Jove Boyd is an ordinary Australian teen, except that water has always behaved erratically around him, and there has been a recent spate of suspected gang related activities in his small town that increasingly seem to be directed at him.

When Tia Favon, the hot, new girl at school protects him from a fire-wielding creature, his suspicions are confirmed. Now he must leave everything that he knows behind to escape with Tia and her father, Auster, and discover the truth about the world – and about himself.

Jove: The Human Chronicles introduces a world in which other species hide in the places that humans cannot find them. Each one controls an element, but they can’t match the technology that humans have invented. To balance the world, the species have created a being who wields all of the elements – fire, water, wind and earth. He is the Incarnate.

For a debut novel, Aarts has built up a pretty complex world here. There are five different species, each with their own cultures and values. None of them are deeply explored in the first novel, but the glimpses we get of them make it obvious that all of their societies are intricately woven. Each of the four species that are not human, seem set to be explored in more depth in later novels, and it will be interesting to see how Jove will react to them.

The characters are what keep this novel moving. Jove is for the most part an average teen, perhaps a little sweeter and with a firm handle on his morals. Tia, while older than Jove, has a cheerfully optimistic personality. They make a good team; neither of them getting bogged down in angst, but meeting their heavy obligations head on. It’s refreshing too, that romance isn’t a central aspect to this story. Tia isn’t willing to put her duty aside for it, and Jove respects that. The most compelling character, however, is one of the sea-dwellers called Maré. He brings a great sense of fun to the novel.

While the characters were easy to spend time with and the world was exciting to visit, the pace could have used work. Without the threat of immediate danger for much of the novel, I didn’t feel a sense of urgency about Jove’s situation and obligations.

I’ve always been partial to stories about the elements, and this one has some fantastic fresh ideas on elemental lore. So, if you’re a fan of The Last Airbender or Captain Planet this may well become your new favourite series.

 Jove: The Human Chronicles – A.J. Aarts

 Book Pal (August 27, 2013)

 ISBN: 9781742843254

What pulled me in was the bright red lips, the funeral flowers, and obviously that the cover picture is upside down. But it’s been sitting on my bookshelf for almost three years (how horrible am I?!) and it’s finally time to get my review up! I can even say I regret not reading Putting Makeup on Dead People much earlier, but what can ya do?

Donna Parisi is still dealing with and trying to overcome the loss of her father, who passed nearly four years ago. Since his passing, Donna’s life doesn’t seem to have a sense of direction or purpose. She spends each day going through the same routine, and her days are starting to blend together. While all of her fellow classmates are excited to leave and go to college, Donna doesn’t feel that way. She’ll just be attending the local college her brother attended and her mom is pushing her to go.

Putting Makeup On Dead People starts in a way not very many books I’ve read, start; at a funeral. But while everyone around her is crying for the loss of their fellow student, Donna is more detached than anything else. Sometime after the funeral, she returns to the Brighton Bothers Funeral Home out of curiosity. She knows it’s weird to be interested in dead people, and it’s not something her friends or girls of her age are thinking about, but still she can’t resist. It’s the first thing that’s piqued her interest in a long while.

Donna is offered a flyer to a college for mortuary school as well as a job at the funeral home by one of the Brighton brothers. Going against her mother, and all the expectations revolving around her, Donna fills out the form and sends it off. With her new interest, her new job and even her first love, Donna’s life is changing for the better. Things seem to be going Donna’s way and she’s regained a purpose in her life that was lost four years ago with her father’s death. She knows what she wants in life.

I looked forward to the end of each chapter hoping to find another journal entry about Donna’s encounters with dead people, and their funerals while working for the Brighton Brothers. Some of them were just so hilarious! You would think that a book about mortuary science would be depressing and sad, but Jen Violi did a good job staying away from that. The book didn’t focus so much on the actual process or the people who died, but instead on Donna and the job she wanted to do. Violi did an amazing job keeping the story on the bright side of things, and keeping it light.

I really enjoyed Putting Makeup on Dead People. I went into reading it with absolutely no expectations, and enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. The characters were real, the story was down to earth, and overall this book was definitely like nothing I’ve never read before!

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City’s two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents’ sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn’t remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can’t conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.  

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published October 9th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

I have read several books on the topic of memory loss. This is the first one that in which I’ve been given a satisfactory explanation as to why only certain memories were lost. Other stories have skimmed over the facts and I find myself questioning why they remember some things but not others.

The story is set in a fantastical New York city in which the lower city has been mostly swallowed by water and is now referred to as “the Depths”, and the upper city has been separated into two major divisions, the leaders of which are enemies and politically divided. This year things are changing. A Mystic is running for election and has a good chance of winning.

The Mystics have magical powers. Each Mystic brings their own unique qualities to their magic and some are stronger than others. When non-Mystics became aware of just how strong the Mystic’s could be, those in power begin changing laws to have the Mystic’s drained of their powers.

Here our main character, Aria Rose, enters. The daughter of one of the most powerful men in the city, she is known to all just because of her status in the society. When she wakes after an overdose, she finds she is engaged to the rival family’s son and cannot remember falling in love. She does discover clues to a very steamy romance but the clues are all cryptic, leaving her very confused. 

Mystic City is a very interesting vision of a futuristic New York, and with the addition of characters with magical powers makes for a very fun, fantastical read. Not only did I enjoy the fact that the reader is actually clued in on the lost memories, but the details and background of the city, environment and political backgrounds adds several layers to the story that I wasn’t expecting. The romantic aspect is cute and the prospect of a revolution is enticing. Recommended.

As well all know, new books hit the shelves every week! And there are so many good ones, it can be hard to pick or even keep up. But here are the new books releasing in January that I can’t wait to read!

Erased by Jennifer Rush.

I read the first book in Altered Series (Altered) and loved it! It’s something new and refreshing. It’s not paranormal. And the cover doesn’t lie, there are some good looking guys in this series! YUM.

Hollow City, by Ransom Riggs.

I still haven’t gotten around to reading the first one in this series, but both look amazing and both have creepy pictures inside. I think this will be one that I have to read in the morning, instead of at night. I get WAY too scared!

The Rule of Three, by Eric Walters.

I haven’t heard of this one yet, but the cover looks REALLY good. I like books that show real situations or problems that actually happen to us, and this is one of those books.

Into the Still Blue, by Veronica Rossi.

This the final book in the Under The Never Sky trilogy, which I also haven’t started yet. But I’ve heard amazing things, and I’ll definitely will be reading these books in 2014.

The Unbound, by Victoria Schwab.

I read and loved The Archived and I’m excited to see how this book goes. I don’t own the first one, but I would love to, just so I can re-read it before I get started on this one! Again this story is something different and new.

Feel free to comment down below with your thoughts, or with the books you’re dying to get your hands on this upcoming month!

Krista, like Lisa, reviewed a ton of books this year! Here she lists her Top 5 reads for 2013

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass

It turned out to be way more than just a love story. This book contains some really heavy political issues and depth.

2. The Nightmare Garden (Iron Codex 2) By Caitlin Kittredge

Fantastic characters and world setting, steampunk story with a lot of world traveling and world building.

3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I have never been a fan of contemporary reads but found this one powerful and the bond between the two boys and their families was touching. This was the book that got me to pick up more contemporary reads this year.

4. Rebel Heart (Dust Lands 2) by Moira Young

As this series progresses it gets better. The language and writing style was hard for me to get used to, so I listened to the audiobooks and loved them. Great adventure and characters.

5. Bonechiller by Graham McNamee

He has made my “must buy” list. I loved his writing and ability to completely immerse me in the story. This book was a tie with his book Beyond, I went out and purchased all of his books after reading it. Bonechiller is a haunting story set in Canada about a legendary monster out killing teens.