Thursday, April 29, 2010

Kiss, Kiss, Kiss


LIPS TOUCH THREE TIMES
Written by Laini Taylor
Publication date: August 1, 2009
Released in Hardcover



4 stars

Synopsis: Back Cover: There is a certain kind of girl the goblins crave. You could walk across a high school campus and point then out: not her, not her, her. The pert, lovely ones with butterfly tattoos in secret places, sitting on their boyfriends' laps? No, not them. The girls watching the lovely ones sitting on their boyfriends' laps? Yes. Them.

The goblins wants girls who dream so hard about being pretty their yearning leaves a palpable trail, a scent goblins can follow like sharks on a soft bloom of blood. The girls with hungry eyes who pray each night to wake up as someone else. Urgent, unkissed, wishful girls.

Like Kizzy.

Inside Jacket: Everyone dreams of getting the kiss of a lifetime - but what if that kiss carried some unexpected consequences?

A girl who's always been in the shadows finds herself pursued by the unbelievably attractive new boy at school, who may or may not be the death of her. Another girl grows up mute because of a curse placed on her by a vindictive spirit, and later must decide whether to utter her first words to the boy she loves and risk killing everyone who hears her if the curse is real. And a third girl discovers that the real reason for her transient life with her mother has to do with belonging - literally belonging - to another world entirely, full of dreaded creatures who can transform into animals, and whose queen keeps little girls as personal pets until they grow to childbearing age.

My Review: Goblin Fruit: I liked how Kizzy was the outcast yet she still had her small crew of friends. She knows her family is different. She tells her friends about the weird things that happen in her home, knowing very well that no one could possibly believe her. Her friends are just as kooky and strange, but only in theory, not in real life, like Kizzy.

In just the few short chapters in this story, you can grasp that Kizzy is just like a real high school girl. She wants the popularity and the cute guys that come with it, and the kisses that come with them.

Kizzy grew up knowing that mythological creatures, such as goblins, were real. She knows how they come for young girls and that they eventually do. She's always on her guard, remembering the lessons she was taught. But when the hot new boy in school pays attention only to her, she can't help falling for him. As you read the story, you want her to have her Prince Charming, her happily ever after, yet you can't help but think that something just isn't right.

Spicy Little Curses: This story had one of the most original plots I've read in a long time. A woman charged with the responsibility of negotiating with a demon, to protect the world's children from being dragged to Hell before their time. Her name is Estella and she's a take-no-crap kinda lady! She's not afraid of this demon, Vasudev, as she's been dealing with him for a very long time. Besides, bartering for the lives of innocent children is not a light subject. Vasudev will take anyone to back to Hell with him, but Estella is there to keep the balance.

However, in the midst of negotiations, Vasudev trades the lives of ten children if Estella will deliver his curse upon an infant. The child is never to utter a word or kill everyone around her with the sound. This was the one story that convinced me I wanted to read this book. The child grows up without ever speaking but struggling everyday with the authenticity of this curse. When she falls in love with a soldier she finds she must put this curse to the test!

Hatchling: This was the longest of the three stories with the most intricate plot. It's about a mother and daughter who have spent the last fifteen years practicing long forgotten beliefs in order to protect themselves from dangers they never even see. The mother, Mab, knows them to be true, though. She knew one day they would come for her and her daughter, Esme. When Esme's left eye suddenly changes color, everything in her life turns upside down.

I really liked Mab in this story. As a mother myself, I found her character easy to relate to. She is extremely protective of her daughter and loves her fiercely. The dangers she survived to give Esme the simple life she has now, almost cost her her own life. She has been fighting ever since.

Esme is stronger than she thinks. When she starts "remembering" memories that aren't hers, she's brave enough to find out the truth, even though it scares her half out of her mind!

Laini Taylor writes in each story, beautiful descriptions, in such depth that your own surroundings blur and all you can see is what you're reading. I love an author who can do that! There are twists and turns at the end of each story that just blow your mind. These are not ideas that have been done before, so you have no idea where Taylor is leading you! My eyes will be open for anything else she's written!

Who Should Read This: Looking for something paranormal yet different than all the vampires, werewolves, fairies and ghosts? This was a nice break from all of that.

1 comment:

We Heart YA said...

I know this is an old review, but it came up in the little "You might also like" boxes, and ZOMG I DO ALSO LIKE! This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. "Goblin Fruit" didn't really do it for me, but "Spicy Little Curses" and "Hatchling" just WOW-ed me. I couldn't stop reading, couldn't stop thinking about them.

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