Review: Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend

Reviewer: Kristen

Author: Alan Cumyn

Format: ARC - thanks Simon & Schuster CA! 

Pages: 304

My Rating: 6/10

Summary (thanks Goodreads): Prepare to be blown away—or rather, carried away on huge muscular wings—by this blissfully outlandish, bracingly-smart, tour de force about a teen who has to come to terms with relinquishing control for the first time as she falls for the hot new…pterodactyl…at school. After all, everybody wants him!

Sheils is very pleased with her perfectly controlled life (controlling others while she’s at it). She’s smart, powerful, the Student Body Chair, and she even has a loving boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for?

But everything changes when the first-ever interspecies transfer student, a pterodactyl named Pyke, enrolls at her school. There’s something about him—something primal—that causes the students to lose control whenever he’s around. Even Sheils, the seemingly perfect self-confident girl that she is, can’t keep her mind off of him, despite her doting boyfriend and despite the fact that Pyke immediately starts dating Jocelyn, the school’s fastest runner who Sheils has always discounted as a nobody.

Pyke, hugely popular in a school whose motto is to embrace differences, is asked to join a band, and when his band plays at the Autumn Whirl dance, his preternatural shrieking music sends everyone into a literal frenzy. No one can remember what happened the next day, but Shiels learns that she danced far too long with Pyke, her nose has turned purple, and she may have done something with her boyfriend that she shouldn’t have. Who’s in control now?

Hilarious and relatable (despite the dinosaur), Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend is about a teen who must come to terms with not being in control of all things at all times, break free of her mundane life, discover who her true self is, and, oh, finding out that going primal isn’t always a bad thing

My Thoughts: Have you ever just sat back and wondered what you'd get if you took a little contemporary, and then threw in some dinosaurs? Like, maybe, you're reading Twilight, and you're just so annoyed with Bella (because, let's face it, she does annoying things), that you kinda really want a dinosaur to come in and mix things up? I mean, who doesn't? While Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend doesn't exactly fit that description, it definitely takes contemporary and takes some dinosaurs and creates this fantastically weird, and funny, novel. 

So, I think that one of my favourite things about this book is it's title. A) Because I finally learned how to spell Pterodactyl (I did that with my eyes closed but I'll never be able to prove it), and B) Who isn't going to immediately grab this book and go.... wait, what? Add that with the cover - which I love and it stands out so well on my book shelf - and you got yourself a winner at the book store. 

This definitely not a serious book - it's light, and funny, and a supremely quick read. I sat down to start reading, and I didn't stop until I was finished. It was one of those "I can't put this down because I have literally no idea where this story" is going type of deals.  The characters were funny enough, and definitely original. I particularly liked Sheils, I connected with her a weird amount (especially considering she falls in love... with you know... a literal dinosaur).
It held my interest the entire time, and even though I probably wouldn't re-read it, I'd recommend it to people with dry senses of humour. There's a lot of satirizing taking place, especially about the YA genre (their meeting gave me some Twilight feels), so if you're about that life, this is another good one to check out. 

Also, fellow Canadian's: this book is for you. It's one of those books that actually get the weird things us Canadian's say and do, and of course, there is a moose cameo. What more can you want? Dinosaurs and moose is all you need. 

Final Thoughts: Probably, no - definitely - the most original and unique book I've read this year. If you're intrigued by that description (and, I ask again, who isn't), definitely check this one out! 

Follow along with the rest of the tour here! 

*** Thanks again Simon & Schuster CA for having me be apart of this tour!*** 

REPOST Review: The Deep

Reviewer: Kristen
Author: Nick Cutter
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback (provided by Simon & Schuster for a fair and honest review)
My Rating: 8 out of 10

Expected Publication: January 13th, 2015

Summary (thanks Goodreads): A strange plague called the ’Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget—small things at first, like where they left their keys…then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily…and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered—a universal healer, from initial reports. It may just be the key to a universal cure. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface. But now the station is incommunicado, and it’s up to a brave few to descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.

My Thoughts: So, have you ever read anything that's so horrifying that you actually just cannot for the LIFE of you put down? Because, yeah, this is totally one of those books. This is a classic horror novel; a straight up keep-you-awake-all-hours-of-the-night, looking in dark corners, genius of a horror novel. Because seriously, the last, oh, quarter of this novel, I stayed up reading because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. It was crazy; my heart was pounding and I was straight up nervous about how things would end.   After having read both The Troop and now The Deep, I think it suffices to say that Nick Cutter knows just what fears to play on - fears the plague almost every body - and, almost subtly, reminds you  how scared of the dark you actually are. At least, that's what this did for me. The story follows Luke, whose crazy smart brother has asked him to join him in the search for a cure for the 'Gets. And, because the thought of a crazy plague like illness isn't horrifying enough, 'Gets attacks people's memories. The disease literally attacks what makes us fundamental humans, and from there, we see the often grotesque - but not too grotesque... it's done with... class? It's not unnecessary, I guess is what I'm trying and failing to say - side effects, and the descent into madness. Nick Cutter does a phenomenal job at twisting reality into something straight from a childhood nightmare - that one nightmare that stuck with you, and that you still constantly think about. If you're a fan of horror, you're going to love it. Even if you're not a fan of horror, pick this up and try it out. The writing is something spectacular and you should not miss out on it. 

Final Thoughts: If you read The Troop, you know that Nick Cutter has a special kind of writing magic that manages to terrify you and make you crave more at the same time. The Deep exceeded every expectation that I had, and you'll definitely want to make sure this is on your 2015 to-read list!

Review: The Deep

Reviewer: Kristen
Author: Nick Cutter
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback (provided by Simon & Schuster for a fair and honest review)
My Rating: 8 out of 10

Expected Publication: January 13th, 2015

Summary (thanks Goodreads): A strange plague called the ’Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget—small things at first, like where they left their keys…then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily…and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered—a universal healer, from initial reports. It may just be the key to a universal cure. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface. But now the station is incommunicado, and it’s up to a brave few to descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.

My Thoughts: So, have you ever read anything that's so horrifying that you actually just cannot for the LIFE of you put down? Because, yeah, this is totally one of those books. This is a classic horror novel; a straight up keep-you-awake-all-hours-of-the-night, looking in dark corners, genius of a horror novel. Because seriously, the last, oh, quarter of this novel, I stayed up reading because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. It was crazy; my heart was pounding and I was straight up nervous about how things would end.   After having read both The Troop and now The Deep, I think it suffices to say that Nick Cutter knows just what fears to play on - fears the plague almost every body - and, almost subtly, reminds you  how scared of the dark you actually are. At least, that's what this did for me. The story follows Luke, whose crazy smart brother has asked him to join him in the search for a cure for the 'Gets. And, because the thought of a crazy plague like illness isn't horrifying enough, 'Gets attacks people's memories. The disease literally attacks what makes us fundamental humans, and from there, we see the often grotesque - but not too grotesque... it's done with... class? It's not unnecessary, I guess is what I'm trying and failing to say - side effects, and the descent into madness. Nick Cutter does a phenomenal job at twisting reality into something straight from a childhood nightmare - that one nightmare that stuck with you, and that you still constantly think about. If you're a fan of horror, you're going to love it. Even if you're not a fan of horror, pick this up and try it out. The writing is something spectacular and you should not miss out on it. 

Final Thoughts: If you read The Troop, you know that Nick Cutter has a special kind of writing magic that manages to terrify you and make you crave more at the same time. The Deep exceeded every expectation that I had, and you'll definitely want to make sure this is on your 2015 to-read list!