Review: The Long Game

THE LONG GAME
The Fixer #2
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Young Adult/Political Thriller
368 Pages
Bloomsbury
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Tess Kendrick, teen fixer extraordinaire, returns in a pulse-pounding thriller about a deadly conspiracy at the heart of Washington.

For Tess Kendrick, a junior at the elite Hardwicke School in Washington D.C., fixing runs in the family. But Tess has another legacy, too, one that involves power and the making of political dynasties. When Tess is asked to run a classmate's campaign for student council, she agrees. But when the candidates are children of politicians, even a high school election can involve life-shattering secrets.

Meanwhile, Tess's guardian has also taken on an impossible case, as a terrorist attack calls into doubt who can--and cannot--be trusted on Capitol Hill. Tess knows better than most that power is currency in D.C., but she's about to discover first-hand that power always comes with a price.

MY THOUGHTS
The Long Game is one of those reads that’s sheer entertainment, the political maneuvering and government conspiracies a bit over the top but in a fun, perfect-break-from-reality kind of way that has us flipping the pages as fast as possible to see which player on the board is going to make the next move.

Tess is easy-to-root for, a bit cocky at times thanks to her familial connections in the political arena, but she’s a Robin Hood whose currency just happens to be information, and it’s impossible not to smile when those who seek to exploit weakness get their just deserts. Though she has the same unfortunate habit of keeping certain secrets as her mother, on the whole she’s good about sharing information with those who are in the best position to help her, never running off to solve a problem on her own without first notifying someone of her plan. Her relationship with Ivy can be frustrating at times, their shared inability to give voice to the things that matter most a bit trying in this second installment, but the drama between them is never so extreme as to detract from our overall enjoyment.

As with the first book, there’s little to no romance in this second book, and while that might disappoint those readers like myself who live for a bit of swoon in whatever they read, Ms. Barnes ensures this story never feels as though it’s lacking. The life and death game-playing by political big wigs and terrorists alike keeps our attention throughout, and secondary characters like Asher with his absurdly endearing sense of humor plaster smiles on our faces in a number of very welcome moments of levity.

All in all, The Long Game is a strong follow-up to The Fixer, leaving us with an important revelation that has us looking forward to the next book without facing a brutal cliffhanger that tears the rug out from under us on the last page.

Rating: 4/5

Find Jennifer:

Website • Tumblr • Twitter • Amazon • Goodreads 

This book was sent to me by the publisher  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

 

Review: The Fixer

THE FIXER
The Fixer #1
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Young Adult/Mystery
384 pages
Available Now
Bloomsbury
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.

And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.

Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Heist Society, readers will be clamoring for this compelling teen drama with a political twist.

MY THOUGHTS
The Fixer is a perfect blend of humor and gravity, the world of political intrigue Tess is drawn into proving to be a deadly one, but through it all we’re treated to banter between her and her new friends to make sure the weight of all that Tess faces doesn’t grow too heavy. Ms. Barnes also manages to give us teenage sleuths who play by the rules for the most part, making smart choices and sharing pertinent information with one another as well as people in a realistic position to help, thereby completely eliminating the need to suspend disbelief. Instead, we get to easily settle in with Tess as she uses all the resources at her disposal to put the pieces of an ever-expanding political conspiracy together.

Tess is easy to like from page one, her love for her ailing grandfather and her fear that someone will find out just how fast he’s declining palpable, but instead of throwing a fit when her sister intervenes and takes her away from everything she knows, she handles her anger and disappointment with maturity. It’s not to say Tess is without flaws, after all a perfect character would be a bit of a bore, but she makes–if we're being brutally honest–the same choices we can see ourselves making at every turn, even when those choices are ones that land her in hot water with family, friends or school authorities.

One of the many highlights of this tale is Ms. Barnes’s sense of humor, the witty repartee between Tess and resident troublemaker Asher making us laugh out loud as insults are hurled back and forth before bouncing harmlessly off the other person’s shield of sarcasm. While there are two boys in Tess’s orbit, there’s only the barest hint of a possible romance as the story progresses, and a love triangle doesn’t even come close to entering the picture. Tess’s journey from Montana farm girl to D.C. fixer is at the forefront the entire time, keeping us guessing as we try and sort through all the political lies along with her.

Overall, The Fixer is a hugely entertaining first installment, weaving a complex mystery and giving us a cast of characters we won’t soon forget. We’re left in a satisfying place, a few cogs in the political machine revealed and a few answers brought to light, but the larger picture still hovers just out of reach to tease us into picking up future books. I personally can’t wait to see what Ms. Barnes has in store for Tess and company moving forward.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Jennifer:

Website • Tumblr • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion. 

Review: Nobody

NOBODY
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Paranormal Young Adult
400 pages
EgmontUSA
Available Now
Received from Media Masters Publicity for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

MY THOUGHTS
Nobody is a bit of a strange read, almost as though the story itself takes on the qualities of the Nobodies themselves, becoming something our minds can’t quite wrap themselves around and hovering in a sort of intangible state where we’re never clearly able to determine how we feel about it. A Nobody is someone who goes essentially unnoticed, taking up space but never truly filling it as not a single person around them recognizes they’re there; not truly invisible but for all intents and purposes, transparent just the same. Much the same way, we read Claire and Nix’s story with a kind of detachment, finding ourselves intrigued and fascinated by what’s unfolding chapter to chapter, but for some reason the events and characters themselves don’t quite brand themselves in our memories, and we’re able to move on to the next book without thoughts of Claire and Nix lingering.

Claire is someone we can’t help but like instantaneously, her inner monologue as she humorously despairs of her social invisibility both at home and school bringing a big smile to our faces. Once she meets Nix some of that humor slips away as the seriousness of her Nobody status is brought to her attention, but she remains a young woman who keeps a level head and approaches revelation after revelation with an admirable positivity and maturity. Though her attraction to Nix can be described as instant and powerful, the fact that she’s gone virtually unseen throughout her entire fifteen years in existence provides a believable explanation as to why finding someone whose eyes don’t simply focus somewhere over her shoulder is such a heady thing for her.

Nix is a bit harder to connect to, his brutal life as an assassin and pawn of a powerful society rendering him a shell of a human being, a strong and unbreakable carapace protecting a heart that by design and nurture is empty of love, compassion and feeling in general. He is simply his job until he meets Claire, and as his world is turned upside down, we have the pleasure of watching as Claire finds a tiny crack in that hard outer shell and begins to fill the empty spaces with all the affection and understanding they’ve both been denied for so long.

Overall, Nobody is an entertaining read, though those who like clear explanations for any paranormal abilities may find themselves a touch frustrated with the lack of information regarding Nobodies and Nulls. The romance, after the initial instant attraction, settles into something a bit more subtle, both Claire and Nix trying to navigate the heavily potholed road of young love, a road made all the more difficult given their deeply rooted loneliness and sense of unworthiness. The ending is neither wide open nor perfectly wrapped up, leaving us in the same kind of odd limbo we’ve been in throughout, everything about Nix, Claire and this world having a slightly blurry edge to it where no matter how long and hard we stare, nothing ever becomes perfectly clear.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Trial By Fire

TRIAL BY FIRE
(Raised by Wolves #2)
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Paranormal Young Adult
368 Pages
Egmont
Available Now
Received at BEA

THE STORY
Being the only human to ever be raised in a pack of werewolves, Bryn's used to an unusual life. With the help of her unique gift to re-work pack bonds, she's found herself the alpha of her own small pack of wolves, most of whom are turned wolves not born; something that separates their pack even further from the others.

When a beaten and bloody wolf stuck mid-shift shows up on Bryn's doorstep seeking sanctuary, she knows things are about to get more complicated. Bryn has something a lot of the alphas would kill for: a high percentage of female wolves. One alpha in particular, Shay, is gunning for Bryn and what she's protecting, and it just so happens the abused wolf at her door belongs to him.

Bryn knows the boy is part of a bigger plan Shay has to take what's hers, and he knows her well enough to understand that turning over the young man to his abusers, as is werewolf law, will tear Bryn apart. Shay is not the only one looking for him however, and Bryn soon finds her mettle as alpha tested from all sides. When Callum, the man who raised her and a fellow alpha, offers no immediate assistance, she knows she's on her own to prove she's worthy of defending those she loves.

MY THOUGHTS
Trial By Fire is a stunningly beautiful and deliciously complex story, fascinating us with the challenge of harnessing our own conflicting emotions as we read, and keeping us on edge as to what we'll be made to feel next. We're often both comfortable with Bryn and her pack and, at the same time, acutely uncomfortable as we wait with breath held for the inevitable trouble to come knocking. We also both love the unpredictability and uncertainty as to exactly what is going to happen while cursing it at the same time for tying our stomachs knots and pulling our heartstrings dangerously taut. Reading Ms. Barnes's characters and her world is a decadent indulgence, her story a spectacular blend of rich characters, layered plot, and breathtaking emotional connections that truly makes us sit back and remember why we love to pick up a book in the first place.

Bryn has a maturity that exceeds her young years, making difficult decisions that affect an entire group of people who rely on her for their mental and emotional strength. She is a character who exists in nuances, new facets of her personality revealed with every threat she faces both outside and within the pack, and each test reinforces our bond with her until we can't possibly feel any closer. Her relationship with Chase is anything but a typical teen romance, and she struggles to deal with his absolute certainty of his priorities when she knows her own must differ from his due to her position. He has to be second to her first in his life–her duty to the pack resolute and unwavering–and their quiet and often brief exchanges are all the more interesting for this dynamic. Nothing is simple for them but nor are things unnecessarily complex, it's just them and the exquisiteness of their individual natures as they deal with a species barrier, a hierarchy barrier, and the multiple mental barriers erected as coping mechanisms against shared difficult pasts.

In addition to the brilliance of Bryn and Chase, Ms. Barnes has written one of the most enigmatic and captivating characters in alpha and father-figure Callum. He is a werewolf nearly impossible to label in terms of our exact feelings for him, we can only settle for taking his measure in terms of how we want to feel as he proves himself to be an utterly foreign being for all that he is recognizable to our minds as both human and wolf. Though he is both, there's absolutely no separating the two, being so firmly ensconced in werewolf politics and life we can't possibly judge him by the standards to which we might hold a human man, instead we can only watch mesmerized as his methods of teaching Bryn to grow as an alpha often hurt and help in equal measure. We want so badly to know how he truly feels about the incredible young woman he helped raise, wishing for a definitive action or gesture instead of cryptic gifts and the occasional flash of the eyes or twitch of the facial muscles to telegraph his emotional response to her. Frustratingly and admirably however, he always remains steadfastly Callum, neither man nor wolf but indisputably and irrevocably both.

Raised by Wolves and Trial by Fire are not to be missed, they are books to be savored rather than devoured quickly as Ms. Barnes has layered her story with details and subtleties that only reveal themselves if we take the time to linger. She has an uncanny ability to create tension in even the simplest moments, keeping us constantly on our toes by setting up numerous different outcomes and possibilities that sometimes force us to walk away in a moment of emotional self-preservation before returning almost immediately, gluttons for the most delectable of punishments.

Rating: 5/5