Review + Blog Tour: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Title: Farsighted

Author: Emlyn Chand

Publisher: Blue Crown Press

Published: October 24, 2011

Pages: 206

My Rating: 3.8/5
Misc.: First in series

Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all. 

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

My Review:
Emlyn Chand's Farsighted was a refreshing read. The author does an amazing job using descriptions to show us everything that's happening. Since the main character, Alex, is blind, she gives us detailed descriptions of smell, sound, and touch. And even though there are virtually no descriptions of sight, I was still able to picture everything clearly in my mind. Her writing had a certain flow to it, and everything was very nicely paced. The bits of prophecies before each chapter also added something to the story.

Let's talk about the plot. I've read books that contain psychic people or small psychic elements, but never an entire book about the topic. After reading this book with all the different types of abilities  it contains, I'm excited to find some more. The story centered around Alex and the development of his new powers. Along with that came new friends and journeys. There were parts where I actually gasped due to some small twist that was thrown in. The plot plays out nicely and in my opinion, very well paced.

However the one thing that I didn't really like was the dynamics between the characters. Separately, I loved all of them. But for me, the dialogue between them didn't always seem plausible, and the relationships developed really quickly. I understand that the relationships had to develop for the pacing to go as evenly as it did, but it just seemed off to me. But other than that, the characters were all great! All of the "good" characters were like-able and for the most part relate-able (except for the being blind part, I can't really relate to that. Though, as I said before, the author did a great job with that) while all of the "bad" guys were infuriating and frustrating.

If you're looking for a different, even paced read, Emlyn Chand's Farsighted is the book for you!

About the Author:

Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!


More about the book:

Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t.  When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).

Cash Prizes:
Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the bottom. Thank you for your help with that.

Giveaways:

Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.

Extras:
There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer and take the quiz to find out which character is most like you!

**Quiz had to be removed due to malfunctions.

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Harper Teen

Published: August 31, 2010

Pages: 335

My Rating: 3/5

Misc.: First in Paranormalcy Trilogy, Paranormal

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.


Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

My Review:
Can I just start this review out by applauding Kiersten White for portraying some scary creatures of the night as actually scary? It's not very often that we see vampires or werewolves as threatening paranormal creatures anymore, but this book did a good job showing the dangerous side of paranormals.

Let's start with Evie. She's our main character, and not only is she kick-ass, but she is girly too! I don't see that very often. Or at all, actually. Kiersten White created a really good balance between the two, so Evie didn't come off as annoying. I also love how most of the characters weren't human, but they weren't "typical" paranormals either. There are faeries, goblins, werewolves, vampires, mermaids, and entirely new species that most of us haven't heard of before. And I absolutely loved the relationship Evie had with her best friend and Lend, the shape-shifter.

The plot was also pretty good. From the beginning, I was captured by the thought, "Why is this human girl working for a paranormal agency?" And then the plot builds on that question. It was beautifully done. By the end, I was really rooting for Evie to succeed.

The one thing I didn't really like about this book was the pacing. It's not that it wasn't fast paced, it was just that whenever I put the book down, I didn't feel the need to pick it back up again. I ended up going on a two week vacation in the middle of reading the book, and it wasn't until I left that I realized I left the book at home. The author's writing is also just okay. Nothing stood out for me too much.

But overall, I did enjoy this book. It was an okay, funny read. I'm definitely going to check out the second book in the series when I have time. I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read or something to do to pass the time.

Friday Memes #5

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.

This week's question:

If you could have characters from a particular book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a particular TV series, which would you choose and why?

I think it would be awesome if characters from Hourglass by Myra McEntire met with the whole Doctor Who cast. Woo, time travel! Seriously, how awesome would that be? Em and Michael don't need a TARDIS, but they can still travel with the Doctor throughout space :)

(Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jen at Crazy For Books)

This week's question is:
What is your favorite spooky book (i.e. mystery/suspense, thriller, ghost story, etc.)?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer! I just finished this book like two days ago, and I can't read anything else because I'm afraid that I'm going to think that book is terrible compared to Mara Dyer. It was that good. Anyways, my favorite parts were trying to figure out what actually happened at the asylum the night her friends died. And the creepy hallucinations added to the spooky effect. It was just a great read!

In My Mailbox #3

IMM is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

Sorry I haven't done and IMM for a while, I just haven't really got a lot of books until recently. So now I can do one :D

Here's what I got this week:

Bought:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (review here)

I borrowed this book from the library and absolutely loved it, so I just needed to buy a copy. So I did. I'm probably gonna re-read it soon, even though I just recently read it.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (review coming soon)

I read this book as soon as I got it, and I loved it! I can't wait for Isla and the Happily Ever After!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I've heard so many good things about this book. At first I was like ehh, i'll get it if I have time to read it,  but when I saw it in the store, I kinda went crazy and needed to buy it.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

This book has been hyped up to the max, and I've been wanting to buy it ever since I first heard about it. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Richelle Mead! Ahh! Companion series to Vampire Academy! Need I say more?

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

This is another one that caught my eye as soon as I saw it. So I thought since it's close to Halloween, why not?

Borrowed from Library:

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 

I've heard so many amazing things about this book. I need to read it soon though, cause these books are almost due.

Between by Jessica Warman

I kind of got this book on impulse when I saw it, but I'm excited to see how it turns out.

The Demon Trapper's Daughter  by Jana Oliver

I'm actually reading this one now, and I have to say, it's pretty good. Can't wait to finish it!

For Review:

The Poppet and the Lune by Madeline Claire Franklin

This one is a self published book, so thank you Madeline Claire Franklin for sending it to me! I'm also reading this, and it's amazing so far.

Far From the War by Jeffery David Payne

Thank you Roche Harbor Books for sending this my way! It's a dystopian, so I can't wait to start reading it!

E-books:

 

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowly

I've heard a lot of good things about this one. Can't wait to read it!

Ashes by Isla J. Bick

I haven't heard much about this one, so does anyone know if it's good or not?

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Thank you Emily for sending this to me! Can't wait to start it!

Skid Out (Prequel to Heavy Influence Trilogy) by Ann Marie Frohoff

Thank you Ann for sending this my way! I've already started it, so I should be done soon.

The Future Perfect by Kirk Mustard (not pictured)

Thank you again to the author for sending this to me. I'll try to get to it as soon as possible! :)

So what did you guys get this week?  :D

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton

Published: December 2, 2010

Pages: 372

My Rating: 4.8/5

Misc.: Contemporary, two companion novels coming soon

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

My Review: 
I don't really have that much experience reading contemporary romance novels, but omg this was absolutely amazing! I think Stephanie Perkins may have opened me up to a new genre in YA. Yay.

At first, looking at the cover and the title, I was like "no way". It seemed way too cheesy and predictable. And parts of it were. But there were parts that were so unexpected and serious and beautifully written that they made me fall in love with this book. Stephanie Perkins knows how to blend funny with serious to create the perfect balance between the two. Her writing is fast paced and flows wonderfully.

Aside from the writing, the characters were another reason that made me fall in love with this book. The main character, Anna, was not the only character developed so well. In fact, I think some characters like St. Clair were even more developed than her. And the side characters each had their own back-story which really made me care about them too. I wasn't just rooting for Anna. I was rooting for Anna, St. Clair, Rashmi, Josh, and Meredith. Another thing I loved was that all of the characters had their flaws. Nobody was perfect, not even the love interest. They had fears, they had breakdowns, they were real. That was another thing Stephanie Perkins did a great job on.

Lastly, the plot. It took me a little while to figure out what the plot was, but when I did, the book really fell together for me. Throughout the book, she's just trying to survive life in Paris when all she really wants to do is go back home to Atlanta. And the readers are right there along with her. The descriptions are so clear, you really feel like you're in Paris with Anna.

So basically, this book was amazing and I urge you guys to read it if you haven't already (I think I was one of the last people to read this book, actually lol). I can't wait to get Lola, which I already ordered. It should be here in a week, yay! I think after reading this, I'm going to try to read some more contemporary novels. :)