"Stalking Jack the Ripper" (a serial-killer of a review by Lexi!)

Hello Amazing Readers,

Here I go again! I've missed blogging so very much. I have a new blog in the works, but seeing the fact that I got new followers on facebook from my last (so-basic) post, I figured starting over is so much harder than just reworking and remodeling this one, especially since I really love all the readers, followers, fan encounters, author convos/encounters, etc. we've had! I'm so grateful to you all, and I hope you guys stick with me through all of this from reviews to random posts to a lot of new content and post layout!

Okay, so today's all about the badassness of the book "Stalking Jack the Ripper" by Kerri Maniscalco.

Now, I've always had this weird fascination with the Jack of Knives (a.k.a. Jack the Ripper). Ever since I first read about it as a kid (I was already reading books for teens/adults, usually on mysterious stuff by, at most, age 6). Plus, this year, scientists have declared the case finally solved, and it only took 131 years! (That they kept on trying all ways to solve it is just true dedication and justice, imho.)

Okay, book time, lol.

Summary: "Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world." (Thank you, Goodreads!)

Review: So I was hoping that this girl wasn't a) a manicpixiedreamgirl or a Mary Sue, or the new typical nerd/outcast. And she wasn't! This story is written so very well, from the imagery, the words used, just absolutely everything. I have to tip my glitter lipgloss to this chick. The story was also just a great-paced read. The very end is building even more tension, so it gets a little slow, but I loved the characters and story so much, I kept with it. I have no patience with books that get slow, but this book was just way too good to put down!
Audrey is a new kind of heroine. She doesn't fit in her place in society. She loves solving mysteries, helping her uncle dissect cadavers, and more. She's determined, sneaky, and doesn't let men rule her life more than she absolutely has to. It's just so great. I don't want to reveal anything else at all because this book should remain a complete mystery for y'all.
Best part of the book is that I couldn't predict the ending. I grew up incessantly reading (completely and utterly a true story), so predicting endings and what'll happen next is just something I automatically do. This is the first book with a mystery I didn't solve by mid-book. This is just a brilliant, thrilling novel!

Recommendation: Go read it! NOW! Like, RIGHT NOW! Read this if you like a great heroine and a fresh outlook and writing style. Wait till it's dark and/or pouring outside, especially if you like reading creepy/dark subject matter books like I do!

Rating: 7/7 places Jack the Ripper terrorized

XOXO,

Lexi

"The Name of a Star" (a dashing Lexi review)

To our amazing and awesome readers,

Hello, again! It's been soooo long.

Okay, so I read an awesome book and thought today (Friday) was Thursday, so now I'm postponing this until Saturday. Then, you'll have a fun bunch of randomness on Sunday!

So this novel is The Name of a Star by Maureen Johnson, and it's the first book of "The Shades of London" trilogy. The first two are out, and the third will be coming in 2014. If you can't deal with a bit of blood and such, please do not read, as this novel mentions murder and Jack the Ripper and such.

First, look at this cover!!! Actually, there have been three, so I'll let you see them all!!!

  

All so pretty, huh? Okay, so read the summary before I decide to flip out and babble on about how flipping awesome this novel is!!!

Summary: "The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man...  And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target?" (YAY FOR GOODREADS!!! YAAAAAAY!!!!!)

So right off the bat, I love the main character. She sounds like me and my inner thought process. The author honestly portrayed the characters as they would really speak. She doesn't go for useless slang, but instead had the character just as somebody would today. I know that this novel involves murders and such, but please understand that there's plenty of humor! Humor that's done very well.

Then there are the rest of the characters, who were all well-rounded. You got a chance of experiencing and seeing each character's true colors and lives. Each character is unique and is shown (and a little told, of course) to be a very realistic person that you could meet on the street.

Every happening in the novel seem so realistic. From going away to school in London to the Ripper coming back, there was not one ounce of fake; I could picture it all. Johnson totally took my mind into the novel, the story, the settings, that I absolutely saw it all as real. The plot is wonderful, and very unique. I loved the idea of Jack the Ripper coming back, and if anybody other than Maureen Johnson wrote it, it would not have been this amazing and flawless.

Little Bit of Dialogue from the Novel:

"You told him I have period fever," I replied. "There's no such thing as period fever."
...
"No, there is really no such thing as period fever. There's a difference between being a guy and being an idiot."


In Conclusion: Unless you can't stand any amount of gore, read this. Heck, if you do, skip the gore and go for it! This is one of my favorite novels now, and I'm so glad that I chose to read this novel next! It's going to be difficult to find a read as great as this to read next.

Rating:



7/5 Heart Cutters (Get it!?! Cutters??? Like the Ripper!!! Bahaha!)



Till Tomorrow (Sunday),

Lexi, she who is braving the storm