already be aware, it only beat to be truly dead. She had to make a choice between relinquishing her life or losing her humanity, and she painfully did. So now she has to live (erm, un-live?) with the aftermath of that.
A necessary premise to my review. This novella was originally intended to be the official fourth installment in the saga, which meant getting its own paperback status. But for reasons that the author herself states here, it came out as a free-download novella instead. While I can only commend Jeri's decision, and thank her for the hard work poured into a no-profit (to this date) project just in order to comply with her own trade honesty, I have to be honest myself on the other hand. I didn't find LIB nearly as exciting as the rest of the series so far. Maybe it was to be expected, given the rough path this story had to travel and the unusual format. Of course, many of my fellow readers have enjoyed it nonetheless. Me, not so much. [...]

Jeri Smith-Ready: "Bring on the Night"

Title: Bring on the Night [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: WVMP Radio (3rd of 4 books, but there's also a free-download novella that is book 3.5 in the series. See Jeri Smith-Ready's site)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Year: 2010
Age: 18+ (though Jeri's site actually says 16+, but I think the whole series would be better handled by more mature readers. All the more so because of what stated in the Cons below).
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Original take on the overused vampire theme. Interesting, mostly tridimensional characters. Lots of adrenaline, even in the not-action-driven moments.
Cons: More graphic sex scenes in this one (if you aren't into the stuff) - even an almost-threesome with two girls involved. Gorier than the previous chapters. Radio station and music play a big role in the series, but they're less prominent almost nonexistent in this installment.
Will appeal to: Those who like this series...duh. I wanted to address another point, but it would be too spoilery...

Blurb: Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor’s degree! But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfill her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps? Ciara’s suspicions are confirmed when she’s assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control’s oldest vampire. But when a mysterious fatal virus spreads through Sherwood - and corpses begin to rise from their graves - Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: This is darn tough. Because really, writing a review for Bring On The Night means providing a big, huge, ginormous spoiler. Just one thing, but it's the very core of the book. On the other hand, without the spoiler, there would be no review at all. Or maybe...well, since Karen from For What It's Worth, for example, was able to do it, I hope I can figure out a way to do the same thing myself. I'll address the big spoiler in question with *****. Let's see if it works...
The novel opens two years after the events that took place in Bad to the Bone. And for the first time, Ciara's narrative mode is the past tense. Only in the last chapter she switches to present tense (this is purposely stressed by the author with the sentence "Ah, back in the Now, where I belong."), and my best guess is that Smith-Ready thought it fit to have Ciara recounting the ***** event as a thing from the past, since at the end of the book she has finally come to terms with it.
We left Ciara blackmailed by the Control (see book 1 and 2) into giving them a year's worth of service - and samples of her own blood - in exchange for Shane's well-being. As the book opens, she's completing Indoc(trination) and is going to find out what her final destination is, as far as Control corps are concerned. In the meantime, her relationship with Shane has taken off, and I mean seriously. The station is in the background - big sigh - but anyway, it sounds like everything's going fine there. Though I'm beginning to question the apparent ongoing success of  WVMP, what with it being a vintage station in a world where everything grows old so quickly. (Especially since there seemed to be some small problems back in book 2). Maybe the vamps' strong allure makes up for it? Anyway, this almost idyllic setup comes tumbling down when a supposed chicken pox epidemic begins to spread around and people start to die. This will have a mighty impact on the WVMP happily dysfunctional family, and will change forever the lives - or unlives - of some of its members. [...]

Jeri Smith-Ready: "Bad to the Bone"

Title: Bad to the Bone [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: WVMP Radio (2nd of 4 books, but there's also a free-download novella that is book 3.5 in the series. See Jeri Smith-Ready's site)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Year: 2009
Age: 18+ (though Jeri's site actually says 16+, but I think the whole series would be better handled by more mature readers)
Stars: 3,5/5
Pros: Original take on the overused vampire theme. Interesting, mostly tridimensional characters. Radio station and music play a big role (if you love them passionately, that's a real bonus). Plenty of action in this one.
Cons: Can get a bit confusing at times, with all the twists and turns. A couple of graphic sex scenes (if you aren't into the stuff). Gorier than the first.
Will appeal to: Those who liked Wicked Game but are thirsty for more action.

Blurb: Welcome to WVMP, where Ciara Griffin manages an on-air staff of off-the-wall DJs who really sink their teeth into the music of their “Life Time” (the era in which they became vampires). Ciara keeps the undead rocking, the ratings rolling, and the fan base alive - without missing a beat. For Halloween, WVMP is throwing a bash. With cool tunes, hot costumes, killer cocktails - what could go wrong? To start, a religious firebrand ranting against the evils of the occult preempts the station’s midnight broadcast. Behind it all is a group of self-righteous radicals who think vampires suck. Ciara must protect the station while struggling with her own complicated relationship, her best friend’s romance with a fledgling vampire, and the nature of her mysterious anti-holy powers. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: (Note: though this blog primarily focuses on YA Lit, I'm currently going through all the WVMP books, because I want to be able to blog about Lust for Life - the last installment in the series - as soon as I receive it from the webstore. So I'm basically doing my homework LOL).
First off, so many things happen in around 400 pocket-format pages, it's difficult to keep up with them all at times. The core of the novel is the threat posed to the station by an alleged cult, that turns out to be a schismatic leg of the Control - an organization that is busy protecting humans from vampires and vice versa (see book 1). But the truth isn't so simple - the final revelation (or not so much, if you follow a certain clue) opens a whole new can of worms, though the two things are closely linked. Also, we have Ciara's dad who could be in league with the bad guys or not, given his con artist status and his recent treachery (again, see book 1), plus his usual double-dealing attitude. Luckily, the station gained two more allies lately, though one of them will meet a sad fate at the end of this novel. Also, Ciara's anti-holy blood (discovered in book 1) comes into the equation a couple of times, with life-changing results both for her and some of her friends; one could say its discovery will actually boot the next installment in the series. You want more? One of the vamps get dangerous (guess who? it was hinted in the previous novel, though I'm not sure Smith-Ready had meant to take this thing so far right from the start)...and oh my, I was forgetting this very small detail...Ciara and Shane take the next step in their relationship, sharing a flat and parenting a...vampire dog (or maybe he's parenting them!). Plus Ciara's friend Lori gets a taste of the vamp side of love. But wait, there's more...like weird and/or sweet family reunions, red hot sex and lots of blood - this time. So this book is packed with everything you ever dreamed of and more, especially action-wise...though, like I said, all this stuff can confuse the hell out of you, especially when reading it for the first time. So, basically, this second installment is more exciting than the first, but watch out for a bad case of vertigo! [...]

Jeri Smith-Ready: "Wicked Game"

Title: Wicked Game [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: WVMP Radio (1st of 4 books, but there's also a free download novella that is book 3.5 in the series. See Jeri Smith-Ready's site)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Year: 2008
Age: 18+ (though Jeri's site actually says 16+, but I think the whole series would be better handled by more mature readers)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Original take on the overused vampire theme. Interesting, mostly tridimensional characters. Radio station and music play a big role (if you love them passionately, that's a real bonus). Not too gory for a vamp novel. A few surprises along the way.
Cons: The way book heroine and grunge vamp start their relationship...feels like a vampire version of human rape to me.
Will appeal to: Vamp lovers who want to sink their teeth into something different. Music/radio lovers - even if they don't usually do vampires.

Blurb: Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin takes an internship at a local radio station, whose late-night time-warp format features 1940s blues, '60s psychedelia, '80s goth, and more, all with an uncannily authentic flair. Ciara soon discovers just how the DJs maintain their cred: they're vampires, stuck forever in the eras in which they were turned. Communications giant Skywave wants to buy WVMP and turn it into just another hit-playing clone. Without the station - and the link it provides to their original Life Times - the vampires would "fade," becoming little more than mindless ghosts of the past. To boost ratings and save the lives of her strange new friends, Ciara, in the ultimate con, hides the DJs' vampire nature in plain sight, disguising the bloody truth as a marketing gimmick. WVMP becomes the hottest thing around - next to Ciara's complicated affair with grunge vamp Shane McAllister. But the "gimmick" enrages a posse of ancient and powerful vampires who aren't so eager to be brought into the light... (Amazon excerpt)

Review: I know, I know. The last WVMP book came out a few days ago, and I'm only starting on the whole series now, 4 years after its first release. My more than valid excuse is, I only set up this blog a couple of months ago - so I want to make up for lost time, plus review the last installment of the series, Lust for Life, as soon as I'm getting it from the web bookseller. So, in the meantime, let's just take a look at how it all began, 4-years-and-something ago...
First off, I usually stay clear from vampire books, especially since Twilight was out. There are so many out there, it's not even funny. I suspect many of you who are reading this have a penchant for vampires instead - and there's nothing wrong with it of course. Only, all the clones in the market are not a compliment to the genre...just an exploitation. If I have to read about vampires, they're required to be unique in some respect - and, according to other reviews and the genre's overview I got, Smith-Ready's are.
What sold me on this series was the music angle, or better, the radio one. Smith-Ready's idea to equate vampires with people who got stuck in their "glorious" and young age was totally brill. Most radio personalities - at least those who work for small, local stations - do tend to get stuck in a music era and overlook what comes next...trust me on this, 'cause I'm actually a DJ (I prefer to call myself a "speaker" though) for one of said stations here in Italy, and I've seen my share of that. So the core idea for the book rings true to me, and while on one hand I can sympathize with the vamp DJs, on the other hand I find Smith-Ready addresses a real issue here - fossilization (not only for what concerns radio personalities - or vampires - of course). But she goes even further - her vamps also develop obsessive-compulsive personalities after they're turned, as a way to cope with their new reality and maintain a form of control over it. Another interesting and unexpected detour from the old vampire cliché. [...]