The Hubs Reviews: Scream All Night

Scream All Night

Author: Derek Milman

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: July 24, 2018

A darkly hilarious contemporary realistic young adult novel about growing up and finding your place in the world, perfect for fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Running With Scissors.

Dario Heyward knows one thing: He’s never going back to Moldavia Studios, the iconic castle that served as the set, studio, and home to the cast and crew of dozens of cult classic B-horror movies. It’s been three years since Dario’s even seen the place, after getting legally emancipated from his father, the infamous director of Moldavia’s creature features.

But then Dario’s brother invites him home to a mysterious ceremony involving his father and a tribute to his first film—The Curse of the Mummy’s Tongue. Dario swears his homecoming will be a one-time visit. A way for him to get closure on his past—and reunite with Hayley, his first love and costar of Zombie Children of the Harvest Sun, a production fraught with real-life tragedy—and say good-bye for good. But the unthinkable happens—Dario gets sucked back into the twisted world of Moldavia and the horrors, both real and imagined, he’s left there.

With only months to rescue the sinking studio and everyone who has built their lives there, Dario must confront the demons of his past—and the uncertainties of his future. But can he escape the place that’s haunted him his whole life?

TOM'S REVIEW 

Hello, friends and followers of Brooke-Reports! My name is Tom, and I happen to be married to the one and only Brooke of Brooke-Reports! When she originally got Scream All Night in the mail, I had thought it looked interesting, but YA isn’t my typical area of expertise.

  

A little bit of background on me, I spent my teens and early 20s binge watching hours of cheesy creature features and gruesome low budget horror films, so, when I read the synopsis for Derek Milman’s debut, I knew I had to read it.

  

 Though set in the world of schlock horror, with many homages to horror film masters, there was very little actual horror in this book. However, there were scenes that were gut wrenching and horrifying.  Dario, the main character, is subjected to horrible mental and physical abuse at the hands of his obsessive film making father, as well as neglect and abandonment by his mentally decaying mother. 

The main strength of Scream All Night, by far, had to be its characters. They are full of depth and incredibly intriguing. There are no real werewolves, vampires, or zombies in this book, every monster is human—but every monster also has their own pain and trauma—every character has a thin thread of light no matter how deep their inner darkness. I cared about each and every person until the end.  

 Among this cavalcade of characters are Jude, the best friend and brother Dario never had, whose emotional and physical scars rival Dario’s. Oren, the eccentric, manipulative, and much older brother Dario did have. Finally, there is Hayley, Dario’s love interest. She is kind, yet shrewd and fiery. 

The ending brings us to my biggest issue with the novel. Within the last hundred pages I knew Scream All Night was going to be at least 100 pages too short. The author spent the first three hundred pages building a beautifully compelling world inside the walls of Moldavia, complete with rich characters and dark secrets. It seemed as though the last 80 pages were spent trying to close the story arcs so the it could just end. 

 I felt that I lost the sense of urgency that had been built around saving the studio from financial ruin. Also, the journey Dario went through was cut short before real change and growth could be affected. I feel the biggest missed opportunity, was the relationship between Dario and Hayley. I felt the author made the relationship work very well, but there was so much more he could’ve explored. There needed to be more drama and potential for failure and heartache. In the end the fate of the relationship was left far too open ended. The fate of everything important to the story was left too open ended. 

All in all, I loved the characters and the premise, I loved the connection to a highly underrated film genre. I cannot however get over the feeling that the end of the book left a lot to be desired, but if there is ever a sequel I will be first in line to read it. In fact, in order to feel completely satisfied with this story I need a sequel.  

~Tom, Brooke's Hubs

Review: The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince

Author: Holly Black

Pubisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: January 2nd, 2018

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

If you’ve been a follower of Brooke-Reports you may recall seeing a post I did called "What's the Deal with Fae Anyway?" In the post I discuss how the Fae genre just isn't my cup of tea. But, the hype train got me so I decided to give The Cruel Prince a chance—it was the first “Fae” book I've finished in years! 

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story, it was definitely a slow, lulling journey. The book doesn’t pick up until about three quarters of the way through. That's when it becomes high-stake, intense and action filled. 

The main character, Jude, is caring, intelligent, and tough as nails. She's stolen away from her home as a child, along with her siblings, and thrown into the land of Faerie. Dudes. I would not survive. All the mind games and tricks, salting my food, wearing protective berries around my neck— it would all be way too much for me. Jude is so bad ass and adapts quickly to any situation she’s thrown in to.  

I adored Jude’s family dynamics as well. Madoc her "father" is brutal and layered and I'd love to read more about his backstory. I loved her older sister Vivi as well. The weak point, for me, was Jude's twin sister Taryn. She had ample page time that wasn’t really filled with tremendous excitement.  

Now, as for Mr. Prince Cardan—I can't say I've fallen completely in love with him....yet. He is the tortured, bad boy type. Which I’m usually all about, but Cardan may be a little too mean boy for me. Jude starts off HATING him, so, I want to say that Jude's turn around in her feelings towards him felt rather rushed. Then again, love and hate walk a very thin line. And if I’m honest I’ll take a romance between these two!  

Her other "romantic" relationship didn't seem to add to the plot other than word count.  

While the Fae genre still isn't a favorite of mine, I can see what the hype is about. The Cruel Prince was an addictive page turner. I can't wait to check out what happens next in The Wicked King.  

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Origin

Author: Jessica Khoury

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 372

Rating: 3.5 Stars 

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost.~Goodreads

In all honesty, the beginning of this one was a tad bit slow for me. It took me awhile to figure out all of the characters and how they were related to Pia, and it took me awhile to truly understand what was going on—but once I did, the story was too interesting to put down!

I also really couldn’t connect with Pia in the beginning. I felt that even though she was created that way, she was too perfect. Her life was SO structured in a way that was almost boring. And the other characters that surround her in Little Cambridge? Not some of my favorites. Her Uncle Paolo was an obsessive-compulsive maniac and her mother? Yikes, just yikes. But there were a few characters I liked, such as her dad, even though he was quiet and I really liked her Uncle Antonio!

The story really didn’t take off, though, until Dr. Harriet arrived. Harriet challenges and questions Pia's perfection in a way no one else ever has and that unsettles Pia a lot. Other things that unsettled Pia? The fact that Pia has to swim at this time and draw at that time, Pia has to do this task and take that test, Pia can’t go outside, Pia can’t see a map, Pia can’t know about cities. Pia is SO sheltered I actually felt sad for her.

Until she one day she’s had enough. And she sees her escape and takes it. She slips through the fence and into the jungle. And she runs into a boy. Literally—smacks right into him.

EIO. This, this is when I FELL for the story, when I met Eio. He is just so...so adorably adorable. Like, I don’t know how to explain him...he’s so...he’s just...wild. His heart is wild, his soul is wild, his hair is wild. He’s so smart and Pia is absolutely fascinated by him, um, welcome to the club girrl! He calls her Pia Bird and it’s so cute and oh my gosh he gives her this necklace and it was so cute and he takes her to see the stars and river and it was so cute and he asks and asks and asks her to stay with him in the jungle and it’s so cute and oh man. I loved him. And the Ai’oans. (the native people he lives with.) Those were the BEST scenes, when Pia was in the jungle with them. And Ami?! Oh my gosh such a little sweetie! <3 font="" nbsp="">

But Pia can’t be free forever without a cost and the ending of this book!?!? It was so fast paced and intense and violent and totally unexpected in the most awesome way. Like whoa.

Overall, Origin is a unique debut novel that captivated me with its characters and enchanted me with its setting—you should most definitely check it out this fall.

Dangerous Boy by Mandy Hubbard

Dangerous Boy

Author: Mandy Hubbard

Publisher: Razorbill

Rating: 3.5 Stars!

Harper’s new boyfriend Logan Townsend is everything she never knew she always wanted—tall, muscular, with tousled brown hair that falls effortlessly around his face. But what’s most exciting about Logan is that he’s exhilaratingly dangerous, and dating him allows Harper to say, “buh bye” to her good-girl past and “hello” to newfound adventure.

There’s only one problem with Harper’s otherwise heart-stopping romance: Logan’s twin brother Daemon. Harper knows he’s a bad seed, but she tries to look past his dark, icy stare and his chilling demeanor. After all, he and Logan are a package deal.

Then cow bones start appearing in people’s mailboxes, a flock of birds show up dead, and all of the cars in the senior parking lot are given flat tires—and covered with blood-red handprints. Logan insists that Daemon isn’t involved—sure, he’s had some trouble in the past, but they moved to Harper’s quiet northwest Washington town so that they could both start over.

Harper desperately wants to believe Logan, but the more he tries to protect his brother, the more she wonders what she isn’t being told. Now, Harper must unearth the hidden secrets of the mysterious Townsend brothers’ history if she and Logan are to have any hope of a future. But learning what brought Logan and Daemon to town won’t put just her heart in jeopardy... She’s playing with her life.~Goodreads

I enjoy Mandy Hubbard’s storytelling immensely. She knows how to pull a reader in, create tension and formulate a fantastic love interest. Dangerous Boy had each one of these elements and although I was expecting something a little different from this book, it was still a really good read!

I really liked the characters in this one, mostly Harper’s cousin Adam and their friend Brick. They were both super protective of Harper and acted like the big brothers. Adam also wasn’t afraid to put Harper in her place a few times, and I admired that about him.

As for Logan, I felt as though I was thrust into the middle of his and Harper’s relationship. I would’ve liked to know more about how they met and how they even started dating. He was a sweetheart though; super considerate of Harper and her feelings and fears. He even tried to help her over come them which was absolutely adorable to read about.

Dangerous Boy had a very creepy vibe to it as well. Especially after Harper meets Daemon, Logan’s twin brother. Harper shows up to their house and oh my gosh, basement scene!? Um, yikes! TOTALLY EFFIN’ SCARY! I felt on edge every time Harper and her friends went to go do something. Probably because Daemon seemed to always be causing trouble and he was seriously crazy. 

I had an inkling as to what was going on but HOLY HELL! The twist was so freaky and messed up! Although, after the major plot point was revealed, the story ended rather abruptly. I felt that it was a bit rushed. Again, not what I was expecting, but a fitting ending for Harper’s tale I suppose.

If you want a quick, creepy read with a main character that likes to play detective...then I’d recommend this book to you!