REVIEW: The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1)

The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1), by Kelley Armstrong
Published July 1, 2008
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Format:  Paperback - own
Genre:  YA Paranormal

Rating:  3.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? it's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House...before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

The Summoning is one of those cases of a book that could've been great - almost was great - had it not been for the main character.

Our story starts in high school where 15-year-old Chloe Saunders starts seeing dead people and, as a result, gets placed in a home for kids with "problems." While there, she's diagnosed as schizophrenic by the home's psychiatrist. She also continues to see dead people and has problems getting along with some of the other residents.

I really loved the concept of this book. Chloe is a necromancer who is thrown together with other kids with other abilities. There's a lot of secrecy and intrigue as she tries to figure out how to control her ability and come to terms with it. And then, as she and the others in the house start to latch on to the bigger picture, it gets even more exciting.

My biggest problem with this book is Chloe. I liked her less than I liked the boy who is supposed to be unlikable. She is very immature and her language and mannerisms are proof of that. I realize she's only 15 and dealing with a lot of crap. But, this is a book, and a lot of times, unbelievable things happen in books. I mean, for cripes sake, she can resurrect the dead! The least Armstrong could do was to make her main character someone we all could get behind.

Derek, Simon - even mean girl Tori - had more depth and substance than Chloe did. More heart and more spine. It is because of Derek and Simon that I will continue on in the series. Well, that, and the fact that I already own all three books in the trilogy. I look forward to getting the full story on what happened with the boys' dad. And, The Summoning did end on quite a big cliffhanger. I just can't leave a good cliffhanger go.

DEEP THOUGHTS: An Expensive Month

How do you manage things when you have a long list of books you want to buy and no patience to wait until the library gets them in a month or two from now? Do you have a monthly book budget? If so, how do you prioritize?

Here's an even crazier question - have you seen the list of March releases??

I give myself a rough book budget of $50 per month, and that needs to cover any giveaways I do too. Some months it's not hard to stick to that limit. Others, like this month, are much more difficult. So, that is when prioritizing your purchases becomes very important. March is going to be a crazy month for books for me. There are so many that I want!

In order to stick as close to my budget as I can, this month, I intend to only buy books that are a continuation of series I've already started.

March 5:  Requiem (Delirium #3) - Honestly, I may not buy this one. I'm really nervous about how the love triangle will be resolved.

March 5:  The Prince (The Selection #0.5) - I LOVED Maxon in The Selection. I just want more of him while I wait for The Elite to come out next month.

March 5:  Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson #7) - Mercy Thompson was the first urban fantasy series that I fell in love with. I'm so excited to see what happens next.

March 19:  Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3) - We have all been waiting for the conclusion to this amazing series for well over a year now. My copy is already pre-ordered.

March 26:  Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2) - Vlad stole my heart in Once Burned. I'm excited to see him again.

March 26:  Lover At Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11) - This is the one I'm most excited for this month. I absolutely love this series and I can't wait to see what's next!

So, how about you? Do you have a book budget to stick to? How do you decide which books to buy?

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet

1. The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater - I haven't read a good werewolf series in awhile, and I've heard good things about this one. Plus, it's a finished series, and I'm getting a little stressed out by major cliffhangers these days.

2. Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer - All of my friends have been raving about Cinder and Scarlet. I've been dying to see what all the fuss is about.

3. Steampunk Chronicles series by Kady Cross - I haven't read many steampunk books, but I've read enough to know I love them. This seems like a cool series, and the covers are really beautiful.

4. Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh - The first book in this series has been on my Goodreads TBR list for a year-and-a-half now. It's high time I get to it.

5. Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep - I LOVE Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy series. I own the first book in this series, but I just haven't started it yet.

6. The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting - I think this sounds like such an interesting concept, and thanks to my very awesome friend Jen at At Random, I now own the first one in the series.

7. Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini - I love anything related to mythology, and this sounds like a really unique take on it.

8. Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead -Richelle Mead is one of my favorite authors, but thus far, I've only read her YA series. I've also been on a UF kick lately, so this would be a great book to read about now.

9. The Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin -Another book I initially wanted to read soley because the cover is gorgeous. And then the reviews were really good, too, so it made it even more tempting.

10. The Vincent Boys series by Abbi Glines - My new love is the New Adult genre, and the queen of NA is Abbi Glines. Yet, I have yet to read one of her books. The Vincent Boys series seems like a good place to start.