YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

This book is supposedly based upon a popular podcast series called “Bright Sessions,” which I was not familiar with before reading this. I definitely plan on checking out the podcast now, as well.

Infinite Noise is a YA Contemporary Sci-Fi story that follows a 16-year-old high school football player named Caleb Michaels. But lately, he hasn’t been his usual self. Whenever he’s around a group of people such as in class or at a party, he feels overwhelmed to such a point that he fears passing out. He’s also noticed that his moods swing back and forth to extremes of the spectrum without explanation or cause, sometimes even culminating with him violently lashing out in anger.

Upon receiving therapy, it’s determined that Caleb is in fact what the book called an “Atypical” — a powerful empath who feels and experiences the moods of everyone around him, which can be pretty intense if one is in a room full of teenagers whose moods are often extreme and ever-changing. But there’s one person who seems to help Caleb deal with the overwhelm, and that is Adam, an introverted gay teen who suffers from severe depression.

Though Adam’s emotions are often extreme and tend toward the dark side, they seem to “fit” with Caleb’s, and when Adam is around, Caleb finds it much easier to control the crushing, overwhelm that he experiences when Adam is not around. So in this way, Adam’s presence is calming to Caleb. Because of this, Caleb’s therapist encourages him to befriend Adam, and so the two of them form a unique friendship. In the process, they discover they have more in common than they’d initially thought.

Eventually, their friendship evolves into something more, which poses an entirely different set of challenges for our two main characters. There’s also the danger of others finding out about Caleb’s ability (there was even mention of a nefarious organization), which also added a bit of compelling intrigue to the narrative.

I love stories about people who possess superpowers and/or enhanced abilities so it was fun to journey along with Caleb as he struggled to understand and control that part of himself. The story was told from both Caleb and Adam’s alternating points of view, which really helped the reader understand the emotions and motivations of the characters. The dual perspectives worked exceptionally well in the book as both characters’ voices were so distinct that there was little danger of confusing them.

The book also had phenomenal descriptions of emotions, and I thought the author especially nailed it when describing Adam’s depression from Caleb’s point of view. I found the use of colors and physical sensations in describing emotions to be especially effective.

All in all, this is is a delightfully moving character-driven coming-of-age love story that was also a journey of self-discovery for our two highly complex protagonists. It’s an exceptional novel with lovable characters that teaches us to find solace in the special friendships that we forge and to trust those who love us.

I do believe this is going to be a series. I do hope so as I’d definitely love to delve more deeply into the world that the author has created here. The author also briefly introduced a couple of other Atypicals in the story, so hopefully, we’ll be seeing them in future books.

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So first off, I’ll mention that I love the body swapping trope and some of my favorite films include Freaky Friday, Big, 18 Again, Vice Versa, 17 Again and the like. Now I’ve read a few body swapping books, and my experience has been that this trope doesn’t translate all that well to the written form. Body swapping novels often end up being frustrating and confusing, so though I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book, I was also a bit hesitant. But I needn’t have been because the author managed to pull it off here.

This story follows a somewhat shy, young man named Ezra Slevin who is obsessed with a girl named Imogen and is working up his courage to ask her to the prom. The only problem is Imogen’s overly protective best friend Wynona, a loud and annoying girl who has made Ezra’s life miserable for as long as he can remember and seems to derive enjoyment from tormenting Ezra whenever possible.

But on the night of the total solar eclipse, something weird happens to Ezra and Wynona — they wake up in each other’s bodies. But what’s especially strange is that they begin randomly swapping back and forth every day. To make things even more interesting, Ezra learns that Wynona has a crush on his best friend, Holden.

So the two enemies are forced to come together to form an alliance as they need to pretend to be the person whose body they’re inhabiting. They also agree to help each other with their crush — Ezra will help Wynona with Holden and Wynona will help Ezra with Imogen, with the body swapping adding in all sorts of additional hilarious complications.

There’s also the problem of the play all four of them are in, a rendition of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in which a bit of gender swapping itself is part of the story. But also what’s comical here is the whole issue of learning your lines and being expected to perform while in the wrong body.

The entire novel is told through Ezra’s perspective, which helps to keep track of the body swapping. Also helpful, is that when Wynona is in Ezra’s body, he refers to her as Wynezra, which is super useful in keeping everyone straight.

I was never confused or overwhelmed by the swapping and was delighted when the author turned up the tension a couple of notches by throwing in themes of gender fluidity and homosexuality into the works. This additional complexity worked well in this story, especially as various characters developed feelings for each other, and I thought that this added to the richness and depth of an already gripping plot.

What especially worked for me with his book was the hilarity that would ensue if you found yourself not only in the body of the opposite gender but of someone whose personality is night and day different from yours — and all this taking place while in high school. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments in this book, and I thought it was so much fun to go on this journey with Ezra and Wynona as they struggled to figure out how to live in each other’s bodies, and navigate the challenges associated with the other’s sex and personality.

I thought it was interesting how the story follows Ezra but is still able to give a more in-depth inside look into Wynona’s life through Ezra swapping bodies with her. Likewise, it gave Wynona a deeper peek into Ezra’s life with each of them developing empathy and understanding for the other person’s issues and baggage in the process. That being said, this is also a story about how both people manage to find new wisdom by being in the other’s shoes.

I like how this story teaches empathy and understanding. By using a body swap as a tool, the author gets to show the world through the other person’s eyes resulting in a comedic contemporary with a heartfelt emotional relationship between two people who couldn’t be more different. It also succeeded in illustrating how we cannot judge or make assumptions about others based solely on outward appearances and Norton provides a means of exploring one’s own preconceived notions about others without being preachy.

I also loved how the author dealt with sexuality in such a unique and interesting way, a way that I haven’t come across before in a novel. This book is a new twist on body swaps and with it come themes of sexual preference, gender fluidity, and figuring out who you really want to be.

There are also themes of family, friendship, forgiveness, grief, and self-acceptance that also rendered this quite a serious novel as well. What worked nicely for me was how Wynona and Ezra learned to be their authentic and best self at the end of the day.

I liked how real and authentic these characters felt to me. The author gives us real teenagers with real problems and in so doing, provides us with a cast of flawed, lonely, impulsive, and quirky individuals that are totally relatable.

Where I End and You Begin is as inventive as it is moving and ended up being a beautifully rendered story of love, attraction, sexuality, family, and friendship. It’s a clever, engaging, and wildly entertaining read, and I felt that the author did an excellent job of bringing his characters to life, allowing all of them to thrive in their complexity. All in all, a lovely, subtle thought-provoking blow-me-away kind of book that I’m still mulling over. Needless to say, I loved it.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

This title will be released on June 4th, 2019 but it is available for pre-order now. Link is below.

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“Do I look like a princess?”
“You look like a queen.”

I’ve been a fan of Brigid Kemmerer ever since I’ve read her Elemental series years ago about four brothers with magical powers, so I was excited when I heard that she was doing a contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, though it’s much darker than the original tale. I immediately pre-ordered it and read it the day I received it in the post.

The story follows the enigmatic Prince Rhen, AKA “The Beast,” crown prince of Emberfall who was cursed by a powerful enchantress named Lilith. How his curse works, is that for the past 300 plus seasons, Rhen has repeated the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, after which he turns into a different beast every time but a creature hell-bent on destruction. Over the years, he — or the beast — has murdered his family, his guards, his army and many innocent townspeople. In fact, a man named Grey, Rhen’s loyal guard commander, is the only living person left at the castle with him and Prince Rhen’s only friend.

Now the stipulation of the curse, is that it can be broken only if a woman falls in love with him before the end of autumn and each season Grey, who has the power to travel to our world, captures a girl and brings her back for Rhen, hoping that perhaps this time, she will be “the one.” Of course, it’s not easy to love a blood-thirsty beast, so he hasn’t been successful in finding his true love.

At this point in the story, overcome by angst and tragedy, he has pretty much given up all hope given that he’s pretty much lost everything over the years; his family, his kingdom, the respect of his people and eventually, his friendship with Grey. He’s also ripped apart by guilt for every vile act he’s committed during his time as The Beast. At this point, he longs for death.

Enter Harper, a young woman with cerebral palsy whose mother is dying, and her brother is in a whole heap of trouble with the both of them desperately trying to hold their family together. When she tries to save a woman who appears to be in the process of being abducted, she ends up sucked into a parallel world — Rhen’s world to be exact — with no way back home for at least an entire year and ends up being the latest pawn in the “break the curse” game.

Now Harper is not a pushover, but a firecracker of a woman — determined, resourceful and scrappy who refuses to play the role of victim. But as she spends more time with Rhen and the people of Emberfall, she begins to understand just how much is at stake. Rhen soon realizes that this woman is entirely different from the many, many others he has tried to charm. She mocks him, fights against him, taunts him, antagonizes him and before he realizes it, begins to fall for this feisty woman — a woman who challenged him to be more, to be better, to be who he was meant to be.

Because of Harper, Rhen soon finds himself daring to hope for the impossible — that there may be a way to breaks his curse after all.

But there is more going on here than just Prince Rhen’s curse. Powerful forces are threatening to destroy Emberfall, and its people and our characters soon understand that it will take more than ending the curse to save the kingdom. Harper has to make a powerful choice: go home to save her family or stay in Emberfall and save Rhen’s kingdom.

There is so much to love about this book, but I especially enjoyed the fresh, original take on one of my favorite classic fairytales. I do love retellings, and this was definitely one of the better ones with a delightfully chilling villain; a fierce and determined kick-ass heroine, high-stakes political intrigue that builds throughout the story; a handsome yet someone angsty prince; a mysterious storyline; a looming war; and the colliding of the modern world (DC to be exact) with a fantasy medieval-feeling fairytale kingdom. This reimagining ticked all the right boxes for me. I loved how every character in the book became a better version of themselves by the story’s end.

Harper was my favorite character. All of her life because of her Cerebral Palsy, she was seen as weak and as someone who needed to be protected, especially by her brother Jack. But in Emberfall, she really came into her own and took charge – and instead of needed to be protected, she filled the role of the compassionate protector of others.

And rather than being defined by her handicap, she rose above it by sheer will and determination, and in so doing, ended up accomplishing amazing things. She’s definitely the least classic fairytale princess that I’ve come across, and I loved her for it.

The story is told from Rhen and Harper’s alternating points of view which helped get to know the characters and what makes them tick. Usually, I’m not a fan of dual POVs, but I thought it worked exceptionally well in this instance.

All in all, A Curse So Dark and Lonely was a delightful, fast-paced, action-packed retelling of an old favorite with evocative imagery, beautiful writing, amazing characters, and exquisite world-building. Though the ending was entirely satisfying, I understand there is going to be a sequel entitled “A Heart So Fierce and Broken,” and I for sure will be picking it up. But yeah, this was a solid 5-star read for me.

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A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up.

Given that I love Shaun David Hutchinson’s work, I was super excited when I heard that he was releasing a new novel. I was doubly excited when I heard that it was about the dead who won’t stay buried. I recall reading a blurb where this book as described as “Six Feet Under meets Pushing Daisies” and I was immediately hooked given that I loved both of these shows (Six Feet Under follows a family who owns a funeral home; Pushing Up Daisies follows a pie maker who can bring people from the dead with just a touch — and return them back to the dead permanently with a second touch).

Introducing Dino

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried takes place over the course of two days and follows a young man named Dino whose parents own a funeral home business so being around the dead is nothing new for him. What is new, is the dead coming back to life. As it turns out, Dino’s ex-best friend July dies suddenly, and Dino is trying to work through his grief at her passing. He always believed that eventually, they would find each other again and renew their friendship. But now, it was too late for that, and we begin to see Dino’s regret at all those words that now, will never be said.

Where The Dead Don’t Stay Dead

Dino is alone in the basement with July’s body, working on her makeup in preparation for the funeral — his way of saying his final goodbye — when suddenly she comes back to life. Well, not to life exactly. She’s conscious, sentient but her body is still dead: no heartbeat, no breather and given that she had just recently undergone an autopsy, it’s unlikely that any of her organs are working either.

What follows is Dino and July’s attempt to figure out what’s happening to her, all while rehashing their former friendship, each blaming the other for its end.

Dino and July

It was fun seeing Dino and July rushing around town trying to solve the mystery of July’s reawakening, positive that she could return to her dead state at any moment. They also revisited their friendship — over and over — and in so doing, discovered that they were both to blame and that there were a lot of things in their past they both left unsaid when they should have spoken up.

I thought this illustrated nicely the ups and downs of friendship and just how complicated those relationships can be. I thought it was also a gentle reminder that the time to mend a damaged relationship is now because we may not be as fortunate as Dine and July were in receiving a second chance.

Race Against The Clock

As Dino and July soon discover, they do not have the luxury of time to slowly figure out what’s happening with July. Though July’s death may have ended, her decomposition has not which means she’s not smelling as fresh as she once was. When people around them begin to comment on the stench, they both realize that their time is limited. Moreover, it turns out that July’s resurrection has had a ripple effect throughout the world and has affected the natural course of life and death.

On Friendship

The beating heart at the center of this book is the friendship between July and Dino, and I thought that the author handled it exceptionally well. It was fun seeing them as they bickered with each other over petty annoyances, dug up old hurts and released old anger and resentments. But additionally, they also joked around and ended us rediscovering the joy of their friendship.

I also liked the fact that it wasn’t only one of them who was at fault but rather, they both were responsible for the break in the friendship. So in this way, we got to take a look at the idea of unfinished business but from both sides as they both begin to realize that it’s those you love who end up hurting you the most — and vice-versa.

It was also refreshing to see a male and female friendship that didn’t end in love or where one of the two was agonizingly pining for the other.

July and Dino’s Characters

I thought that July and Dino with wonderfully complex, vivid and empathetic characters and felt their characterization was especially powerful. The author did an excellent job of bringing these two to life in all of their complexities, faults, flaws, and imperfections, making them someone the reader could easily relate to (or at least I could).

I thought July is a terrific character. She’s multi-layered, flawed, impulsive, and once we move past her harsh exterior, we see that she is also insecure and deeply hurt by the loss of Dino’s friendship. Though she comes across of self-centered and bitter, we see another side of her unfold as the novel progresses and we begin to understand the reason behind some of her actions. I couldn’t help but fall in love with her character by the end of the story.

I found Dino to be well-crafted, awkward but an endearing character and I loved how loyal he was to July — and how willing he was to help her even though their friendship had ended badly. He ended up being quite a complicated character who, though he thought he was self-confident and knew what he wanted, really was just as insecure as the rest of us. This was especially evident in his relationship with his trans boyfriend Rafi as he navigated the ups, downs, and uncertainties of their relationship in addition to confronting some hidden truths about himself in that process.

I liked how the story was told from alternating points of view, allowing us to get an in-depth peek at what was going on inside of their head. This really helped me to more deeply understand their feelings and motivations, making them all the more relatable and all the more real.

Final Verdict

I thought this was a lovely heartfelt novel about two teens who were given a little extra time to resolve the unfinished business that was left between them. I loved that fact that it was up to the reader to determine just whose unfinished business caused July’s return.

I loved how this dark and somewhat grim situation is lightened by realistic dialogue and genuineness of feeling between our two main characters, and the witty banter and shenanigans made this a joy to read. The quirky and crazy plot in this story was kept steady by the realism and the truth of the situation; this is, of the grief of losing a friend with so much unsaid still left between you.

As usual, Mr. Hutchinson did not disappoint, and I ended up loving this tender story which held me in rapt attention from start to finish. It was a story with The emotional depth and plenty of heart, and I became so emotionally invested by the end of the book that I felt as though I were saying goodbye to close friends.

This book is set to be released in February 19, 2019 but it  available now for pre-order.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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