The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff - Ashley's Review

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Title: The Space Between
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Year Published: 2011

My Pre-Reading

Synopsis: Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible.

Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

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Review: I cannot believe I waited so long to read this book! I loved Brenna's Paper Valentine, and The Space Between was just as good (although radically different). Her writing is gorgeous and flawless, and everything about this book was just excellent. The characters, the world building, the plot... I loved it all. 

My favorite part of this book was the world building. Brenna puts her own spin on Hell (which she calls Pandemonium), and it's hauntingly beautiful. Everything is made of steel and the only things that can survive when the furnace is open are things that have been made in Pandemonium or are protected behind closed doors. Any clothes or objects from Earth are incinerated or melted immediately. Even the inhabitants of Pandemonium are steel-like (unless they're fallen angels). The fire and brimstone that are stereotypical of hellish settings is still there, but Pandemonium is still its own place, unique and terrifying.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book was how we're able to see things happening from both Daphne's and Truman's perspectives. The switch between first person and third person is a little jarring at first, but the chapters are clearly marked and I got used to it after about the second time. After reading this book, I definitely think the third person perspective for Truman's sections really helped develop his character in a way that first person wouldn't have been. He's sad and broken, and I feel like being completely immersed in his thoughts would have been really confusing.

I think that, while Daphne and Truman are complicated and very multi-dimensional, some of the other minor characters fell kind of flat. I wish we knew more about Obie and about Lilith. I kind of just want a whole book about Lilith because I think it would be really interesting to learn more of her thoughts and her wants and her needs. But maybe taking away the mystery about her would take away from her character in this book. 

There are quite a few twists and turns in this plot, and I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I couldn't guess them all. Some were more obvious, but there are some secrets that run pretty deep and aren't as easily deciphered. It kept me hooked, and I found myself staying up until the wee hours of the morning just to finish reading and to find out what was going to happen next. 

This book is pretty intense, and I wouldn't recommend it for a young audience. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in angels and demons and the war between them. I thought Brenna Yovanoff did an excellent job of taking well known entities and making them completely her own, and I can't wait to get my hands on more of her books! I would also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys darker books with love and loss and characters questioning themselves. Definitely a 5/5 from me! 


--Ashley

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff - Ashley's Pre-Reading

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Space Between
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Year Published: 2011

Synopsis: Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. 

Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

Why?: I recently read Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff and really enjoyed it. This book has been on my TBR list for a while now based on the synopsis alone, but reading Paper Valentine made me want to get my hands on a copy of this book ASAP. 

Expectations: Since I enjoyed Paper Valentine so much, I have pretty high expectations for this book. I expect the plot to be totally different, but the writing style to be pretty similar. I expect an engaging story that is a little creepy, a little mysterious, and has excellent world-building. 

Judging a book by its cover: I love everything about this cover. I love that everything is made of steel, I love the girl on the bench, I love how the red makes everything look really creepy... I would totally pick this up off a shelf if I saw it somewhere. It's gorgeous! 


--Ashley

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff - Ashley's Review

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Title: Paper Valentine
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Year Published: 2013

My Pre-Reading

Synopsis: The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

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Review: This book was not really at all what I expected. I kind of thought Lillian was going to be one of the murder victims, but that was totally wrong. I also thought that this was set in a different world for some reason... also pretty wrong. But you know what? It was even better because I was wrong about those (and other) things. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it was so hard to put it down so that I could do things that I needed to get done. This book is about love and loss and it's heartbreaking and terrifying and just all the feels.

One of my favorite parts about this book was the setting. We know that Hannah lives in Ludlow, but that's about it. She could be living in the States (which I think is most likely) but we're never told specifically which one. She could be somewhere in Europe. Or maybe it's a fictional Ludlow. Not knowing does not take away from this book, and all of the contemporary references (the girls visit Dairy Queen and Claire's, for instance), make it really easy to connect with this book and the characters. Apart from the paranormal aspects, this story could happen anywhere to any teenage girl. The characters, both minor and major, are all the same types of people that most high school kids know. It's kind of remarkable how well Brenna Yovanoff creates a town that could be any town in the US. 

The setting and not knowing where exactly Ludlow  is really helps the plot, in my opinion. The Valentine Killer could literally be anyone, and yet even in a town where most people know each other and the crime rate is low, nobody is really a suspect. Hannah is only able to put pieces together because of the ghost girls, especially Lillian. Everyone has their secrets, and without the girls it would have been impossible for Hannah to gather all of the information she does. I would be terrified if I was haunted by even my dead best friend, and I loved how Hannah grew and became a stronger person because of the hauntings.

Aside from helping Hannah with the murders, I think Lillian's ghost is really important in helping Hannah move on, stop blaming herself, and become a stronger person. Lillian isn't murdered - she effectively kills herself several months before the start of this book, although she does suffer a very slow death. She's sick, and no matter how hard Hannah tries, there's nothing she could have done to save Lillian. It's actually really sad, and I really kind of liked how Yovanoff worked a real problem into this book and had the characters have to deal with loss that way. Lillian is eventually able to admit to Hannah why she did what she did, and I loved seeing Lillian change over the course of the book just as much as Hannah did. 

And then there's Finny, who is not your typical romantic interest. But honestly? He's one of my favorites that I've read so far. He's huge and scary and he does things that make him seem like the worst person for Hannah to be involved with... but once you get to know him with Hannah, I think you'll love him too. He's really just a big teddy bear, and that made me so happy. There's no instalove, and the relationship is very slow, but it fit the characters and felt very natural. 

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes books like Anna Dressed in Blood  or murder mysteries with a paranormal aspect. It's not quite as terrifying as Anna Dressed in Blood, and is definitely a tamer sort of horror, but I wouldn't really recommend it to a younger audience. The details of the deaths are not gross and bloody or anything, but there are some parts that might be a little scary. I will definitely be reading Brenna's other books! 5/5 for sure. 

--Ashley

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff - Ashley's Pre-Reading

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Paper Valentine
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

Why?: This book has been on my TBR list for a while, and I finally got my hands on a copy. It sounds all sorts of fantastic - some horror and mystery and ghosts and maybe even a little romance? And plus, it's February. So what better time to read a Valentine book that isn't just a romance?

Expectations: I've heard really excellent things about this book, so even though I've never read anything by Brenna Yovanoff, I still have pretty high expectations. I'm also pretty excited that it's a standalone, so I'm really hoping everything is tied up well by the end of it.

Judging a book by its cover: I really love this cover! I love all of the detail in the girl and the heart, and how the red heart stands out from the rest of the dark, dreary cover. The artwork would be enough for me to pick it up off of a shelf somewhere, and it's what drew me to this book initially. 


--Ashley