The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
Release Date - October 24, 2017

Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages - 389 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**received for an honest review from publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she'd become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.

She didn't.

And then she died.

Now she's stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge--as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly's afterlife has been miserable.

But this year, everything is about to change. . . .

A selfish, egotistical person is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who warn them to change their ways before it's too late. Sounds familiar right? A Christmas Carol is given a whimsical twist in this modern retelling by Cynthia Hand that is as heart warming as the original and just as festive.

Holly is a unlikeable female protagonist and she isn't apologizing for it. She is, in fact, proud of it. She's the girl who instead of changing her ways when given the opportunity merely shrugs and continues on. She's someone that is just undeniably herself. That never changes. She's always who she says is and I love that about this story. Holly's growth, and it is there, feels more authentic because she doesn't magically become someone else. She's still Holly. It is a more subtle change that happens within her and it was beautiful to see unfold.

Project Scrooge is incredible, as are the people who work there. It's what gives this book its heart, and adds an extra dose of f holiday spirit to the story. Those who know A Christmas Carol will delight in the nods to the classic found within these pages, and those who don't will rejoice at the twists, and the modern take Cynthia Hand has given the tale. It's easily a world that could become silly and overdone, but there is something about the writing that keeps it grounded and filled with the spirit of the holidays. The emotional element of the story, and the human connections are felt the most strongly in the relationships between the people at Project Scrooge.

The romance is exactly what you would expect from a book like this. I totally found myself shipping this cute relationship. There is a lot of banter and humour to the romance which I really enjoyed. It also helped that even though Holly's story felt 'magical' because she is, after all, technically dead the romance felt very contemporary and untouched by the paranormal elements (in terms of their interactions). This may seem odd to say, but this added an extra layer of realism to this story that worked for me.

The ending, for me, is perfection. It's just as satisfying as the ending to the classic tale. It makes you feel the warm fuzzies. It leaves you with a smile on your face. It's the ending that is perfect for Holly's story and made me glad it didn't end the way I anticipated it would. A certain famous line is uttered, but I promise that this is the only aspect you'll recognize; even as it leaves you with that expanding heart, feel good feeling.

This is the kind of story I wish I had saved for the middle of the holiday rush. It's a pleasure to read and I could think of nothing better than curling up with this to de-stress after a hectic day of holiday shopping. Consider it a sweet holiday treat that will pair perfect with some candy canes and hot chocolate. It's a magical holiday read that I highly recommend, even for you Scrooges out there.

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

 

A small Weekly Obsessions post this week, but some pretty exciting things!

BOOKS

Toil & Trouble by Various (goodreads)

This sounds like incredible.short story collection. The authors alone are enough to entice me to pick it up as it includes some of my favourites (such as Emery Lord and Jessica Spotswood). The hook, however, is really the theme. This is a collection of short stories about witches! I am so excited to see what each of these authors do with this theme.

Cover of The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand (goodreads)

This retelling of A Christmas Carol not only sounds amazing, but has a very festive cover. 

 

It has a holiday feel while still capturing the tone of the original. This is a story with ghosts after all. I am so excited to read this. It's quickly become one of my most anticipated of the fall season.

What are you obsessed with this week?

Waiting On Wednesday .... The Afterlife Of Holly Chase

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

Here is the Goodreads synopsis 

On Christmas Eve five years ago, seventeen-year-old Holly Chase was visited by three Ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she’d become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.

She didn’t. And then she died.

Now she’s stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge—as their latest Ghost of Christmas Past. So far, Holly’s afterlife has been miserable. But this year’s Scrooge is different. This year’s Scrooge might change everything.

An imaginative riff on an evergreen classic, The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a witty, poignant, and insightful novel about life, love, and seizing second (or third) chances, and will appeal to readers who love books like If I Stay and Before I Fall.

I am pretty certain this is the first retelling of A Christmas Carol that I've stumbled across. I am insanely excited for this and hope that it is as wonderful as I am hoping. It has the potential to become a holiday must read for me.

The entire idea of a previous 'Scrooge' becoming one of the ghosts is amazing. I cannot wait to see what this adds to the classic story. I am also hoping for some serious romance between Holly and the new 'Scrooge'. I expect some mistletoe kissing for sure.

The wait for this one is going to be REALLY long as it doesn't come out until November, but something tells me it'll be well worth the wait.

Expected release date - November 7, 2017

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
Release Date – January 22, 2013
Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 438 pages
My Rating- 3.5/5
**borrowed from fellow blogger**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.

Whenever a series ends there is always a bit of hesitation before picking up the final book, at least for me. I am always worried I will end up being disappointed with how it all ends. They are emotional, often draining because you are saying goodbye to a story and characters you've become attached to. Boundless had the very polarizing effect of being both an engaging story while at the same time being everything I hoped it wouldn't be.

This final installment ties in with the previous novels in such a way that everything comes together. Clara, Christian, and Angela’s true purposes come about in a well paced, and executed plot. The story mixed action, romance, and reveals to close out the series showcasing everything that was loved in the previous chapters of this story.

The love triangle is brought to the forefront as Clara has to decide her future. I can appreciate each guy has qualities that make them a solid choice for Clara. Both Tucker and Christian do care for Clara, and she is able to be open and honest with both of them for the most part. Each guy fulfills a different aspect of what she is looking for. I feel Christian fits into her world in a way that Tucker never can, and therefore have been on Team Christian. My favourite part of this triangle is that each guy is given equal time. It is not obvious whom she'll end up with, or what coarse her life will take. It's a true triangle in every sense, and not just there to draw out the plot.

Clara has always been a unique character to me, especially in this genre. She has angelic powers, and the author could be forgiven for making her an immediate force to be reckoned with. Instead, we get an endearing, unsure, but brave young woman. This makes Clara herself more relatable, and her story resonate that much deeper. Clara is trying to find her purpose in life, and struggles with normal teenage fears. It feels less like an angel story and more like a very human journey. It’s her that is the heart of the story, and whom we become invested in as a character.

The ending unraveled in a quite unexpected way. I wanted something very different from the final pages. The ending was, for me, heartbreaking. I will not spoil it, but it did selfishly impact my enjoyment of the overall book.

A fitting wrap up to this trilogy. It is a testament that I was hoping for something completely different, and yet still felt satisfied with the story upon reading the last page. This series will appeal to you if you’re looking for a series that perfectly blends supernatural with very real characters.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

A huge mailbox this week. I had the Ottawa Blogger Mix and Mingle as well as some amazing titles arrived in my mailbox.

Perks of Being A Wallflower DVD!!

Boundless by Cynthia Hand (Thanks Katie!) (goodreads)

Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards (goodreads)

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza (goodreads)
Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke (goodreads)
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight (goodreads)

Takedown by Allison Van Diepen (goodreads)
Poison by Bridget Zinn (goodreads)
The Loop by Shandy Lawson (goodreads)

Huge thank you to Elizabeth Richards for the ARC of Phoenix. I won it via her Facebook page during a contest she had! Super excited to read it.

A huge thank you to all the publishers and bloggers who made the Ottawa Blogger Mix and Mingle a huge success. Be sure to check out my recap if you haven't already.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Release Date –  January 17, 2012

Publisher Website –  Harper Collins

Publisher Social Media -  Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader

Pages - 403 pages

My Rating- 4/5

**obtained from the library**

****SPOILERS FOR UNEARTHLY****

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. 

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Clara’s life was turned upside down when she was told that she is part angel, and that she has a purpose that she must fulfill. Clara's life changing journey in Unearthly brought her romance, and lots of questions. I was eager to continue her story in Hallowed.

The writing in Hallowed is just as wonderful as in Unearthly. Cynthia Hand is capable of making you feel all the emotions her characters are feeling. This novel's last half is especially emotional.

Christian, the sweet, steadfast part-angel who is there for Clara, proves in this novel why I am so very Team Christian. He gets what Clara is going through, he is there for her in a way that Tucker can’t be. They can relate to each other and lean on each other to help them through this confusing new reality that have to live with. He is patient, and wants nothing from Clara, except for her to let him in. It’s rather sweet. Tucker is still his amazing self, and I am heartbroken for him. He loves Clara, even if he can’t fully understand her and what changes she's going through.

Learning more about the angels and specifically the White Wings and Black Wings left me eager to learn even more. As we learn more, we learn of heartbreaking and devastating news that will change Clara’s life forever. Someone she loves will be leaving her even as someone else comes back into her life. The loss was sad and left me crying with Clara even as she is supported by loved ones. It shows a maturity in Clara and yet how vulnerable she really is. Clara never feels like an adult playing a teenager which can sometimes happen in YA novels. She feels like a teenager who has had a lot of things happen to her and is trying to figure it out. She is resilient, and strong, but still just a teenager who needs her mother. I love that Cynthia can make her all of this, while staying true to the character.

Clara’s brother Jeffrey continues to draw my attention. He has secrets of his own that when revealed explain a lot of his actions. Clara’s actions in Unearthly had consequences for more than just herself and that was something she didn’t consider before. Now more than ever, the question of your purpose and what not fulfilling it means is something that they have to discover. 

Hallowed will play with your emotions and have you all over the place. You’ll be swooning, laughing, crying, and sometimes all of them at once. When I closed the novel after reading the last page I felt like I had been on a journey with friends, and I look forward to joining Clara again.

Cynthia Hand Guest Post

Stopping by today for the Angel Event is Cynthia Hand, author of Unearthly and it's sequel Hallowed. Cynthia has provided a guest post about why she wrote about angels. It's fascinating to see what drew an author to a particular subject!

Thank you Cynthia for taking part in this event.

 Why did I choose to write about angels? This is a question I get a lot these days, and I always feel a little funny answering it, because the truth is, there was never a clear, definitive moment where I said to myself, “you know what? I’m going to write about angels!” It just sort of came about organically.

The seed that became Unearthly was always Clara—I clearly started to hear the voice of this character, this girl who knew that it was her destiny to save a boy who she kept seeing in visions. (For the record, usually in life it’s not a good sign when you’re hearing voices, but as a writer that’s how it usually first comes to me, a voice that wants to tell a story. Call me crazy, but I can accept that kind of craziness. It’s worked out pretty well for me so far. ) So I started to hear Clara’s voice, and she began to tell me about this mission that she was on. Then I lit on this fantastic image of a forest fire, and once I had that, the story began to unroll itself. With the forest fire came the setting of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and with the setting came the character of Tucker, this other, more rough-and-tumble boy who captures Clara’s attention and complicates everything beautifully. So suddenly I had the who, the what, the where, and the when.

Now all I had left to do was think of the why. And write about the how.

The why led me to angels. First off, I knew that I wanted Clara to be special; I wanted her to be a modern-day, bona fide hero. But I also knew I wanted her to be human. I didn’t want her to be a vampire or a fairy or any other kind of wholly supernatural creature—even though I love reading those books; don’t get me wrong. I wanted her to have some unique problems, sure, but I also wanted her to have very normal, human problems. I wanted her to be a high school girl who gets completely tongue-tied around the boy she likes.

I kept mulling over the word “hero,” and then, in one of those freakish writerly flashes of inspiration, I remembered this one obscure little passage in the Bible that talked about heroes—the Nephilim, the offspring of angels and humans.

I’d been interested in the Nephilim since I was a little girl and read Madeleine L’Engle’s book Many Waters, in which the main characters travel back to the time of Noah where there are angels walking around on earth, and some of the angels have children by human women. This idea always fascinated me—what would it be like, I wondered, to know that you’re part angel, the blood of the divine running through your veins? It would be crazy, right? Maybe it would be cool, maybe you’d have all these neat powers, but it might also be a lot of pressure!

As soon as I hit on the Nephilim idea, I knew that’s what Clara was, and all the other pieces of my story tumbled right into place. Then I had loads of fun coming up with the rules and mythology of the new world I was creating. That’s where some of the real joy of writing comes from—it’s just wildly fun to invent all these cool things and see them play themselves out on the page. I also kind of fell in love with how the story immediately began to operate on two levels, the surface level where Clara faces all her real-life challenges, and another deeper, spiritual level where she is forced to confront all of the big questions of life, the “why am I here?” questions.

That’s the tricky thing about writing about angels—they are, at heart, a topic steeped in religious connotation. I never wanted to write a book that advocated any one religion or set of religious beliefs, but I also didn’t want to ignore the spiritual implications of the story. I did a lot of research on angels and their history, which was incredibly interesting stuff, but I also gave myself permission to take the pieces of information that lit up my imagination and leave the rest—to create a world that was fully Clara’s own. So in the end, I just wrote what happened to this particular girl and tried to make the situation as real as possible: if you found out you were part-angel, how would you feel about life? About the idea of God? About your duty to that God? About your place in the world?

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Release Date –  January 4, 2011
Publisher Website –  Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 435 pages
My Rating- 8/10
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . . 

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. 

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side. 

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny? 

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

To follow ones heart, or do what is expected of you. A situation most teenagers (heck, even adults) find themselves in at some point or another. Unearthly revolves around a young angel making that exact choice. While this may sound typical of angel novels, Cynthia Hand puts her own twist and fantastic writing to use to create something totally engrossing.

I loved Cynthia’s take on angel mythology. There are varying degrees of angel  - full, half and quarter. Each angel has a purpose, something they are on earth to accomplish and it’s imperative that the angel completes their purpose. Her take on fallen angels, and the varying wing colour was also something I really enjoyed. I am looking forward to diving into this mythology even more in subsequent books. Her writing is well paced, and filled with vivid imagery. I could easily picture the mountains and landscapes of Wyoming.

Clara Gardner is part angel. She gets to deal with typical angel stuff like learning to fly, figuring out her purpose which comes to her in vision form, and navigate high school while doing it. I loved this about Clara. If you take away the angel part to this story it still would resonate with people. Every teenager deals with making friends, crushing on the cute boy and having pressure from parents and others around you. I found Clara to be determined, and quite capable. I was refreshing to see the female character be the supernatural element in the story. Often in this type of story the male character is the angel/vampire/werewolf/etc and the female character falls in love with him. This provided a different perspective that I fully enjoyed.

Clara and her family move when Clara’s visions lead her to Wyoming.  She set out to meet Christian, complete her purpose and hopefully make some friends. Clara’s plans come to a screeching halt when Christian turns out to have a girlfriend, who happens to be a “mean girl” of the worst variety. Her purpose faces further complications when she starts spending time with Tucker. Clara never expected to fall in love with him especially since she is drawn to Christian as well. All of this takes her focus off what is suppose to be the biggest thing in her angel life, which is completing her purpose. With pressure and expectations pushing on her, Clara has to make a hard decision: Can she both love Tucker and Christian? Can she make her mother proud and still be true to herself?

I really enjoyed the secondary characters as well. Clara’s brother Jeffrey is a typical teenage boy who resent having to move. Her new friend Wendy is such a great friend to Clara you can’t help but love her. Clara’s other friend Angela is keeping her own secrets. Each is developed slowly, and fully to make the world Cynthia’s created even more vivid.

The boys in this novel. Sigh, I know my opinion is most likely unpopular but I adore Christian. He is kind, friendly, and has a lot in common with Clara. I had heard about the amazing Tucker and was prepared to be swept off my feet. When Tucker first saunters into Clara’s life my initial reaction was “THIS GUY? This is who you are all swooning over? Seriously? The jerk?” but I quickly changed my mind. Tucker is sweet, caring, and a nice guy. He and Clara have an electric, intense connection that I will admit is sweet. I just think Christian is the better fit for her, and I can’t wait to get to know more about him - especially after that ending!

Cynthia Hand has mixed romance, angel mythology with some pretty typical situations people can relate to and create a highly enjoyable read that will you leave you want to grab it’s sequel Hallowed right away.

In My Mailbox!

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

I had a pretty awesome book week. I have quite a few new additions to my bookshelf!



Revived by Cat Patrick (goodreads)

A HUGE thank you to Hachette Group Canada for this! I am so excited to read it! I have a few books that are coming out in spring 2012 that I want to read NOW, but am also wanting to save them so they count for the Debut Author Reading Challenge I am taking part in. ;)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (goodreads) NOT PICTURED

A HUGE thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the egalley I have waiting to be read. Again, this comes out in January, so I might wait and read it right on Jan 1st! I have to double check when the galley expires.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (goodreads)

Brodie at Eleusinian Mysteries mentioned this one. Something to do with hot cowboys....

Either way I was tempted enough to purchase it from Book Depository and it came (finally) this week. I am super excited to read it. It's going to be part of an Angel Theme week I am planning for April (right around my birthday).

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (goodreads)
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (goodreads)
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (goodreads)

I purchased the three of these while at Chapters this week. I have been meaning to read all of them and now that I have them I am hoping to fit them into my review schedule. Super excited for all 3!

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!