REVIEW: Vivian Divine is Dead by Lauren Sabel

Vivian Divine is Dead by Lauren Sabel
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
Source: Edelweiss*
Rating: 2/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

When a death threat arrives with teen celebrity Vivian Divine's fan mail, Vivian has no choice but to go on the run to Mexico. She soon discovers, though, that her Oscar-nominated performance killing villains on-screen did nothing to prepare her for escaping a madman in real life. Some people say he's a hero, others tremble in his presence, but one thing is clear: he won't stop until Vivian is in his grasp. Why didn't she pay more attention during those judo lessons for her role in Zombie Killer?

Vivian finds an ally in the mysterious and charming Nick. He is everything Hollywood boys are not-genuine, kind, and determined to see Vivian for who she really is. But even he seems like he can't be trusted-what could he be hiding?

Beat up, hungry, and more confused than ever about who she's running from, Vivian is living in a real-life blockbuster horror flick. But there's no option to yell "cut" like there is on set....

Lauren Sabel's Vivian Divine Is Dead is a creepy, witty, fast-paced adventure about family, fame, and having the courage to save yourself.

My thoughts, feelings, and reactions

I have two words that completely describe Vivian Divine is Dead to me and that’s disappointing and ridiculous. 



The beginning of the book showed real promise. There was suspense and mystery about Vivian and her impending death threat. It was creepy and scary because what kind of death threat isn’t? I even liked Vivian because while she was a famous movie actress, she seemed down to earth. She didn’t sound stuck up or superior in any way. She was just a teen grieving for her mother, wishing for the attention of her father and broken hearted over a cheating boyfriend. It wasn’t long before some action started, forcing Vivian to go to Mexico.


It was that trip to Mexico and most the middle of the book where it started to go downhill for me. It was absurd that Vivian’s bodyguard/stand in sort of mother figure allowed Vivian to go to Mexico by herself. The fact that someone obviously wanted Vivian dead it rang bells in my mind (and should have for Vivian) when Mary let her go off. While in Mexico, Vivian was no longer that regular teen. Vivian had some ugly American tourism going on. She complained about how dirty and disgusting everything was and it became obvious that she was sheltered her whole life. While it was understandable because of her upbringing, it just turned me off when she was ungrateful for some of the things that were given to her. Her complaining was just the beginning.

My next problem was how Vivian fell in love with Nick, the boy who helped her. Vivian was in Mexico for about 5 days give or take. The L word starting coming out day 3 or 4 which was absurd because they barely had any real interaction and most of that was him calling her a spoiled brat. It didn’t make sense. I could not believe these two were in love, let alone be friends especially after what happened. This was also the time where other characters started to pop up and where a few clues to what was going on came through. The things leading up to this point probably could have been cut because I thought it was unnecessary.

The last half of the book and the end was even more ridiculous because this was where the author dropped the bomb on some of those characters, on who and why Vivian was taken and other twists. I have to admit that there was some things I didn’t expect that surprised me, but other revelations were just so odd. The fact that Vivian was so outraged by the betrayal was beyond me because everything was practically pointing to that person. And the ending by all means, does not wrap up anything at all. We are left hanging in every way and I didn’t like that.

All in all, Vivian Divine is Dead was not the book I was hoping it would be. I just thought that the plot was unrealistic, the romance was forced, and Vivian was just too naive of a character for me to like or understand. 


*Thanks to Harper/ Katherine Tegen Books for sending a copy for review purposes

REVIEW: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: April 1, 2014
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

Rule One—Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.
Rule Two—Be careful.
Rule Three—Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest.
Rule Four—Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible.
Rule Five—The letters are the law.

Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life—the only way of life she has ever known.

But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

Katherine Ewell’s Dear Killer is a sinister psychological thriller that explores the thin line between good and evil, and the messiness of that inevitable moment when life contradicts everything you believe.

My Review

Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell was disturbingly addicting, completely ingenious, and so skin crawlingly good. I was drawn to this story about a girl who grew up to be a serial killer by her own mother. And I was even more fascinated to know her every thought and feeling. It was such an exciting and stimulating YA novel that had protagonist/antagonistic type of main character who didn’t have definite morals.



I was smitten with Kit Ward, not because of her perfect way of killing (though that is impressive in of itself) but because of her character. She had this cold calculating even frightening voice and her thoughts and feelings were dark and downright sinister. However, she was complex, layered and sometimes hard to define. It seemed like she was heartless and had no remorse due to her unconventional upbringing, yet she was not without emotion or even the slightest of guilts. We are privy to her malicious thoughts and justifications of killing, her confessions of enjoying it, her cocky way of knowing that she was indeed the best, along with her doubts of right vs. wrong and of her first flickers of feeling like a monster.

Ewell does an outstanding job of blurring the lines of good and evil and right and wrong. She allowed me to feel some sort of connection, sympathy, or empathy towards Kit that I cannot explain. This may be due to knowing how she grew up, the way she discovered friendship, and how there seemed to be two sides to Kit. I wanted Kit to change her mind, for her guilt to grow, for her to break down and be the teenaged girl she should have grown up to be and at the same time I wanted her to be caught and face the consequences and justice for all the people she killed. Kit really confused me because I felt for her, I really did. She felt so sure of what she was doing and why and then she would question so many things and I pitied her and was sadden by what she has become. I didn’t exactly consider her as evil because she was innocent in how she was stripped of being a regular girl, but she was definitely guilty for the murders she committed. 

Dear Killer had a slow steady pace that continually picked up little by little the further we delve into Kit’s mind and how she unraveled without her truly realizing it. This slowness works because of Kit’s detached and disconnect to her murders and how this changes along the way. The murders were described well enough and will surely make stomachs churn, but they are not brutally graphic. It was just enough to induce some kind of bothersome reaction. These murders were called perfect throughout the book and while some were believable, some were questionable at best. However, this really did not take away from my enjoyment at all. 



Overall, Dear Killer was so incredibly written from the in-depth development of Kit’s mind, body and soul to the descriptions of her murders. This novel was engrossing and hypnotic. It left me with unresolved feelings and thoughts in my mind that will continue to haunt me, but it ultimately left me enamored. 

*Thanks to Katherine Tegen Books for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review

Favorite Quotes

"My name is Kit, but most people know me as the Perfect Killer. I kill on order. I am everyone's assassin. I belong to no one but the grim reaper herself."

"Do you remember what I said about not enjoying murder? That was a lie."

"It's hard to feel alone when you're me, when you can imagine the throbbing of blood through each of them and you know the way each of them breaks, like dolls lined up on a shelf."

"'You still don't understand. Silly Boy." I stopped in front of him and kneeling again. 'You see, ' I murmured, 'I'm the Perfect Killer.' He was at last afraid."

REVIEW: The Ward by Jordana Frankel

Title: The Ward
Author: Jordana Frankel
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Source: Edelweiss* 480 pages
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.

However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.

My thoughts, feelings, and reactions

The cover to this book is what originally drew me in and had me begging to read it. Sadly, the contents of the this is not as striking as its cover. The Ward by Jordana Frankel was a book I wanted to love so bad, but it failed to meet any of my expectations. 

What I did like:



Main character and heroine: Ren


It took me awhile to warm up to Ren, but I think in the end I could say that I liked her. She wasn’t the best of heroines or even that great, but Ren was interesting. Her reckless adventurous side intrigued me, but her love and devotion for her sister Axen impressed me. I liked that Ren wanted to be a racer even when she knew it was dangerous and mostly filled with boys. She was bold, daring, and never backed down from a challenge and I found these traits set her a part from the rest. At times, Ren was able to make me laugh with her snarky comments and with her amusing inner dialogue. 



The passionate doctor


He was gangly, awkward, and a little weird but I adored him. He wasn’t physically strong, nor could he swim or even be a match for the other guy in this book, but he was smarter than everyone else. He was the only one who wanted to make a difference and actually do something in The Ward. He was sweet and I hope that Ren could see what I saw in him too. 



Ren and Axen


Ren didn’t want to love or care for anyone for fear of being alone. She has always looked out for herself, but allowed this younger girl to worm her way in. Ren becomes BFFs with Axen, basically considering her a sister with no blood relation and risks everything to save her from her sickness. It was inspiring. 


What I didn’t like:



Ren’s issues with breathing and not breathing. It’s ridiculous. It's just too much of this..

"Then I can breathe, and I realize that I hadn't been."

"I have to force myself to breathe."

"I can't breathe, there's nothing for me to breathe."

"I exhale, realizing that I too wasn't breathing." 

And my personal favorite..

"I hold my breath... but I already am."

*rolls eyes* And that's just some. It goes on and on nearly every chapter.



Descriptions, you are too much. 

I like great descriptions that easily allow me to build the world in my mind. Yes, I was able to see some parts (especially with the helpful cover) but most of the descriptions in this book were too much and over the top. I felt that the more it was described, the more jumbled it seemed. The descriptions for bubbles, the buildings, the beginning race, the underwater crash and some more were so freaking long and drawn out I thought it was never going to end.



You can never have too much plot.

Wrong. You can and this book was all over the place that I could barely follow. There was the racing, the DI government, the sickness called Blight, the freshwater, the science, the history of the spring, the Tetai, the people of the Isle vs. the Ward, the Upstate, and the cure. Every single thing in this book was interesting on its own, but it’s one after the other and it got so overwhelming. I found myself going back and rereading more than I could ever want. All of these things I mentioned were touched upon maybe some more than others, but nothing gets developed fully because too much was going on. Even now, I’m not even sure what the heck I read. 



Overall, The Ward wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be. While I enjoyed some parts of this book, it just didn’t deliver the amazing I expected. It lacked in something I can’t pinpoint and most of the book just annoyed me. It was too long, too hard to understand, and didn’t give me any gut wrenching emotions it should have.

*Thanks to HarperCollins for sending a copy for review