Tahleen reviews: "Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers" by Kirsten Miller

Title: Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's, 2013

Rating: 4 stars

So I had never been exposed to the Kiki Strike books before agreeing to be a part of this blog tour, and I am so glad I was given the opportunity to read the whole series. I flew through them all, and I hope there will continue to be more books in the series down the road. I'm going to do my best to avoid spoilers for the first two books in the series, but I'm going to tell you to go out and read them right now. You really won't regret it.

In this third adventure starring Kiki Strike and the Irregulars, the band of girl geniuses venture beneath Paris, attempt to foil the usurpation of an Eastern European nation, and stay out of the clutches of a brainwashing etiquette maven. Plus they have to deal with boys and evil twins, both new experiences for our narrator, Ananka. Things get pretty busy, as you can imagine, and loyalties and strengths are all tested. Everyone is not as they seem—but this is not always a bad thing.

Miller has continued to bring surprise and humor to wonderfully creative capers. Kiki and the Irregulars, all of whom have their own specialties (chemistry, engineering, disguises, hacking, etc), continue to surprise me with their ingenuity and capability in the face of equally interesting and complex foes. I never know where we'll end up in these stories; twists keep coming at the reader throughout the telling.

I really like how in each new volume we examine one of the Irregulars a little bit closer than we have before. In this one, we learn a bit about Betty Bent, who the rest of the gang worry is too nice for her own good in certain situations. She has suffered from low self-esteem in the past, and she has gotten herself into trouble before, but she is ready to prove herself by being the one sent on a mission to Paris in order to help Kiki.

Miller has a great command of simile and language, and I often found myself laughing at one-liners. My only problem was that I was sad the Irregulars started to have romance added into their lives. I understand that it's normal and should be expected, but a part of me still wishes boys were not added into the mix. Oh well!

I loved how original it all is, and really the whole series is just a lot of fun. I highly recommend these books, including this newest addition, to anyone who likes adventure, espionage, and intrigue, especially in teen literature.

Disclosure: I received this book, along with the two earlier books in the series, from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Tahleen reviews: "Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Speak, 2011 (paperback)

Okay, okay, I know. What took me so long. Life got in the way, kids. But I finally made it, months after everyone else. And of course, everyone was right.
Anna is being sent to France against her will for her senior year of high school. At least it's an American boarding school, but still, she's pissed at her dad (a famous author who sounds suspiciously like Nicholas Sparks) for taking her away from everything she knows and sending her to some foreign country on her own. But she eventually settles in, makes friends, and is forced to get to know the city by said friends, especially St. Clair (that's his last name, first name Etienne). Friendship gets complicated between these two though, when both start to feel something more but, oh hey, St. Clair has a girlfriend. Then throw in a mean girl, another dude, and the excitement only Paris has to offer and you get one awesome book.

There's really not much more I can say about this book that hasn't been said, but I'll do it anyway. Yes, St. Clair has a British accent and is a super nice guy and is extremely attractive (and short—my fiance would approve), but he also has his baggage. This includes a truly awful father and the inability to be alone at this time in his life (you'll see why). Anna is equally down to earth, and she has an appreciation for film that is rarely seen in YA novels—her aspiration is the be one of the few female film critics. Their relationship is incredibly real and exactly what a friends/more-than-friends relationship is like. Anyone who's ever been in that sort of situation will feel the same way, I'd guess. And I love that it takes the appropriate amount of time for them each to fall for the other.

Did I mention there are serious issues in here too? No? There are serious issues. Bullying, for one. At one point Anna has to deal with some truly terrible people and I actually cried at how they were treating her. That's not the only real-life issue in here, but that's where I'll stop because I don't want to give any spoilers for the few who have yet to read it.

And how could I forget the setting? This book made me want to go back to Paris, since hey, I was there for only 7 hours between trains. The food, the people, the excitement are all intoxicating. Even though it rained most of the days in the book, I still wanted to be there.
I stayed up late to finish this, something I wasn't expecting to do, and that doesn't happen very often for me. So yes, this book is everything everyone has been saying it is. It's truly worth the read, not only because of how utterly delightful it is, but because of it's depth and the truth behind every relationship.
I know the American cover isn't the best, one of the reasons I didn't read it sooner, but let me show you an alternate cover I found:

Isn't that so much cuter?
Side note: Did anyone else think the way Anna was described sounded exactly like Anna Paquin in X-Men? Gap between the front teeth, bleach in the hair, her name is Anna...

Disclosure: I got this book from the library.